Find Out What is HDMI and Why You Should Use it 

High-Definition Multimedia Interface, which is simply known as HDMI, is a specific type of connector used for both audio and video. It is used for connecting various components to a video monitor or to a digital television. Components typically connected with an HDMI connector include Blu-ray disc players, set-top boxes, video game consoles, computers using Windows Vista, and AV receivers.

Why You Should Use HDMI

When deciding on the type of cable you can use when connecting components to a television or monitor, you will have the option of HDMI, coaxial cable (also referred to as RF), SCART, composite video, component video, S-video, VGA, DVI-D, and DVI-I. In most cases, HDMI is your best option for a variety of reasons. These include:

• HDMI is capable of supporting any PC or TV video format

• HDMI works independently from the many different DTV standards

• HDMI offers support for 8-channel uncompressed digital audio with 192kHz sample rate and 24 bits per sample

• HDMI offers support for up to 8 channels of one-bit audio

• HDMI is backward compatible, which allows a DVI-D source to drive an HDMI monitor and vice versa

With so many benefits associated with using HDMI technology, it is easy to see why more people are choosing to use this type of connection over the other available connection types.

Understanding the Different Versions of HDMI

There are several different versions of HDMI that have been released. When you select an audio/visual component, it will be manufactured to adhere to a certain version. The versions are numbered, with 1.0 being the most basic. Each version that follows is capable of using the same cables but the capabilities and throughput of the cable increases with each subsequent version. So far, the available versions of HDMI include:

• HDMI 1.0

• HDMI 1.1

• HDMI 1.2

• HDMI 1.2a

• HDMI 1.3

• HDMI 1.3a

• HDMI 1.3b

HDMI 1.0 was released in December of 2002 and consists of a single cable. It has a maximum bitrate of 4.9 Gbit/s and can support up to 165 Mpixel/s video as well as 8-channel/192 kHz/24-bit audio.

Over the years, HDMI has developed to have an increasing number of capabilities. The most recently released version, HDMI 1.3a, came out in November of 2006. This version removed the undershoot and maximum rise/fall time limits of its predecessors. It also made changes to the CED capacitance limits and provided RGB video quantization range clarification. The CEC commands from previous versions were also brought back, though in a bit different form, and audio control commands were added. The HDMI 1.3b version is still in the testing stage.