HDMI 2.1 was officially released as early as November 2017. Compared to HDMI 2.0b, it is only a supplemental and amended version of HDMI 2.0a and HDMI 2.0. HDMI 2.1 is a greatly improved transmission performance index, from the highest standard of HDMI2.0 18Gbps is suddenly increased to 48Gbps, which can achieve 4K ultra-high-definition signals with higher frame rates, which greatly enhances the performance of game imaging. The increase in transmission bandwidth also means that HDMI 2.1 already has the requirements for 8K ultra-high-definition transmission.
Why does HDMI 2.1 adopt the highest transmission bandwidth specification of 48Gbps instead of other specifications? The main reason is that when we want to transmit 8K/60, 4:2:0, 12bit uncompressed UHD signals, we need a transmission bandwidth of about 48Gbps. In other words, the HDMI 2.1 standard is specifically designed for the next generation of ultra-high-definition 8K transmission, fully considering the requirements of 8K signal transmission. If you want to achieve 8K/120, 4:2:2, 12bit uncompressed ultra-high-definition signal transmission, the required transmission bandwidth will reach an astonishing 128Gbps. I am afraid that three HDMI 2.1 interfaces will be necessary to integrate them. Bandwidth. However, it is worth noting that HDMI officials also said that when using DSC compression transmission technology, HDMI 2.1 can also transmit 8K/120 high frame rate signals. From this point of view, for 8K transmission, HDMI 2.1 is still in the transitional stage, and the next version of 128Gbps is the final choice for 8K transmission.
HDMI 2.1 supports 4K 48/50/60/100/120, 5K 48/50/60/100/120, 8K 48/50/60/100/120, 10K48/50/60/100/120. Among them, 5K and 10K are widescreen versions of 4K and 8K, respectively, and the screen ratio is about 2.35:1. Taking 10K as an example, the vertical resolution is the same as 8K, which is still 4320, but the horizontal resolution of the picture is increased to 10240.
The higher the frame rate of the picture, the more details of the dynamic image we can see. In the era of 1080p Blu-ray movies, basically blockbuster movies used the lowest 24p frame rate. The smoothness of the picture is very general. The dynamic picture is often blurred and even feels stuck. In the future 8K sources, we believe that it is likely to start at 60p. Some sources and sports events may even use 120p, so that in addition to the improvement of static clarity, dynamic clarity and fluency can also be greatly enhanced.
The frame rate is more important than the clarity of the screen presentation of e-sports games, especially in the sports "car, gun, ball" games, computer monitors are compared with flat-screen TVs and home theater projectors in terms of frame rate. Go faster. There are very few flat panel TVs that can achieve a 120Hz refresh rate, and home theater projectors are still at 60Hz, but computer monitors with a 144Hz or even 240Hz refresh rate have almost become the mainstream standard.
In HDMI 2.1, in addition to strengthening the importance of the transmission signal frame rate and the refresh rate of the display device, HDMI 2.1 also emphasizes the importance of HDR high dynamic range. The advantage of HDR high dynamic range is to expand the contrast of light and dark in the entire picture, making the black in the picture deeper, and the highlight is more energetic, so that the details of the entire picture are richer, and the color of the highlight is closer to what we see Actual color brightness. The good effect of HDR has certain requirements for the brightness and color performance of the display device itself, and not every flat panel TV that supports HDR can get good details and color performance. For 8K display devices, dynamic HDR technology will become another technology development trend.
Why does HDMI 2.1 adopt the highest transmission bandwidth specification of 48Gbps instead of other specifications? The main reason is that when we want to transmit 8K/60, 4:2:0, 12bit uncompressed UHD signals, we need a transmission bandwidth of about 48Gbps. In other words, the HDMI 2.1 standard is specifically designed for the next generation of ultra-high-definition 8K transmission, fully considering the requirements of 8K signal transmission. If you want to achieve 8K/120, 4:2:2, 12bit uncompressed ultra-high-definition signal transmission, the required transmission bandwidth will reach an astonishing 128Gbps. I am afraid that three HDMI 2.1 interfaces will be necessary to integrate them. Bandwidth. However, it is worth noting that HDMI officials also said that when using DSC compression transmission technology, HDMI 2.1 can also transmit 8K/120 high frame rate signals. From this point of view, for 8K transmission, HDMI 2.1 is still in the transitional stage, and the next version of 128Gbps is the final choice for 8K transmission.
HDMI 2.1 supports 4K 48/50/60/100/120, 5K 48/50/60/100/120, 8K 48/50/60/100/120, 10K48/50/60/100/120. Among them, 5K and 10K are widescreen versions of 4K and 8K, respectively, and the screen ratio is about 2.35:1. Taking 10K as an example, the vertical resolution is the same as 8K, which is still 4320, but the horizontal resolution of the picture is increased to 10240.
The higher the frame rate of the picture, the more details of the dynamic image we can see. In the era of 1080p Blu-ray movies, basically blockbuster movies used the lowest 24p frame rate. The smoothness of the picture is very general. The dynamic picture is often blurred and even feels stuck. In the future 8K sources, we believe that it is likely to start at 60p. Some sources and sports events may even use 120p, so that in addition to the improvement of static clarity, dynamic clarity and fluency can also be greatly enhanced.
The frame rate is more important than the clarity of the screen presentation of e-sports games, especially in the sports "car, gun, ball" games, computer monitors are compared with flat-screen TVs and home theater projectors in terms of frame rate. Go faster. There are very few flat panel TVs that can achieve a 120Hz refresh rate, and home theater projectors are still at 60Hz, but computer monitors with a 144Hz or even 240Hz refresh rate have almost become the mainstream standard.
In HDMI 2.1, in addition to strengthening the importance of the transmission signal frame rate and the refresh rate of the display device, HDMI 2.1 also emphasizes the importance of HDR high dynamic range. The advantage of HDR high dynamic range is to expand the contrast of light and dark in the entire picture, making the black in the picture deeper, and the highlight is more energetic, so that the details of the entire picture are richer, and the color of the highlight is closer to what we see Actual color brightness. The good effect of HDR has certain requirements for the brightness and color performance of the display device itself, and not every flat panel TV that supports HDR can get good details and color performance. For 8K display devices, dynamic HDR technology will become another technology development trend.
