# item.guide

DisplayPort 1.4

Direct Answer

DisplayPort 1.4, released March 2016, kept the same 32.4 Gbps HBR3 link rate as 1.3 but added Display Stream Compression (DSC) 1.2 -- a visually lossless compression scheme that extends the same bandwidth to resolutions like 8K at 30Hz that wouldn't otherwise fit.

Source: VESA DisplayPort 1.4 Specification

Specs

Release Date March 2016
Max Bandwidth, HBR3 4 lanes (raw / effective) 32.4 / 25.92 Gbps
Max Uncompressed Resolution 3840x2160 (4K) @ 120Hz
Max Resolution with DSC 7680x4320 (8K) @ 30Hz

Display Stream Compression Changed the Math

DisplayPort 1.4 kept the same 32.4 Gbps HBR3 link rate introduced in the little-adopted DisplayPort 1.3, but added Display Stream Compression (DSC) 1.2 -- a visually lossless compression scheme that lets the cable carry resolutions its raw bandwidth couldn't otherwise support. Without DSC, DisplayPort 1.4 tops out at 4K (3840x2160) at 120Hz uncompressed; with DSC, 8K at 30Hz becomes possible over the same physical link, though higher-refresh 8K claims from some vendors depend on more aggressive compression than the baseline spec guarantees.

DisplayPort 1.4 remained the mainstream high-bandwidth DisplayPort standard for several years, widely adopted on PC graphics cards and monitors before DisplayPort 2.0/2.1's much larger bandwidth increase arrived in 2022.