Next Version of HDMI to Use New, Higher-Capacity Cable

CES 2025 may include an HDMI standard upgrade to version 2.2. 

The HDMI Forum, the group that supports video transmission technology, is teasing the arrival of a new “specification release” on Jan. 6 at the annual trade show. 

The new release will feature “next-gen HDMI Technology and higher bandwidth” unleashing a “wide range of higher resolutions and refresh rates,” the HDMI Forum said in an email to the press. The group also notes the technology “will be supported with a new HDMI Cable.”

The HDMI Forum didn’t elaborate. But we wouldn’t be surprised if the new cable uses the same plug interface while boosting the bandwidth to attain higher resolutions and refresh rates. HDMI 2.1 was originally introduced in 2017 and required consumers to buy new “Ultra High Speed” cables and supported devices to reap the technology’s benefits. 

For perspective, the latest HDMI 2.1b spec can technically support 4K, 8K, and even 10K resolution at up to 120 frames per second. So consumers can expect an even higher increase through the next revision.

That said, it’ll likely take years before the next-generation HDMI spec is adopted across products, such as graphics cards, displays, TVs, and laptops. The other issue is that content producers, such as Hollywood studios and TV producers, still haven’t jumped on the 8K bandwagon. But the HDMI Forum is teasing that the next-gen spec might push things forward.

“New technology enables higher quality options now and in the future for content producers such as TV, movie and game studios, while enabling multiple distribution platforms,” the group said in the email.

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