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USB Still Leads Digital Interface Technologies

The market for digital interface technologies continues to grow. According to the latest market study by In-Stat, USB is still the most common interface on both work and home personal computer (PC) platforms.

Other common device interfaces include DisplayPort, DVI, HDMI, Bluetooth, eSATA, and 1394 (FireWire).

USB Flash cards are still the most commonly connected peripherals. I'm now using a variety of USB storage devices for my multimedia file transportation needs -- I'll share more about my own application scenarios in an upcoming post.

"Just because an interface is common, does not mean it is widely used," says Brian O’Rourke, In-Stat analyst. "For example, 1394 was the second most common interface, but is rarely used."

HDMI is a less common home PC interface. However, among those few consumers with an HDMI port, a large percentage use it to connect their portable or desktop PC HDMI port to their digital television set HDMI input.

HDMI connectivity is the preferred method for people who have actively embraced IP TV Video consumption. It requires only one cable connection for digital video and audio signals.

In-Stat's market study found the following:

- DisplayPort, one of the newer PC interface technologies, has achieved surprising popularity since its release.

- DisplayPort was on 27 percent of survey respondent's work PCs and 24 percent of their home PCs.

- Over three billion USB-equipped consumer, computing and peripherals devices shipped in 2008 alone making USB the most successful interface ever.

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