HDMI 2.1 enables new features and a lot more bandwidth to the cable and connections. Announced more than a year ago, these cables have finally arrived this year with the televisions supporting HDMI 2.1 ports represented at CES. And it’s not too soon to plan for an upgrade as the current-generation cables don’t have the bandwidth to support many of the new features of it.
One of the first High-Speed HDMI adapters and cables for the new version is the first cable officially announced by the official forum. These official forums are the organization responsible to set up the HDMI standards. One of the major specifications of these HDMI cables is the increased bandwidth. While the older version 2.0 supports 18Gbps; HDMI 2.1 cables support up to 48 Gbps. It’s a massive increase of more than 150% which is enough bandwidth to carry any uncompressed 4K video at 120fps and 8k at 60 fps.
What’s New with HDMI 2.1 Cables?
The new HDMI cables have an Ethernet channel shielded to produce a low electromagnetic interface with nearby Wifi devices. Plus, these cables support the complete specification which supports eARC (Enhanced Audio Return Channel) along with video features.
The current generation cables can handle some of the features of 2.1. Maximum, they can handle 4K at 60fps. Which means that they won’t be able to support the high resolution, fast frame rate combinations possible with new versions. According to HDMI forums, Ultra-High-Speed cable is capable enough to ensure that high-bandwidth dependent features including the enhanced video and audio performance, and accounting for new EMI features.
Everything in the video chain, including the HDMI adapters and cables, you will need certified products for 2.1 in order to take full advantage of the new specification. That may seem like bad news, but it’s not as complex as it sounds. The transition to the new cables will be easy and there’s no rush.
‘Dynamic HDR’ is a known name for a big improvement. Nowadays, everyone likes the High dynamic range for improved picture quality. At present the most common HDR format is HDR10. HDMI 2.1 enables Dynamic HDR, but it is important to be present in the content to work. Dolby Vision, HDR10+ and certain other devices already use dynamic metadata and can pass an existing HDMI connection. This way, HDMI 2.1 ensures that in future this will be possible without a proprietary format.
Another feature of these Ultra-High-Speed HDMI cable is certified support to a broad range of video features which are not bandwidth intensive such as variable refresh rate, automatic low latency mode, quick frame transport and a range of HDR formats. While the current generation cables probably handle most of these features, they might lack in terms of performance.
When to Upgrade?
Considering the current scenario, most of HDMI2.1's high-bandwidth applications lie in the future. 8K TV at any frame rate should not be a starter because most people would not be able to find any difference between 8K and 4K. Additionally, there’s no 4K/120fps content at present.
There has been enough buzz around the tech market to rush out to buy HDMI 2.1 cables as soon as possible today. But the fact is that you cannot begin the upgrade process for now because there is no officially Ultra-High-Speed Difference between an RCA, DVI and HDMI cable available in the market at present. The reason behind this is the
HDMI forums have not yet released the compliance test specifications for the cable. Although you will find many manufacturers in the market selling products labeled as “Ultra-High-Speed HDMI Cable”. Make sure you don’t end up buying a wrong set of cables.
The Good News is that the upgrading will be easy because the upcoming and current generation connectors are of the same size and HDMI 2.1 is compatible backward so you can use the new cables with your current hardware. Make sure to purchase the officially licensed cables when they will be available in the market to get the best possible performance from your future HDMI 2.1 system!
This article is originally Posted here Know The Right Time To Adopt HDMI 2.1 Cables
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