When it comes to comparing HDMI and DisplayPort head-to-head, there really isn't much of a contest when you're looking at using either port format with a PC, especially when you push past a 144Hz display refresh rate — DisplayPort wins every time.

HDMI 2.0 can only handle 4K/60Hz (18Gbps), while HDMI 2.1 supports 4K/144Hz (48Gbps). On the other hand, DisplayPort 1.4 tops out at 4K/144Hz (32Gbps), while DisplayPort 2.1 can handle 4K/240Hz or 8K/120Hz (80Gbps), pushing well beyond HDMI 2.1 by nearly doubling its bandwidth. This means that if you have a monitor with a high refresh rate and resolution, DisplayPort 2.1 is the obvious choice.

But when you look at the living room TV space and devices outside the PC world, the conversation clearly leans toward HDMI for a few key reasons.

I've used HDMI 2.1 with my gaming PC for a while now because my monitor maxes out at 4K/144Hz, and my MacBook Pro is plugged into the DisplayPort 2.1 port on my monitor. Apple has a weird limitation with its laptops where you can only get 120hz output on an external monitor via DisplayPort. With my specific PC setup, HDMI 2.1 works great, but that won't be the case for most people.

DisplayPort doesn't support Dolby Vision

The high-end form of HDR looks way better than HDR10

Standard 10-bit HDR10 is supported by both Display Port 1.4 and 2.1, but when you kick things up a notch to 12-bit Dolby Vision, you're out of luck. In 2026, Dolby Vision is available on a wide variety of streaming devices, including the Apple TV 4K, Nvidia Shield TV, and Fire TV Stick 4K Max. In terms of brightness, HDR10 has a range of between 1,000 and 4,000 nits, while Dolby Vision maxes out at 10,000 nits.

But what is high dynamic range anyway? It offers brighter highlights, darker blacks, and overall more vibrant colors. Every few years, manufacturers tout new features to convince people to shell out for a new TV. While a lot of these features don't have much of an impact on picture quality, like 8K, for example, a resolution upgrade that doesn't even have any content available for it, HDR really is a big deal. It makes content pop in a way we've never seen before, and is supported by both physical UHD Blu-ray and several major streaming services, including Netflix, Prime Video, Hulu, and more.

HDR10 still doesn't work well on Windows 11 or macOS, so it's unlikely many people would want to use Dolby Vision if DisplayPort 2.1 supported it.

HDMI-CEC is a game-changer if you have multiple devices hooked up to your TV

Control your Apple TV 4K, PlayStation 5, and more, all from one remote

When you plug a device into your TV's HDMI-CEC port, it opens up a range of possibilities. In some respects, you're able to use one remote to rule them all by sending simple command messages between your TV and any device connected to it. For example, the feature lets me turn on my Hisense U8H TV and adjust the volume on my soundbar, all with my Apple TV 4K's Siri Remote. It also lets you easily turn off all your devices with a single button on one remote, offering convenience that used to be tied to cumbersome, complicated universal remotes.

Most modern television makers, including Samsung, LG, Sony, Hisense, and more, support HDMI-CEC, but the specific brand names can make things confusing. For example, LG calls HDMI-CEC Anynet+, while Sony refers to it Bravia Sync, and Hisense just straight up calls it HDMI-CEC.

On the other end, the device hooked up to your TV also needs to support HDMI-CEC, though that's becoming increasingly common. The majority of major streaming devices support HDMI-CEC, including the Apple TV 4K, Google TV Streamer, most Amazon Fire TV Sticks, and more. Game consoles like the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Series S all support HDMI-CEC, too.

👁 SkycropHD's HDMI 2.1 switch
Out of HDMI Ports on your TV? Here's a simple way to add more

HDMI switches have come a long way in the past few years and are often very reliable now.

eARC is the easiest way to hook up a soundbar or receiver to your TV

In most situations, it should be plug-and-play

If you use a soundbar or surround sound receiver with your TV, you'll likely be familiar with eARC and how useful it can be. Introduced alongside HDMI 2.1 (though it also works with HDMI 2.0), eARC lets you send high-quality audio from your TV to a soundbar or AV receiver via an HDMI cable, eliminating the need for optical or RCA audio cables. This simplifies sound bar and receiver setups considerably.

In terms of audio, eARC supports well-known formats such as Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Atmos, DTS, DTS-HD, DTX:X, and more. DisplayPort can pass several basic audio formats, including PCM stereo, 5.1/7.1 audio, and Dolby and DTS bitstreams, but it doesn't support the high-end audio formats eARC and HDMI is capable of.