Earlier this year, the HDMI Forum announced the next version of the HDMI specification at CES. However, they didn’t fully share all of the details about HDMI 2.2. Today, we’re learning a bit more, and it’s being sent to manufacturers.

HDMI cables are notorious for having labels like “High Speed” or “Premium High Speed” that don’t really tell you much. Hopefully, those days are almost behind us. With the new HDMI 2.2 specification, there’s a new label to look for: Ultra96. This isn’t just a cool name, it means that this cable can handle a whopping 96 gigabits per second (Gbps) of data.

Why do you need all that bandwidth? HDMI 2.2 is pushing far past what HDMI 2.1 could do. While HDMI 2.1 tops out at 48Gbps, supporting things like 10K at 120Hz or 4K at 120Hz, HDMI 2.2 doubles down. We’re talking 4K at 480Hz, 8K at a buttery-smooth 240Hz, 10K at 120Hz, and even an insane 16K at 60Hz. The latter is a new detail we didn’t get back in January.

Now, before you rush out to buy a 16K TV—which I’m pretty sure does not exist—it’s important to remember that these new specs are largely about future-proofing. HDMI 2.1 was announced in 2017, and it took a while to be fully adopted. So, while you won’t be streaming 16K movies tomorrow—or even 8K, if we’re being honest—the increased bandwidth ensures that the HDMI standard can keep up with whatever resolutions and refresh rates come our way in the years to come.

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Beyond the raw numbers, HDMI 2.2 also brings another handy feature: Latency Indication Protocol (LIP). You know how frustrating it can be when your audio and video are just slightly out of sync, especially when your signal is bouncing through a soundbar or AV receiver. LIP is designed to smooth out those kinks, building on the synchronization improvements introduced with HDMI 2.1. It’s a small but significant detail that will make your home theater experience even better.

As mentioned, the HDMI Forum is sharing the HDMI 2.2 specification with manufacturers starting today. We don’t have a timeline for when to expect these new Ultra96 cables to hit store shelves. It’s likely we will start seeing them before the year ends, though.

Source: The Verge

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