Great news for home cinema enthusiasts and keen gamers: the days of carefully juggling HDMI connections might finally be coming to an end. It’s all thanks to MediaTek's new Pentonic 800 chip, which is set to grace a plethora of 2025 TV line-ups with three or four HDMI 2.1 ports.
Until now, unless you opted for premium Samsung or LG models, you have been stuck with just two HDMI 2.1 ports – a frustrating limitation for anyone juggling a PS5, Xbox Series X, and/or a high-end PC, as the 2.1 standard is needed to make use of 4K 120fps gaming capabilities. HDMI 2.1 ports also support Dynamic HDR at 4K/120fps and 8K/60fps., along with eARC for DTS:X and Dolby Atmos sound. And now, thanks to the advent of MediaTek’s new internals, there will be more choices for other brands in the very near future.
Hisense is leading the charge with its 2025 range, confirming multiple HDMI 2.1 ports across its various models (via Vincent Teoh on X). The company’s upcoming U8Q series is particularly interesting, as some markets will get three HDMI 2.1 ports plus a USB-C DisplayPort connection for PC gaming, marking the first time we've seen USB-C on a TV. It's a smart move that could make the eternal port-hunting headache a thing of the past.
The real excitement though, lies in what this means for the wider TV market. Most major brands including Sony, Panasonic, Philips, and TCL use MediaTek chips in their TVs. With the Pentonic 800's expanded capabilities now confirmed at CES 2025, we are likely to see this feature trickling down across various price points and manufacturers throughout the year.
Interestingly, while Panasonic has confirmed that its new flagship OLED, the Z95B, still has just two HDMI 2.1 sockets, there's a chance that its yet-to-be-revealed step-down models could still have four. The new Philips and Sony TV ranges are still to be announced.
While Samsung and LG have long flaunted their four-port setups (thanks to their in-house chip designs), 2025 could finally level the playing field. We're keeping our eyes peeled for more announcements as manufacturers finalise their lineups for the year ahead.
And, as always, stay tuned for in-depth reviews and comparisons once these new models hit our test rooms.
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