DisplayPort or HDMI?

I'm in the market for an external monitor right now and I have narrowed down to 2 IPS panels both at the same price. However, one has a HDMI port while the other has a DisplayPort. My laptop can do either connections. Is one of them better than the other? I'm just wondering, can Displayport do 1080p videos?

I'm looking at these 2 monitors

LG IPS236V
Dell UltraSharp U2312HM

 

Yes. They are both very similar. DisplayPort is the newer standard though. But given the resolution that both of those run at, it doesn't matter which one you use.

I would check reviews of the image quality of those two and make your decision on that.

 

For your purposes, the performance / image quality is going to be the same between HDMI and Display Port. It really doesn't matter.

Personally, I have a slight preference for HDMI, because HDMI is everywhere on every device, and is easily converted to DVI. Display Port is not as common, and requires (relatively) expensive adapters to convert to another connection format.

Between those two monitors, I'd definitely go with the Dell. I own the LG IPS236V, and it's a great monitor. I believe that the LCD panel used in the Dell U2312 is manufactured by LG, and is the same panel that goes inside of its LG IPS236V and LG E2330V displays, so you're not going to get any image quality differences. However, the LG IPS236V does not have an adjustable monitor stand, and only has soft-touch menu keys (whereas the Dell has actual physical keys). The only advantage of the LG IPS236V is that it is cheap... but that advantage goes out the window, if both monitors are priced the same.

So, I'd get the Dell U2330. I'd also recommend getting an HDMI-to-DVI cable, rather than using Display Port. The reason is because you are far more likely to plug in a device into that monitor that supports HDMI output (laptop, computers, gaming consoles, etc) than a device that supports DisplayPort.

 

More in depth here;

DisplayPort - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

Cool, thanks guys for the replies. I will definitely get the Dell monitor. Though from my research on Displayport, they say it is gonna replace DVI and VGA.

 

It was supposed to years ago but a lot of businesses still use legacy ports...

 

you only need a passive "pinhead" converter... you only need active in certain circumstances (eg ATI card, driving more 3 or more monitors, one has to be Display Port with an Active Converter to DVI/HDMI)

anyways, active Displayport->DVI/HDMI cost between $30(below 1080p) and $80(above 1080p, dual-link DVI)

 

Even a passive adapter is going to be $8, plus the $5 cost of the HDMI cable.
Meanwhile, an HDMI, or HDMI-to-DVI cable is $5.

Right now, I don't see any advantage whatsoever to DisplayPort. I only see the added inconvenience that DisplayPort requires adapters, and the inconvenience that it isn't everywhere on every device like HDMI is.

Edit: I should add - I understand the appeal of DisplayPort to device manufacturers, because it is royalty-free and has an open design specification. However, as a consumer, I don't care.

 

as a consumer, with 3 monitors (ATI Eyefinity), having displayport on all of them means I dont have to buy a $30 Active DP->DVI adapter

but of course, this is a niche area

anyways, VGA is supposed to die out soon, but it'll still be on all of the devices sold so far... for a long time. sigh

 

Apple's thunderbolt is the same as the displayport no? could we just connect, let's say a radeon 5970, directly to an Apple display?

 

That is correct. Apple displays and laptops use DisplayPort as a monitor connectivity option. Thunderbolt is a data connectivity interface that happens to share the same ports and connectors as DisplayPort on Apple hardware.

So yes, you can take an AMD Radeon card and connect to an Apple cinema display through DisplayPort.

 

Hey,

Today I went to buy a HDMI to DVI-D Dual Link cable for $7.99 but unfortunately it was sold out. The same cable but a different brand costs $20. So I went home and found that there is a HDMI to DVI-D Single link adapter for only $2.99.

All I know is that Single link can do up to 1080p while dual link can go higher. Though my monitor is only 1080p, my question is that is there a difference in noticeable speed and signal quality between Single link and dual link?

 

Single-link DVI can support up to 1920x1080 @ 60Hz. So you are fine with single-link.

If you ever need to go to a higher resolution or refresh rate, then you will need dual-link DVI adapter.

 

While the data stream might be the same, there's is still a difference in material and workmanship. If you've ever purchased a cheap water hoses and had it for a few seasons, you know what I mean. Otherwise, go with whichever is the cheapest.

 

HDMI is not an "open" standard, they collect royalties from companies that use it. Displayport is starting to gain traction.

 

Nevertheless, it's still lags far behind HDMIs substantial lead on current use products. Only time will tell if it can catch up or even supplant the current HDMI.

In the mean time, most manufacturers have already adapted their product to support HDMI.