The HDMI Forum plans to officially unveil the HDMI 2.2 specification at a press conference on January 6, 2025. This new development promises significant advances in bandwidth, definition and refresh rate. However, it will introduce a new type of HDMI cable necessary for its proper functioning.
Although little information has been provided at this time, it is likely that this standard exceeds the capabilities of HDMI 2.1. The latter offers up to 48 Gbps of bandwidth and allows 4K definitions at 120 Hz or 8K at 60 Hz uncompressed. HDMI 2.2 could pave the way for even higher definitions, such as 8K at 120 Hz or 10K. This hypothesis is confirmed by the press release which specifies
This new specification, with next-generation HDMI(R) technology and higher bandwidth, enables a wider definition range and higher refresh rates and will be supported by a new HDMI cable.
This technological development will, however, unfold gradually. It is common for several years to pass between the announcement of a standard and its generalization. For example, HDMI 2.1, presented in 2017, only saw its first practical applications in 2018 with the Xbox One, while its adoption on PC materialized in 2020 with graphics cards like the GeForce RTX 30 series from Nvidia and the Radeon RX 6000 series from AMD. It is therefore likely that the next generations of consoles, such as Nintendo’s Switch 2, scheduled for early 2025, will not yet integrate it.
The benefits of this standard will mainly concern high-end entertainment and demanding professional applications. It is certain that its popularization among the general public will depend on the availability of compatible content and suitable devices. HDMI 2.2 is a step forward, but its real impact will only be felt when the hardware and software ecosystem is ready to exploit it to its full potential. Time will be needed.
