Video Electronics Standards Association

This article is about the organization. For the display mounting standard, seeFlat Display Mounting Interface.

"Vesa" redirects here. For people named Vesa, seeVesa (name).

Video Electronics Standards Association

Abbreviation	VESA
Formation	July 1989(1989-07)
Purpose	Standards organization
Headquarters	San Jose, California,USA
Membership	See list
Website	www.vesa.org

VESA(/ˈviːsə/), formally known asVideo Electronics Standards Association,is an Americantechnical standards organizationforcomputer display standards.The organization was incorporated inCaliforniain July 1989and has its office inSan Jose.It claims a membership of over 300 companies.

In November 1988,NEC Home Electronicsannounced its creation of the association to develop and promote aSuper VGAcomputer display standardas a successor toIBM'sproprietaryVideo Graphics Array(VGA) display standard. Super VGA enabledgraphics display resolutionsup to 800×600pixels,compared to VGA's maximum resolution of 640×480 pixels—a 56% increase.

The organization has since issued several additional standards related to computer video displays. Widely used VESA standards includeDisplayHDR,DisplayPort,andFlat Display Mounting Interface.

Standards

• Feature connector(VFC), obsolete connector that was often present on older videocards, used as an 8-bit video bus to other devices
• VESA Advanced Feature Connector (VAFC), newer version of the VFC that widens the bus to either a 16-bit or 32-bit bus
• VESA Local Bus(VLB), once used as a fast video bus (akin to the more recentAccelerated Graphics Port(AGP))
• VESA BIOS Extensions(VBE), used for enabling standard support for advanced video modes
• Display Data Channel(DDC), a data link protocol which allows a host device to control an attached display and communicate EDID, DPMS, MCCS and similar messages
• Extended Display Identification Data(E-EDID), a data format for display identification data
• Monitor Control Command Set(MCCS), a message protocol for controlling display parameters such as brightness, contrast, display orientation from the host device
• DisplayID,display identification data format, which is a replacement for E-EDID
• VESA Display Power Management Signaling(DPMS), which allows monitors to be queried on the types of power saving modes they support
• Digital Packet Video Link(DPVL), a display link standard that allows to update only portions of the screen
• VESA Stereo, a standard 3-pin connector for synchronization ofstereoscopicimages withLC shutter glasses
• Flat Display Mounting Interface(FDMI)
• Generalized Timing Formula(GTF), video timing standard
• Coordinated Video Timings(CVT), a replacement for GTF
• VESA Video Interface Port (VIP), a digital video interface standard
• DisplayPort(DP), a digital display interface standard
• VESA Enhanced Video Connector,an obsolete standard for reducing the number of cables around computers
• DisplayHDR,a standard to simplify HDR specifications for the display industry and consumers

Company membership

The following major companies are members of VESA.

• AMD
• Apple Inc.
• Canon Inc.
• Casio
• Dell
• Dolby Laboratories
• Foxconn
• Fujitsu
• Gigabyte Technology
• Google
• HP
• HTC
• Huawei
• Ikegami Tsushinki
• Intel Corporation
• JVC Kenwood
• Lenovo
• LG Electronics
• Maxell
• Microsoft
• NEC
• Nvidia
• Panasonic
• Parade Technologies
• Samsung Electronics
• Seiko Epson
• Sony

Criticism

VESA has been criticized for their policy of charging non-members for some of their published standards. Some peoplebelieve the practice of charging for specifications has undermined the purpose of VESA. According to Kendall Bennett, developer of the VBE/AF standard, the VESA Software Standards Committee was closed down due to a lack of interest resulting from charging high prices for specifications.At that time no VESA standards were available for free. Although VESA now hosts some free standards documents, the free collection does not include newly developed standards. Even for obsolete standards, the free collection is incomplete. As of 2010, current standards documents from VESA cost hundreds to thousands of dollars each. Some older standards are not available for free, or for purchase. As of 2017, the free downloads require mandatory registration.While not all standards bodies provide specifications freely available for download, many do, including:ITU,JEDEC,DDWG,andHDMI(through HDMI 1.3a).

At the timeDisplayPortwas announced, VESA was criticized for developing the specification in secret and having a track record of developing unsuccessful digital interface standards, includingPlug & DisplayandDigital Flat Panel.