But you shouldn’t worry about upgrading anytime soon.

The HDMI Forum is using CES — the annual showcase of all things home theater — to announce the new HDMI 2.2 specification. In a press release this morning, the trade association confirmed that the new spec will up total bandwidth significantly to a new high of 96Gbps. And yes, that means the introduction of an “Ultra96” HDMI cable that “enables all the HDMI 2.2 specification features.”

“Higher resolutions and refresh rates will be supported and more high-quality options will be provided,” the HDMI Forum said in its release. An example of an HDMI 2.2 cable (below) calls out some of those, including 4K at up to 480Hz, 8K at up to 240Hz, and 10K at 120Hz. Current HDMI cables can already pass 4K at 120Hz, so I doubt most people will feel any temptation to upgrade for years to come. And you’ll need content for any of these higher resolutions to be worthwhile, and there’s still a dearth of native 8K entertainment out there.

But with many TVs now offering 4K at up to 144Hz, and as consumers gravitate towards larger screens, the HDMI Forum sees ample reason to keep pushing forward.

There is at least a more helpful aspect of this spec for everyone: HDMI 2.2 includes a “Latency Indication Protocol (LIP) for improving audio and video synchronization, especially for multiple-hop system configurations such as those with an audio video receiver or soundbar.” In my experience, HDMI 2.1 and eARC have mostly resolved frustrating audio / video sync issues, but they can still pop up as a frustration depending on your setup. Apparently HDMI 2.2 will go further in keeping everything lined up and keeping this headache in the past.

Interestingly, the HDMI Forum is already anticipating tariff issues and has implemented an extensive certification program that includes anti-counterfeit labeling on packaging. You certainly can’t miss the Ultra96 badging.

HDMI 2.2 will be released in the first half of this year and be widely available “to all HDMI 2.x adopters.” Your TV and external devices will need to support the specification in order to unlock that new level of bandwidth, so we’re just starting down what’s inevitably going to be a long road.

  • stevedice@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    5·
    16 days ago

    Can someone force cable manufacturers to print the bandwidth or at least the version on the fucking cable already?!

    • Blackmist@feddit.ukEnglish
      1·
      15 days ago

      Why do that when you can just make the same cable you’ve been selling all along and change the description to “Full HD 1080p 4K 8K 16K 48GBPS 96GPS PlayStation 4 5 6 Switch 2 Xbox Series X S One 360 Male Female HDMI 1.1 1.2 1.3 2.0 2.1 2.2 Cable” on Amazon.

      • stevedice@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        2·
        15 days ago

        Yeah, that’s why I said somebody needs to force them. Like how food can’t say chocolate if it doesn’t actually have chocolate.

    • zurohki@aussie.zoneEnglish
      0·
      16 days ago

      Half of them will print the highest bandwidth regardless of the actual cable’s capabilities so that won’t help.

  • Tuxman@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    1·
    15 days ago

    Can we just completely drop HDCP so I can make things work together without having to burn incense and make a sacrifice to the Tech gods?!

      • Tuxman@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        3·
        14 days ago

        Then I want one more Streaming Service button straight on the remote!

        Also make it so badly placed I always hit it by accident or else I ain’t buying!!

      • Psythik@lemmy.worldEnglish
        0·
        16 days ago

        The point I’m making is that we will still have to deal with motion blur at 240 and 480Hz, so I might as well save some money and hang onto my 4K120 OLED until we reach 1000Hz.

  • stupidcasey@lemmy.worldEnglish
    0·
    16 days ago

    At this point we should just swing to 10 gbps sfp+ ports, it’s faster, it’s lower latency, it’s upgradable to 100gbps, it travels over fiber, but most importantly, it is a network protocol and we can use it for our Internet.

    • glimse@lemmy.worldEnglish
      2·
      16 days ago

      Instead, they’re trying to force everything to USB with DP Alt mode which has a ton of the same annoyances…but at least USB C is flippable I guess.

      HDMI 2.1 cables have 19 wires and USB 3.2 has 13 or 14 (can’t remember) so they’re really finicky and fragile. Fiber has 1 or 2 and is VERY rugged in comparison…you can literally tie a knot in a fiber cable and it’ll still work.

      Plus with fiber, if your AVR blows up, it can’t take the other equipment out with it since it’s electrically isolated.

      Fiber is also cheap cheap cheap!

      Fiber is thin and easy to route.

      Fiber can ALSO be shortened, extended, etc. in the field.

      The only downside is the cost of the splicing tools (and the cleanliness required)

      And I guess SFP connectors are pretty gnarly. But if it was aimed at consumers, they could slap a nice rubberized coat on it…

      Man, I love fiber.

    • Zetta@mander.xyzEnglish
      1·
      16 days ago

      That would be awesome, but the fucking corpo bullshit cunts need proprietary bullshit cause “piracy”