News

HDMI Licensing, LLC Announces Availability of HDMI 1.2 Specification (4/9/2005)

HDMI Momentum Grows Globally to Over 250 Vendors Adopting HDMI as the Connection Standard for HDTV

HDMI Licensing LLC, the agent responsible for licensing the High-Definition Multimedia Interface (TM) (HDMI(TM)) specification, today announced the availability of the latest revision of the HDMI specification, version 1.2. HDMI 1.2 adds a number of important features that contribute to the ongoing evolution of this important standard for secure audio and video transmission. Additionally, HDMI Licensing, LLC is proud to announce that more than 250 vendors worldwide have adopted HDMI with over 470 different HDMI-enabled products having been announced.

HDMI has emerged as the de facto digital interface standard for HDTV and the consumer electronics market. By delivering crystal-clear, all-digital audio and video quality via a single cable, HDMI dramatically simplifies cabling and helps provide consumers with the highest-quality home theater experience.

The HDMI 1.2 specification also adds features and capabilities that increase HDMI's appeal for use in both the CE and PC industries. Specifically, the features and modifications for HDMI 1.2 include:

-- Support for One Bit Audio format, such as SuperAudio CD's DSD (Direct Stream Digital)

-- Changes to offer better support for current and future PCs with HDMI outputs, including:
- Availability of the widely-used HDMI Type A connector for PC sources and displays with full support for PC video formats - Ability for PC sources to use their native RGB color-space while retaining the option to support the YCbCr CE color-space - Requirement for HDMI 1.2 and later displays to support future low- voltage (i.e., AC-coupled) sources, such as those based on PCI Express I/O technology

"HDMI 1.2 has several changes to better support the PC industry, including a minor modification to the electrical specification to ensure compatibility of current and future HDMI receivers with a low voltage, AC coupled transmitter (for example, a transmitter in an integrated graphics chip)," said Leslie Chard, President of HDMI Licensing, LLC. "The HDMI Founders also intend to define additional HDMI electrical and connector options that would allow PC vendors to more easily develop HDMI-compatible products."

"Today's announcement shows that manufacturers around the world continue to embrace HDMI in an effort to provide customers with the ultimate high-definition viewing and listening experience," explains Bob O'Donnell, Research Vice President, Clients, Mobility and Display Technology at IDC.

As always, products implementing the HDMI 1.2 specification will be fully backwards compatible with earlier HDMI products.

The HDMI 1.2 specification can be downloaded at no cost.

www.hdmi.org