computer science

VESA Plug and Display

VESA Plug and Display is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand VESA Plug and Display rather than just read about it. In short: VESA Plug and Display (abbreviated as P&D) is a video connector that carries digital signals for monitors, such as flat panel displays and video projectors, ratified by Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) in 1997. Introduced around the same time as the competing connectors for the Digital Visual Interface (DVI, 1999) and VESA's own Digital Flat Panel (DFP, 1999), it was marketed as a replacement for the V…

Key takeaways

VESA Plug and Display belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect VESA Plug and Display to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of VESA Plug and Display from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

VESA Plug and Display (abbreviated as P&D) is a video connector that carries digital signals for monitors, such as flat panel displays and video projectors, ratified by Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) in 1997. Introduced around the same time as the competing connectors for the Digital Visual Interface (DVI, 1999) and VESA's own Digital Flat Panel (DFP, 1999), it was marketed as a replacement for the VESA Enhanced Video Connector (EVC, 1994). Unlike DVI, it never achieved widespread implementation. The P&D connector shares the 30-pin plus quad-coax layout of EVC, which carries digital video, analog video, and data over Universal Serial Bus (USB) and IEEE 1394 (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 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 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, 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. 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 (often shortened to M1)

References

External links VESA P&D standard

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with VESA Plug and Display

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what VESA Plug and Display claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to VESA Plug and Display before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about VESA Plug and Display ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of VESA Plug and Display

In research: VESA Plug and Display appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses VESA Plug and Display in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: VESA Plug and Display is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Computer graphics stubs, Digital display connectors, VESA, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for VESA Plug and Display outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study VESA Plug and Display in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what VESA Plug and Display means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain VESA Plug and Display out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is VESA Plug and Display in simple terms?

Why does VESA Plug and Display matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study VESA Plug and Display?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on VESA Plug and Display.