SUNNYVALE, Calif., August 23, 2005 - HDMI Licensing LLC, the agent responsible for licensing the High-Definition Multimedia Interface™ (HDMI™) 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."

Yeah I know the 990 does not have HDMI only DVI, and I wish it did. The HDMI 1.1 is the only you really want if HDMI is important to you since it supports SACD. It was probably the smart thing for the Outlaws not to included until 1.1 and 1.2 standards are intergrated. Pesonally I am holding off on the 990 till it does support HDMI, at least ver. 1.1 and waiting for the next version of amps that have balanced inputs to match those now coming out of the 990. When that happens I am gonna be first in line with my check book. Below is a little more on HDMI.

About HDMI
Becoming An Adopter
HDMI Specification
Compliance Test Specification

About HDMI

What is HDMI?
HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) is the first and only industry-supported, uncompressed, all-digital audio/video interface. HDMI provides an interface between any audio/video source, such as a set-top box, DVD player, or A/V receiver and an audio and/or video monitor, such as a digital television (DTV), over a single cable.

HDMI supports standard, enhanced, or high-definition video, plus multi-channel digital audio on a single cable. It transmits all ATSC HDTV standards and supports 8-channel digital audio, with bandwidth to spare to accommodate future enhancements and requirements.

Who supports HDMI?
The HDMI Founders include leading consumer electronics manufacturers Hitachi , Matsushita Electric Industrial (Panasonic), Philips, Sony, Thomson (RCA), Toshiba, and Silicon Image. Digital Content Protection, LLC (a subsidiary of Intel) is providing High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP) for HDMI. In addition, HDMI has the support of major motion picture producers Fox, Universal, Warner Bros. and Disney, and system operators DirecTV, EchoStar (Dish Network) as well as CableLabs.

What companies are making HDMI-enabled products?
Please refer to the list of HDMI Adopters and Test Equipment Makers.

How do consumers benefit from HDMI?
The new HDMI digital interconnect provides:

Superior, uncompressed digital video and audio quality
A simple, single cable and user-friendly connector that replaces the maze of cabling behind the entertainment center
Integrated remote control
A popular interface enabling the transmission of high-definition content. HDMI opens the floodgate of digital content from major motion picture producers

What is the life expectancy of HDMI?
HDTV uses less than 1/2 of HDMI's available 5 Gbps bandwidth. With capacity to spare, HDMI can incorporate new technology advancements and capabilities long into the foreseeable future.

What are the advantages of HDMI over existing analog interfaces such as composite, S-Video and component video?


Quality: HDMI transfers uncompressed digital audio and video for the highest, crispest image quality.
All-Digital: HDMI ensures an all-digital rendering of video without the losses associated with analog interfaces and their unnecessary digital-to-analog conversions.
Low-cost: HDMI provides the quality and functionality of a digital interface while also supporting uncompressed video formats in a simple, cost-effective manner.
Audio: HDMI supports multiple audio formats, from standard stereo to multi-channel surround-sound.
Ease-of-use: HDMI combines video and multi-channel audio into a single cable, eliminating the cost, complexity, and confusion of multiple cables currently used in A/V systems.
Intelligence: HDMI supports two-way communication between the video source (such as a DVD player) and the DTV, enabling new functionality.

Is HDMI backward-compatible with DVI (Digital Visual Interface)?
Yes, HDMI is fully backward-compatible with DVI using the CEA-861 profile for DTVs. HDMI DTVs will display video received from existing DVI-equipped products, and DVI-equipped TVs will display video from HDMI sources.

Will current HD TVs and set-top boxes using DVI-HDTV be compatible with HDMI devices?
Yes. Currently there are TVs with DVI-HDTV inputs available from a wide variety of manufacturers. These devices will be compatible with future HDMI-equipped products.

What types of video does HDMI support?
HDMI has the capacity to support existing high-definition video formats (720p, 1080i, and even 1080p). It also has the flexibility to support enhanced definition formats such as 480p, as well as standard definition formats such as NTSC or PAL.

Does HDMI support Dolby 5.1 audio and high-resolution audio formats? Yes. From the start, HDMI was defined to carry 8-channels, of 192kHz, 24-bit uncompressed audio, which exceeds all current consumer media formats. In addition, HDMI can carry any flavor of compressed audio format such as Dolby or DTS. (Such compressed formats are the only multi-channel or high-resolution audio formats that can be carried across the older S/PDIF or AES/EBU interfaces.) The fact that the vast majority of HDMI products shipped are two-channel TVs that don’t support more than two-channel audio doesn’t make this any less the case. Most existing HDMI sources can output any compressed stream, and the newer sources can output uncompressed 6-channel, 96kHz audio from a DVD-Audio disk. There are several A/V receivers on the market that can accept and process the 6- or 8-channel audio from HDMI and more are expected to be available shortly.

Will HDMI support SACD?
The HDMI Founders designed the HDMI specification to be dynamic. HDMI has plenty of extra bandwidth to accommodate future audio and video requirements, and the Founders are committed to evaluating and updating the specification to help accommodate new audio and video formats that may be introduced in the foreseeable future. As an example, since the introduction of the initial HDMI 1.0 specification, the HDMI 1.1 specification supporting DVD-Audio has already been introduced. The HDMI Founders do not comment on future revisions of the spec, however there is no technical reason why HDMI could not support SACD.

Sorry for talking to myself but... I did make an error as stated above ver 1.1 supports DVD-Audio which is not exactly SACD.
What do you guys think about HDMI? I think it is just too cool that one cable can replace 11 others(8 audio channels and three componet vid cables), and it is all digital!!!

