"it now carries USB 3.1 rather than USB 3.0 – a relatively minor change since USB is fundamentally just another protocol being carried over DisplayPort."
With DockPort, USB is never carried over DisplayPort. DockPort is based on a simple mux that can use two of the signaling pairs from the DP main link for SuperSpeed USB instead. It switches at the circuit level, not the packet level. With DP 1.2 HBR2 operating at 5.4 Gbit/s and SuperSpeed USB at 5.0 Gbit/s, this is a fairly simple trick. Having two pairs operate at 5.4 Gbit/s and two at 10 Gbit/s will be a bit more challenging no doubt, and is probably not possible with the first gen TI silicon. Incidentally, the USB 3.x ports are provided by a separate controller, usually the I/O controller hub.
Also, I believe all cables are to be captive (not sold separately or detachable) so they will be able to handle whatever power scheme is required, most likely relying on the USB Power Delivery specification. The current TI DockPort chip supports selection of 0, 5, 12 and 19.5 V for power delivery straps.
Displayport 1.3 runs at 10Gb/s. I would expect DP 1.2 & USB 3.0 silicon initially with DP 1.3 & USB 3.1 silicon later.
The problem with Dockport is that in it's current iteration you're limited to 2560x1600@24bit/60Hz with Displayport 1.2 + USB 3.x. With high resolution laptop displays becoming increasingly common, I would think it's disappointing to be limited to an external monitor with the same or lower resolution than the laptop. Dockport will only make sense once DP 1.3 is used as part of the standard as that allows a 4K 60Hz display in addition to USB 3.x.
I think DP 1.3 HBR3 is actually 8.1 Gbit/s with visually lossless compression (I'm not sure if VESA is sticking with 8b/10b encoding or why they would choose to do so).
And unless you happen to own one of the very few DP 1.2 capable displays on the market, you would essentially be limited to 1920 x 1200 without additional hardware to shift gears. Also, you can't concurrently use SuperSpeed USB and MST. So have fun waiting for a 4K display with DP 1.3 SST (dual-channel, HBR3) support for 60 Hz operation.
DockPort is a $2 switch to mux DisplayPort and USB with Power Delivery. The solutions it enables have nothing to do with the 4K display set for the foreseeable future.
Thank you for that clarification. The comment was meant to be about the cabling, but that's my own fault for not being clear about that and the article has been updated accordingly.
We’ve updated our terms. By continuing to use the site and/or by logging into your account, you agree to the Site’s updated Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
7 Comments
Back to Article
repoman27 - Monday, June 2, 2014 - link
"it now carries USB 3.1 rather than USB 3.0 – a relatively minor change since USB is fundamentally just another protocol being carried over DisplayPort."With DockPort, USB is never carried over DisplayPort. DockPort is based on a simple mux that can use two of the signaling pairs from the DP main link for SuperSpeed USB instead. It switches at the circuit level, not the packet level. With DP 1.2 HBR2 operating at 5.4 Gbit/s and SuperSpeed USB at 5.0 Gbit/s, this is a fairly simple trick. Having two pairs operate at 5.4 Gbit/s and two at 10 Gbit/s will be a bit more challenging no doubt, and is probably not possible with the first gen TI silicon. Incidentally, the USB 3.x ports are provided by a separate controller, usually the I/O controller hub.
Also, I believe all cables are to be captive (not sold separately or detachable) so they will be able to handle whatever power scheme is required, most likely relying on the USB Power Delivery specification. The current TI DockPort chip supports selection of 0, 5, 12 and 19.5 V for power delivery straps.
The Von Matrices - Monday, June 2, 2014 - link
Displayport 1.3 runs at 10Gb/s. I would expect DP 1.2 & USB 3.0 silicon initially with DP 1.3 & USB 3.1 silicon later.The problem with Dockport is that in it's current iteration you're limited to 2560x1600@24bit/60Hz with Displayport 1.2 + USB 3.x. With high resolution laptop displays becoming increasingly common, I would think it's disappointing to be limited to an external monitor with the same or lower resolution than the laptop. Dockport will only make sense once DP 1.3 is used as part of the standard as that allows a 4K 60Hz display in addition to USB 3.x.
repoman27 - Monday, June 2, 2014 - link
I think DP 1.3 HBR3 is actually 8.1 Gbit/s with visually lossless compression (I'm not sure if VESA is sticking with 8b/10b encoding or why they would choose to do so).And unless you happen to own one of the very few DP 1.2 capable displays on the market, you would essentially be limited to 1920 x 1200 without additional hardware to shift gears. Also, you can't concurrently use SuperSpeed USB and MST. So have fun waiting for a 4K display with DP 1.3 SST (dual-channel, HBR3) support for 60 Hz operation.
DockPort is a $2 switch to mux DisplayPort and USB with Power Delivery. The solutions it enables have nothing to do with the 4K display set for the foreseeable future.
Hrel - Tuesday, June 3, 2014 - link
increasingly common? Yet still exceedingly rare. 4K is still for early adopters only, and will be for years to come. No content even exists in 4K.I for one am waiting for 8K to go beyond 1080p.
ivan256 - Tuesday, June 3, 2014 - link
"Content"? What's that?My applications are all 4K ready. Even the ones that are old.
Laptops are not TVs. "FullHD" set PC displays back 10 years, and now we're finally starting to get somewhere.
Ryan Smith - Monday, June 2, 2014 - link
Thank you for that clarification. The comment was meant to be about the cabling, but that's my own fault for not being clear about that and the article has been updated accordingly.iwod - Wednesday, June 4, 2014 - link
Would like some update and comparison to Thunderblot.