The HDMI 2.2 will be announced next month, and it may require a new cable.
Is another day of new cable about to arrive?
The group responsible for the HDMI standard, known as the HDMI Forum, has announced that it will present a new specification at a press conference scheduled for January 6. This new specification promises to offer "a wide range of higher resolutions and refresh rates." According to an email from the HDMI Forum, sent to inform about the event, these new capabilities will be supported by a "new cable."
The specification to be revealed is likely HDMI 2.2. The email mentions that the HDMI Licensing Administrator, represented by two of the planned speakers for the event, has been tasked "to license version 2.2 of the HDMI specification." The HDMI 2.1 version, released in 2017, has received only letter revisions and offers a bandwidth of 48Gbps, variable refresh rates of up to 120Hz, as well as resolutions reaching up to 10240 x 4320. It is speculated that the new specification could allow for higher resolutions and frame rates without the need for Display Stream Compression.
The mention of a new cable serves as a reminder that, just like with USB-C, not all HDMI cables are created equal. While it is unlikely that the HDMI Forum will modify the connector, older cables may still be compatible with the new specification; some might even support the higher bandwidth. However, there is always the possibility that new cables will be needed to fully utilize all the capabilities that this new specification will offer in the future.