CES 2022 will introduce HDMI 2.1a, another confusing new spec

[Oswald]

Article in The Verge:

"HDMI 2.1a is an upcoming revision to the HDMI 2.1 stack and adds a major new feature, Source-Based Tone Mapping, or SBTM. SBTM is a new HDR feature that offloads some of the HDR tone mapping to the content source (like your computer or set-top box) alongside the tone mapping that your TV or monitor is doing.

SBTM isn’t a new HDR standard — it’s not here to replace HDR10 or Dolby Vision. Instead, it’s intended to help existing HDR setups work better by letting the content source better optimize the content it passes to the display or by removing the need to have the user manually calibrate their screens for HDR by having the source device configure content for the specific display. Other use cases could be for when there’s a mix of content types, like for streamers (who could have an HDR game playing alongside a window of black and white text), displaying each area of content."

CES 2022 will introduce HDMI 2.1a, another confusing new spec

 

[TheHighFlyingBirds]

Great another thing for manufacturers to balls up with poor implementation.

 

[Praetorpwj]

So everything will be 2.1 but somethings will be 2.1a (presumably only source devices)?

New cables as well?

 

[dante01]

I though HDMI version 2.1 was introduced in order to try prevent all these intermittant revisions. Looks like all those who bought first gen version 2.1 AV receivers in order to try future proof themselves have had only a few years grace granted them?


Anyway, this was first raised here:

HDMI 2.1 chips in AVRs and AV processors - transition to 40/48 Gbps, issues with video and graphics features

A new feature is coming with HDMI 2.1a minor revision. AVRs should be able to deliver a pass-through of SBTM via firmware update. https://www.hdmi.org/spec21sub/sourcebasedtonemapping

www.avforums.com

 

[Oswald]

I though HDMI version 2.1 was introduced in order to try prevent all these intermittant revisions. Looks like all those who bought first gen version 2.1 AV receivers in order to try future proof themselves have had only a few years grace grated them?

Got to have new features to sell more 'stuff' I suppose... or maybe I'm being too cynical?

 

[dante01]

Got to have new features to sell more 'stuff' I suppose... or maybe I'm being too cynical?

There's coming a time in the not so distant future where all this inbuilt obsolescence will be made illegal. Manufacturers are going to have to start thinking about making their products last longer as opposed to thinking up reasons to churn out what are basically the same products each and every year.


Great, introduce new versions of HDMI, but make sure that it can be introduced without having to throw your non compliant model into a land fill!

 

[Mark.Yudkin]

New cables as well?

No, but of course the cable manufacturers will relabel their cables to make you think you need new ones.

 

[TheHighFlyingBirds]

I though HDMI version 2.1 was introduced in order to try prevent all these intermittant revisions. Looks like all those who bought first gen version 2.1 AV receivers in order to try future proof themselves have had only a few years grace granted them?


Anyway, this was first raised here:

HDMI 2.1 chips in AVRs and AV processors - transition to 40/48 Gbps, issues with video and graphics features

A new feature is coming with HDMI 2.1a minor revision. AVRs should be able to deliver a pass-through of SBTM via firmware update. https://www.hdmi.org/spec21sub/sourcebasedtonemapping

www.avforums.com

Also wish instead of more revisions making it all even more murky, wish they would be more stringent in application, to ensure the standards are actually met, so there is none of this claiming 2.1 but only implementing half of the features or introducing the features or part of it, e.g. yamahas 24gbps ports.

 

[Pulse1]

I seen a post about this online somewhere a few days ago and actually started laughing. The question here is how many source devices are actually going to have SBTM built in and how good will they be at it? The whole Unstandardised HDR/Dolby Vision implimentation is a con and will be for a long time to come. So glad i've realised this and will be sticking to trusty standardised 1080p/SDR for which i feel will be for a long time yet.

 

[stranger]

Bring back SCART