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HDMI Forum, Inc., today announced the upcoming release of Version 2.1 of the HDMI Specification. The new standard should become available in the second quarter. This latest HDMI Specification supports a range of Higher Video Resolutions and refresh rates including 8K60 and 4K120, Dynamic HDR, and increased bandwidth with a new 48G cable. Such cables are said to be undergoing conformance testing at a few of the HDMI Forum's members' labs, but sofar no cable has been released.
As with all previous versions of HDMI, version 2.1 is backward compatible with earlier versions of the specification, and was developed by the HDMI Forum's Technical Working Group whose members represent some of the world's leading manufacturers of consumer electronics, personal computers, mobile devices, cables and components. Though the higher bandwidth will require the new cable.
"This new release of the Specification offers a broad range of advanced features for enhancing the consumer entertainment experience, as well as providing robust solutions to the commercial AV sector," said Robert Blanchard of Sony Electronics, president of the HDMI Forum. "This is part of the HDMI Forum's continuing mission to develop specifications for the HDMI eco-system that meet the growing demand for compelling, high-performance and exciting features."
The three key features are the support for higher Video resolutions, dynamic High Dynamic range, and the new 48 G cable. Both 8K at 60 frames per second and 4K at 120 frames per second are to be supported, but the spec allows for higher resolutions like 8K at 120P. Dynamic HDR ensures every moment of a video is displayed at its ideal values for depth, detail, brightness, contrast, and wider color gamuts—on a scene-by-scene or even a frame-by-frame basis. 48G cables enable up to 48Gbps bandwidth for uncompressed HDMI 2.1 feature support including 8K video with HDR. The cable is backwards compatible with earlier versions of the HDMI Specification and can be used with existing HDMI devices.
In addition eARC supports the most advanced audio formats such as object-based audio, and enables advanced audio signal control capabilities including device auto-detect. And Game Mode VRR features variable refresh rate.
As with all previous versions of HDMI, version 2.1 is backward compatible with earlier versions of the specification, and was developed by the HDMI Forum's Technical Working Group whose members represent some of the world's leading manufacturers of consumer electronics, personal computers, mobile devices, cables and components. Though the higher bandwidth will require the new cable.
"This new release of the Specification offers a broad range of advanced features for enhancing the consumer entertainment experience, as well as providing robust solutions to the commercial AV sector," said Robert Blanchard of Sony Electronics, president of the HDMI Forum. "This is part of the HDMI Forum's continuing mission to develop specifications for the HDMI eco-system that meet the growing demand for compelling, high-performance and exciting features."
The three key features are the support for higher Video resolutions, dynamic High Dynamic range, and the new 48 G cable. Both 8K at 60 frames per second and 4K at 120 frames per second are to be supported, but the spec allows for higher resolutions like 8K at 120P. Dynamic HDR ensures every moment of a video is displayed at its ideal values for depth, detail, brightness, contrast, and wider color gamuts—on a scene-by-scene or even a frame-by-frame basis. 48G cables enable up to 48Gbps bandwidth for uncompressed HDMI 2.1 feature support including 8K video with HDR. The cable is backwards compatible with earlier versions of the HDMI Specification and can be used with existing HDMI devices.
In addition eARC supports the most advanced audio formats such as object-based audio, and enables advanced audio signal control capabilities including device auto-detect. And Game Mode VRR features variable refresh rate.