The Label Says HDMI 2.1 But That Doesn’t Mean You’ll Get It

Technology moves quickly these days as consumers continue to demand more data and more pixels. We see regular updates to standards for USB and RAM continually coming down the pipeline as the quest for greater performance goes on.


HDMI 2.1 is the latest version of the popular audio-visual interface, and promises a raft of new features and greater performance than preceding versions of the standard. As it turns out, though, buying a new monitor or TV with an HDMI 2.1 logo on the box doesn’t mean you’ll get any of those new features, as discovered by TFT Central.



The New Hotness


If you’re intending to use HDMI 2.1 for higher-bandwidth video modes and certain other features, you’ll need a Ultra High Speed cable in order to guarantee proper operation. Credit: HDMI.org

HDMI 2.1 aimed to deliver multiple upgrades to the standard. The new Fixed Rate Link (FRL) signalling mode is the headline piece, providing up to 48 Gbps bandwidth, a major upgrade over the 18 Gbps possible in HDMI 2.0 using Transition Minimised Differential Signalling, or TMDS. TMDS remains a part of HDMI 2.1 for backwards compatibility, but FRL is key to enabling the higher resolutions, frame rates, and color depths possible with HDMI 2.1.


Thanks to FRL, the new standard allows for the display of 4K, 8K, and even 10K content at up to 120 Hz refresh rates. Display Stream Compression is used to enable the absolute highest resolutions and frame rates, but HDMI 2.1 supports uncompressed transport of video at up to 120 Hz for 4K or 60 Hz for 8K. The added bandwidth is also useful for running high-resolution video at ..

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