It wasn’t too long ago that the HDMI Forum, the organization in charge of that ubiquitous audio/video connection, announced version 2.0. Then HDMI 2.0a, HDMI 2.0b, and most recently, HDMI 2.1. So what do they mean to you? On one level, HDMI versions shouldn’t matter. In fact, many manufacturers don’t list the HDMI version used on …
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Yamaha has announced six new receivers for its high-end Aventage range, which will feature all of the mod-cons, including Dolby Atmos decoding, 4K HDR video and multiroom music. The six models will begin shipping in May and start at $600 with the RX-A670. Common features include Virtual Surround Back Speaker, YPAO sound calibration and built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. The models …
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Ultra HD 4K Blu-rays have the best picture quality possible for your 4K TV, even better than streaming 4K from Netflix or Amazon. Even better, many discs have high dynamic range (HDR) and wide color gamut (WCG) content, which provide a much more noticeable improvement than 4K resolution, provided your TV can deliver it. “But I hate physical discs,” you …
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Dolby has announced that its HDR standard Dolby Vision is now fully software-based, meaning that existing devices such as consoles and televisions can take advantage of it. “There are implementations that can run Dolby Vision in software, certainly in the console space but also in the TV SoC (System On a Chip) space,” Dolby reps said Friday in Forbes. Dolby …
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We’re well into the transition to Ultra HD “4K.” Most mid- and high-end TVs are now Ultra HD resolution, with many also supporting HDR. Not surprisingly, cable manufacturers are jumping at the chance to sell new and more expensive “4K” HDMI cables. But guess what — you probably don’t need 4K HDMI cables, because your current ones can likely do …
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The latest TV technology is high dynamic range, or HDR. If you want to take advantage of this latest and greatest, you need an HDR TV (of course), an HDR-capable source (either a streaming app on your TV or a media streamer/UHD BD player) and HDR video to watch. But do you need new HDMI cables? Surely those many-years-old, dust-covered, …
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Once the hallmark of the high-end, 4K TVs are now coming down in price. In the US on Black Friday, for example, you can get a 60-inch Vizio 4K TV for $800. At the same time, many of the top picture quality technologies, like that Vizio’s multi-zone local dimming, are becoming increasingly rare in non-4K, (aka 1080p) TVs. So what …
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Update 1/2017: There’s been an update that supersedes this one, it’s called HDMI 2.1. HDMI 2.0a is the latest version of the beloved/despised spec that regulates those ubiquitous cables, inputs and outputs that connect pretty much everything in your home entertainment center. It’s a minor update, but a potentially important one for this year and beyond. The most important part …
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Update: There’s been a small update, called HDMI 2.0a. Update 1/2017: There’s been another update, this one is called HDMI 2.1. The HDMI Forum, the nonprofit body that oversees the HDMI specification, recently announced version 2.0. There were numerous changes, not least support for higher frame rates than are possible with the current 1.4 specification. Do you need to upgrade? …
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