VESA Releases DisplayPort Automotive Extension v1.1 Specification

The Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) announced the release of version 1.1 of its DisplayPort Automotive Extension (DP AE) specification—the first open industry standard for functional safety and security in automotive display systems, company officials stated in a press release.

DP AE v1.1 incorporates a fully executable, normative software emulator that enables silicon manufacturers, system integrators and automotive OEMs to design and validate DisplayPort- and Embedded DisplayPort (eDP)-based devices to meet the internationally recognized gold standards for automotive safety (ISO 26262 ASIL-D) and security (UN R155, ISO 21434).

C-Model Software Emulator Implements Safety & Security Profiles

The centerpiece of the DP AE v1.1 update is a “white-box” C-model software emulator that implements all four normative safety and security profiles defined in the DP AE specification. These profiles add layered protection for main video data paths, auxiliary channels and overall system integrity, enabling stakeholders to verify frame-level fidelity, detect tampering and enforce cryptographic authentication in automotive display pipelines.

DP AE v1.1 includes four cumulative profiles:

• Profile 1: Mandatory functional safety via cyclical redundancy check (CRC) and frame counters generated on each video frame on the data path. This ensures that a frame never gets corrupted, dropped or repeated and that critical events are always captured and never missed.  Additional video frame time-out monitoring ensures that both the source and sink maintain the data path link integrity.
• Profile 2: Scales up the functional safety coverage described above, along with messaging, routing and notifications to support more complex deployments and vendor-defined measurements.
• Profile 3: Continues to extend Profile 2 but adds advanced security to the auxiliary messages through secure channels established by device authentication. In addition, device certificate securely protects against counterfeits and unsafe aftermarket modifications.
• Profile 4: In addition to protecting the auxiliary messages in Profile 3, Profile 4 extends the security coverage to the data plane by adding integrity and anti-replay protection on the video frames.

These profiles support real-world implementations using the latest versions of DisplayPort (version 2.1a) and eDP (version 1.5a) without sacrificing bandwidth or requiring PHY changes, noted the release. The DP AE standard supports compressed and uncompressed video as well as Multi-Stream Transport (MST) for up to 16 display regions of interest.

DisplayPort Uniquely Suited for Automotive Displays

As vehicles become more advanced and connected, the number of high-resolution interior displays in automobiles is on the rise. These displays provide a wide variety of critical information that drivers need to operate their vehicles safely and efficiently. Most automotive displays use DisplayPort or eDP to carry video data from the central vehicle computer, or ECU, to the displays.

In addition to its high video bandwidth capability, DisplayPort features MST, which enables multiple displays to be connected to a single DP source port. Until the introduction of VESA’s DP AE standard, however, there was no standardized way to verify that the data transmitted from the ECU was received by the display in the same way that it was sent, ensuring it is free of noise injection errors and has not been the target of malicious tampering, the company said.

“With DP AE v1.1, VESA now offers a fully executable specification that can be directly integrated into automotive display design and test workflows,” said James Goel, DisplayPort Automotive Extension lead and VESA board member. “This release provides silicon providers, certification labs and automotive OEMs with a complete, open-standards-based approach to delivering secure, safety-critical displays.”

The C-model emulator is designed for:

• Design engineers creating source (ECU), bridge (serializer/deserializer) and sink (receiver, timing controller) devices
• Test labs and CTS technicians preparing for formal compliance testing
• OEM validation teams verifying display system safety and authenticity.

The emulator is available as a Linux application and can be integrated into software testing environments. VESA says a Windows-based graphical interface is under development to support automotive technicians in manufacturing and validation roles.

VESA is concurrently developing a Compliance Test Specification (CTS) and logo program for DP AE, which will enable formal product validation and certification. The CTS is currently under review and is expected to be finalized later in 2026. Early feedback from VESA-certified Authorized Test Centers and industry contributors is helping guide the program’s development.

Industry-Wide Support for VESA DP AE Standard

Dozens of VESA member companies have contributed to the development and validation of DP AE. A partial list of contributors can be found here.

According to Brian Turner, president, BTA Design Services, “BTA Design Services is excited to be at the forefront of automotive display technology innovation, collaborating with VESA and its member companies from the very start of the DisplayPort Automotive Extension standard. As a key contributor, we take pride in architecting and developing the DP AE compliance test specification reference C-Model software emulator and delivering leading-edge, standards-compliant IP designed for 2026 Q4 silicon deployment. We look forward to showcasing an early release of our DP AE IP in 2026 Q2.”

“Teledyne LeCroy has consistently led adoption in new VESA technology initiatives, and we’ve now launched our first solution for Automotive Extensions on our flagship quantumdata M42de analyzer/generator platform,” said Joe Mendolia, vice president of marketing for Teledyne LeCroy’s Protocol Solutions Group. “Our efforts to provide early support for the DP AE specification will enable automotive innovators to confidently test prototype devices for safety and interoperability.”