[Editor’s Note] This Throwback Thursday is a look back at the news surrounding the HDMI 2.0 announcement. It was a fantastic release, nearly doubling the max pixel clock rate, and has surely stood the test of time. The only release to follow it was HDMI 2.0a, which came out in April of 2015 and added HDR video support.
Original Publication: September 18,2013
Very soon the folks over at HDMI licensing are planning on officially announcing the technology of HDMI 2.0. This exciting news comes just a few days after the tiny, tech-wake that was Panasonic accidentally announcing it for them when they inadvertently left the top secret information attached as they introduced their new 65″ HDMI Ultra television. Which may be bad news for them, but great news for the consumer.
So what can we expect from the long-awaited update?
The HDMI 2.0 boasts quite the upgrade over its predecessor. With an overall bandwidth capacity of 18Gps, it will have enough room to carry 3,840 x 2,160 resolution video up to 60fps (in case you are unfamiliar, most regular HDMI cables peak around 10Gps). It will also support up to 32 audio channels (which is about 25 more channels than even the most modest set up will need), include a dynamic auto lip-sync feature, and additional CEC extensions. Further, 2.0 will have no problem handling up to 1536kHz audio sample frequency, dual video streams, and multi-stream audio which can support four users at once on screens as large as 21:9 widescreen.
What hasn’t changed?
The connector itself. Meaning that backwards compatibility will be possible, and while this is mostly good news, it may be a slight disappointment for those who wished for something sturdier. The cables will also remain the same, because even though the technology is being upgraded inside, HDMI claims the current Category-2 high speed cables will still be able to handle what it carries with no problem. There is no set date for the official announcement, but most tech analysts believe it will be within the next month.
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