A fresh, new specification from the organization that manages the HDMI standard was recently announced by the HDMI Forum. The new product is set to be available starting January 6. The updated specifications would feature “a broad array of higher resolutions and refresh rates” and would be compatible with a new cable designed specifically to improve them.
Though there is no confirmation of what specification this update will be, VideoCardz suggests it’ll likely be HDMI 2.2. The Forum email itself also mentions the HDMI Licensing Administrator, which has the job of licensing “Version 2.2” of the HDMI specification-a telling detail.
HDMI 2.1, released in 2017, supports bandwidth up to 48Gbps, variable refresh rates up to 120Hz, and resolutions up to 10240 x 4320. VideoCardz speculates that the next version of HDMI may push these limits even further, potentially allowing for higher resolutions and framerates without requiring Display Stream Compression.
There is also a new cable mentioned, which reminds us that not all HDMI cables are the same, just like not all USB-C cables are created equal. The HDMI port itself is unlikely to change dramatically, but your current cables may still work with the new specification, and some might even support the increased bandwidth. Still, there’s always a chance that new cables will be needed to take full advantage of all the new features when they become available.
