VESA proposes the DisplayPort 2.1a standard. These include specifications for the DisplayPort standard, which allows for more resolutions and longer cables.

The Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) is introducing DisplayPort 2.1a at CES. This new standard for DisplayPort comes with a DP54 Ultra-high bit rate (UHBR) cable and can be twice as long as its predecessor. With DisplayPort 2.1 a, the passive cable length increases from one to two meters. The new cables have a throughput speed of 54 Gbit/s. In addition, the standard allows for more flexible combinations of high-resolution screens. From now on you can combine 8K and 2K at 240 Hz or 8K and 4K at 120 Hz.

Future cable

VESA is preparing DisplayPort for the future, although it will still be some time before the right hardware is widely available. Finally, both displays and computers must support DisplayPort 2.1a. Nvidia recently launched its GeForce 40 Super GPUs, and these are still limited to DisplayPort 1.4a. The same applies to newly announced screens. We’ll probably have to wait for a completely new generation of GPUs before standard and therefore longer cables become ubiquitous.

In any case, the new standard for DisplayPort is a step in the right direction. The longer cables allow for more flexible desk layouts.