Whatis High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI)?
Who supports HDMI?
How do consumers benefit from HDMI?
What is the life expectancy of HDMI?
What are the advantages of HDMI over existing analog interfaces such as composite, S-video and component video?
Is HDMI backward-compatible with DVI (Digital Visual Interface)?
Are new HDMI versions compatible with previous versions?
Will current HD TVs and set-top boxes using DVI-HDTV be compatible with HDMI devices?
What types of video does HDMI support?
Does HDMI accommodate long cable lengths?
Does HDMI provide a secure interface?
What is HDCP?
When was the HDMI specification released?
What products or applications will take advantage of new HDMI 1.3 capabilities?
What is meant by the term “Deep Color” and why is it important?
What is “xvYCC”?
What is the difference between “Deep Color” and “xvYCC?”
When will products with HDMI 1.3 capabilities be available to the public?
How will consumers know which products have the latest implementation of HDMI 1.3?
Is HDMI 1.3 backward compatible with prior releases of the HDMI spec and with DVI?
Why is lip sync important?
What’s new in the HDMI 1.3 Specification?
What's new with the HDMI 1.4 Specification?

What is HDMI?
HDMI is the first and only industry-supported, uncompressed, all-digital audio/video interface. Over a single cable, HDMI provides an interface between modern audio/video devices (Blu-ray player, cable set-top box, DVD player, or  receiver) and digital displays.  HDMI supports standard, enhanced, or high-definition video, plus multi-channel digital audio on a single cable. It transmits all ATSC HDTV standards and supports 8-channel, 192kHz, uncompressed digital audio and all currently-available compressed formats (such as Dolby Digital and DTS), HDMI 1.3 added additional support for new lossless digital audio formats Dolby® TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio™ with bandwidth to spare to accommodate future enhancements and requirements.

Who supports HDMI?
The HDMI Founders include leading consumer electronics manufacturers Hitachi , Matsushita Electric Industrial (Panasonic), Philips, Sony, Thomson (RCA), Toshiba, and Silicon Image. Digital Content Protection, LLC (a subsidiary of Intel) is providing High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP) for HDMI. In addition, HDMI has the support of major motion picture producers Fox, Universal, Warner Bros. and Disney, and system operators DirecTV, EchoStar (Dish Network) as well as CableLabs.

How do consumers benefit from HDMI?
The new HDMI digital interconnect provides:
1. Compared to analog cables, HDMI provides superior, uncompressed digital video and audio quality
2. A simple, single cable and user-friendly connector that replaces the maze of cabling behind the entertainment center.
3. Integrated remote control.
4. A popular interface enabling the transmission of high-definition content. HDMI opens the floodgate of digital content from major motion picture producers.

What is the life expectancy of HDMI?
HDTV uses less than 1/2 of HDMI's available 10 Gbps bandwidth. With capacity to spare, HDMI can incorporate new technology advancements and capabilities long into the foreseeable future.

What are the advantages of HDMI over existing analog interfaces such as composite, S-Video and component video?
Quality: HDMI transfers uncompressed digital audio and video for the highest, crispest image quality.
All-Digital: HDMI ensures an all-digital rendering of video without the losses associated with analog interfaces and their unnecessary digital-to-analog conversions.
Low-cost: HDMI provides the quality and functionality of a digital interface while also supporting uncompressed video formats in a simple, cost-effective manner.
Audio: HDMI supports multiple audio formats, from standard stereo to multi-channel surround-sound.
Ease-of-use: HDMI combines video and multi-channel audio into a single cable, eliminating the cost, complexity, and confusion of multiple cables currently used in A/V systems.
Intelligence: HDMI supports two-way communication between the video source (such as a DVD player) and the DTV, enabling new functionality.

Is HDMI backward-compatible with DVI (Digital Visual Interface)?
Yes, HDMI is fully backward-compatible with DVI using the CEA-861 profile for DTVs. HDMI DTVs will display video received from existing DVI-equipped products, and DVI-equipped TVs will display video from HDMI sources.

Are new HDMI versions compatible with previous versions?
Yes, devices built with the HDMI 1.4 will be fully backward-compatible with previous versions.

Will current HD TVs and set-top boxes using DVI-HDTV be compatible with HDMI devices?
Yes. Currently there are TVs with DVI-HDTV inputs available from a wide variety of manufacturers. These devices will be compatible with future HDMI-equipped products.

What types of video does HDMI support?
HDMI has the capacity to support existing high-definition video formats (720p, 1080i, and even 1080p). It also has the flexibility to support enhanced definition formats such as 480p, as well as standard definition formats such as NTSC or PAL.

Does HDMI accommodate long cable lengths?
Yes. HDMI technology has been designed to use standard copper cable construction at long lengths. In order to allow cable manufacturers to improve their products through the use of new technologies, HDMI specifies the required performance of a cable but does not specify a maximum cable length.  As semiconductor technology improves, even longer stretches can be reached with fiber optic cables, and with active cable technologies such as amplifiers or repeaters.

Does HDMI provide a secure interface?
While no security system is one hundred percent secure, HDMI, when used in combination with HDCP, provides an audio/video interface that meets the security requirements of content providers and systems operators.

