But you shouldn’t worry about upgrading anytime soon.

The HDMI Forum is using CES — the annual showcase of all things home theater — to announce the new HDMI 2.2 specification. In a press release this morning, the trade association confirmed that the new spec will up total bandwidth significantly to a new high of 96Gbps. And yes, that means the introduction of an “Ultra96” HDMI cable that “enables all the HDMI 2.2 specification features.”

“Higher resolutions and refresh rates will be supported and more high-quality options will be provided,” the HDMI Forum said in its release. An example of an HDMI 2.2 cable (below) calls out some of those, including 4K at up to 480Hz, 8K at up to 240Hz, and 10K at 120Hz. Current HDMI cables can already pass 4K at 120Hz, so I doubt most people will feel any temptation to upgrade for years to come. And you’ll need content for any of these higher resolutions to be worthwhile, and there’s still a dearth of native 8K entertainment out there.

But with many TVs now offering 4K at up to 144Hz, and as consumers gravitate towards larger screens, the HDMI Forum sees ample reason to keep pushing forward.

There is at least a more helpful aspect of this spec for everyone: HDMI 2.2 includes a “Latency Indication Protocol (LIP) for improving audio and video synchronization, especially for multiple-hop system configurations such as those with an audio video receiver or soundbar.” In my experience, HDMI 2.1 and eARC have mostly resolved frustrating audio / video sync issues, but they can still pop up as a frustration depending on your setup. Apparently HDMI 2.2 will go further in keeping everything lined up and keeping this headache in the past.

Interestingly, the HDMI Forum is already anticipating tariff issues and has implemented an extensive certification program that includes anti-counterfeit labeling on packaging. You certainly can’t miss the Ultra96 badging.

HDMI 2.2 will be released in the first half of this year and be widely available “to all HDMI 2.x adopters.” Your TV and external devices will need to support the specification in order to unlock that new level of bandwidth, so we’re just starting down what’s inevitably going to be a long road.

  • zurohki@aussie.zoneEnglish
    60·
    2 days ago

    Half of them will print the highest bandwidth regardless of the actual cable’s capabilities so that won’t help.

    • otpEnglish
      5·
      2 days ago

      The options are to hope the writing is accurate, or to change the connector to break cross-compatibility.

      Buy cables from reputable sources and return anything that doesn’t do what it’s advertised to do, I guess. I like having as few ports as possible! Haha

        • frezik@midwest.socialEnglish
          5·
          1 day ago

          One way to do this is trademark law. You have a trademarked logo that says you can only use it if your cable meets certain standards. You can get sued if you label a cable that doesn’t meet it.

          SD cards and USB work this way. This relies on the trademark holder enforcing it, which doesn’t always happen.

    • stevediceEnglish
      1·
      2 days ago

      I mean, sure, but we’re assuming they’d have to be truthful.

        • stevediceEnglish
          3·
          2 days ago

          It is, but I’m just ranting about what I want so I’m allowed to ask for fairy dust and tasty sugar-free candy.