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HDMI FAQ

HDMI FAQ

  • What is HDMI?

    HDMI is a connection standard for HDTV and consumer electronics market. It is an all digital audio/video interface which carries uncompressed digital video and audio signals from a source, such as a DVD player or a setup box , to a display, such as a plasma TV. By delivering crystal clear, all digital audio and video over a single cable, HDMI provides you with the highest-quality home theatre experience.

  • What are the advantages of HDMI over existing analog video interfaces such as composite, S-Video, and Component video?

    • Quality:  HDMI is an all-digital interface, so there are no analog-to-digital conversions or the other way round like in analog interfaces. This helps HDMI to provide a good audio and video quality. The difference is even more noticeable at higher resolutions like 1080p. Digital video will be sharper than component, and eliminates the softness and ghosting effect found in component.
    • Ease-of-use: In HDMI, there are no messy cables that are found in analog interfaces as it combines video and multi-channel audio into a single cable.
    • Intelligence: HDMI has link intelligence so automatic format conversion and single remote control are possible.


  • Which resolutions does HDMI support?

    HDMI supports all the existing HDTV resolutions (720p, 1080p, 1080i, 1440p), EDTV (480p), and SDTV (480i).


  • Which audio does HDMI support?

    HDMI includes support for 8-channel uncompressed digital audio as well as any compressed stream like Dolby Digital or DTS. HDMI supports up to 8 channels of one-bit audio, such as that used on Super Audio CDs. With version 1.3, HDMI now also supports lossless compressed streams such as Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio.


  • What is HDMI 1.3?

    As of December 2007, HDMI 1.3 is the current HDMI specification. New features in HDMI 1.3 are:
    • Higher Speed: Increases its single-link bandwidth to 10.2 Gbps to support the demands of future HD display devices, such as higher resolutions, Deep Color and high frame rates.
    • Deep color: HDMI adds support for 30-bit, 36-bit and 48-bit color depths, up from 24-bit in earlier specifications allowing HDMI to render billions of colors, eliminate color banding etc.
    • Mini Connector: It offers a new, smaller form factor connector option to support connectivity of small portable devices such as HD camcorders with HDTV.
    • Lip Sync: It incorporates automatic audio synching capabilities that allow devices to perform synchronization of audio and video automatically with total accuracy.
    • New audio formats: HDMI adds support for lossless HD audio formats, Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio. Are my cables compatible with HDMI 1.3? What about Category 2? Cables are not HDMI 1.3 compliant, but devices are. According to HDMI specification, cables are labeled either Category 1 cables or Category 2 cables.
    • Category 1: Can perform at speeds of 75MHz, which is the equivalent of an uncompressed 1080i signal.
    • Category 2: Can perform at speeds of 340MHz, which is the highest bandwidth capability available over HDMI. They can successfully handle 1080p signals including those at increased color depths and/or increased refresh rates and are also able to accommodate higher resolution displays. You should use a cable that is rated for the specified speed your system requires.

  • What types of HDMI connectors are there?

    The three types of HDMI connecters are type A, B, and C.
    The standard Type-A HDMI connector has 19 pins, with bandwidth support for all SDTV, EDTV and HDTV modes. It is electrically compatible with single-link DVI-D.
    Type-B has 29 pins, allowing it to carry an expanded video channel for use with very high-resolution future displays. It is electrically compatible with dual-link DVI-D, but is not in general use.
    Type-C mini connector has 19 pins and is intended for connectivity with small portable devices such as digital cameras.

  • Is HDMI compatible with DVI?

    HDMI is backward compatible with single-link DVI (DVI-D, DVI-I but not DVI-A) through the use of a suitable cable or adapter. But some features such as audio, remote control capabilities of HDMI will be lost. If the display is not HDCP compliant, access to HD content might be restricted.

  • Can I convert HDMI to VGA?

    To convert a HDMI to VGI, you need a converter box. A cable or an adopter will not be useful for this.

  • What is HDCP and are your HDMI cables HDCP compatible?

    HDCP (High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection) is a technology developed by Digital Content Protection, LLC to protect digital entertainment content. The protocol provides a cost effective and transparent method for transmitting and receiving the highest quality digital entertainment content and will be enforced in near future .So if you have a HDCP incompliant device, you might have restricted access to HD content. All HDMI are HDCP compliant.

  • What is an HDMI switch, and why do I need one?

    You can use a HDMI switch to increase the number of HDMI input ports to your device. For example, if you want to connect an additional HDMI device to your TV, you can use a 2 port switch or a 4-port switch to do so.

  • What is an HDMI extender, and what is it useful for?

    An HDMI extender, equalizer or booster and can amplify an HDMI signal up to 150 feet of cable. This is needed because when you lay a long HDMI cable, it could result in loss of signal and so degraded quality of picture. An extender boosts the signal so you can enjoy better picture even over a long cable.


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