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The seven HDMl Founder companies (Hitachi, Ltd.; Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.; [Panasonic]; Philips Consumer Electronics International B.V.; Silicon Image, Inc.; Sony Corp.; Thomson, Inc.; and Toshiba Corp.) at the recent International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) highlighted key capabilities under development for the next version (v1.3) of High-Definition Multimedia Interface'" (HDMI'") targeted for the first half of 2006, including support for deep color, higher speed, and easier integration into personal computers. According to its developers, HDMl dramatically simplifies cabling and helps provide consumers with the highest-quality home theatre experience. All-digital audio and video is delivered via a single cable. According to its developers, new capabilities under development for HDMl include:
Higher speed: Though HDMl has more than twice the bandwidth needed to support all HDTV formats, HDMl will increase its single-link bandwidth to support the demands of future HD display devices, such as higher resolutions, deep color, and high frame rates.
Deep color: HDMl will support 30-bit, 36-bit, and 48-bit color depths for stunning rendering of over one billion colors in unprecedented detail.
Greater PCICE convergence: HDMl will be enhanced for easier integration into low voltage, AC-coupled PC graphics controllers, cementing HDMl's position as the de facto standard digital multimedia interface enabling true convergence across PC and CE platforms. The HDMl Founders also support compatibility between HDMl and the Unified Display Interface (UDI), the HDMI-compatible digital video interface for PC displays announced recently by a group of leading PC technology makers.
New mini connector: With small portable devices such as HD camcorders and still cameras demanding seamless HDTV connectivity, HDMI will offer a new, smaller form factor connector option. Since HDMI offers the highest quality digital audio and video on a single connection, such devices will benefit from a reduced connector count.
Lip Sync: CE devices are employing increasingly complex digital signal processing of high resolution video and audio formats to enhance the clarity and detail of the content. As a result, synchronization of video and audio in user devices has become a greater challenge and could potentially require complex end-user adjustments.
HDMl will incorporate features to enable this synchronization to be done automatically by the devices with greater accuracy.
New compressed audio formats: In addition to HDMl's current ability to support high-bandwidth uncompressed digital audio and all currently-available compressed formats (such as Dolby Digital and DTS*), HDMl will add additional support for new compressed and lossless digital audio formats Dolby True HD and DTS-HD. Products implementing these new versions of the HDMl specification will continue to be fully backward compatible with earlier HDMl products and support of 1080p.
"HDMI is an evolving standard, designed to meet the needs of a dynamic marketplace," said Leslie Chard, President of HDMl Licensing, LLC. "These new capabilities, currently under development, reflect how HDMl continues to adapt to new market developments, specifically the need for increased bandwidth and the inevitable convergence of consumer electronics with PC devices." The announcement at CES comes as HDMl solidifies its position as the de facto standard digital interface for HD and the consumer electronics market. HDMl Licensing, LLC announced that more than 300 makers of consumer electronics and PC products worldwide have adopted HDMI. More than 17 million devices featuring HDMl were shipped during 2005, and 59 million more are expected to ship
in 2006, according to market researcher In-Stat.
Most major HDTV manufacturers have incorporated HDMl inputs into their latest offerings. HDMl has also been incorporated into media PCs, DVD players, DVD recorders, cable set-top boxes, satellite set-top boxes, and A/V receivers, with HDMl expected in game consoles and camcorders during 2006.
Internationally, HDMl is undergoing significant growth. In China, which alone accounts for almost a third of the world's television owning households, 45 mainland Chinese companies have become HDMl Adopters, and the number is growing rapidly. In November 2005, China's first HDMl testing facility was announced in Shenzen, which will greatly simplify and accelerate the process of bringing HDMl to the Chinese market. In August, the Cable and Satellite Broadcast Association of Asia (CASBAA) recommended that HDMl (or DVI) and HDCP "be included on every set-top box capable of outputting uncompressed high-definition content.'' In Europe, the European Information & Communications Technology Industry Association (EICTA) in 2005 mandated that all HDTVs displaying the HD Ready logo must include HDMI or DVI inputs.
Higher speed: Though HDMl has more than twice the bandwidth needed to support all HDTV formats, HDMl will increase its single-link bandwidth to support the demands of future HD display devices, such as higher resolutions, deep color, and high frame rates.
Deep color: HDMl will support 30-bit, 36-bit, and 48-bit color depths for stunning rendering of over one billion colors in unprecedented detail.
Greater PCICE convergence: HDMl will be enhanced for easier integration into low voltage, AC-coupled PC graphics controllers, cementing HDMl's position as the de facto standard digital multimedia interface enabling true convergence across PC and CE platforms. The HDMl Founders also support compatibility between HDMl and the Unified Display Interface (UDI), the HDMI-compatible digital video interface for PC displays announced recently by a group of leading PC technology makers.
New mini connector: With small portable devices such as HD camcorders and still cameras demanding seamless HDTV connectivity, HDMI will offer a new, smaller form factor connector option. Since HDMI offers the highest quality digital audio and video on a single connection, such devices will benefit from a reduced connector count.
Lip Sync: CE devices are employing increasingly complex digital signal processing of high resolution video and audio formats to enhance the clarity and detail of the content. As a result, synchronization of video and audio in user devices has become a greater challenge and could potentially require complex end-user adjustments.
HDMl will incorporate features to enable this synchronization to be done automatically by the devices with greater accuracy.
New compressed audio formats: In addition to HDMl's current ability to support high-bandwidth uncompressed digital audio and all currently-available compressed formats (such as Dolby Digital and DTS*), HDMl will add additional support for new compressed and lossless digital audio formats Dolby True HD and DTS-HD. Products implementing these new versions of the HDMl specification will continue to be fully backward compatible with earlier HDMl products and support of 1080p.
"HDMI is an evolving standard, designed to meet the needs of a dynamic marketplace," said Leslie Chard, President of HDMl Licensing, LLC. "These new capabilities, currently under development, reflect how HDMl continues to adapt to new market developments, specifically the need for increased bandwidth and the inevitable convergence of consumer electronics with PC devices." The announcement at CES comes as HDMl solidifies its position as the de facto standard digital interface for HD and the consumer electronics market. HDMl Licensing, LLC announced that more than 300 makers of consumer electronics and PC products worldwide have adopted HDMI. More than 17 million devices featuring HDMl were shipped during 2005, and 59 million more are expected to ship
in 2006, according to market researcher In-Stat.
Most major HDTV manufacturers have incorporated HDMl inputs into their latest offerings. HDMl has also been incorporated into media PCs, DVD players, DVD recorders, cable set-top boxes, satellite set-top boxes, and A/V receivers, with HDMl expected in game consoles and camcorders during 2006.
Internationally, HDMl is undergoing significant growth. In China, which alone accounts for almost a third of the world's television owning households, 45 mainland Chinese companies have become HDMl Adopters, and the number is growing rapidly. In November 2005, China's first HDMl testing facility was announced in Shenzen, which will greatly simplify and accelerate the process of bringing HDMl to the Chinese market. In August, the Cable and Satellite Broadcast Association of Asia (CASBAA) recommended that HDMl (or DVI) and HDCP "be included on every set-top box capable of outputting uncompressed high-definition content.'' In Europe, the European Information & Communications Technology Industry Association (EICTA) in 2005 mandated that all HDTVs displaying the HD Ready logo must include HDMI or DVI inputs.
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