HDMI, DisplayPort, DVI & VGA...resolutions and relevancy

We often get asked what display connector formats we recommend in professional installations. Residential integrations are easy--it's all HDMI. Commercial AV is a little less clear....

Corporate integrations have predominantly gone to HDMI; however, DisplayPort and it's variants are becoming more common. 

Education integrations have also embraced HDMI and DisplayPort; however, VGA is still necessary thanks in large part to legacy technology and thin budgets. 

These trends extend fairly well into a variety of different environments, whether house of worship, hospitality or government. Why? What's driving format use across applications? As we'll explore below, resolution and technology adoption play the largest role. 

HDMI.  HDMI is the most widely used interface by source and display manufacturers, it's the default format on TVs, media players and set top boxes, and it is even finding its way onto portable devices. 

DisplayPort.  DisplayPort is the choice of video professionals. It provides higher resolutions than HDMI and is growing in adoption by electronics manufacturers.

DVI.  DVI is often considered a transition format between VGA and HDMI. It's still in use, but rapidly falling out of favor thanks to more versatile formats like DisplayPort. 

VGA.  VGA is dead...unless of course you have older technology and can find a display that supports it. If VGA is still important in your world, it's probably best to research some quality format converters, as you're going to need them moving forward.