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Lets us review the new features and what those would mean for your HD system. Double the bandwidthHDMI 1.3 increases its single-link bandwidth from 165MHz (4.95 gigabits per second) to 340 MHz (10.2 Gbps) to support the demands of future high definition display devices, such as higher resolutions, Deep Color, and high frame rates.
Deep ColorAs mentioned before, HDMI 1.3 supports 30-bit, 36-bit, and 48-bit (RGB or YCbCr) color depths, up from the 24-bit depths in previous versions of the HDMI specification. With the adoption of Deep Color and the xvYCC color space HDMI 1.3 removes the previous interface-related restrictions on color selection. HDMI 1.3 enables manufacturers to build devices that can represent any color in nature, with as fine detail as can be seen by the human eye. The interface will no longer be a constraining pipe that forces all content to fit within a limited set of colors, unlike all previous video interfaces. In other words, this will let HDTVs and other displays go from millions of colors to billions of colors. Significantly, the increased color bit-depth of HDMI 1.3 eliminates on-screen color banding, for smooth tonal transitions and subtle gradations between colors. This enables manufacturers to deliver significantly increased contrast ratio.  HDMI 1.3 allows displays to represent many times more shades of gray between black and white. At 30-bit pixel depth, four times more shades of gray would be the minimum, and the typical improvement would be eight times or more. Many devices cannot accurately represent many colors that exist in nature - leading to the sometimes cartoony look that you see on some displays. What is worse is that current display technologies, such as backlit LCD displays, can display colors far beyond those described by previously existing color space standards.
By implementing the xvYCC color space standard, HDMI 1.3 removes virtually all limits on color selection and supports 1.8 times as many colors as existing HDTV signals. This is because the xvYCC color space standard defines colors by means of an algorithm that can specify any color in nature. This lets HDTVs display colors more accurately and with more natural and vivid colors. The first TV to use this standard was the Sony Bravia, which premiered at the 2006 CES in Las Vegas.
Greater PC/CE convergenceHDMI was enhanced for easier integration into low voltage, AC-coupled PC graphics controllers, cementing HDMI's position as the de facto standard digital multimedia interface enabling true convergence cross PC and CE platforms. The HDMI Founders also support compatibility between HDMI and the Unified Display Interface (UDI), the HDMI-compatible digital video interface for PC displays announced recently by a group of leading PC technology makers.
Higher resolution and Refresh RatesOver 400% greater resolution than 720p HDTV for greater detail and larger display sizes
Higher refresh rates (up to 120hz) for smoother motion, less blurring and better gaming (faster response time).
New mini connectorWith small portable devices such as HD camcorders and still cameras demanding seamless HDTV connectivity, HDMI 1.3 offers a new, smaller form-factor connector option. Since HDMI offers the highest quality digital audio and video on a single connection, such devices will be also benefit from a reduced connector count.
Lip SyncCE devices are employing increasingly complex digital signal processing of high-resolution video and audio formats to enhance the clarity and detail of the content. As a result, synchronization of video and audio in user devices has become a greater challenge and could potentially require complex end-user adjustments. HDMI 1.3 incorporates features to enable this synchronization to be done automatically by the devices with greater accuracy.
