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HDMI v1.4 Features
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HDMI Licensing, LLC has announced new features that will be included in HDMI v1.4, some of which directly relate to Blu-ray playback. One of the biggest additions is an Ethernet channel that will allow two-way Ethernet communication at speeds up to 100Mb/s over an HDMI connection.
As more and more home theater devices require Ethernet connections, the necessity to run CAT-5 Ethernet cable in addition to the already existing audio and video cables has increased. Now, consumers will be able to run one CAT-5 cable to their controlling devices (such as a HDMI v1.4 compatible AV Receiver), and then a single HDMI cable to their numerous HDMI v1.4 compatible components - such as a BD-Live Blu-ray player, DVR, or HDTV.
Another additional feature is support for two simultaneous 1080p streams for use in displaying 3D images. While no 3D Blu-ray spec has been approved at this time, the resulting spec will likely include the necessity for two 1080p video streams, and HDMI v1.4 will support it.
Some other new features include:
- Audio Return Channel
- 4K x 2K Resolution Support
- Expanded Support For Color Spaces
- Micro HDMI Connector
- Automotive Connection System
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All HDMI Category 1 Cables are certified up to 720p/1080i (Normal HDMI cables - Can support up to 1080p depending on source signal strength) and Category 2 Cables (High Speed HDMI Cables) are all 340Mhz tested, >1080p resolutions (Exceeds current 1080p - 1920 x 1080 HD specifications). All Cables are manufactured using the highest quality cables rated from 24 - 30 AWG (American Wire Gauge Rated) depending on bandwidth and length, Triple Shielded for electromagnetic interference and gold plated connectors for best possible signal transfers.
Graphics layout of display resolutions. Category 1 Cables support up to HD 1080p and Category 2 Cables support up to WQXGA (2560x1600). HDMI v1.4 cables support up to 3840×2160 24Hz/25Hz/30Hz, 4096×2160 24Hz. DSTV / Multichoice currently broadcast their HD Channel on HD 720 (1280 x 720) - 720p.
Blu-ray Disc, introduced in 2006, offers new high-fidelity audio features that require HDMI for best results. Dolby Digital Plus (DD+), Dolby TrueHD, and DTS-HD Master Audio use bitrates exceeding TOSLINK capacity. HDMI 1.3 can transport DD+, TrueHD, and DTS-HD bitstreams in compressed form. This capability allows a preprocessor or audio/video receiver with the necessary decoder to decode the data itself but has limited usefulness for Blu-ray.
Blu-ray permits interactive audio whereby the disc content tells the player to mix multiple audio sources together before final output. Most players will consequently handle audio-decoding internally and simply output LPCM audio all the time. Multichannel LPCM can be transported over an HDMI 1.1 (or higher) connection. As long as the audio/video receiver (or preprocessor) supports multi-channel LPCM audio over HDMI, and supports HDCP, the audio reproduction is equal in resolution to HDMI 1.3. Many of the cheapest AV receivers, however, do not support audio over HDMI and are often labeled as HDMI pass through devices and only passes HDMI video/audio to the next device in the HDMI stream e.g display device or HDMI Distribution device.
Note that not all of the features of an HDMI version may be implemented in products adhering to that version since certain features of HDMI, such as Deep Color and xvYCC support, are optional.
| HDMI revision |
1.0 |
1.1 |
1.2/1.2a |
1.3/1.3a/1.3b/1.3b1 |
| Maximum signal bandwidth (MHz) |
165 |
165 |
165 |
340 |
| Maximum TMDS bandwidth (Gbit/s) |
4.95 |
4.95 |
4.95 |
10.2 |
| Maximum video bandwidth (Gbit/s) |
3.96 |
3.96 |
3.96 |
8.16 |
| Maximum audio bandwidth (Mbit/s) |
36.86 |
36.86 |
36.86 |
36.86 |
| Maximum resolution over single link HDMI at 24-bits per pixel |
1920x1200p60 |
1920x1200p60 |
1920x1200p60 |
2560x1600p75 |
| RGB |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| YCbCr |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| xvYCC |
No |
No |
No |
Yes |
| Deep Color |
No |
No |
No |
Yes |
| Maximum Color Depth (bits per pixel) |
24 |
24 |
24 |
48* |
| Consumer Electronic Control (CEC)** |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Updated list of CEC commands*** |
No |
No |
No |
1.3a+ |
| Auto lip-sync |
No |
No |
No |
Yes |
| 8channel/192 kHz/24-bit audio capability |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| DVD-A support |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| SACD (DSD) support **** |
No |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
| TrueHD bitstream capable |
No |
No |
No |
Yes |
| DTS-HD Master Audio bitstream capable |
No |
No |
No |
Yes |
| Blu-ray/HD DVD video and audio at full resolution***** |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
* = 36-bit support is mandatory for Deep Color compatible CE devices with 48-bit support being optional.
** = CEC has been in the HDMI specification since version 1.0 but has only begun to be used in CE products with HDMI version 1.3.
*** = Large number of additions and clarifications for CEC commands. One addition is CEC command allowing for volume control of an AV receiver.
**** = Playback of SACD may be possible for older revisions if the signal source (such as the Oppo 970) converts to LPCM. For those receivers that have only PCM DAC converters and not DSD this means that no additional resolution loss occurs.
***** = Even for audio bitstream formats that a given HDMI revision cannot transport it may still be possible to decode the bitstream in the player and transmit the audio as LPCM.
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