China launches HDMI rival GPMI with far higher bandwidth

More than 50 Chinese companies, including Hisense and TCL, are backing the project to launch an HDMI alternative. GPMI supports up to 192Gbps bandwidth for 4K, 8K and beyond..

Today, TVs rely on HDMI, while monitors use HDMI, DisplayPort and USB-C. The new Chinese GPMI specification (General Purpose Media Interface) seeks to unify video, audio, data, power and more into a single cable standard.

- "GPMI is an innovative achievement and a core technological breakthrough in the audio and video industry. It integrates the functions of video transmission, data interaction, network connection and power supply, and realizes that one interface can support the full business needs of 'audio and video + data + network + control + power supply'," commented HiSilicon (machine translated).


Up to 192Gbps bandwidth
The GPMI specifications, led by the Shenzhen International 8K Ultra HD Video Industry Collaboration Alliance, was in late 2024 approved by the USB organization to also be implemented in USB-C. GPMI will be available both with USB Type-C and a new, larger Type-B connector.

GPMI delivers up to 96Gbps over USB-C and up to 192Gbps over the dedicated Type-B connector. It also supports power delivery of up to 240W and 480W, respectively. This will easily accommodate 4K and 8K at high frame rates.

This means the USB-C version of GPMI will match the bandwidth of the new HDMI 2.2 standard announced at CES 2025 and far exceeds HDMI 2.1.

GPMI vs. HDMI vs. Thunderbolt vs. DisplayPort
Standard
Bandwidth
Power Delivery
GPMI Type-B
192 Gbps
480W
GPMI Type-C
96 Gbps
240W
HDMI 2.2 FRL
96 Gbps
No Power
HDMI 2.1 FRL
48 Gbps
No Power
HDMI 2.1 TMDS
18 Gbps
No Power
Thunderbolt 5
120 Gbps
240W
Thunderbolt 4
40 Gbps
100W
DisplayPort 2.1
80 Gbps
No Power
 FlatpanelsHD
Backed by Hisense, TCL, Huawei
The alliance includes major Chinese tech companies such as Huawei, Hisense, Skyworth and TCL. However, no South Korean or Japanese manufacturers are currently involved, according to the group’s published material.

In addition to video, audio and power, GPMI includes networking features and a control protocol similar to HDMI CEC. This allows, for example, a media player to power on a TV and vice versa.

The group has not shared a rollout timeline but said the first phase will target home entertainment, including Smart TVs and multi-screen devices. Later phases will expand to automotive and industrial applications.

GPMI highlights
 FlatpanelsHD
 - Source: HKEPC, Tom's Hardware, HiSilicon