HDMI 1.4 What’s new and What you need to know.
July 16th, 2009 by Chad GOh No! Have you heard that there is a new version of HDMI coming out? Now before you run home in a sweaty panic and list all your current HDMI devices for sale on craigslist, you should know that 1.4 is going to add some capabilities to the cable functionality but not going make anything obsolete.
First, it will add shared ethernet capablitliy so if your HDMI devices are internet/network capable you will not have to run an ethernet cable plus the HDMI. So, for example you have a Blu-ray player with internet capability and a TV with Internet capability. You will only have to connect the Blu-ray with the Ethernet and then it will share that connection with the TV through a compatible HDMI 1.4 cable. (if they are both 1.4 devices) Cool and convenient but last time I checked Ethernet cable was a whole lot less expensive than an HDMI cable.
Second, HDMI 1.4 will allow digital sound to go back from your HDTV to a surround sound receiver. They call it Audio Return Channel. So, here is the scenario, you are getting HD content from an antenna over the air tuned by your digital HDTV. Some of this programming has 5.1 surround sound available. You have a surround sound system hooked to the Plasma HDTV with an HDMI cable and the surround system and TV are both HDMI 1.4 so now you can send that sound back to the Home Theater from the TV without using a optical cable. Bottom line; you do not need another cable to connect the digital audio.
Fittingly, third is 3D over HDMI. Here is what HDMI.org says about this capability:
“3D technology is evolving rapidly, with several competing approaches under development, so the HDMI 1.4 specification establishes protocols for a number of popular 3D display methods”
Key phrase there is “several competing approaches.” So, this technology is not even available yet. There is specualtion that you will need additional equipment plus a 3D ready HDTV and 3D capable source. So, dont throw anything out yet.
Next upgrade over HDMI 1.3 is the HDMI 1.4 capabiltiy to reach resolution capability of 4096 X 2160. So, new buzz word for you 2160P! The reality though is that you would have to have a very large display capable of this resolution to see a difference, a source that could play it and most importantly media that is recorded in that resolution, which there is not any and nothing in the forseeable future. Feeling a little calmer?
Next, it is going to provide additional color space for digital PHOTOs that are displayed on a compatible HDTV. So, your digital photos will look a little better, if both the camera and HDTV have the following capabilities:
- sYCC601 color
- Adobe RGB color
- Adobe YCC601 color
Lastly, there are going to be some newer connectors with version 1.4. So, this means that some new smaller portable devices (cell phones) are going to have HDMI connectivity. Also automotive video system will start to get a connection that has a locking capablity to keep the connection secure in an automobile.
So, to sum it up, none of our current HDMI devices or cables are going to quit working. The real advantage of HDMI 1.4 is that it just eliminates some cables that are already connected and working fine. Also, keep in mind that to take advantage of these changes all the components will have to have the capability and there will always be a work around if one or more of the components are not.
For more information you can visit www.hdmi.org, call our experts at 1.866.919.4773 or post your comments here.
