Displayport or HDMI

[Greenmantle]

Thinking of replacing my current monitors for a couple of DELL IPS 24 inch ones.
Current setup is two laptops with HDMI out. (1 is brand new, 1 is 10 years old).
Initially I tried to connect HDMI out to HDMI in but the picture on my current monitors wasn't lining up. I could not see the full Windows 10 layout no matter how much I tried.
I then switched to HDMI out to DVI in and the monitors were working fine.

The new monitors only have HDMI or displayport connectors.
Therefore I am concerned that the HDMI out to HDMI in will still be a problem and I am not sure of HDMI out to displayport in?

Advice appreciated.

[Jinx]

HDMI and display port (links are to the wiki's) have different versions that support maximum screen resolutions and refresh rates. In general the display port will support higher resolutions for a given device (normally a version ahead of HDMI) and if the monitor supports it I would always use display port.

[Greenmantle]

Jinx said:

HDMI and display port (links are to the wiki's) have different versions that support maximum screen resolutions and refresh rates. In general the display port will support higher resolutions for a given device (normally a version ahead of HDMI) and if the monitor supports it I would always use display port.

thanks
and so I will need to probably buy a HDNI to display port adapter and / or cable.

[xeny]

Check if either of the laptops has a USB-C port with DP alt mode support - that is an easier/cheaper cable than HDMI to Displayport.

[rodericb]

xeny said:

Check if either of the laptops has a USB-C port with DP alt mode support - that is an easier/cheaper cable than HDMI to Displayport.

Oh yeah this. One cable does everything - video, sound, power. It's ace! Laptop connected to a big monitor with USB-C....this is what the future is all about.

[dhutch]

There is a lot to be said for getting a USB-C dock.

[jesusbuiltmycar]

It is also worth remembering that DislpayPort can be converted to HDMI easily (there are many cheap adaptors that do this). Conversion from a HDMI signal to DisplayPort requires a more expensive, powered solution.

As others have noted a USB-C / Thunderbolt dock is a very good solution.

[Sporky]

Greenmantle said:

Initially I tried to connect HDMI out to HDMI in but the picture on my current monitors wasn't lining up. I could not see the full Windows 10 layout no matter how much I tried.
I then switched to HDMI out to DVI in and the monitors were working fine.

At a guess - though this is unusual for PC monitors - the HDMI input was overscanning, which removes a bit on each side (and top and bottom). There might be a "1:1" or "direct" mode in the menus somewhere that'd fix it.

[Lucas Ayde]

Jinx said:

HDMI and display port (links are to the wiki's) have different versions that support maximum screen resolutions and refresh rates. In general the display port will support higher resolutions for a given device (normally a version ahead of HDMI) and if the monitor supports it I would always use display port.

Yeah, although DP and HDMI use very simlilar standards for video, HDMI is aimed at home cinema gear whereas DP has always been the standard for monitors. I find that DP just works better for computer use, you often have to faff around with HDMI overscan modes and such or maybe your HDMI cable doesn't support the resolution/frame rate that you want.

[xeny]

Sporky said:

At a guess - though this is unusual for PC monitors - the HDMI input was overscanning, which removes a bit on each side (and top and bottom). There might be a "1:1" or "direct" mode in the menus somewhere that'd fix it.

This is worth checking. At 24" monitor types of resolutions (so 1920 x 1080 or 1200) HDMI and DVI are electrically identical - there are tons of adaptors between the two, and all they do is change the shape of the plug, there's no actual signal processing electronics involved in converting.

[Sporky]

Lucas Ayde said:

Yeah, although DP and HDMI use very simlilar standards for video

Very different, I'd say. HDMI is TMDS, DisplayPort is micropackets.