What is HDMI 2.1

Gene

Member
HDMI 2.1 seems to be a new word in 2020, Sony, Samsung and other manufacture start to introduce HMDI 2.1. But a lot of you must don't know what HDMI 2.1 is.

The most obvious difference between the two standards is bandwidth. The current bandwidth capacity of HDMI 2.0 is 18 Gbps, while HDMI 2.1 runs at a rate of 48 Gbps. This increase in bandwidth allows HDMI 2.1 to transmit more information, which means that the picture transmitted through HDMI 2.1 will have higher resolution and higher frame rate.

Most mid - to high-end TVS offer at least one HDMI 2.0 port, and if you've bought a TV in the past few years, HDMI ports are basically 2.0a or 2.0b or lower. Since the difference between 2.0a and 2.0b is relatively small, today we will discuss the difference between 2.0 and 2.1 directly.

Combining all kinds of data, we can see that the most obvious gap between the two standards is bandwidth. HDMI 2.0's current bandwidth capacity is 18 Gbps, while HDMI 2.1 runs at 48 Gbps. This increase in bandwidth allows more information to be transmitted through HDMI 2.1, which means that the images transmitted through HDMI 2.1 will have higher resolution and higher frame rates.

Currently, HDMI 2.0 is capable of 4K images with 60 FPS or 8K images with 30 FPS. The new HDMI 2.1 can display 4K images at 120 FPS or 8K images at 60 FPS, and even support 10K resolution.

HDMI 2.1 cable

It's worth noting that gamers may be the first to feel the benefits of HDMI 2.1, as many game developers are already promoting 4K games with 120 FPS.

HDMI 2.1 has many other advantages. For example, HDMI 2.1 supports "dynamic HDR" content, which allows the HDR metadata content to be adjusted on a frame-by-frame basis. HDMI 2.1 also features eARC, an enhanced audio return channel that delivers high-quality uncompressed audio signals over HDMI cables. In addition, HDMI 2.1 has variable refresh rate (VRR) and fast frame transfer (QFT) capabilities that reduce latency and potentially eliminate input latency entirely.

You may also need an HDMI 2.1 cable

Like most interface standard, want to enjoy the HDMI 2.1 provides a complete service, you need a new HDMI 2.1 cable, because such as HDMI cable and the signal source of 48 2.1 g is different from the current HDMI 1.4/2.0, manufacturers need to use new methods, and HDMI BBS also need to introduce a new certification program, to ensure that the cable can work normally under high rate and support all the features. The good news is that the HDMI forum is close to certifying the first series of HDMI 2.1 compatible cables, and we will see an "official" HDMI 48G cable.

What is the difference between HDMI 2.1 and HDMI 2.0? High standards are always good?

There's no doubt that HDMI 2.1 will change the way we watch and appreciate content, whether it's movies, games or streaming TV shows. But for now, without much high-quality content, most consumers don't have to go overboard with the HDMI 2.1 standard, and HDMI 2.0 cables can handle most of it.
 
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