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Everything You Need
To Know About HDMI
What is HDMI?
HDMI stands for High-Definition Multimedia Interface. It is the first
and only industry-sup****ted, uncompressed, all-digital audio/video
interface. By delivering crystal-clear, all-digital audio and video
via a single cable, HDMI dramatically simplifies cabling and helps
provide consumers with the highest-quality home theater experience.
HDMI provides an interface between any audio/video source, such as a
set-top box, DVD player, or A/V receiver and an audio and/or video
monitor, such as a digital television (DTV), over a single cable.
HDMI sup****ts standard, enhanced, or high-definition video, plus multi-
channel digital audio on a single cable. It transmits all ATSC HDTV
standards and sup****ts 8-channel, 192kHz, uncompressed digital audio
and all currently-available compressed formats (such as Dolby Digital
and DTS), HDMI 1.3 adds additional sup****t for new lossless digital
audio formats Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio with bandwidth to
spare to accommodate future enhancements and requirements.
The HDMI Connector
The Standard
HDMI is the de facto standard digital interface for HD and the
consumer electronics market: More than 700 companies have become
adopters, and nearly 200 million devices featuring HDMI are expected
to ****p in 2008, with an installed based of nearly one billion HDMI
devices by 2010 (conservative estimates by In-Stat).
HDMI is the interface for convergence of PC and consumer electronics
devices: HDMI enables PCs to deliver premium media content including
high definition movies and multi-channel audio formats. HDMI is the
only interface enabling connections to both HDTVs and digital PC
monitors implementing the DVI and HDMI standards.
HDMI is continually evolving to meet the needs of the market: Products
implementing new versions of the HDMI specification will continue to
be fully backward compatible with earlier HDMI products.
The Market Adopts HDMI
HDMI has become so successful, so quickly, because it meets the needs
of all facets of the Consumer Electronics and PC ecosystem.
Manufacturers now have an all digital pipeline from the source
material to the display; content providers have an interface that
protects their intellectual property; and consumers have and easy-to-
use, high quality, plug-and-play interface for their home
entertainment environment.
HDMI Benefits
Quality: HDMI maintains the audio in its pure digital form all the way
to the amplifier. Analog audio connections are more prone to losses
depending on the cabling and other electronics of the audio rendering
device. Compared to SPDIF connections, HDMI has significantly more
bandwidth, allowing it to sup****t the latest lossless audio formats
such as Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HS Master Audio. These formats can not be
sup****ted over SPDIF connections due to their very high data rate
requirements that exceed the capabilities of SPDIF. Please also see
section on HDMI 1.3 for further details on Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD
Master Audio formats.
Ease of Use: HDMI combines video and multi-channel audio into a single
cable, eliminating the cost, complexity, and confusion of multiple
cables currently used in A/V systems. This is particularly beneficial
when equipment is being upgraded or added.
Intelligence: HDMI sup****ts two-way communication between the audio
source (such as a DVD player) and the audio rendering device (such as
an A/V receiver), enabling new functionality such as automatic
configuration and one-touch play. By using HDMI, devices automatically
deliver the most effective format (e.g. Dolby Digital vs. 2-channel
PCM) for the A/V receiver that it is connected to - eliminating the
need for the consumer to scroll through all the audio format options
to guess what is best and properly sup****ted.
A New Interface
With the advent of high-definition content, analog interfaces were
becoming increasingly limited in their ability to deliver the highest
quality, high-definition content.
HDMI has no conversion or compression of signals:
With the delivery of 1080p content, analog interfaces are nearing the
end of their ability to deliver high-definition content without highly
compressing the signal, which can result in loss of data and signal
quality. HDMI has the bandwidth to send uncompressed video so there is
no loss of data or signal quality
Content Protection allows access to HD content:
Content providers, including all the major movie studios, have been
clear that much of the studio content will not be released in high-
definition over unprotected analog interfaces. They have designated
HDMI and/or DVI as the only interfaces that will be allowed to carry
this new HD content.
HDMI Digital allows two-way communication:
HDMI sup****ts two-way communication between the video source (such as
a DVD player) and the DTV, enabling new functionality such as
automatic configuration and one-touch play. By using HDMI, devices
automatically deliver the most effective format (e.g. 480p vs. 720p,
16:9 vs. 4:3) for the display that it is connected to - eliminating
the need for the consumer to scroll through all the format options to
guess what looks best.
