DisplayPort

The version sets the maximum resolution:

• DisplayPort 1.2    4096 × 2160 at 60 Hz or 5120 × 2160 at 50 Hz
• DisplayPort 1.1    2560 × 1600 at 60 Hz or 4096 × 2160 at 30 Hz

For 4K at a full 60 Hz you need DisplayPort 1.2. DisplayPort 1.1 is sufficient for 2560 × 1600 at 60 Hz and for 4K at 30 Hz. The connector is identical on both versions – what counts is the version of the graphics card, not the socket.

Every variant transmits keyboard and mouse. For further USB devices there are three routes:

• GenericUSB passes through HID devices, smart cards and mass storage — available with both transmission routes. On the IP series console module, up to five devices are possible; on the computer side, one device, or up to five with the UG variant. The module with the lower number always governs.
• U variants (dedicated) additionally transmit transparent USB 2.0 over the KVM link — all USB classes, at full speed and 16 Mbit/s. This also covers devices that GenericUSB does not.
• U2 variants (dedicated) use a transmission line of their own for USB 2.0 and reach high speed at 480 Mbit/s — the right choice where data rate matters, for mass storage or cameras. The trade-off: these variants operate strictly as a point-to-point link, are not matrix-compatible, and rule out a redundant transmission line.

Both transmission routes are available for both DisplayPort versions. That is what produces the four product categories on this page.

• Dedicated transmission connects the computer and console modules over a line of their own. The link is independent of your IT and entirely predictable in its behaviour.
• KVM over IP uses your existing standard network and is the basis for installations that grow flexibly.

With dedicated DisplayPort extenders you have a choice. Uncompressed transmission delivers the signal unchanged to the workplace. Via bluedec™ it is compressed pixel-perfectly and with no perceptible latency, using considerably less bandwidth. On the IP variants, bluedec™ is always in use.

With dedicated transmission there are multi-channel variants for two, three or four video channels (MC2, MC3, MC4). They transmit several channels of one source in parallel and suit workplaces where a single computer drives several monitors. Multi-channel is not available in the IP world — if you need it, plan for dedicated transmission.

In a matrix environment the other approach applies: a multi-monitor workplace is built from several console modules. Each monitor can then be switched to a different source independently — exactly what a control room needs. Multi-channel variants are not the right choice here.

Daisy-chaining several monitors on a single connector via Multi-Stream Transport (MST) is not supported by the extenders.

Both transmission routes can be integrated into a matrix system later, each into its own world: KVM-over-IP end devices work with IP matrix switches (ControlCenter-IP, ControlCenter-IP-XS), dedicated end devices with dedicated matrix switches (ControlCenter-Digital, ControlCenter-Compact). Within each world, mix & match applies: DisplayPort modules operate alongside modules for other signal types.

Your choice in the top row of categories therefore also determines which matrix the installation can grow into later. Two exceptions remain point-to-point links: DP1.2-VisionXG and the U2 variants.

• How can I tell which DisplayPort version my source provides?
  Not from the connector – it is the same on 1.1 and 1.2. The graphics card’s data sheet is what counts.
• Is audio transmitted as well?
  Yes. DisplayPort carries multi-channel audio within the video signal (embedded audio), so no separate audio cable is needed. Many variants additionally transmit analogue audio.
• Is DisplayPort 1.1 enough for a 4K monitor?
  For 4K at 30 Hz, yes. If you need 60 Hz, you need DisplayPort 1.2.
• Can DisplayPort be combined with other signal types?
  Yes, within the same transmission type. In an IP matrix system, KVM-over-IP modules of different signal types work together; in a dedicated matrix system, the dedicated modules work together. IP and dedicated end devices cannot be mixed.