The HDMI Forum announced another update to the HDMI 2.1 standard last week, this time adding new HDR functionality in time for CES 2022. Regardless of whether it becomes a game-changer, HDMI 2.1a is unlikely to clear up the existing uncertainty surrounding HDMI specs.
At a pre-CES 2022 virtual press briefing on December 21, the HDMI Licensing Administrator (HDMI LA) announced HDMI 2.1a. TFT Central reports that the standard includes a single new feature called Source-Based Tone Mapping (SBTM), which helps enhance HDR signals.
SBTM will outsource some HDR processing that the display previously handled to the device transmitting the data, according to the HDMI LA. It was created with PCs and games in mind, and it should allow devices to blend HDR SDR, and dynamic HDR graphics to generate the image developers need. If a piece of software displays an SDR picture-in-picture image in an HDR signal, or if one window on a person’s computer uses HDR but another does not, it may help. HDR10 will not be replaced by Source-Based Tone Mapping.
To use HDMI 2.1a, users are unlikely to need to purchase new hardware. SBTM will most likely be added through the device and display firmware updates. The feature is compatible with any HDMI cable. According to The Verge, HDMI 2.1a will debut at CES 2022, while the HDMI LA will not be there. Unlike CES 2021, organizers intend to hold the event in person rather than digitally. Many corporations, however, have pulled out because of concerns over the Omicron variant. Microsoft, Intel, GM, AMD, and MSI are among the companies that have canceled their plans to participate so far.
SBTM, like all of the other HDMI 2.1 features, will not be required for a device to carry the HDMI 2.1a designation. It was disclosed earlier this month that any device that meets the HDMI 2.0 standard can also be designated as HDMI 2.1, and now HDMI 2.1a.
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