And you felt the need to post all this here because......????

I don't see any benefit at all to HDMI other than the elimination of an audio cable. I'll happily use my standard DVI connection plus TOSlink for audio.

Cheers,

I felt the need because DVI HMDI are at the leading edge and I thought it was rather interesting, sorry if I wasted your time Ritz. You know forums are to express an opinion. Someone out there may be wondering about why the 990 does not have HDMI or what HDMI meant in the first place. Next time before I post I will be sure to see if it meets with your approval.

This is an interesting news item. HDMI will almost inevitably be a significant standard in another year or three (unless something unexpected happens), because it's going to be the best interface for audio on HD-DVD and Blu-Ray. It is not the first digital audio connection to support DVD-Audio and SACD (both Firewire and Denon's proprietary link already do both), but it is somewhat better situated to see widespread adoption.

What I'm curious about is the hardware requirements associated with going from HDMI 1.1 to HDMI 1.2. Based on this quote from Kosman's original post -

I would suspect that HDMI 1.1 devices will not be truly hardware compatible with HDMI 1.2. It seems odd also that there is no mention of HD-DVD or Blu-Ray in this announcement, since those are the two that really give HDMI's audio side some long-term value. (Not to say that support for SACD and DVD-Audio doesn't have value, but both formats have been languishing for years now and there's no sign of that changing any time soon.)

Thanks for the interest Gonk.
Check out this link!
http://www.hdforindies.com/2005/08/mikes-latest-thoughts-hollywoods-folly

Here is a small peice of it:

"The HD Analog Shutout - no HD on your HDTV

It looks like the Hollywood studios are requiring use of an HDMI connector with HDCP (hardware device copy protection) for high definition video content on next generation formats, HD DVD and Blu Ray. Toshiba's HD DVD has already been shown with HDMI and stated definitively that the component analog outputs will work in standard definition ONLY, even though there is no TECHNICAL reason to prevent them from working in high definition. Sony, the primary backer of the competing Blu Ray format, also owns movie studios, so it's unlikely that they wouldn't require HDMI with HDCP as well. So this means that only newer sets with HDMI will be viable for watching high definition content. For all those who've already plunked down for HDTVs that lack this HDMI with HDCP, they are SOL. And frankly, think about it - who are the folks most likely to want to adopt high def DVDs? Probably those early adopter types who bought an HDTV to watch their DVDs a few years ago, prior to the introduction of this HDCP stuff.

So what does this mean? Imagine you spent $2000-$5000 on an HDTV a couple of years ago. You're into all this new tech, you love it. So HD DVD and Blu Ray discs actually ship, and you plunk down $500-$1000 for one of the first players (assuming you're OK buying into one of two competing standards) and you take it home and pop it in your player. Woops, your set lacks HDMI with HDCP, you only have HD component analog connections. Even though they work with all of your other high definition gear, the player will quietly downsample your HD signal to standard definition. You watch the movie, and frankly, it doesn't look any better than your regular DVDs that play on your kids' $50 player. Box it up and return it, you don't think it's worth it. You could be watching a regular DVD on a $50 player on a $300-$800 TV and it would look pretty much just as good.

It was a common supposition for a few years that buying a set that LACKED this and other digital shutouts (like hardware honoring the broadcast flag) would be protection against the onerous security measures coming. Looks like this is wrong, to the point that folks who have been early adopters will be punished."

For Ritz,
The previouis post is why anyone with a home theater system should be concerned about HDMI!

I'm not overly concerned about HDMI in and of itself (at least until the audio side reaches a truly final form, which may or may not be HDMI 1.2), but I have been keeping track of it as it has grown. I'm more concerned about the mess that is the HD disc format war, a war that HDMI is caught up in. As Kosman's link points out, it seem almost inevitable that both competing formats will "plug the analog hole" and restrict component video output to 480i or 480p (leaving it at best comparable to a good progressive scan DVD player for the millions of HDTV owners who lack a DVI or HDMI input) - HD-DVD has already gone on record as restricting component video output to 480i, and while I haven't seen Blu-Ray do the same I will be surprised if they do anything different.

Kos:

While the formal adoption of the HDMI format is a step forward, to some ways it helps underscore the very reason why the Outlaws may have done the right thing in not putting HDMI in the 990.

Why? Becuase what is NOT stated in any of the press announcements is the point hinted to by Gonk that HDMI 1.1 products, while compatible with 1.2, will not offer the benefits of 1.2. The reason for this has to do with the Receive (Rx) and Transmit (Tx) chips that you need to have in a fully HDMI compatible product in order to not only switch HDMI sources, but also to "pick off" the audio streams so that they may be decoded and/or processed. ALmost all of the chips available now, particularly those that would have had to have been available when the Outlaws and their OEM must have had to start planning the 990 -- let's call that bout a year ago -- cannot be upgraded for a "higher" HDMI level.

HDMI sources admit that this will be 100% certain when HDMI 1.1/1.2 products look look to handle the 1.3 (or whatever) spec when it comes out a year from now or so.

Imagine if the 990 DID have HDMI and now it was unable to handle 1.2/ Would you be upset? It seems that since the main issue is to provide a link for digital video, having DVI serves the purpose just fine, since the next change to the video side of the HDMI spec won't come for another 12 to 18 months.

Thus, you can buy a 990 now, have full video compatability with HDMI sources. OK, so you have to run a audio cables, but is that the end of the world?

It's a choice that you have to make: At what point are you content to buy and enhoy something today, or wait, wait, wait since no matter what you buy, there is at least one part of it that might have a different take from newer products in a month.