HDMI - The digital interface to combine HD video, multichannel audio and more

The HDMI standard was introduced in December 2002, and HDMI 1.2 was released in August 2005. HDMI is supported by many leading consumer electronics manufacturers, motion picture studios, cable providers and satellite services.

The HDMI connector is compact and is somewhat similar to a USB connector. Use this serial interface to connect audio/video equipment, such as DVD players, a set-top box and A/V receivers with an audio and/or video monitor, such as digital TV over a single cable. HDMI works with standard, enhanced, and high-definition video. It has a bandwidth of up to 5 Gigabytes so it supports all HDTV standards and has bandwidth to spare for future applications. What's more, HDMI is backward compatible with DVI equipment, such as PC', TV's and other electronic devices using the DVI standard. The DVI device simply ignores the extra data.

High-Definition Multimedia Interface® (HDMI) is the first digital interface to combine uncompressed high-definition video, multichannel audio, and intelligent format and command data in a single cable.

HDMI offers significant benefits over older analogue AV connections. It provides superior video and audio clarity because there's no signal loss from digital-to-analogue conversions. Plus it supports resolutions of 1920 x 1080p and multiple audio formats from standard stereo to multichannel surround sound. Plus, it provides two-way communication between the video source and the digital TV, enabling simple, remote, point-and-click configurations.

HDMI is emerging as the connection standard for HDTV and the consumer electronics market. Because HDMI transmits all signals over one cable, it's quite desirable for home cinema electronics and systems. It greatly simplifies the installation of home entertainment systems by eliminating the tangle of cables running behind the system. It's also very cost effective because only one cable is needed.

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