HDMI 1.4 brings internet sharing, dreadful tiers of quality
By Darren Murph 
posted May 14th 2009 9:43AM
posted May 14th 2009 9:43AM
The bad news? HEC will only work with new HDMI 1.4 spec cables, and those will be graded into two separate levels of performance: low- and high-data rate. We needn't describe to you what kind of ball Monster Cable is going to have with that one, but even outside of that, we're baffled by the decision to add one more complexity to a cable that should seriously be doing everything in its power to not be overshadowed by DisplayPort. At any rate, we're told that Silicon Image is hoping to ship chip samples to manufacturers in Q2 2009, while HDMI 1.4-enabled products could arrive as early as next year. We aren't holding our breath, but we'll gladly eat crow if need be.
Makes SD look positively warm and snuggly, donnit?
Just about does. Seriously what happened to making a spec and freaking sticking with it? Anybody remember DVI? You had DVI-D and DVI-I, and both were there from the start. Original DVI compliant devices are still compliant today. If standard HDMI cables could support this from the start... did they leave out features on purpose to 'encourage' upgraded devices down the line?
Look over the HDMI Founders who control this mess and you'll see a who's who of consumer electronics device and part manufacturers. Practically every one of them has a vested interest and would benefit from building planned obsolescence into the very interfaces.
This is why such interface specs should be 100% divorced from the manufacturers that build the devices AND should be set in stone. If you want to add freaking internet along with audio, video, HDCP (shouldn't be there in the first place but I digress), and the the Consumer Electronics Control signal MAKE A NEW SPEC.
Nobody wants their audio and video transmitted over the same cable anyway. It forces unnecessary receiver upgrades so you can actually deal with the audio separately, as it should be. The entire HDMI interface is a barely veiled sham pulled over the public to encourage frequent upgrades on multiple devices that in no way needed to be upgraded.
come on now guys, don't be so harsh on the HDMI people. The internet has only been around a few weeks, and i think it's great that they were able to add this capability so quickly
The VESA orginization that came up with VGA & DVI are in charge of DisplayPort. VESA was established in 1989 to set and support industry-wide interface standards designed for the PC, workstation, and other computing environments. DisplayPort can be compatable with HDMI, DVI, & VGA.
The companies who came up with DVD +, -, and RAM formats, HD-DVD & Blu-Ray, VHS & BetaMax created HDMI to fix some of the problems with DVI however these companies DO NOT easily agree on anything for long. They tend to 'fail' half the time untill generally accepted then they update and change their specifications upto the limit of 'acceptable backwards' compatability. They create standards to profit from the royalties over the years, not for the good of equipment interconnection & design.
It is easy to accept HDMI for consumer A/V (for the forseeable future), however VESA (DisplayPort) IS the good bet. 1 cable for Multiple outputs, backwards & cross compatability, longer cabling design length, etc.
@ Josh Warner: Careful with your "Nobody wants.." statements. Some people like to only have to run one cable 50 ft. to their receiver so they can enjoy HTPC goodness without having to build a separate HTPC just for the living room, or buy a set-top (that won't play all the formats you want) and network it to your computer with the media. I happen to enjoy a "one cord solution" very much. Sounds like you're just salty cause your receiver doesn't support it.
Also, I don't see how a spec that will work with both audio and video, and with anything that can output either of them, and in HD, and digitally, is "a barely veiled sham pulled over the public to encourage frequent upgrades on multiple devices that in no way needed to be upgraded". Again, salty.
Seriously, who cares about DisplayPort? I've never seen a single device that supports it in the wild, while even the crummiest netbooks have HDMI ports nowadays.
Most Apple computers have DisplayPort and Dell LCDs support this as well.
DisplayPort is a loyalty free technology which I hope catches on. :)
After buying 3 HDMI cables to 3 High-End devices the standard better not change....
All the laptops I've bought recently (Latitude E6400, Thinkpad W500) have Displayport and VGA, but no HDMI
I really do not care if DisplayPort is simpler, royalty free or even better. What I care about is that HDMI has grabbed a solid foot hold in the A/V market and that better not change. A lot of early adopters were left high and dry when HDMI forced its way to the market. I have since gotten over that and all my devices from my popcorn hour to my receiver are all HDMI, it is also nice to have one connection to take care of everything, but using component and coax or optical cables would not be the end of the world. The added ethernet capabilities is a neat idea, but overall, running ethernet cable is really not a major issue (and cheaper!).
