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HDMI　High Definition Multimedia Interface
Overview of HDMI™ The HDMI Advantage Buying tips

HDMI is the de facto global standard for connecting HD components and bridging the gap between CE and PC products

 

Overview of HDMITM

Developed by Hitachi Ltd., Matsushita Electic Industrial Co., Ltd. (Panasonic), Quasar Philips Consumer Electronics International B.V., Silicon Image, Inc., Sony Corporation, Thomson, Inc, and Toshiba Corporation, the High-Definition Multimedia Interface™(HDMI™) is the de facto global standard for connection HD components and bridging the gap between CE and PC products. The HDMI specification combines uncompressed high-definition video and multi-channel audio in a single digital interface to provide crystal-clear digital quality over a single cable. For end-users, use of a single cable for audio and video dramatically simplifies home theater system installation and eliminates the cable quagmire typically associated with home theater system components.
HDTVs  Blu-ray Disc players Multimedia PCs Gaming Systems Digital camcorders

and more.

Most importantly, HDMI offers significant advantages over analog A/V connections, including the ability to transmit uncompressed digital video and audio content. In addition to numerous device and display manufacturers, major motion picture studios and cable and satellite operators also support HDMI. To date, more than 1200 makers of consumer electronics and PC products worldwide have adopted HDMI.

 

The HDMI Advantage

When you connect with HDMI technology, you’re getting the utmost in simplicity, performance, and system intelligence

Simplicity

    HDMI transmits all types of audio and video through a single digital link, eliminating “cable clutter” by replacing as many as eleven older cables
    HDMI makes it ultra-easy to install or upgrade to an all-digital home entertainment system, PCs, gaming consoles, and video cameras can all be connected with the same one-plug convenience.
    All HDMI versions are backward-compatible with previous versions.

Performance

    All-digital. No conversion or compression needed
    Enormous bandwidth capacity
    up to 10.2 gigabits per second, more than twice the bandwidth needed to transmit a 1080p signal such as the output from a Blu-ray Disc player.
    Better looking movies
    Faster gaming
    Richer audio
    Enormous bandwidth capacity
    Higher resolutions, like 1440p or Quad HD
    Faster refresh rates, like 120Hz
    Deep Color, taking the HDTV palette from millions to trillions of colors.

Intelligence

    HDMI is a “smart” two-way connection that allows devices to communicate and interact with each other to dramatically improve your home theater experience.
    Devices connected with HDMI have the ability to scan each other’s capabilities and automatically configure certain settings. An HDTV and a DVD player, for instance, can auto-negotiate settings like resolution and aspect ratio to correctly match the format of the incoming content to the highest capabilities of the TV.
    Consumer Electronics Control (CEC) is another intelligent HDMI feature set that provides for integrated, “one-touch” commands across multiple linked components. When enabled by the manufacturer, CEC allows system-wide behaviors like one-touch play or one-touch record, where pressing a single button on a remote launches a series of coordinated commands.

Buying tips

The HDMI specification is an evolving standard, so revisions and improvements are to be expected. But that doesn’t mean that newer versions are inherently better than older versions, or that you should always look for the latest HDMI versions when you’re shopping for equipment.

Backward-Compatibility
    Every HDMI version is backward-compatible with previous versions of the specification. Each revision includes the entire feature set of all previous versions, so you can be assured that any new equipment you buy will always deliver the highest level of quality that your existing equipment supports.

Version Numbers
HDMI version numbers are used by manufacturers to identify a set of features. To help you shop for the features you want in a cable, the HDMI licensing authority has created standardized names dor certain key features. Here are a few:
    Deep Color refers to monitors that can display a greater number of colors than traditional TVs billions or trillions of colors rather than millions.
    x.v. Color refers to an expanded, “wider” color gamut that includes colors not traditionally available in TVs. The x.v. Colorspace incorporates a much larger portion of the visible color spectrum than the older RGB color model.
    Standard and High Speed refers to two grades of HDMI cable, tested to different performance metrics. A Standard cable can transmit a 1080i signal for 15 meters (49 feet) or more, while a High Speed HDMI cable can transmit a1080p signal for at least 7.5 meters (25 feet).

Visit www.hdmi.org for more information.

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