The HDMI Forum, the organization behind the HDMI standard, announced that it will release a new specification allowing for “a wider range of resolutions and refresh rates” at a press conference on January 6th. According to an email to The Verge in which the HDMI Forum announced the press conference, the new features “will be supported by new cables” As VideoCardz points out, the specification will likely be HDMI 2.2.
The forum’s email also hints at this, noting that the HDMI Licensing Administrator, represented by two of the speakers scheduled for the event, is tasked with “licensing version 2.2 of the HDMI Specification.”
HDMI 2.1, which has only received labelled revisions since its introduction in 2017, supports 48 Gbps bandwidth, variable refresh rates up to 120 Hz, and resolutions up to 10240 x 4320. VideoCardz speculates that the updated specification will support higher resolutions and frames. Display stream uncompressed rates may be enabled.
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Whatever the spec brings, mentioning a new cable is a stark reminder that, like USB-C, not all HDMI cables are created equal. Since the HDMI Forum is unlikely to change the port itself, you’ll probably be able to use older ports with the updated specs, and some may even support higher bandwidth, but there’s always the chance that you’ll need a new cable to take advantage of all the new features.