What is HDCP?
HDCP is a content protection technology available for use in connection with HDMI that was developed by Intel Corporation (with input from Silicon Image). HDCP is not licensed by HDMI Licensing, LLC, but by Digital Content Protection, LLC (a subsidiary of Intel).

When was the HDMI specification released?
The HDMI 1.0 specification was released in December 2002.
The HDMI 1.1 specification was released in May 2004.
The HDMI 1.2 specification was released in August 2005.
The HDMI 1.2a specification was released in December 2005.
The HDMI 1.3 specification was released in June 2006.
The HDMI 1.3a specification was released in November 2006.
The HDMI 1.3b specification was released in March 2007.
The HDMI 1.3b1 specification was released in November 2007.
The HDMI 1.3c specification was released in August 2008.
The HDMI 1.4 specification was released in May 2009.

What’s new in the HDMI 1.3 Specification?
* Higher speed: Although all previous versions of HDMI have had more than enough bandwidth to support all current HDTV formats, HDMI 1.3 increases its single-link bandwidth to 340 MHz (10.2 Gbps) to support the demands of future HD display devices, such as higher resolutions, Deep Color and high frame rates. In addition, built into the HDMI 1.3 specification is the technical foundation that will let future versions of HDMI reach significantly higher speeds.
* Deep Color: HDMI 1.3 supports 30-bit, 36-bit and 48-bit (RGB or YCbCr) color depths, up from the 24-bit depths in previous versions of the HDMI specification, for stunning rendering of over one billion colors in unprecedented detail.
* Broader color space: HDMI 1.3 adds support for “xvYCC” color standard, which removes current color space limitations and enables the display of any color viewable by the human eye.
* New mini connector: With small portable devices such as HD camcorders and still cameras demanding seamless connectivity to HDTVs, HDMI 1.3 offers a new, smaller form factor connector option.
* Lip Sync: Because consumer electronics devices are using increasingly complex digital signal processing to enhance the clarity and detail of the content, synchronization of video and audio in user devices has become a greater challenge and could potentially require complex end-user adjustments. HDMI 1.3 incorporates automatic audio synching capabilities that allows devices to perform this synchronization automatically with total accuracy.
* New HD lossless audio formats: In addition to HDMI’s current ability to support high-bandwidth uncompressed digital audio and all currently-available compressed formats (such as Dolby® Digital and DTS®), HDMI 1.3 adds additional support for new lossless compressed digital audio formats Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio™.

What products or applications will take advantage of new HDMI 1.3 capabilities?
According to announcements by manufacturers, new high-definition DVD formats (HD-DVD and Blu-ray) and game machines (including the Sony PLAYSTATION® 3) will make use of capabilities added in HDMI 1.3. Digital televisions will be able to present images that are closer to real life than previously has been possible. These will include LCD TVs, plasma displays and rear projection microdisplays. The PS3 which is scheduled to ship in November 2006, will be the first source product to provide such high quality imagery to these displays. It is expected that hi-def DVD players will follow early in 2007 with HDMI 1.3 support. A/V Receivers that can decode DTS-HD Master Audio and Dolby TrueHD will start to show up early in 2007 as well. Please check with the manufacturers for details.

What is meant by the term “Deep Color” and why is it important?
Deep Color lets HDTVs and other displays go from millions of colors to billions of colors allowing consumers to enjoy unprecedented vividness and accuracy of color on their displays. Deep Color eliminates on-screen color banding, for smooth tonal transitions and subtle gradations between colors. It enables increased contrast ratio, and can represent many times more shades of gray between black and white.

What is “xvYCC”?
HDMI 1.3 adopts use of the IEC 61966-2-4 color standard, commonly called xvYCC (shorthand for Extended YCC Colorimetry for Video Applications). This new standard can support 1.8 times as many colors as existing HDTV signals. xvYCC lets HDTVs display colors more accurately, enabling displays with more natural, vivid colors .

What is the difference between “Deep Color” and “xvYCC?”
Deep Color increases the number of available colors within the boundaries defined by the RGB or YCbCr color space, while xvYCC expands the available range (limits) to allow the display of colors that meet and exceed what human eyes can recognize.

When will products with HDMI 1.3 capabilities be available to the public?
Products using HDMI 1.3 capabilities are expected to become available this year starting with the PS3. Displays, DVDs and A/V Receivers are expected to ship early in 2007.

How will consumers know which products have the latest implementation of HDMI 1.3?
Consumers should not look for a particular version of HDMI, but rather for the functionality that they want the device to support (Deep Color, specific audio formats, etc.). Alternatively, consumers can look for support for these features called out in the manufacturer’s product information.

Is HDMI 1.3 backward compatible with prior releases of the HDMI spec and with DVI?
Yes, HDMI is fully backward compatible with all prior releases of the HDMI spec, as well as DVI compliant devices.

Why is lip sync important?
In a DTV, typically the video processing takes more time than the audio. As a result, lip sync can become an issue where it’s noticeable to the viewer, creating an effect similar to that of a badly-dubbed movie. HDMI 1.3 provides a method whereby the audio processing times in devices can be automatically adjusted to remove lip sync.