Hear From Test Experts
Allion Labs/ Tina Yu
Recently, the HDMI Forum has released the Compliance Test Specification (CTS) version 2.1c for Sinks. One of the highlights of HDMI 2.1 is Fixed Rate Link (FRL), which is the signaling technology used to transmit HDMI 2.1 data and enable 8K resolution.
Allion Labs / Tina Yu
8K TV has been a trending topic ever since Japan announced 8K broadcast plans for Tokyo 2020 Olympics. At CES 2020, TV manufacturers such as SONY, Sharp, LG, Samsung, and TCL all showed off their own 8K models. According to IHS Markit report, 8K TV shipments were less than 20,000 units in 2018, but the shipments would reach 430,000 units in 2019. By 2020, it is estimated to approach 2 million units. The statistics show that 8K TV can be one of the most profitable businesses in the foreseeable future.
Read moreGeneral Overview
With the rapid development of the IT industry, transfer quality, speed and application diversity have initiated a continued drive towards the development of faster transfer speeds. In order to enhance signal transfer encoding speed and shorten user waiting sessions. 1. Lowering package precision. 2. Providing full duplex transfer modes are both plausible ways to tackle the issue. In order to reach this goal, all individual components must be able to minimize signal decay, distortion and resistance towards interference.
Hence, the connector which acts as a bridge would also require an upgrade, due to the increasing role it plays in transmission quality and speed. The flow chart below shows the evolution of USB transmission speed from USB 1.0 to USB 3.1 Gen 2. Another important point to mention is the transmission mode which upgraded from half-duplex to full duplex.
As a next-generation digital video technology, Ultra-High-Definition (UHD) is gradually supplanting HD video across the consumer electronics (CE) landscape. In our homes, at work, and on the go, UHD is now available in a wide range of products, including televisions, computer monitors, video cameras, and mobile devices. Content producers, video service providers, hardware manufacturers, and retailers are all promoting the transition to UHD. For content producers and service providers, UHD presents an opportunity to bring cinematic quality experiences to smaller screens. For hardware manufacturers and retailers, UHD can attract new customers and thereby accelerate sales. A leading expert noted that, “There is considerable industry interest in the potential for (UHD) to speed up the next replacement cycle among CE shoppers”.[1] Now that UHD products have passed the early-adopter stage and reached mass-market price points, UHD products are primed for rapid growth in 2016 and beyond.
[1] Parks Associates Whitepaper. “4K | A New Era in Video Content”
Over time, HDMI has become a dominant multimedia interface that can be found in home theater equipment, personal computers, automotive electronics, and many mobile devices. Previous iterations of HDMI conquered the consumer electronics market by squeezing HD video and Hi-Fi audio signals through a single cable. In anticipation of market demand for Ultra-High Definition (UHD) displays, which offer four times the resolution of HD video, HDMI Forum published the new HDMI 2.0 specification in September 2013. This was followed by the publication of the corresponding HDMI Compliance Test Specification 2.0 in April 2014. These developments have enabled television manufacturers to begin launching UHD TVs in the 2nd half of 2014.
In recent years, HDMI has gradually replaced DVI or VGA and become the major audio/video transmission interface for all kinds of computers, smart TVs, over-the-top devices and blu-ray players. In response to this market trend which there is a wide variety of HDMI cables with significant difference in price and visual perception, how to make the best choice for all your purchasing HDMI cables is the important lesson. To help the consumers or buyers understand the quality of HDMI cables in the market, Allion (Allion Labs, Inc.) particularly analyzes the quality and performance of various types of HDMI cables.
Along with the mature high-definition video display technology, people have higher expectations on audio/video experience today. For consumer electronics (CE) devices and home entertainment products, supporting HD audio/video transmission has become an essential requirement. However, while the tendency of mobile devices’ form factor is smaller and smaller, making a product design embedded HD signal transmission interface has become challenging than ever. Also, the high power consumption of HD signal transmission is also a key element that impact the standby time of mobile devices. With these above situation and the increasing needs of mobile audio /video streaming, the latest mobile HD connectivity technical standard – MHL (Mobile High-Definition Link) is therefore released.
For those Adopters who want to ensure the way of getting HDMI royalty discounted rate (which is $0.05 per unit sold), HDMI Licensing, LLC has recently released a statement to clarify its guidelines. In Attachment B of the Adopter Agreement, it is indicated that Adopter must “reasonably incorporates the Adopted Trademarks on its Licensed Products and related documentation and promotional materials” to receive the royalty discount. HDMI Licensing, LLC also provides a simple understandable formula which is shown below:
Thunderbolt, formerly called ‘Lightpeak’, is Intel’s new high-speed I/O technology through a single port that is first available on new Apple MacBook Pro notebooks lately. Fast data transfers are Intel’s main claim, such as 10 gigabits per second transfers and dual-protocol support. The allows for two channels on the same connector at up to 10 gigabits per second that can support both PCI Express and DisplayPort technologies. Compared with existing technologies, Thunderbolt is regarded as a combination of HDMI and USB 3.0, the loading quantity is spectacularly huge through its co-invented PCI Express 4x, which can connect external devices directly to Macbook Pro.
In the second article, we will continue introducing the next three industry standards: HDMI, DisplayPort and SATA.
4. HDMI
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