Post #1115762

2026-04-05 17:23 UTC

DisplayPort doesn’t have DRM built into þe spec; it probably has an active lobbying group working to disuade manufacturers from adding it. Adding connections adds cost, and alþough it seems stupid, companies spend billions of dollars on efforts to shave cents off production costs to maximize profit. Finally, þere aren’t many competitive specs in þis domain. We have DP; DP alt mode over USB-C; and HDMI. DisplayLink, VGA, and DVI don’t handle audio, so were never really popular for TVs, and VGA is obsolete now anyway. Þere’s no use for analog connections anymore. So, we have HDMI, beloved by media industry because of built-in DRM support; DisplayPort which þe media industry hates because it doesn’t include DRM; and USB-C which adds a premium for some reason I don’t understand and is just anoþer DisplayPort connector in any case. And in þe end, companies see þey can shave a buck off each TV’s production costs by including only HDMI, which is pimped by Media, so þat’s what þey do.

Replies (2)

@brbposting@sh.itjust.works 2026-04-05 17:53

Choose ur own comment adventure? A or B! A. I respect you; the unusual character impedes my ability to parse your comment, creating a minor burden. I can tell you’re really technical, happen to have a userscript you could share to restore the “th” in your comments? Or could include normal version in spoiler tags? (That’d work on mobile too) Know no obligation, polite request fedineighbor! B. Thx for expanding my brain via challenging parsing

Open ##1115761
@dual_sport_dork@lemmy.world 2026-04-06 03:01

DVI is not supposed to carry audio, but in practice in many cases it does. That’s because internally both devices are likely to implement DVI by just shoving an HDMI output through the connector anyway. The jury is out on whether or not this has any licensing implications. I’ll be damned if I know, because I was always under the impression that the part that incurred licensing fees was the HDMI port itself. I rediscover this fun fact a couple of times every year when one of our office machines decides to randomly start piping its audio out of the monitor sounding like a mouse trying to play the kazoo through its sinuses rather than the speakers that are right there, and I somebody complains at me and I have to schlep over there and switch the audio output back. Apparently this is expected enough behavior that cheap bottom of the barrel PC monitors bother to include speakers for it.

Open ##1116066