I was very disappointed that HDMI transfers a constant bit-rate stream of pixels - VGA, but digital. I expected that, given most display devices can at least hold a full frame in-memory, that the stream could be limited to the parts of the image that changes, allowing higher frame rates when less than the full frame changes.
That, and generating a signal could be much simpler than bit-banging on a DAC.
That, and generating a signal could be much simpler than bit-banging on a DAC.