When HDMI 2.1 Isn’t HDMI 2.1 and What it Means for You

So by now we are all familiar, or at least have heard of HDMI 2.1. A new connection interface for GPU’s, tv’s, consoles, and many more devices. It’s a new buzzword thanks to HDMI LA and how they have decided to shaft consumers by some (optional) requirements for manufacturers to follow on how to label the HDMI standards. So let us start by defining what features are supposed to be supported by HDMI 2.1 and why it’s not as simple as it should be. The included features of HDMI 2.1 are as follows:

1. A much higher bandwidth support than older generations of HDMI which in turn allows for…
2. Higher Resolutions, including 4K and even 8K
3. A Combination of 4K and 120Hz refresh rate, including at 10-bit, HDR and without color compression
4. ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode)
5. VRR (Variable Refresh Rate)

And those are the features that people would expect an HDMI 2.1 display to support, and those would be fair expectations when making a purchase of a device claiming to have HDMI 2.1 support; however, it just isn’t that simple.

The HDMI Forum’s stance on labeling HDMI 2.1 is just simply not okay. It said HDMI 2.1 labels don’t actually have to include any of the above listed features. According to them, HDMI 2.0 is just a subset of 2.1 so any device with functionality associated with 2.0 or 2.1 can have the HDMI 2.1 label.

With HDMI 2.0 certification now discontinued, manufacturers can now hide most of their HDMI 2.0 devices under the 2.1 standard label. So according to the specifications of the HDMI Forum, these devices aren’t “Fake HDMI 2.1” at all.

This…arbitrary labeling of HDMI standards will likely frustrate consumers when shopping for new related devices as you cannot solely rely on the HDMI 2.1 label. Consumers will be forced to carefully read the specifications to ensure any purchase made that claims to have HDMI 2.1 will in fact offer the functionality that we desire.

To put it simply, they have created a standard that consumers think offers them the features they want without manufacturers needing to actually implement those features.