EDID

EDID Advertises Display Modes to Video Sources

A computer does not usually guess a monitor’s native resolution from the image it sees. The display exposes a small block of capability data called Extended Display Identification Data, or EDID. A video source reads that data and uses it as one input when building the list of resolutions, refresh rates, color formats, and related options offered to the operating system. EDID is descriptive rather than a guarantee that every advertised combination will work through every connection. The source, cable, adapter, dock, receiver, link bandwidth, graphics driver, and display input can impose additional limits.