HDMI 2.1's successor broke cover at CES 2025, promising significantly increased bandwidths to support much more demanding video formats, and now we have a clearer understanding of what those video formats will be.
The HDMI Forum, which is the accredited body that regulates the specifications of the currently available HDMI versions, has outlined the official specifications for the new connectivity format, meaning we know exactly what the new version will offer.
Currently speaking, HDMI 2.1 can support up to 48Gbps signals; however, HDMI 2.2 doubles that to 96Gbps. As such, HDMI 2.2 cables – which will be required to handle the higher bandwidth signals that the format supports – will feature Ultra96 branding to identify that they are compatible with the new HDMI format.
HDMI 2.2 cables, much like the available Ultra High Speed HDMI cables on the market, will be subject to the HDMI Cable Certification Program, meaning they will be tested at each length to ensure they support the full required bandwidth. Once they pass, they can carry the official Ultra96 Certification Label.
Supporting bandwidths up to 96Gbps will allow for much higher resolutions, including 12K up to 120fps (frames per second) and even 16K at 60fps. Yes, you read that right, we got 16K before an 8K streaming service or Blu-ray format.
4K up to 240fps will also be possible, as well as a wider range of high-quality uncompressed full chroma video formats, including "8K@60/4:4:4 and 4K@240/4:4:4 at 10-bit and 12-bit colour" according to the HDMI Forum.
Interestingly, the new HDMI 2.2 spec also includes Latency Indication Protocol (LIP), which the HDMI Forum claims will improve synchronisation between video and audio.
Now, extra headroom in the bandwidth department is always appreciated, as we never know what new development is around the corner; however, being the sceptics we are, we are a little bit confused about the benefits of HDMI 2.2.
8K TVs are on the market, though they're reserved for the top end of Samsung's lineup, and many other manufacturers have given up. As we've mentioned, 8K material is very, very scarce, and there certainly isn't any 12K or 16K content, or TVs for that matter, out there for mainstream public consumption.
There is, of course, the Chinese competitor GPMI (General Purpose Media Interface) to contend with. It comes in two variants, the first of which is Type-C, which will reportedly support the same 96Gbps bandwidths as HDMI 2.2; however, it's the Type-B version which will supposedly crush HDMI 2.2 with support for up to 192Gbps.
In this instance, the cart is so far ahead of the horse, we're not really sure if the horse will ever catch up. That being said, we're eagerly awaiting seeing how manufacturers will implement HDMI 2.2 going forward.
MORE:
HDMI 2.2: everything you need to know
HDMI 2.1: features, specs and news
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