Welcome
to HDMI.com.au,
Australia's only official resource site which looks at our local relevant
issues regarding HDMI technology, and its application in our market.
The rapid growth of this revolutionary and spectacular new format has
led to a significant influx of products to the Australian marketplace,
but what's it all about? What is HDMI? What will it do for me? What
does "HDMI Approved" mean? Here we will answer these questions
and more...
Special
features to look out for on this site are;
-
Full
explanation of the HDMI technology, in both the comprehensive techno-babble
version, as well as our attempt at the layman's version
-
All
you need to know about HDMI 1.3, how it differs
from the previous verions, and the difference between "Standard" and "High Speed"
-
Full
glossary of terms - HDMI, DVI, HDCP, TMDS, etc, etc.... Here we'll
explain what all these things mean.
Thanks
for stopping by!
Quick Questions;
Q1. What's the difference between "HD" and "Full HD"?
Q2. Will any "HDMI 1.3" labelled cable be suitable for use with "Full HD"?
Q3. What's the difference between HDMI 1.2, 1.3, 1.3a and 1.3b? Too many versions!!
Q4. Which type of cable do I need for my application?
Answers below the News
Q1. What's the difference between "HD" and "Full HD"?
A1. The term "High Definition" (HD) is used to describe the reproduction of video and/or film in higher than standard definition on a visual display such as LCD or plasma. There are three common formats of High Definition starting with 720p (1280x720 pixels), then 1080i (1080 lines of interlaced horizontal resolution), and then the best is 1080p (1920x1080 pixels). You'll notice that the ones ending in "p" (progressive scan) are stated in terms of pixel resolution, whereas a number ending in "i" (interlaced) is not reliant on vertical resolution (number of pixels across the width of the screen), but rather it is a higher resolution form of PAL or NTSC.
"HD" is commonly used as a label for the 720p and 1080i formats, whereas "Full HD" is a proxy term which was unofficially adopted by the industry to denote the higher resolution 1920x1080. So displays with the "Full HD" label should be expected to be able to resolve native 1920x1080 images pixel-for-pixel, from sources such as Blu-ray and HD-DVD. Note that a display with 1080pixels high but NOT 1920 pixels wide should not be labelled as "Full HD".
Q2. Will any "HDMI 1.3" labelled cable be suitable for use with "Full HD"?
A2. HDMI Licensing recently introduced new labelling guidelines relating to this issue. Over the coming several months the most reputable HDMI cable manufacturers (ie: the licensed ones) will follow these guidlines by labelling cables as either "Standard" or "High Speed". Both are part of the 1.3 specification, so please don't assume that all HDMI 1.3 cables are equal. "Standard" referes to cables that are certified to pass SD and broadcast HD (720p/1080i) as a minimum, but may in some cases also pass 1080p by application only (refer to the manufacturers' disclosures), but this is not required for certification. "High Speed" on the other hand will pass the full potential of HDMI 1.3 with full 1080p, Deep colour and the new HD Audio formats etc.
So why have two levels you ask? Surely this just confuses the market... Well, suggesting that there should be just one level - the top one - is like suggesting that all Holdens and Fords should be abolished, and that everybody should buy Mercedes Benz and BMW instead. ...this of course is just not going to happen. You only need High Speed HDMI if you have a top-end system with genuine 1080p. The reality is that most consumers won't, opting for the more common and economical 1366x768 resolution (WXGA) plasmas and LCDs and inputing 720p or 1080i at best. High Speed cables are more advanced and length restricted, and generally cost more. To have just one level, being the top only, would be overkill in a majority of situations.
Q3. What's the difference between HDMI 1.2, 1.3, 1.3a and 1.3b? Too many versions!!
A3. HDMI 1.2, or more specifically 1.2a, was the latest version of the original HDMI test specification. New versions were released periodically in order to evolve the technology, and ensure that it stayed ahead of the market demands and other technological advancements. Without mutliple version we'd all still be using 2002 technology. To this end HDMI evolved to an all new, higher level of performance capability with the release of version 1.3, now offering Deep Color, HD Audio, lip sync correction & xvYCC color space. This new version then quickly developed to 1.3a as the test criteria and specification were set in concrete, including two cable test levels. It later moved to 1.3b to also include test criteria for the new HDMI type C mini connector. Other specs for 1.3 did not change, so any claims of incompatability between 1.3a and 1.3b are false - the latter is the same as 1.3a, but with an extra test set for the mini connector. The HDMI Adopter license was modified in October 2007 to include new labelling rules which will require all cables to be labelled as "Standard" or "High Speed" by October 2008. Furthermore, all devices claiming 1.3 compliance will need to be accompanied with a set of supporting features for that particular device. This should help to alleviate confusion and misunderatanding in the marketplace, and negate the current need for assumption or clarification.
Q4. Which type of cable do I need for my application?
A4. Fortunately this one is quite simple. Regardless of the sources that you are running, use a Standard HDMI cable if your display is anything less than 1920x1080 resolution, and use a High Speed HDMI cable if your display is of native 1920x1080 resolution. The hard part right now is determining what cables are Standard and which ones are High Speed - this is something for which you must rely on the manufacturer.
NOTE: The use of low end upscalers that offer a boosted resolution from Standard to 1080i or 1080p should be treated with caution. Unless a percetible difference in picture quality results, upscalers can produce more problems in cable compatibility and bandwidth. Likewise, if your display is less than 1920x1080 resolution, set all source devices to output 720p or 1080i maximum (whichever looks better on your display), and only use 1080p where the display is native 1920x1080. Why? Because 1080p is much harder to pass through a cable, and you need either a high end Standard cable or preferably a High Speed cable to support it, and for no end benefit since the display will just step it back a notch anyway...
For more frequently asked questions, please visit our FAQ pages.
