Why did HDMI have to be invented in the first place?
The high bandwidth of high-resolution digital video transmission could no longer be carried over the video cables commonly used until then. The DVI standard, ratified in 1999, has the drawbacks of unfavorable connector dimensions and a lack of audio transmission. It therefore made sense to create a new standard for the digital future of consumer electronics.
The HDMI standard was ratified in 2002 by the companies Hitachi, Matsushita, Philips, Silicon Image, Sony, Thomsen and Toshiba.
In July 2003 the test specification was published, which gave manufacturers a tool to develop their products in such a way that users would encounter as few problems as possible.
Especially in the early days, this unfortunately remained theory on paper — early adopters of HDMI can tell you all about it.
A lot has happened since then, even though by no means all problems are a thing of the past.
We have compiled the development of the HDMI standards from version 1.0 to 1.4 here:
| Version | HDMI 1.0 | HDMI 1.1 | HDMI 1.2 | HDMI 1.2a | HDMI 1.3 | HDMI 1.3a/b/c | HDMI 1.4 |
| Introduction | 12/2002 | 05/2004 | 08/2005 | 12/2005 | 06/2006 | 11/2007 | 05/2009 |
| Bandwidth, A and C connectors | 4,95 GBit/s, 165 MHz | 4,95 GBit/s, 165 MHz | 4,95 GBit/s, 165 MHz | 4,95 GBit/s, 165 MHz | 10.2 GBit/s, 340 MHz | 10.2 GBit/s, 340 MHz | 10.2 GBit/s, 340 MHz |
| Bandwidth, B connector (uncommon in consumer electronics) | not in common use | 10 GBit/s 165 MHz | 10 GBit/s 165 MHz | 10 GBit/s 165 MHz | 10.2 GBit/s, 340 MHz | 10.2 GBit/s, 340 MHz | |
| Maximum resolution | 1080p/60Hz | 1080p/60Hz | 1080p/60Hz | 1080p/60Hz | 1440p/120Hz | 1440p/120Hz | 2160p |
| Audio formats | Dolby Digital, 8PCM, DTS MPEG | Dolby Digital, 8PCM, DTS MPEG, DVD Audio | Dolby Digital, 8PCM, DTS MPEG, DVD Audio, SACD | Dolby Digital, 8PCM, DTS MPEG, DVD Audio , SACD | Dolby Digital, 8PCM, DTS MPEG, DVD Audio , SACD, Dolby Digital Plus, True HD, DTS HD | Dolby Digital, 8PCM, DTS MPEG, DVD Audio , SACD, Dolby Digital Plus, True HD, DTS HD | Dolby Digital, 8PCM, DTS MPEG, DVD Audio , SACD, Dolby Digital Plus, True HD, DTS HD, sYCC601, Adobe RGB, AdobeYCC601 |
| Color space | 24bit RGB, 36bit YUV | 24bit RGB, 36bit YUV | 24bit RGB, 36bit YUV | 24bit RGB, 36bit YUV | 24bit RGB, 36bit YUV, Deep Colour30, 36, 48bit RGB/YUV, xvYCC-Color Space | 24bit RGB, 36bit YUV, Deep Colour30, 36, 48bit RGB/YUV, xvYCC-Color Space | |
| Connector type | A | A, B | A, B | A, B | A, C (mini) | A, C (mini) | Type A, Mini HDMI (C), Micro HDMI connector, automotive connector |
| Other | CEC support, length test | CEC support, length test | Error correction over the predecessor | 4K resolution, 3D, HDMI Ethernet Channel, Audio Return Channel |
