VESA Enhanced EDID Standard Release A
Copyright 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999 Video Electronics Standards Association Page 1 of 32
E-EDID Standard
VESA
Video Electronics Standards Association
920 Hillview Court, Suite 140 Phone: (408) 957-9270
Milpitas, CA 95035 Fax: (408) 957-9277
VESA ENHANCED EXTENDED DISPLAY
IDENTIFICATION DATA STANDARD
Release A
September 2, 1999
Purpose
This standard defines data formats to carry configuration information to allow optimum use of displays.
Summary
This document describes the basic 128-byte data structure "EDID 1.3", as well as the overall layout of the
data blocks that make up Enhanced EDID. The EDID 1.3 data structure is intended to be backward
compatible with EDID data structures 1.0, 1.1 and 1.2 as implemented in all commercially available
monitors. EDID data structure 1.3 contains enhancements to enable the Dual GTF curve concept. Use of
EDID extensions described in this document assumes that the addressing method described in the Enhanced
DDC standard is used.
Note
This issue of the EDID document contains specification for the mandatory core elements of Enhanced
EDID. Optional EDID extensions are defined in separate documents.
VESA Enhanced EDID Standard Release A
Copyright 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999 Video Electronics Standards Association Page 2 of 32
Preface
Intellectual Property
Copyright © 1994,1996,1997, 1998, 1999 Video Electronics Standards Association. All rights reserved.
While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this standard, the Video Electronics Standards
Association and its contributors assume no responsibility for errors or omissions, and make no warranties,
expressed or implied, of functionality or suitability for any purpose.
Trademarks
All trademarks used within this document are the property of their respective owners. VESA, DDC,
DPMS, EDID, EVC, P&D and VDIF are trademarks of the Video Electronics Standard Association.
I
2
C is a trademark owned by Philips.
Patents
VESA proposals and standards are adopted by the Video Electronics Standards Association without regard
as to whether their adoption may involve any patents or articles, materials, or processes. Such adoption
does not assume any liability to any patent owner, nor does it assume any obligation whatsoever to parties
adopting the proposals or standards documents.
Support for this Standard
Clarifications and application notes to support this standard may be written. To obtain the latest standard
and any support documentation, contact VESA.
If you have a product, which incorporates EDID, you should ask the company that manufactured your
product for assistance. If you are a manufacturer, VESA can assist you with any clarification you may
require. All comments or reported errors should be submitted in writing to VESA using one of the
following methods.
• Fax: 408-957 9270, direct this note to Technical Support at VESA
• e-mail: support@vesa.org
• mail: Technical Support
Video Electronics Standards Association
920 Hillview Court, Suite 140
Milpitas, CA 95035
VESA Enhanced EDID Standard Release A
Copyright 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999 Video Electronics Standards Association Page 3 of 32
Revision History
Release A September 2, 1999
Initial release of the standard. The body of the standard is derived from the Extended Display Identification
Standard Version 3.0
Acknowledgments
This document would not have been possible without the efforts of the VESA Display Committee. In particular, the
following individuals and their companies contributed significant time and knowledge to this edition, and/or
previous editions of the EDID document.
Anders Frisk Nokia Jack Hosek NEC
Bob Myers HP Richard Atanus NEC
Don Panell Joe Goodart Dell
Hans van der Ven Panasonic Bill Milford STB
Geoff Gould Intel Ian Miller IBM
Rick Stoneking Microchip Shaun Kerigan IBM
Glenn Adler Philips Ed Anwyl IBM
Chuck Scott Microsoft Anthony Cianfarano Mitsubishi
Alain d’Hautecourt Viewsonic Ton Wang Hitachi
Warren Whaley Canon John Matsumoto Toshiba
Drew Loucks Elo Touchsystems
VESA Enhanced EDID Standard Release A
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Table of Contents
REVISION HISTORY.........................................................................................................................................3
1. OVERVIEW ................................................................................................................................................. 5
1.1 SUMMARY ............................................................................................................................................... 5
1.2 BACKGROUND.......................................................................................................................................... 5
1.3 STANDARD OBJECTIVES ........................................................................................................................... 5
1.4 REFERENCE DOCUMENTS.......................................................................................................................... 5
2. DATA FORMATS........................................................................................................................................ 6
2.1 DESCRIPTION OF PRESENT AND EARLIER EDID DATA FORMATS .................................................................. 6
2.1.1 EDID 1.0 ............................................................................................................................................6
2.1.2 EDID 1.1 ............................................................................................................................................6
2.1.3 EDID 1.2 ............................................................................................................................................6
2.1.4 EDID 1.3 ............................................................................................................................................6
2.1.5 EDID 2.0 ............................................................................................................................................6