HDMI & Entertainment Systems
The most tangible and immediate way that HDMI changes the way we
interface with our components is in the set-up. One cable replaces up
to 11 analog cables, highly simplifying the setting up of a home
theater as well as sup****ting the aesthetics of new component design
with cable simplification.
Typical DVD Player With HDMI Out
Next, when the consumer turns on the HDMI-connected system, the video
is of higher quality since the signal has been neither compressed nor
converted from digital to analog and back.
Lastly, because of the two-way communication capabilities of HDMI,
components that are connected via HDMI constantly talk to each other
in the background, exchanging key profile information so that content
is sent in the best format without the user having to scroll through
set-up menus. The HDMI specification also includes the option for
manufacturers to include CEC functionality (Consumer Electronics
Control), a set of commands that utilizes HDMI=92s two-way communication
to allow for single remote control of any CEC-enabled devices
connected with HDMI. For example, CEC includes one-touch play, so that
one touch of play on the DVD will trigger the necessary commands over
HDMI for the entire system to power on and auto-configure itself to
respond to the command. CEC has a variety of common commands as part
of its command set, and manufacturers who implement CEC must do so in
a way that ensures that these common command sets interoperate amongst
all devices, regardless of manufacturer.
CEC is an optional feature, however, so consumer interested in this
functionality must look for CEC in the product feature list. Also, it
is im****tant to know that some manufacturers are creating their own
proprietary names for their implementation of the CEC command set.
Typical Large Screen TV With HDMI Connectors
HDMI Tips
How many inputs/outputs do you need?
More and more inputs and outputs on components are appearing as more
and more people are connecting with HDMI. It is common to see 3 and 4
inputs on an HDTV =96 many with one input on the side or front for
connecting to game consoles or other ****table devices such as digital
still cameras or camcorders. Always think about the number of sources
and displays (or projectors) that could become part of your home
theater system, and make sure the device you are evaluating has the
number of inputs and outputs to sup****t your needs over the near and
long term.
For those who have existing systems with one or two inputs, and are
finding they need more, there are HDMI switches in the market that
switch from multiple inputs (sources) to one output (to your display).
Think features rather than HDMI version number.
HDMI is constantly evolving to meet the needs of the marketplace. The
standard is constantly adding more and more features that
manufacturers can implement if they desire. But HDMI does not require
manufacturers to implement everything that HDMI can do. HDMI provides
a menu of capabilities and allows the manufacturer to choose which of
those features make sense for its product line.
As a result, it is recommended that consumers look for products with
the features they want, rather than the version number of the HDMI
components. Version numbers reflect capabilities, but do not
correspond to product features. For example, if you want the new video
features called Deep Color, look for Deep Color in the feature set
rather than HDMI 1.3, the version of the specification that enabled
Deep Color. Why? Because the version of the specification that enables
Deep Color (1.3) does not mandate that Deep Color functionality be
implemented.
However, it is im****tant to also note that all HDMI versions are
backwards compatible, so not matter what version of HDMI is in the
component, all HDMI-enabled components will work together at the
highest level of shared functionality.
Convergence Between The PC And Consumer Electronics
HDMI was developed using the same technology as DVI (Digital Visual
Interface), the digital connection standard for the PC environment.
So, HDMI is fully compatible with all DVI-enabled PCs (since HDMI
offers both audio and video over one cable, and DVI carried only
video, DVI-HDMI connectivity requires a separate audio cable).
HDMI enables PCs to deliver premium media content including high
definition movies and multi-channel audio formats. HDMI is the only
interface enabling connections to both HDTVs and digital PC monitors
implementing the DVI and HDMI standards =96 fully compatible with the
hundreds of millions of DVI displays already in the market.
HDMI Cables
What is the difference between a =93Standard=94 HDMI cable and a =93High-
Speed=94 HDMI cable?
Recently, the HDMI standards body announced that cables would be
tested as Standard or High-Speed cables.
Standard (or =93category 1=94) cables have been tested to perform at
speeds of 75Mhz, which is the equivalent of a 1080i signal.
