With today’s launch of specs, the next generation of HDMI cables is now set in stone.
The HDMI Forum, which develops specifications on the cable tech, has provided manufacturers with details on how to make HDMI 2.2-compatible products. First announced at CES 2025, these newer cables promise to deliver faster refresh rates and higher-resolution content. But it will be a while before you can buy one, as cable makers need time to upgrade their products.
HDMI 2.2 supports 96Gbps data-transfer speeds, up from 48Gbps on HDMI 2.1. This will mean faster connections and more efficiency for your 4K or 8K screen. It’s being branded as Ultra96, and the HDMI Forum is telling manufacturers to display that name on marketing materials and the cable itself to make it clear to customers.
(Credit: The HDMI Forum)
HDMI 2.2 will also support up to 16K resolution for the first time. That’s 60 frames per second, but 12K content will be capable of 120 frames per second. “More high-quality options are supported, including uncompressed full chroma formats such as 8K@60/4:4:4 and 4K@240/4:4:4 at 10-bit and 12-bit color,” the forum says.
Finally, the tech also introduces a new feature called Latency Indication Protocol (LIP), which works to better synchronize audio and video between two devices. The HDMI Forum says the tech is designed for “multiple-hop system configurations such as those with an audio video receiver or soundbar.”
The resolution side of HDMI 2.2 is unlikely to impact the average person any time soon. HDMI 2.1 was revealed in 2017, and it brought in 8K compatibility for the first time. Even eight years after its debut, it’s incredibly difficult to find content to watch at that resolution.
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That’s unlikely to change in the near future, so the Forum is futureproofing its standard as it considers far-flung ideals such as 16K. The good news is that there’s backward compatibility here, so if you plug an HDMI 2.2 cable into an HDMI 2.1 TV, it will support the older tech.
We don’t yet know when we’ll begin to see HDMI 2.2 cables on sale. It may be by the end of the year, or it may take a while longer. The HDMI Forum is working with a tech specification that will likely last for another decade, so it’s used to slow innovations. This announcement is mostly designed to give manufacturers an idea of the runway for the next decade to help them build cables and supporting devices.
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About James Peckham
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