By Craig Zammit
SYDNEY: The HDMI Licensing Group today announced a major High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) enhancement which will more than double the single link bandwidth speed from 165MHz (4.95GB per second) to 340 MHz (10.2GB per second).
One of the most significant features of HDMI 1.3 will be its deep colour feature, allowing on-screen colours to be enhanced from millions to billions, helping the next generation of HDTVs, PCs and DVD players achieve their full potential through the display of 30, 36 and 48bit colour depths.
The new colour depth capabilities also allow HDMI 1.3 to achieve an amplified contrast ratio and an eight-fold increase in the number of grey shades between black and white.
Furthermore, adoption of HDMI 1.3 is well and truly underway, with Sony recently announcing its PlayStation 3 (PS3) will be HDMI 1.3 compatible.
“PlayStation 3 will be the most advanced computer platform for enjoying a wide range of entertainment content, including the latest games and high definition movies, in the home,” Sony Computer Entertainment president and group CEO, Ken Kutaragi told www.prnewswire.com.
“By introducing the next-generation HDMI 1.3 technology, PS3 will push the boundaries of audio/visual quality to the next level.”
HDMI 1.3 will be backwards compatible with HDMI 1.1 hardware and, in an attempt to future-proof the technology, the ability to allow future versions of HDMI to reach even higher speeds has been built-in to the foundations of the enhancement.
The capacity to accommodate the two new high-bandwidth lossless compressed digital audio formats – Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio – will also be a major feature of HDMI 1.3 for home theatre buffs.
The technology will also feature an automatic audio/video synching capability and a new mini connector for seamless connection from HD-TV to HD camcorders and still cameras.