The HDMI Forum has announced the next generation of the HDMI cable standard at IFA 2013. HDMI 2.0 supports 4K resolution at 50 and 60 Hz, 32 audio channels, dynamic lip sync and extensions to CEC. It will be integrated in 4K TVs starting this year.
HDMI 2.0 with 4K, 60fps & 32 audio channels
We already knew that is was coming, but today the HDMI Forum has officially announced HDMI 2.0 , which is the successor to HDMI 1.4 that is used in most TVs today.
HDMI 2.0 will use the same type of cables and connectors as previous HDMI standards
The HDMI 2.0 standard supports important new picture elements that are required for 4K / Ultra HD TVs. The first Ultra HD TVs that have been released in stores only support 4K up in up to 30 Hz via HDMI 1.4, but HDMI 2.0 will now support 4K in up to 60 Hz, allowing TVs with HDMI 2.0 ports to connect to future movie players, game consoles, PC and much more.
The new HDMI 2.0 standard also supports 32 audio channels (and up to 1536kHz sample frequency), dynamic lip synchronization in order to avoid video/audio sync issues, and extensions to CEC. HDMI 2.0 is backwards compatible with earlier HDMI standards as it use the same connectors, and the High Speed (category 2) HDMI cables available in stores now can even support the new features of HDMI 2.0.
HDMI 2.0 also supports “simultaneous delivery of dual video streams to multiple users on the same screen” and “simultaneous delivery of multi-stream audio to multiple users (Up to 4)”, as well as support for the 21:9 theatrical video format. HDMI 2.0 can handle a bandwidth of 18Gbps.
- “The introduction of the HDMI 2.0 Specification represents a major milestone for the HDMI Forum. Our members collaborated closely to take the highly successful HDMI Specification to the next level by expanding audio and video features for consumer electronics applications.” said Robert Blanchard of Sony Corporation, president of the HDMI Forum
More information will be shared with the press at the HDMI Forum’s IFA press conference on Friday at 12:00 pm.
Panasonic’s new WT600 4K TV is the first TV to incorporate HDMI 2.0.
- Source: HDMI Forum