High Speed (or =93category 2=94) cables have been tested to perform at
speeds of 340Mhz, which is the highest bandwidth currently available
over an HDMI cable and can successfully handle 1080p signals including
those at increased color depths and/or increased refresh rates. High-
Speed cables are also able to accommodate higher resolution displays,
such as WQXGA cinema monitors (resolution of 2560 x 1600).
Does HDMI accommodate long cable lengths?
HDMI technology has been designed to use standard copper cable
construction at long lengths. In order to allow cable manufacturers to
improve their products through the use of new technologies, HDMI
specifies the required performance of a cable but does not specify a
maximum cable length. We have seen cables pass "Standard Cable" HDMI
compliance testing at lengths of up to a maximum of 10 meters without
the use of a repeater. It is not only the cable that factors into how
long a cable can successfully carry an HDMI signal, the receiver chip
inside the TV or projector also plays a major factor. Receiver chips
that include a feature called "cable equalization" are able to
compensate for weaker signals thereby extending the potential length
of any cable that is used with that device.
With any long run of an HDMI cable, quality manufactured cables can
play a significant role in successfully running HDMI over such longer
distances.
HDMI FAQs
Q. How can I tell the differences in each version of the HDMI
specification?
Download a copy of the most recent specification of HDMI. At the
beginning of the do***ent, there is a section called "Revision
History." In this section, you can view all of the the changes for
each revision of the Specification.
Q. Are all of the new HDMI versions backward compatible with previous
versions?
Yes, all HDMI versions are fully backward compatible with all previous
versions.
Q. What=92s new in the HDMI 1.3 Specification?
Higher speed: Although all previous versions of HDMI have had more
than enough bandwidth to sup****t all current HDTV formats, including
full, uncompressed 1080p signals, HDMI 1.3 increases its single-link
bandwidth to 340 MHz (10.2 Gbps) to sup****t the demands of future HD
display devices, such as higher resolutions, Deep Color and high frame
rates. In addition, built into the HDMI 1.3 specification is the
technical foundation that will let future versions of HDMI reach
significantly higher speeds.
Deep Color: HDMI 1.3 sup****ts 10-bit, 12-bit and 16-bit (RGB or YCbCr)
color depths, up from the 8-bit depths in previous versions of the
HDMI specification, for stunning rendering of over one billion colors
in unprecedented detail.
Broader color space: HDMI 1.3 adds sup****t for =93x.v.Color=99=94 (which
is
the consumer name describing the IEC 61966-2-4 xvYCC color standard),
which removes current color space limitations and enables the display
of any color viewable by the human eye.
New mini connector: With small ****table devices such as HD camcorders
and still cameras demanding seamless connectivity to HDTVs, HDMI 1.3
offers a new, smaller form factor connector option.
Lip Sync: Because consumer electronics devices are using increasingly
complex digital signal processing to enhance the clarity and detail of
the content, synchronization of video and audio in user devices has
become a greater challenge and could potentially require complex end-
user adjustments. HDMI 1.3 incor****ates automatic audio synching
capabilities that allows devices to perform this synchronization
automatically with total accuracy.
New HD lossless audio formats: In addition to HDMI=92s current ability
to sup****t high-bandwidth uncompressed digital audio and all currently-
available compressed formats (such as Dolby=AE Digital and DTS=AE), HDMI
1.3 adds additional sup****t for new lossless compressed digital audio
formats Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio=99.
Q. What is the difference between DVI and HDMI?
HDMI is DVI with the addition of:
Audio (up to 8-channels uncompressed)
Smaller Connector
Sup****t for YUV Color Space
CEC (Consumer Electronics Control)
CEA-861B InfoFrames
Q. Is HDMI backward compatible with DVI (Digital Visual Interface)?
Yes, HDMI is fully backward compatible with DVI compliant devices.
HDMI DTVs will display video received from existing DVI-equipped
products, and DVI-equipped TVs will display video from HDMI sources.
However, some older PCs with DVI are designed only to sup****t computer
monitors, not televisions. Consumers buying a PC with DVI should make
sure that it specifically includes sup****t for television formats and
not just computer monitors.
Also, consumers may want to confirm that the DVI interface sup****ts
High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP), as content that
requires HDCP copy protection will require that both the HDMI and DVI
devices sup****t HDCP to properly view the video content.
Source: HDMI.org
Tags: Comsumer Electronics, Home Electronics TOP =BB
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