HDMI vs DisplayPort: Which Connection Suits Your Screen?

Short answer: use HDMI for televisions, soundbars, consoles and streaming boxes, and use DisplayPort when a computer connects to a monitor that has the port, especially for high refresh rates or more than one screen. Both carry digital picture and sound, both can handle 4K, and for an ordinary office monitor either one gives the same image. The differences show up at the edges: very high refresh rates, chains of monitors, TV audio features and the ports a device happens to have.

Two connections, two backgrounds

HDMI grew up in the living room. It was designed to link players, set-top boxes and games consoles to televisions, so it carries the extras a home cinema needs: a control channel that lets one remote run several devices, and a return path that sends TV sound out to a soundbar or receiver. Nearly every television sold for years has HDMI inputs, and many have nothing else for modern sources.

DisplayPort came from the computer side. It was built for monitors and graphics cards, and its strengths are computer ones: high bandwidth for fast refresh rates, the ability to drive more than one monitor from a single output, and a close relationship with USB-C, where the same signal can travel over a laptop's charging port. Televisions almost never have a DisplayPort input.

Side by side

Versions matter more than the name

Arguing about HDMI against DisplayPort misses the bigger point: each has several generations, and an old version of either can be the bottleneck. A recent HDMI version on both ends handles 4K at high refresh rates and features such as variable refresh rate. An older HDMI port may stop at 4K at 60Hz, or lower. DisplayPort has the same story, with newer revisions carrying far more data than the first ones.

The connection only runs as fast as the slowest part of the chain: the output on the computer, the cable, any adapter and the input on the screen. If a monitor advertises a high refresh rate but the settings will not offer it, the explainer on what refresh rate means for TVs and monitors helps work out which link is holding things back. Check the specification sheet of the screen for which port supports which combination of resolution and refresh rate; on some monitors only the DisplayPort input reaches the top figure, on others only the newest HDMI port does.

Which one to use

A television

HDMI, nearly always. It is the only common input on TVs, and it brings the living-room features with it. Sound can travel back from the TV to a soundbar, as described in the piece on how HDMI ARC and eARC carry TV sound, which DisplayPort simply does not do. A computer with only DisplayPort or USB-C can still reach a TV with an active adapter or a suitable cable, and the walkthrough on connecting a laptop to a TV covers the display and sound settings that follow.

A gaming monitor on a desktop computer

DisplayPort is often the safer pick, because many monitors and graphics cards expose their highest refresh rates and adaptive sync on that port first. A recent HDMI port can do the job too when both ends support it; the monitor's manual settles it.

An office desk with two or three screens

DisplayPort, or USB-C carrying DisplayPort, makes multi-monitor setups tidier. Some laptops can run several screens through one dock this way. Whether daisy chaining works depends on the computer and on the monitors, so check both before buying cables.

A screen on a wall in a shop or reception

Commercial displays usually take HDMI from a small media player, sometimes with DisplayPort as an alternative input. The ideas collected in ways businesses use digital signage displays mostly rely on that simple player-plus-screen arrangement, where the choice of port matters less than a secure, well-routed cable.

Adapters and cables: what to watch for

• Direction matters. Many DisplayPort-to-HDMI adapters only work one way: computer DisplayPort output to an HDMI screen. They will not turn an HDMI laptop output into a DisplayPort monitor input.
• Passive or active. A cheap passive adapter relies on the computer's port to do the conversion. Active adapters convert the signal themselves and are often needed for high resolutions, high refresh rates or multi-monitor docks.
• Features may drop. Adaptive sync, HDR and high refresh rates do not always survive an adapter. If they matter, a direct connection is the reliable route.
• Cable ratings. Look for a certification label that matches the version you need, rather than a length of cable described only as "4K".
• Length. Long passive runs can cause flicker or a blank screen at high settings. Shorter is better; very long runs need active or fiber-optic cables.

When the picture still will not appear

A blank screen after switching ports is rarely about which standard you chose. Try the other input, reseat both ends, restart the computer with the cable already connected and check that the screen is set to the right source. On Windows, an outdated graphics driver can also limit what an external screen is offered; the steps for updating drivers on Windows without breaking anything start with the built-in tools.

In the end the choice is mostly made for you by the devices you own. Use what both ends support at their newest version, keep adapters to a minimum and pick DisplayPort on the desk when a monitor gives you the option.