An apparatus comprising circuitry to buffer video data; and a DisplayPort Transmitter to communicate the video data to a DisplayPort Receiver via a virtual channel through at least one intermediate device between the DisplayPort Transmitter and the DisplayPort Receiver, wherein the virtual channel comprises a unidirectional Main-Link and a bidirectional auxiliary channel (AUX_CH); and communicate a power down signal over the Main-Link to the at least one intermediate device and the DisplayPort Receiver in conjunction with turning off the Main-Link to place the at least one intermediate device and the DisplayPort Receiver in respective low power states.