HDMI Licensing, LLC, based in Sunnyvale, California USA, monitors the application and specifications of the HDMI format. They are a wholly owned subsidiary of Silicon Image, and are responsible for the enforcement of manufacturing and promotional standards, with a view to driving out the unauthorized manufacturing and sale of products which employs HDMI technology. They do this through a thoroughly defined licensing system, the licensees of whom are called "HDMI Adopters". To become an Adopter, an applicant company must sign an agreement of which binds them into strict compliance to the specification standards as set out in the agreement. It's quite an extensive document which goes into very minute detail. They must also then pay associated licensing fees and royalties on an ongoing basis.

In brief, any company who becomes an Adopter of HDMI technology MUST only manufacture and/or promote product which complies to at least specification 1.1. This is a highly effective method of quality control, and is policed to ensure strict adherance to the quality standards. Consumers cannot be expected to understand the technical intricacies of the HDMI technology - hey, we just want to know if the product that we're looking at buying will perform to at least meet expectations! The great news is that it's now very easy to tell if a product is of guaranteed quality - check to see if the manufacturer is an official HDMI Adopter. If they're not, then unfortunately you can't assume compliance...

To see if a manufacturer is an Adopter , visit the official international HDMI website. A full up-to-date listing of HDMI Adopters globally can be seen at http//:www.hdmi.org/about/adopters_founders.asp.

Any company which has NOT signed an Adopter agreement cannot then be verified as producing HDMI products which meet the minimum specifications, and hence the product may cause problems. In some cases such "problems" may simply mean that the product does not work. In more extreme cases it may cause damage, the result of which may entail a void of warranty by the hardware manufacturer into which non-compliant product was connected. So please be very careful, and for the best and most reliable results, ALWAYS use products which come from HDMI Adopter members.

WARNING:
DO NOT USE UNAUTHORIZED HDMI PRODUCTS,
INCLUDING BOTH HARDWARE AND CABLES