Why HDMI is needed

Among the numerous inputs / outputs available on the service panels of modern video equipment, there is sure to be an HDMI connector. In fact, this high-speed interface is the standard of the future for new players and digital TVs.
Previously, life was simpler and more modest. There was one antenna RF input on the TV, to which everything was connected - UHF antennas, conventional antennas and, who had them, VCRs. What came in the 90s of the last century with a series of large and small scientific and technological revolutions is called chaos. A lot of video technologies were used, and each required a separate input on the TV - RCA, S-Video, RGB, etc. A new stage in the development of television marked the emergence of digital TV panels. After a series of trials, a universal digital interface for transmitting high-resolution images appeared - HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface).
The HDMI digital interface is used to transfer media content (both audio and video) from a source - a DVD player, satellite receiver or decoder to a digital TV. Data is transmitted without compression over a single cable (unlike, for example, compatible DVI, which works only with an image).
Today, HDMI has become the de facto industry standard for transmitting audio and video content. Recently, it has been used not only by well-known consumer electronics manufacturers - Hitachi, Matsushita Electric Industrial (Panasonic), Philips, Sony, Thomson (RAC), Toshiba, but also by the largest companies in the entertainment industry - Fox, Universal, Warner Bros., Disney, etc. By the end of this year, sales of up to 60 million devices with HDMI connections are predicted.
The developers claim that the main reasons for creating the interface are the convenience of users and the high quality of the output image. Users themselves have different opinions on this.
General properties
Undeniably, HDMI is a progressive technology. The latest interface of June 2006, version 1.3, provides operation at a frequency of 340 MHz (up to 10.2 Gbit / s) - first of all, such indicators are designed for the future development of the HDTV format, but now most of the capacities are in demand by the equipment and are used for their intended purpose.
The interface is ideal for working with Blu-Ray and HD-DVD, new generation game consoles (XBOX 360, Playstation3) and modern HDTV-TVs.
The interface is backward compatible with DVI. This means that it is theoretically possible to watch video from a DVI device on an HDMI TV, and vice versa.
HDMI supports PC connection to consumer electronics. A computer can be connected via a video card to both a digital monitor and a TV.
In addition, continuous improvement of the interface is carried out taking into account the continued support of backward compatibility with older devices.
Video
HDMI is able to work with both standard quality digital signal and HDTV quality - with a resolution of 420p to 1080p for digital video, and, in principle, with analog systems NTSC, PAL, etc.
The latest version of HDMI 1.3 supports 30, 36 and 48-bit colors within the RGB standard - i.e. more than a billion (!) shades - improved contrast, color transitions, etc. Support for new color standards is also provided (ex. xvYCC - 1.8 times more colors than a modern HDTV signal supports).
Sound
The interface works with a variety of sound formats:
Stereo;
Multi-channel audio formats - Dolby Digital, DTS, etc.;
Formats of the near future - Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD;
Supports transmission of 8-channel digital audio at 192 kHz without any compression at all.
HDMI 1.3 version provides synchronization of video and audio sequences. Usually, video takes a little longer to process than audio - the HDMI interface automatically adjusts.
In general, the purchaser should first familiarize himself with the specific interface specifications in the equipment being purchased. Typically, consumer electronics manufacturers include support for only those features that they consider necessary for a particular model based on their vision of customer needs. Thus, a nominally more modern HDMI interface in one TV model may not have the features provided by an older one in another. Each purchase must be selected based on your specific needs.
And, most importantly, in order to avoid trouble, you should take care in advance that a TV with an HDMI interface supports HDCP technology.
HDCP
(HDCP) High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection is a technology developed by Digital Content Protection, LLC (an Intel subsidiary) to protect media content from unauthorized recording. It is used both in DVI (rarely) and in HDMI. Virtually all widescreen digital televisions today are equipped with HDCP. Since HDCP is inextricably linked with HDMI, this is what causes the main complaints from users about the interface.
Content creators are known to be terrified of pirates stealing and overwriting high-quality digital content. Therefore, users often blame film companies for causing some confusion in the electronics market.
The principle of operation of HDCP is relatively simple - devices communicate with each other via an HDMI cable and exchange a key to decrypt the signal. If a recording device is connected, the play-module refuses to transmit information to it. Among the victims of such resourcefulness were the owners of TVs with HDMI that do not support HDCP technology. Such devices not only do not record protected content, but also do not read it.
This causes quite justified irritation of buyers who recently gave a lot of money for high-tech equipment. Theoretically, the device is ready to receive a high-quality signal - in fact, HDCP write protection interferes with its reception.
In fact, write protection technology plays the role of "elusive Joe". News of both Blu-Ray and HDCP being hacked spread across the Internet almost immediately after the announcement of the technologies, but stealing and producing HDCP content that is still rare is too expensive to seriously deal with.
Thus, the HDMI interface, undoubtedly useful and promising, in almost all products receives an unnecessary appendage in the form of write protection technology to no one but a few media companies. Nevertheless, buyers still have no choice - they need to buy a device with an HDMI input, or stay on the sidelines of progress.

Why HDMI is needed
Why HDMI is needed
Why HDMI is needed
Why HDMI is needed Why HDMI is needed Why HDMI is needed



Home | Articles

March 29, 2024 00:12:11 +0200 GMT
0.004 sec.

Free Web Hosting