The saloon supports that, as well, although as with other forums the ability to identify "sticky" threads is restricted to moderators (which in the case of the saloon is Scott).

I've been decyphering plans on an unfamiliar job this evening, but I've also finished putting together this HDMI FAQ . I'll add links to it later (in my sig and on my site), and probably proofread it when I'm better rested.

As always, Good job Gonk.

Specs for HDMI 1.3 announced:

http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,1975596,00.asp

Good catch, Sanjay. Looks like I'll have to update the FAQ in the next couple days. It sounds like the Dolby Digital Plus and DTS-HD support is being joined by some significant changes to the video signal options. There doesn't seem to be any word about changes to the connector (aside from the optional mini-plug for camcorders). Once HDMI puts up some info on their site (currently it just says "Check back soon for information on version 1.3 of HDMI"), I'll definitely be making some revisions - and in the meanwhile I'll start poking around the 'net for more details.

Yeah, I'd heard rumour that a new 'locking' connector was in the works and possibly part of the v1.3 spec. Apparently not.

Everyone should also keep in mind that this is just a description of the specs at a news site. HDMI.org hasn't even made the official announcement yet.

And then parts makers have to start producing connectors and chipsets that manufacturers, like Outlaw, can start buying to incorporate into upcoming products (with some testing and bug fixing along the way). Certainly not a quick nor easy path to new processors and receivers.

Still, the fact that the spec is finally ready is encouraging.

I agree - so many people have been in limbo because of the interest in HDMI 1.3 (every time I see first mention of an HDMI-equipped product at AVS it seems that someone immediately asks if it's using 1.3). Maybe now we'll start to see more manufacturers start to be able to more forward.

The wait may be slightly longer than people anticipate. Since HDMI 1.3 can transmit the new HD audio codecs natively, manufacturers won't miss the opportunity to incorporate new format decoder chips into upcoming receivers and pre-pros.

Are those chips ready and shipping? I know they are for players (with some limited functionality) but I don't know if chip makers have them ready for receivers and pre-pros.

If I were a manufacturer, I wouldn't just graft HDMI 1.3 capability onto my current models. I'd definitely wait for format decoding chips for DD+, DTS-HD, Dolby TrueHD, etc. No sense implementing only part of the 1.3 spec. So this may take longer than people expect.

I agree with you, Sanjay. I suspect the PS3 has provided enough inertia to get HDMI 1.3 components ready for the player side fairly quickly (at least ready enough to be shipping in hardware in the next six months, although I doubt we'll see HDMI 1.3 even on the player side much before the PS3 hits in November), but to integrate it into receivers and processors is likely to take longer. If I had to guess, I'd say early 2007 at the soonest for the big guns (Sony, Panasonic, Pioneer, Denon) and mid-2007 or past that for smaller manufacturers like Outlaw, Rotel, and the like. After all, the spec isn't technically out yet - and once it is, it'll take time to get the chips hammered out so they can then be integrated into new designs, plus time to get decoders for the new formats working on receivers and processors (DD+ may have a head start in that regard thanks to the HD-DVD and Blu-ray players that are already doing that decoding, but even on those we haven't seen a surround-capable TrueHD decoder show up on store shelves yet).

Spec finally (officially) released on June 22:

http://www.hdmi.org/resourcecenter/index.asp

Gonk - time to update your HDMI FAQ. :-)