If you are planning to dip your toes into the 8K ecosystem in the near future, look for so-called ’DP8K Certified DisplayPort’ cables. VESA says that the first cables have been released for sale.

8K DisplayPort cables
8K is starting to emerge and VESA is positioning the DisplayPort interface as a 8K ready system. At CES 2018, the association has announced so-called ’DP8K Certified DisplayPort’ cables.

These cable are guaranteed to support DisplayPort High Bit Rate 3 (HBR3), the association said adding that HBR3 is the highest bit rate that DisplayPort standard version 1.4 supports. It provides enough bandwidth to drive a 8K display at 60 frames per second using a single cable as well as multiple 4K displays.

- "As display resolution, refresh rate and color space continue to grow, we see strong adoption of HBR3 on displays, discrete graphics card and mobile PC platforms. HBR3 certified cables facilitate a seamless connectivity experience to end users," said Syed Athar Hussain, VESA board vice chairman and AMD Senior Display Domain Fellow. "DisplayPort HBR3 has enabled support for 8K and novel wide-aspect resolutions, such as 3840x1080, at refresh rates of 144Hz and beyond for High Dynamic Range (HDR) gaming."

The first DP8K Certified DisplayPort cables are now available in the marketplace, certified by VESA. 

  Also read: DisplayPort 1.4 supports 8K resolution and HDR

- "Since we first launched our HBR3 Certification Program nearly a year ago, more than 20 DisplayPort devices have undergone HBR3 certification, including sources, sinks, docks, and now, cables. With DP8K Certified DisplayPort cables, a single-port solution for 8K displays is finally attainable. DP8K Certified cables provide added assurance of smooth operation and full compliance at the higher HBR3 link rate," said James Choate, compliance program manager for VESA.

The HDMI Forum has similarly announced 8K-compatible cables called ’Ultra High Speed’ cables. The first such cable went on sale in September 2017.



Beyond 8K resolution
VESA also said that that it currently exploring ways to further increase the data rate of the DisplayPort interface. The association expects to publish the next phase within the next 18 months.

- ”VESA is also currently engaged with its members in the development of the next DisplayPort standard generation, with plans to increase the data rate enabled by DisplayPort by two-fold and beyond. VESA plans to publish this update within the next 18 months,” VESA said.

The association added that further developments are needed to go beyond 8K resolution and enable AR/VR displays.

- ”Further developments in display interfaces are needed to address future performance requirements of traditional displays, such as beyond 8K resolutions, as well as greater enhancement of the user experience with AR/VR displays, including 4K-and-beyond VR resolutions.”

VESA intends to demonstrate gaming systems that take advantage of the HBR3 data rate at CES 2018 next week, including several systems with the ability to drive 4K resolution at 120fps. FlatpanelsHD will on spot.

 
DP8K Certified DisplayPort cables
 
 
 
 Cable vendors offering DP8K Certified DisplayPort cables include ELKA International, Hotron Precision Electronic Industrial, Dezhou HongJu Communication Technology, Ji-Haw Industrial, and Ningbo Prime Electronic. HBR3 cable testing is now available at DisplayPort Authorized Test Centers (ATCs), including Allion Labs and Granite River Labs (GRL). A complete list of DisplayPort ATCs can be found at vesa.org
 
 
- Source: VESA