HDMI - the one-cable alternative to the spaghetti of audio and video connections behind home theatre set-ups – is adding ethernet to its capabilities as the internet comes to the television and living room.
A new proliferation of wires threatens, with internet-connected games consoles, set-top boxes and even TV sets linked by ethernet cables. However, HDMI ‘s 1.4 specification, announced today, means such data requirements can now be absorbed in its next-generation cable instead.
The new data channel being opened up allows connected devices to send and receive data through 100 megabit per second ethernet and will enable the sharing of digital content between devices.
That is likely to make one device, probably the TV, the network hub for connecting all surrounding devices to the internet through single HDMI cables, Steve Venuti, president, of HDMI Licensing told me in an interview.
Applications will include LiquidHD, the new standard for moving video seamlessly between devices around the home, which was announced at the Consumer Electronics show in January.
There are several other features in the new specification. An audio return channel can remove the need for an extra audio cable to link a TV tuner to a receiver.
3D is supported in the various formats that currently exist as is the next evolution of resolution – 4k x 2k, which is 4x the resolution of 1080p. Some large plasmas are capable of displaying it, although no content is really available yet.
1.4 also allows real-time content recognition, which means TV displays can be instantly optimised for the content format they are receiving.
In addition, the specification improves the match-up of colours shown on a display with the content from a connected digital camera.
Mr Venuti expects to see the first 1.4 adoption in top-of-the-line devices late this year, with more products announced at the Consumer Electronics Show in January.
He sees the previous generation 1.3 cables continuing to sell well at a lower price, with the networked 1.4 ones attracting a premium.
All of these improvements should help HDMI keep the wolf from the door in the shape of WirelessHD.
Mr Venuti accepts that consumers would prefer no cables at all, but insists this won’t happen quickly.
“Wired is more secure, it is faster and it always will be, so we’ll always be a generation ahead of the wireless folks,” he insisted.
“I think wireless is not going to be as prevalent as quickly as wireless in the PC world because of the quality of service issues and just the amount of data and type of data it’s transmitting are a little different.”
