VESA Plug and Display (abbreviated as P&D) is a video connector that carries digital signals for

monitors Monitor or monitor may refer to: Places * Monitor, Alberta * Monitor, Indiana, town in the United States * Monitor, Kentucky * Monitor, Oregon, unincorporated community in the United States * Monitor, Washington * Monitor, Logan County, West ...

, such as

flat panel display A flat-panel display (FPD) is an electronic display used to display visual content such as text or images. It is present in consumer, medical, transportation, and industrial equipment. Flat-panel displays are thin, lightweight, provide better ...

s and

video projector A video projector is an image projector that receives a video signal and projects the corresponding image onto a projection screen using a lens system. Video projectors use a very bright ultra-high-performance lamp (a special mercury arc l ...

s, ratified by

Video Electronics Standards Association VESA (), formally known as Video Electronics Standards Association, is an American technical standards organization for computer display standards. The organization was incorporated in California in July 1989To retrieve the information, sear ...

(VESA) in 1997. Introduced around the same time as the competing connectors for the

Digital Visual Interface Digital Visual Interface (DVI) is a video display interface developed by the Digital Display Working Group (DDWG). The digital interface is used to connect a video source, such as a video display controller, to a display device, such as a co ...

(DVI, 1999) and VESA's own

Digital Flat Panel The VESA Digital Flat Panel (DFP) interface standard specifies a video connector and digital TMDS signaling for flat-panel displays. It features 20 pins and uses the PanelLink protocol; the standard is based on the preceding VESA Plug and Displ ...

(DFP, 1999), it was marketed as a replacement for the

VESA Enhanced Video Connector The VESA Enhanced Video Connector (EVC) is a VESA standard that was intended to reduce the number of cables around a computer by incorporating video, audio, FireWire and USB into a single cable system, terminating in a 35-pin Molex MicroCross co ...

(EVC, 1994). Unlike DVI, it never achieved widespread implementation. The P&D connector shares the 30-pin plus quad-

coax Coaxial cable, or coax (pronounced ), is a type of electrical cable consisting of an inner conductor surrounded by a concentric conducting shield, with the two separated by a dielectric ( insulating material); many coaxial cables also have a p ...

layout of EVC, which carries digital video, analog video, and data over

Universal Serial Bus Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard, developed by USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF), for digital data transmission and power delivery between many types of electronics. It specifies the architecture, in particular the physical ...

(USB) and

IEEE 1394 IEEE 1394 is an interface standard for a serial bus for high-speed communications and isochronous real-time data transfer. It was developed in the late 1980s and early 1990s by Apple in cooperation with a number of companies, primarily Sony a ...

(FireWire). At a minimum, the P&D connector is required to carry digital video, in which case the connector is designated P&D-D; when both digital and analog video are included, the connector is designated P&D-A/D.

Design

The P&D receptacle and plug are required to bear a standardized symbol to designate the standards with which it is compatible. The upper left quadrant designates analog video support. The upper right quadrant designates digital video support. The lower quadrants designate IEEE 1394 and USB support. All P&D connectors are required to carry single-link TMDS digital video signal (max 160 MHz), and support VESA

Display Data Channel Display Data Channel (DDC) is a collection of protocols for digital communication between a computer display and a graphics adapter that enable the display to communicate its supported display modes to the adapter and that enable the computer hos ...

version 2 at a minimum. Maximum resolution is 1600×1280 with a 60 Hz refresh rate. Analogue video signals, if supported, must be provided as three separate color channels (red / green / blue) along with one composite or two (horizontal & vertical) sync signals. The nominal impedance of each signal line is 75 Ω and each channel must be capable of carrying a bandwidth of at least 2.4 GHz. The type designation for the analogue video signals designates the voltage values of the signals only, including the Type 4 (VESA) analog DC protocol introduced with EVC: The P&D connector supports optional charging power at 18–20 VDC and up to 1.5 A. In addition, a stereoscopic display synchronization signal is supported as an option. Data signals over USB and FireWire also are optional.

USB Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard, developed by USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF), for digital data transmission and power delivery between many types of electronics. It specifies the architecture, in particular the physical ...

version is not specified, but if supported, it would have been intended for contemporary USB standards. The USB connector is intended for passing mouse movements from a projector's wireless remote to the computer's presentation software and for firmware upgrades.

FireWire IEEE 1394 is an interface standard for a serial bus for high-speed communications and isochronous real-time data transfer. It was developed in the late 1980s and early 1990s by Apple in cooperation with a number of companies, primarily Sony a ...

, if supported, must be compliant to IEEE 1394-1995 specification.

Connectors

Although the pin layout is copied from VESA EVC, the connector shell is slightly different: EVC uses a trapezoid shape, while P&D uses a D-shape. The interface is protected by patents issued to

Molex Molex LLC is a manufacturer of electronic, electrical, and fiber optic connectivity systems. Molex produces over 100,000 products for a variety of industries, including data communications, medical, industrial, automotive and consumer electronic ...

. With the introduction of P&D, EVC continued as the connector for analog-only signals and is sometimes known as P&D-A; the EVC/P&D family was completed with combination analog/digital (P&D-A/D) and digital-only (P&D-D) connectors. P&D-A/D is compatible with EVC devices (except for the missing VESA EVC features), P&D-D is not. ;Notes In addition to the regular P&D connector, the standard also specifies a 40-pin microribbon connector, which is only defined when making digital video connection via P&D-D. The P&D port is sometimes mistaken as an alternative form of the Apple Display Connector, but ADC carries higher current, has different pin layout, and does not support FireWire.

Alternative names

*M1-DA, a name used by

InFocus InFocus Corporation is a privately owned American company based in the state of Oregon. Founded in 1986, the company develops, manufactures, and distributes Digital Light Processing, DLP and LCD Video projector, projectors and accessories as well ...

(often shortened to M1)

References

External links

VESA P&D standard
Plug and Display VESA {{Compu-graphics-stub