4. HD-DVD/Blu-Ray Compatibility

Going forward, one very important aspect of HDMI is that HD-DVD and Blu-ray players will only output at their full resolution of 1080p using the HDMI output. This is a result of the movie industry's increasing concern over copyright protection; unlike other A/V cable standards, industry groups and governmental regulations require the security of HDCP when using an HDMI connection. If you use any other connection, like component video, the signal will be downgraded so the image quality will be DVD-quality or worse.

The increased bandwidth capabilities of HDMI 1.3 will accommodate emerging technologies that will be utilized by HD-DVD/Blu-ray. This includes an increased video color depth standard called "deep color", which will display up to 69 billon colors (30-36 bit color depth). HDMI 1.2 could only display 16.7 million colors (24 bit color depth). In addition, HDMI 1.3 will accommodate the next generation home theater sound formats of Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD Master Audio, which use up to 8 channels of 24-bit, 96 kHz lossless audio at up to 18 Mbps. All non-1.3 receivers will playback the legacy DTS and Dolby Digital formats.

While these improved capabilities will certainly improve the home-theater experience eventually, one area where HDMI does not have a solution is transmitting data for recording purposes. Data passed through HDMI is uncompressed, and HDCP's primary function is to protect uncompressed data from being copied. Therefore, there is currently no way to record any HDCP protected data via HDMI. So while you should be able to record and backup unprotected video content such as home-movies, you will not be able to record copyrighted television or movie content. It will be interesting to see how (or if) this issue will be addressed in the future.

Conclusion

This is an interesting time in home theater technology. There is an 1080p video format war with HD-DVD and Blu-Ray, as well as the added confusion of a new A/V cable format in HDMI. In addition, HDMI continues to update itself with new version releases.

With the release of HDMI 1.3, there are many factors to consider if you are attempting to purchase new A/V equipment. HDMI receivers have not been on the market very long, and have already gone through significant changes in capabilities. HDMI 1.3 is a significant upgrade from 1.2, so it would be preferable to hold off, if you can, and purchase components that will support this standard - especially since both HD-DVD and Blu-Ray will utilize the improved capabilities. However, HDMI 1.3 receivers may not be available until mid-2007, and who knows what the price range will be when they are initially released. Also, some cool features of HDMI receivers, like HDMI switching and video upconversion, are available in current HDMI receivers.

HDTV displays are also going to be offered with the HDMI 1.3 standard, with the first round of displays being announced for release in early 2007. These units will take advantage of increased color depth, as well as other improvements such as audio-sync issues and Consumer Electronics Control, etc. The bottom line is to carefully check the features of each component you intend to purchase, and try and match them to your current needs - and perhaps more importantly, your future requirements too.

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