Frequently Asked Questions

HDMI Basics

HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) is an industry-supported, uncompressed, all-digital A/V interface that provides a single-cable connection between a source and a display.

HDMI connectors meet a required pull strength similar to USB. Under normal use the plug remains seated.

Yes. Video only. HDMI is backward compatible with DVI via passive adapters; audio is not carried on DVI.

Supports existing HD formats including 480p, 720p, 1080i, and 1080p (per the era of the spec referenced).

HDCP is Intel’s content protection used with HDMI. It is separate from HDMI licensing but operates over the same interface.

Deep Color and Color Space

Deep Color increases color depth within RGB/YCbCr. xvYCC expands the color space limits to include a wider gamut.

HDMI 1.3 Specs (historic)

Category 1: 74.25 MHz, 720p/1080i @ 30/60Hz, 8-bit. Category 2: 340 MHz, 1080p @ up to 120Hz, up to 16-bit.

The letter suffix denotes the test procedure revision, not performance level.

Bandwidth to 340 MHz (10.2 Gbps), support for 30/36/48-bit color, xvYCC, mini Type-C connector, automatic A/V lip-sync, and new lossless audio formats Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD MA.

1.0: Dec 2002; 1.1: May 2004; 1.2: Aug 2005; 1.2a: Dec 2005; 1.3: Jun 2006; 1.3 Cable spec: Jul 2007.

Ecosystem

Founders include Hitachi, Matsushita (Panasonic), Philips, Sony, Thomson, Toshiba, and Silicon Image. HDCP provided by DCP, LLC; backed by major studios and broadcasters.

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