I also would just like to point out that component could do 1080p and maybe beyond, but that was squashed since the movies studios are scared we could use it to steal their movies. HDMI gives them DRM, which for some reason they think is safe...
My three year old toshiba DLP has displayport... makes your claim kinda unfounded.
Wow, three years?!?
HDMI has been items for longer than 3 years, in fact HDMI equipped components started shipping out in fall of 2003. On top of that, I think you would be hard pressed now to find DisplayPort on most modern A/V components. I just spent a good time looking at receivers with HDMI, I need something for a pre/pro, and I don't recall seeing DisplayPort on a single one of them, not even the high-end ones. I would chaulk up your Toshiba DLP having DisplayPort as nothing more than it was just new at the time and Toshiba felt like adding it. My first HDTV, that I bought 6-7 years ago, had FireWire. It was a new technology (for the A/V world) that companies had been toying using it for audio, video and control of the unit all with one wire, however it never caught on and very few products ended up actually having it.
DisplayPort may have its place, all I am saying is that HDMI is already the standard for A/V components, so there is absolutley no point is changing that. It will only cause more headaches, plus, HDMI has more features gears towards the A/V world.
@Fred
My Dell E6500 and Macbook both have Display Port. But they are sitting on my desk at work, not in the wild :-)
I hope display port crashes and burns. Its bullshit, HDMI will finally unite television and computer devices, display port will only put a completely needless barrier between the markets. Luckily computer/monitor companies have been overwelmingly going with HDMI support, the only exceptions being the high end models with every port imaginable and Apple with their idiotic mini display port.
I simply see no point at all for the need of display port other than to get us to buy more crap we shouldnt have to get and to give us headaches when trying to connect hdmi devices to our computer monitors (or computers to our TV's). Screw you display port.
ugh....here we go. Clearly the classic ratio of suckers born/minute with increase ever higher at retail stores. Wake me up when there's a caramel and chocolate tiered HD"MI cable. Oh and if you don't have a friend or family member "in the know helping you when you buy your equipment, bring extra KY. I hear it lessen the rape pains....
And how about just adding ethernet ports (what are they, 12 cents to implement?) into televisions? Fuck more HDMI nonsense.
Overshadowed by DisplayPort? What? For computer displays perhaps, but for televisions, DVD / Blu-Ray players, DVRs, cable boxes? Not a chance.
It really doesn't matter whether new tiers of HDMI come out, Monster Cable will still compare them all to composite.
Composite? Nah, the SOBs at Monster will compare it to bunny ears with tin foil extensions.
Our A/V department recently completed a major overhaul, and had to buy 165 HDMI cables to hook up all the satellite sites. The A/V dude placed said order for Monster cables on the requisition form, which some of you might be glad to hear I vetoed outright and changed to a non-Monster supplier.
Good call, Monster cables=Dickheads
oh Yay! More 50$ cords and peripherals for me to buy!
HDMI + ethernet in one? Sounds yummy. I couldn't care less about DisplayPort until it shows some form of real life, but I'd love the idea of having my entire entertainment center sharing a connection to my router.
Sounds like they are trying to create a Lord of the Rings cable to me. One cable to rule them all...
I've actually yet to see a device that uses displayport, everything I've used is HDMI and I hope it stays that way we don't need anymore wires around. Plus this new HDMI standard sounds pretty nice.
Well... You do have Dell laptops with Display port, and Dell monitor with them.
I think Dell is a strong supporter of Display Port.
No, Dell laptop with HDMI though. It has it's benefits, but not enough for it to exist along side HDMI.
What a bonehead move. They should work getting hdmi cables thinner, And device makers aren't any smart either in placing the ports on TVs and consoles. They stick out and easily bent.
No, they should have improved the plug, and do like Display Port where it snaps in, a bit like iPod/Zune USB cables for the device, so it doesn't fall off easily.
I'm sorry, but if it's a "standard," why does it keep changing? Curmudgeon before my time, I guess.
Because you can't make a standard that will fit infiniently into the future. You have to update them regularily to make sure they are good enough.
