HDMI and DisplayPort are both capable of sending high-definition video and high-res audio from a source to a display. We compare their feature sets and typical use scenarios.

In fact, when you compare the latest HDMI version to the latest version of DisplayPort, there's a major discrepancy in bandwidth. HDMI connectors and ports can be identified by their squished ...

Ballpark figure for a HDMI to VGA decoder is around 200 mA at 5 volts. That's a watt. For such a small device, you're going to expect that to make it fairly warm.

Any modern laptop should be able to connect to an external monitor. The first step is to figure out whether it supports DisplayPort, Thunderbolt, HDMI, or VGA.

HDMI is limited to 50 mA over its +5V (0.25 watt), so HDMI to VGA adapters often need some other source of power. Quite often a HDMI device will go significantly beyond 50 mA ...

Thunderbolt Gen 1 and 2 don’t support USB 3.1, Type C or even 3.0 for that matter. An adapter wouldn’t have fixed this problem. However, Apple is releasing Thunderbolt 3 later in 2015.

In summary, when choosing whether to use DisplayPort or HDMI, you should consider what your needs are. HDMI is best for general-purpose video and audio output, and it can be found on a wider range ...