New compressed audio formatsIn addition to HDMI's current ability to support high-bandwidth uncompressed digital audio and all currently-available compressed formats (such as Dolby Digital and DTS), HDMI 1.3 adds additional support for new compressed lossless digital audio formats Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD. More detail about this subject will be brought to light on part 5 of this series. However, a complete analysis of how each HDMI version could transport those multichannel audio formats between audio components was covered in the article: http://www.hdtvmagazine.com/articles/2006/04/multi-channel_a.php As well as in a dedicated section of the 2006 HDTV Technology Review report: http://www.hdtvmagazine.com/reports/hdtv-technology-review.php
Posted by Rodolfo La Maestra, July 31, 2006 6:45 AM
Reader Commentary For the lip sync feature to work, is HDMI 1.3 capability needed on both the source device and the AV receiver? Are manufacturers ready to implement the improved color space features or is that down the road?... Eric, Since part of your question is about a matter that would be better anwered by HDMI itself, I contacted them to provide you with such response (Leslie Chard), as follows: Your question: For the lip sync feature to work, is HDMI 1.3 capability needed on both the source device and the AV receiver? HDMI response>> The 1.3 lip sync correction functionality is required on the device that creates the lip sync problem (typically a display – which has a latency between audio/video processing because of the more demanding requirements of video processing), and a device that can correct the lip sync delay (the initial implementations of this will be in a receiver, but in the future this functionality will be in DVD players, and most other CE devices.) The reports that we are getting from manufacturers indicate that this function is very popular and will be widely implemented. Your question... ... in the future this functionality will be in DVD players, and most other CE devices.) The reports that we are getting from manufacturers indicate that this function is very popular and will be widely implemented. Yes, maybe in high end equipment. But not in $100 DVD players and cost minimized cable STBs. The promise of HDMI will not be realized until Joe SixPack can plug his equipment into his tv with a single wire and get a good result.... As I understand the lip sync part of the HDMI 1.3 capability a DVD player or STB can send the amount of its video delay (relative to the audio) down the cable and the TV then can delay the audio by that amount plus the amount of video delay in the TV's processing. If all works well the audio comes out in sync with the video. Does the TV constantly looks at the incoming delay amount and if the source is changed the TV changes the audio delay accordingly? If the source is changed by the viewer for example by selecting another device or changing channels on the STB what happens? What happens when the source just changes the delay by itself as STB's have a habit of doing. When the video delay changes does the audio delay in the TV instantly jump, making pauses and clicks in the audio?... videoengr (actual name?), I could not respond until now due to time availability but I thought I would share with you a response from Joe Lee, Director of Marketing at Silicon Image. ------------------- Response to your questions: With HDMI 1.3, it is sink or repeater devices (i.e. TV or AV receivers) that report their amount of audio and/or video latency, not the source devices. Source devices (such as DVD players or STBs) typically will output the audio & video in fairly good synchronization. This is expected because the source is reading the content material directly, and thus there are no intermediate processing steps that would cause the source to lose the reference information about audio & video synchronization. With HDMI, the audio & video latency information is stored in a ROM chip in the device called the EDID ROM. This ROM stores information about the device's capabilities, such as supported audio & video formats. This EDID ROM is alwa... More from Rodolfo La Maestra
More in Category: Technology
About Rodolfo La MaestraRodolfo La Maestra is the Senior Technical Director at HDTV Magazine and participated in the HDTV vision since the late 1980's. In the late 1990's, he began tracking all HDTV consumer equipment, and since 2002 he authors the annual HDTV Technology Review report covering HDTVs, Hi-def DVD, content providers, broadcast, cable, satellite, government, standards, connectivity, content protection, H/DTV tuners and DVRs, etc. In addition Rodolfo has authored a variety of tutorials, books, and educative articles for HDTV Magazine, DVDetc, and HDTVetc Magazines, Veritas et Visus Newsletter, Display Search, and served as technical consultant/editor for the "Reference Guide" and the "HDTV Glossary of Terms" for HDTVetc and HDTV Magazines. In 2004, he began recording a weekly HDTV technology program for MD Cable television, which by 2006 reached the rating of second most viewed by the public, here is the opening episode.Rodolfo's background encompasses Electronic Engineering, Computer Science, and Audio and Video Electronics, over 4,700 hours of professional training, a BS in Computer and Information Systems, and over thirty professional and post-graduate certifications, some from American, George Washington, and MIT Universities. Rodolfo was also Computer Science professor for over 700 students in five institutions between 1966-1973 in Argentina, for IBM, Burroughs, and Honeywell mainframes. After 38 years of computer systems career, Rodolfo retired in 2003 as Chief of Systems Development from the Inter-American Development Bank where he directed 65 software-development computer professionals, supporting member countries in north/central/south America 24x7. In parallel, from 1998 he helped the public with his other career of audio/video electronics. Rodolfo started with hi-end audio in the early 60’s and merged with Home Theater video, multichannel audio, widescreen laser disc, anamorphic DVD, 16x9 NTSC displays, HDTV, Hi-def DVD, IPTV, HDMI, and 2.35:1 Cinemascope HD Home Theater over the past 40+ years. When HDTV started airing in November 1998, he was an early adopter of HDTV and realized that the technology as implemented would overwhelm regular consumers due to its complexity, and it certainly does even today. Rodolfo then launched his HDTV mission of educating and helping consumers understand the complexity, the challenge, and the beauty of the technology, so the public learns to appreciate HDTV not just as another television. |
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The diagram on the right is a standard type of diagram used to display color spaces (the colors that can be depicted by a given device). The shaded area represents the colors in nature that the human eye can see. The triangle is a representation of the RGB color space.
The new xvYCC color standard is a real innovation. Current color standards represent only a small portion of colors that are viewable by the human eye.
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