If you bought a laptop recently, you probably wouldn't have any issues connecting to your external display using HDMI. But laptops do not always provide the heavy-lifting power of a decent desktop. That is whether you are an avid gamer, video editor, or need some serious horsepower for your workstation.
So what do DisplayPort to HDMI adapters have to do with it?
Well, if you have a recent-to-fairly recent desktop, it is likely to offer a DisplayPort around the back instead of an HDMI port.
That is a good thing because DisplayPort offers native support for both Nvidia’s G-Sync and AMD’s FreeSync technologies.
Those two help match a monitor’s refresh rate to a video card’s output frame rate. The goal is to prevent screen tearing when doing high-refresh-rate tasks such as gaming.
If you have a DisplayPort source and HDMI input setup, you will need to have a DisplayPort to HDMI adapter to make it work.
Some laptops, such as Apple’s range and the Microsoft Surface Pro, come with mini DisplayPort options. So you may still need a mini DisplayPort to HDMI adapter to connect either source to an external monitor with HDMI input.
Why all these seemingly unnecessary incompatibility issues?
They made the DisplayPort standard with the IT world in mind rather than the more consumer, visual target market (HD TVs and projectors) of the HDMI connection technology.
That is also why you are likely to find an HDMI port on your external display than you are to find a DisplayPort one.
Now, how do you connect a desktop with a DisplayPort to an HDMI monitor?
Check the ports on the back of your computer. Do you see a logo with a letter “D”, a smaller “P” inside it, and “++” on top of each other?
Then you have a source that can support Dual-Mode DisplayPort (DP++). Without diving too deep into the technology behind it, DP++ will let you make a simple DisplayPort to HDMI connection. Your computer will translate the DisplayPort signals to HDMI standard.
So you get a simple passive adapter. It is a simple cable that is almost identical to most plug cables.
This is simple, fast, and cheap compared to trying an HDMI to DisplayPort connection.
But what if your source computer does not support DP++?
Then buy an active DisplayPort converter instead.
What is the Difference Between Passive and Active DisplayPort Adapters?
A passive DisplayPort adapter lets your computer's graphics card translate DisplayPort signals into HDMI's TMDS signals. An active DisplayPort adapter enables a computer that does not support DP++ to output HDMI signals to your external display.
A passive adapter does not need computing power or an external power source to do simple translations. It just maps DisplayPort pins to HDMI pins.
On the flip side, an active adapter needs to have computing power to translate the signals. So it houses chips in a typically small box along the plug. That is actually the most straightforward physical difference between a passive and active adapter cable.
Active adapters are also ideal for connecting multiple displays with HDMI input to a single source with DisplayPort output. Many video cards do not support the multi-display configuration using DP++ alone.
Also, an active adapter supports an HDMI to DisplayPort connection.
Over to You
Getting a simple passive adapter is a fast, cheap, and easy way to do a DisplayPort to HDMI connection.
But making an HDMI to DisplayPort connection doesn’t have to be expensive, complicated, or nerve-wracking when you know where to get the best active adapters either.