HDMI 2.2 Initial Spec Announced with 96Gbps Bandwidth and a New Ultra96 Cable

The HDMI-org have today announced some further details for their forthcoming HDMI 2.2 specification, an update to the existing HDMI 2.1 spec which will offer new, higher bandwidths, improvements in audio/visual sync and a new cable standard too. VESA already announced today some updates to their DisplayPort 2.1b certification including new, longer active cables. At the moment the HDMI Forum is only really talking conceptually about the new specification, with it being more defined in the first half of 2025.

Double the bandwidth, now up to 96Gbps

The HDMI 2.2 spec includes double the potential bandwidth of current HDMI 2.1, taking it from 48Gbps to 96Gbps. This exceeds the bandwidth of DisplayPort 2.1 which can support “only” up to 80Gbps. It’s not clear at the moment what data rate the new speeds will support, only the overall bandwidth.

The new speeds will help support future very high resolution and refresh rate combinations which are beyond the capability of HDMI 2.1, although keep in mind that DSC (Display Stream Compression) also helps on existing devices. We’re starting to see some monitor specs released nowadays which go beyond HDMI 2.1 + DSC though which has required the adoption therefore of DisplayPort 2.1 to power them. This future HDMI 2.2 connection will also help handle those further down the line when it’s released and ready. HDMI 2.2’s extra bandwidth can also help support virtual reality headsets, commercial usage like large-scale digital signage and even light field displays.

Latency Indication Protocol for improved audio/visual sync

One other promoted benefit is the support for “LIP” (Latency Indication Protocol) which should apparently help improve lip-sync and audio/visual sync further.

New Cables – Ultra96

The new HDMI 2.2 spec will require new, certified cables which will officially be called ‘Ultra96’ cables. The physical connector is the same, and they will be backwards compatible with previous HDMI versions. But you will need one of these new cables to support the new spec and speeds.

The new Ultra96 cables will also be a part of the HDMI Cable Certification Program which requires each length of a cable offered by a company to be tested in order to carry the certification badge, which gives consumers added assurance that the cable will work properly.

Timescales

The HDMI 2.2 spec is expected to be released to manufacturers later in H1 2025 but it will take some time before it’s incorporated in to end-user devices like monitors, TV’s and graphics cards for sure. If you look back at HDMI 2.1 that was announced by the HDMI Forum on January 4, 2017 and was released on November 28, 2017. The first NVIDIA graphics cards to offer this connection were not launched until September 2020 almost 3 years later. We expect similar long delays before any devices actually use this new connection, or for that matter even need it.

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