New HDMI standard with twice the bandwidth officially unveiled at CES 2025

The upgrade will primarily benefit future content in 4K and 8K resolutions. Users with appropriate setups also benefit from other improvements. However, it will still take a while before compatible devices come onto the market.

New HDMI standard with double bandwidth

A few weeks ago there was an initial communication from the HDMI Licensing Administrator, Inc. to some press representatives, in which the presentation of a new HDMI standard was announced at CES 2025 on January 6th. Now the time has come and HDMI 2.2 has been officially unveiled. The new version of the standard for transmitting sound and image material supports twice as high a data throughput as its predecessor. Compared to the 48 Gbps of HDMI 2.1, the bandwidth of HDMI 2.2 is a full 96 Gbps.

Even though in theory even higher resolutions with even higher refresh rates are possible, the increased bandwidth for everyday use with currently available output devices such as high-resolution TV sets does not offer any advantages for private end users. The bandwidth of HDMI 2.1 already allows 4K content to be displayed at 120 Hertz and 8K at 60 Hertz without any problems. The increased data throughput could currently only be of use for VR headsets.

Better synchronization and transmission

Of more interest to the ‘normal’ user is the new Latency Indication Protocol (LIP), which ensures improved synchronization between image and sound. This particularly benefits systems that use additional devices such as receivers or soundbars. The new fixed rate link signal technology also helps with improved transmission of uncompressed content in 4K at 60 Hertz and upwards.

HDMI 2.2 also requires new cables. They will have the new “Ultra96” certification. This should make it easier for buyers to identify the corresponding cables.

Introduction may take some time

However, the HDMI Forum will not issue the official specification to licensees until the first half of the year. To date, no device or cable manufacturers have announced their plans to support the new standard. It will probably be a while before the first compatible devices appear on the market.