With CES 2025 a mere few weeks away, we're beginning to see a steady stream of new announcements trickle in. While the big news such as new OLED TVs and the sort will remain a mystery until the show itself, we do have an exciting development regarding the next generation of HDMI.
Seven years after the HDMI organisation unveiled the current 2.1 interface – which has allowed for enhanced gaming features such as 4K/120Hz gaming with VRR and ALLM (and more recently 144Hz support) – it is set to introduce the next generation of HDMI at the technology convention in Las Vegas.
In an invitation sent to members of the press (and brought to our attention by FlatpanelsHD), the HDMI Forum mentions a "new specification, with next-gen HDMI Technology and higher bandwidth" that will reportedly enable a "wide range of higher resolutions and refresh rates and will be supported with a new HDMI cable."
This means that the speculatively titled HDMI 2.2 will surpass the 48Gbps bandwidth limit currently supported by HDMI 2.1, meaning we'll likely see video capabilities higher than 4K/120Hz or 8K/60Hz. While the statement shared by the organisation doesn't reference any specific resolution or refresh rate figures, the logical next step would be support for 8K/120Hz or 4K at even higher frame rates than 144Hz.
As we know, 8K content is few and far between as of now; however, this new HDMI upgrade could incentivise the production of more 8K films and games. Interestingly, the statement shared by the forum also makes note of a new cable, meaning that the upcoming HDMI standard probably won't be supported by the currently available high-speed HDMI 2.1 cables.
While its capability with 8K video at higher frame rates is merely speculation as of now, it is worth noting that the recently released PlayStation 5 Pro features support for 8K graphics with a small handful of titles.
But before we get ahead of ourselves, it's also worth remembering that many TV manufacturers are still lagging somewhat behind with HDMI 2.1. Practically every manufacturer other than Samsung and LG still only offers two high-speed HDMI sockets on their TVs, while the aforementioned Korean brands feature four.
Introducing a new HDMI spec sounds promising, but there is no promise we'll see it on the upcoming 2025 TVs that are set to be announced at CES 2025. Only time will tell if the upcoming models will feature the new HDMI standard.
MORE:
Read our full Samsung QN900D review
Check out our picks for the best OLED TVs
HDMI 2.1: everything you need to know including features and specs
