Recently, the HDMI 2.1 Developers Conference was held in Shenzhen. Although HDMI has become the standard for high-definition digital TVs and home theaters and other audio-visual applications, as the resolution advances to higher levels, a new generation of audio-visual transmission standards continues to emerge. The HDMI standard Facing greater challenges, it is accelerating its embrace of TYPE C and HDBaseT.
 

       DP challenges HDMI dominance
 

       

The three major categories of TV/display screens, projectors and home theater audio are the main elements for constructing a home audio-visual environment. As consumers increasingly pursue better audio-visual experience, display technology is constantly improving, such as higher and higher screen resolutions.

       In today's LCD TV, HD STB, and Blu-ray DVD, HDMI has become a "factual" HD video transmission interface standard.

       According to Rob Tobias, president of HDMI Licensing Administrator, Inc, nearly 900 million HDMI-enabled devices will be sold in 2018, and nearly 8 billion HDMI products have been launched worldwide. The world's 1,700 largest consumer electronics, PC and mobile device manufacturers have added HDMI connectivity to their products. It is estimated that there will be more than 1 billion HDMI devices sold in 2020.

       At present, in addition to HDMI capable of achieving high-spec 4K ultra-high-definition video signal transmission, there are many other transmission standards on the market that can also support, including DisplayPort, HDBaseT, superMHL, Thunderbolt 3, WirelessHD, which constitutes the HDMI standard Certain dangers, especially DisplayPort.

       Previously, DisplayPort was mainly used in the field of professional monitors and professional projectors. In March 2016, VESA (Video Electronics Standards Association) officially announced a new version of DisplayPort 1.4, the video and audio transmission standard, which moved the HDMI cake and also Force HDMI hastily introduced the HDMI2.1 standard.

 
       DisplayPort 1.4 supports 8K resolution HDR video at 60Hz and 4K HDR video at 120Hz. It is also compatible with the USB TYPE-C interface. In addition, the DisplayPort interface is certified-free and license-free, while the annual membership fee for HDMI is $15,000. This is undoubtedly hanging on HDMI2.0, if it is not for the fact that there are not many devices using the DP interface at the moment, HDMI is probably out of play.
 

      However, under pressure, HDMI officially released and introduced the HDMI2.1 standard a year later. HDMI 2.1 has a bandwidth of 48Gbps, which is a 166% increase compared to HDMI2.0. It can fully support lossless video with 4K/120Hz, 8K/60Hz, 10K and other resolutions and refresh rates. It also supports dynamic HDR, which is undoubtedly better than DisplayPort1.4 Stronger.
 

 
       In the short term, DisplayPort 1.4 will not have much impact on the HDMI home market, but VESA board member Alan Kobayashi believes that DisplayPort 1.4 will seize the car entertainment system market. And more and more monitors, computer display adapters and professional projectors are equipped with DisplayPort interfaces.
 

       TYPE C will be the winner

 
     

It is not easy to challenge HDMI, the ruler, but DisplayPort is not cool yet, TYPE C will become the winner of the battle.

        At the HDMI2.1 Developers Conference in Shenzhen, He Jingsheng, the regional sales manager of the bus protocol test business of Teledyne LeCroy, told the reporter of "International Cable and Connection": "The industry is optimistic about these two standards, especially DisplayPort. 1.4 After the introduction of the standard, LeCroy has covered the test solutions for both interfaces."

        But he believes that when the two compete, the USB TYPE C interface will ultimately benefit. In recent years, the power of USB TYPE-C has risen. In portable computers and smart mobile platforms, the USB TYPE-C interface has gradually become a standard configuration for smart phones, tablet computers, and laptops. For this reason, interface standards such as DisplayPort and MHL have moved closer to them, joining the ranks of USB TYPE C Alt Mode (alternative mode).

As a latecomer, DisplayPort hopes to use the USB TYPE-C interface and cable to open up the situation. The introduction of DP 1.4 makes it compatible with the USB TYPE-C interface. As the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 platform supports DisplayPort Alt Mode, there will be more mobile phones, VR/AR and other products on the market that can support the popularization of 4K60 video.

        However, HDMI did not sit still, it even offered a killer move. In September of the same year, the HDMI Licensing Association released an HDMI alternative mode specially developed for the USB TYPE-C specification, which can be directly transmitted to the HDMI screen. And ironically said: Unlike other interface standards that require an adapter, HDMI Alt Mode only needs a single cable.

        In the future, the development direction of audio-visual transmission standards must be mutually compatible, so that the mutual transmission between home theater, mobile audio-visual, professional video and other fields can be integrated. The USB TYPE C interface of mobile devices such as smart phones has become the future of both An important battlefield for wrestling.

 

       HDBaseT solves the problem of distance and cost
 

       

At the HDMI2.1 Developers Conference, the most concerned about the participating companies is when the HDMI Association will launch support for the HDBaseT standard. An engineer from Foxconn asked the HDMI Association staff about the news during the break.

        He Jingsheng told the reporter of "International Cable and Connection" that with the help of HDBaseT standard, HDMI can solve the problem of long-distance transmission and cost.

        In today's LCD TV, HD STB, and Blu-ray DVD, HDMI has become a "factual" HD video transmission interface standard. But it also has inherent shortcomings. For example, HDMI can only transmit uncompressed audio and video signals, and the transmission distance is limited to less than 5 meters, and the cable price is high. DisplayPort also faces the problem of high cable prices. Traditional copper is too heavy, and the price of optical fiber is often thousands of yuan, making it difficult for the mass market to accept. Therefore, how to reduce costs has become the key to future development.

 
       HDbaseT supports a transmission rate of up to 20Gbps, which can better support future 3D and 2K×4K video formats. The transmission uses ordinary CAT5e/6 network cables, and the connector also uses ordinary RJ45 connectors, and the transmission distance reaches 100 Meters, can well solve the problem of long-distance transmission and wire price.
 

At present, the industry is very concerned about this issue, and the HDMI Association is also stepping up the formulation of related specifications. As a member of the HDMI Association, LeCroy already has related HDBaseT.

        And many companies have launched related products. For example, SILORA has already launched an HDMI? 2.0 HDBaseT extender that uses a single Cat5e cable and supports HDR. This product provides the first HDR-enhanced video extension solution to achieve zero-delay transmission at distances of up to 100 meters.