But yes, HDMI has already been update far to many times. That's also why I support DisplayPort and some people don't trust it. It's a far better standard than HDMI will ever be, but the products are not ready yet. Hopefully, HP, Lenovo, Nvidia, Apple and Dell will make the DisplayPort win.
Standards have revisions.
Monoprice, here I come!
LCD HDTV manufacturers (Sony, Samsung, etc) already have HEC enabled ports. So...these should work with this cable right?
Only if you pray to the right God.
Do you research Engadget! HDMI 1.3 already has this. There are two types of cables, Category 1 and Category 2. Most cheap cables are sold are in between those two categories. Category 1 is crippled, Category 2 is 10Gbps (1600p) However most cheap internet cables that aren't Category 2 certified are rather 5Gbps (1080p).
Good. Now I can upgrade from CRT and old DVD player for good.
THIS IS AWESOME! I work at a CI shop and the audio return is SWEET! I just hope that with the large majority of TV's connecting to the internet, this might be able to be a simple firmware upgrade? I could see other positives such as maybe allowing a device that already has an interconnection, such as a PS3, to share it's ethernet connection to a TV or AVR. Please comment and tell me what you think!
Where's some official information on this? That original PC Mag article no longer exists, and the official HDMI Licensing site (hdmi.org) has no mention of it at all.
Don't ever buy monster cables, get a better cable at 1/10th the price at monoprice.com. Monster cable is a horrible ripoff...but damn they are good at marketing.
this is getting ridiculous- thats like 4 'revisions' in 4 years.
thats why smarties like me always buy the best equipment (per category/price) on the market at the time- so you can survive the always forthcoming wavering of the CE industry.
Component video and DEEP BLACK XBR wegas ftw...until next year :P
And no A/V guy in their right minds will buy into displayport- it was made for computers, not av equipment. hdmi wasnt created for computers, it just landed there. catch?
Just sayin... Monster Cable still sucks
My prediction for Monster Prices for HDMI 1.4:
Low Quality: $100 for 6'
High Quality: $300 for 6'
'Gold plating provides superior performance' shall be written on the box
A few things:
HDMI cables are wicked cheap. 6' 1.3a Category 2 (10.2 Gbps) at monoprice is $3.56 (aka 9 cigarettes in NYC) http://bit.ly/UkufH
HDMI 1.4 will be backwards compatible with 1.3
Broadband-enabled TVs are a joke, and will continue to be, due to business relationships between the big hardware/big content companies. The real developments will come from Boxee/PCH type companies, and since they get their data over LAN/WiFi and send it to the display over HDMI already, this isn't really an earthshaking new standard.
Sure, there's 5% or so who will put all their 1.3 gear on Ebay and run out to buy 1.4 gear, but I don't predict that there will be much content or innovation in the HT space that would be able to take advantage of 1.4.
I'm sure they are already working on HDMI 1.5 just to screw us again.
How are you being screwed? No one's forcing you to upgrade. It's not like you can't continue to watch things with the current 1.3 spec.
I think the new cables are just a scam....lol. Next we will have 100000000P tv's. I bought my HDMI at http://www.theshowmaker.com came fast and was cheap! Monoprice is just a nice way of saying 2nd's....
technology.....it's like keeping up with the jones.
People, you do not need new cables!
As explained here: http://www.avforums.com/tv/
, the new standard does NOT require new cables, much in the same way that 1.3 didn't, whatever Mon$ter wanted us to believe.
The reason?
The higher resolution (4K, ect) images are locked to 24Hz, as opposed to 1080 signals that are sent at up to 60Hz.
This allows the new signals and audio formats to easily fit within the 10.6 Gb/s transfer rates of standard Hdmi.
The ethernet component is transmitted using the previously unused 19th pin in the Hdmi cable, which has been there all along, so all current and past hdmi compliant ables will work.
For all the TL;DR's, this means no cable upgrades are necessary, as the newer cables are totally identical to the old ones.
Looking forward to replies from Mon$ter claiming I am wrong, so I can shoot em down :)
Michael_L Out...
I don't understand why companies haven't embraced the concept of "Wireless" technology yet. It seems simpler. set your t.v. receiver and set-top box in the same room. It would just work. Everybody thinks that having everything in one cable is an improvement. We have had wireless for what seems like forever. e.g. Cellular networks, wifi, radio. Why not try to evolve this technology a little more?