2.2 ENHANCED EDID .................................................................................................................................... 6
2.2.1 Enhanced EDID High Level Layout .................................................................................................... 7
3. EXTENDED DISPLAY IDENTIFICATION DATA (EDID) STRUCTURE VERSION 1 REV. 3 ...........9
3.1 EDID FORMAT OVERVIEW....................................................................................................................... 9
3.2 DATA FORMAT CONVENTIONS................................................................................................................ 10
3.3 HEADER : 8 BYTES ................................................................................................................................. 11
3.4 VENDOR / PRODUCT ID : 10 BYTES......................................................................................................... 11
3.5 EDID STRUCTURE VERSION / REVISION: 2 BYTES ................................................................................... 12
3.6 BASIC DISPLAY PARAMETERS AND FEATURES: 5 BYTES ........................................................................... 12
3.7 PHOSPHOR OR FILTER CHROMATICITY: 10 BYTES.................................................................................... 14
3.8 ESTABLISHED TIMING: 3 BYTES.............................................................................................................. 15
3.8.1 EDID Established Timings Section.................................................................................................... 15
3.9 STANDARD TIMING IDENTIFICATION ....................................................................................................... 16
3.9.1 EDID Standard Timings Section........................................................................................................ 16
3.10 DETAILED TIMING BLOCK - 72 BYTES ..................................................................................................... 17
3.10.1 EDID Detailed Timing Descriptor................................................................................................. 17
3.10.2 Detailed Timing Descriptor - 18 bytes........................................................................................... 18
3.10.3 Monitor Descriptor Description - 18 bytes .................................................................................... 19
3.11 EXTENSION FLAG AND CHECKSUM.......................................................................................................... 22
3.12 NOTE REGARDING BORDERS................................................................................................................... 23
4. EDID EXTENSIONS.................................................................................................................................. 24
5. TIMING INFORMATION PRIORITY ORDER...................................................................................... 24
6. APPENDIX A - SAMPLE EDID................................................................................................................ 25
6.1 EXAMPLE 1 - ENHANCED EDID SAMPLE WITH SRGB AND SECONDARY GTF........................................... 25
6.2 EXAMPLE 2 - LEGACY EDID EXAMPLE FOR REFERENCE ........................................................................... 29
7. APPENDIX B - ANSWERS TO COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS.................................................. 32
VESA Enhanced EDID Standard Release A
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1. OVERVIEW
1.1 Summary
The Extended Display Identification Data (EDID) described in this document, is a data structure, with optional
variants, to allow the display to inform the host about its identity and capabilities. The EDID data structure is
independent of the communication protocol used between the monitor and host.
Enhanced EDID defines a basic data structure of 128 bytes that all compliant monitors must supply, as well as the
rules for how extensions can be added to the basic structure.
Enhanced EDID family of documents:
1 Enhanced EDID Standard (Basic 128-byte data structure. Rules for how EDID extensions are mapped.)
2 Optional EDID Extension Standards (Data structure for additional data contained in EDID extensions.)
2.1 EDID Structure 2 Extension
2.2 Flat Panel Timings Extension
2.3 Color transfer function Extension
2.4 …future extension structures not yet defined
1.2 Background
Enhanced EDID was created to clarify how EDID Extensions shall be used in order to handle identification of
future monitor capabilities, while maintaining a basic level of compatibility that can be used to uniquely identify
the monitor. Enhanced EDID is intended to supersede all previous versions of EDID.
1.3 Standard Objectives
The EDID Standard was developed by VESA to meet, exceed and/or complement certain criteria. These criteria are
set forth as Standard Objectives as follows:
• Support Microsoft Plug and Play definition
• Provide information in a compact format to allow the graphics subsystem to be configured based on
the capabilities of the attached display
1.4 Reference Documents
Note: Versions identified here are current, but users of this standard are advised to ensure they have the latest
versions of referenced standards and documents.
• VESA Enhanced Display Data Channel Standard - E-DDC, Version 1, Sept. 2, 1999
• VESA Plug & Display Standard - P&D, Version 1, June 11, 1997
• VESA Video BIOS Extensions for Display Data Channel Standard - VBE/DDC
• VESA Video Image Area Definition Standard - VIAD, Revision 1.0, August 12, 1993
• VESA Generalized Timing Formula Standard - GTF, Version 1.0, December 18, 1996
• Microsoft/Intel Plug and Play ISA Specification, Version 1.0, May 28, 1993.
• Microsoft/Intel Plug and Play Errata and Clarification Document, December 10, 1993.
• IBM Personal System/2 Hardware Interface Technical Reference - Common Interfaces Video Subsystem
