For several months, the current HDMI Standard 2.1 has been set in stone, which should be of particular interest to buyers of the PS5, Xbox Series X and other high-end devices. Because that means bringing your technology up to date again.
In order not to get in the way of resourceful imitators who only want to make quick money, an official label was presented at the CES in Las Vegas, which guarantees that proven HDMI cables actually meet the requirements of HDMI 2.1. So far, this has been problematic for buyers in that the cables on the packaging cannot simply be labeled 2.1a / b / c. One moved away from the numbering years ago. Instead, terms such as “Ultra High Speed” are used in the case of HDMI 2.1, as well as a corresponding certificate that should be shown on them.
The new HDMI Standard 2.1 allows transmission rates of up to 48 Gbit / s, as well as support for 4K / 120hz, 8K / 60hz and 10K content, even if the latter is still a dream of the future in the home user area. HDMI 2.1 also supports Variable Refresh Rate (VRR), HDR10 +, Dolby Vision, eARC, Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM), Quick Frame Transport (QFT) and Quick Media Switching (QMS).
To be able to use the full bandwidth of HDMI 2.1, however, all intermediate and end devices must also be equipped with it. TVs have been extensively equipped with HDMI 2.1 since last year, as well as amplifiers and sound bars. From this year, the fairly new standard for most devices should be presupposed.
Is upgrading the PS5 worth it?
Whether the upgrade for the PS5 and Xbox Series X is already worthwhile is doubtful. The next generation will still be defined via 4K, for which the previous standard is absolutely sufficient. Only when there really is 8K content on the PS5 – and we're not talking about a single indie game – can you think about it. TV manufacturers in particular are increasingly relying on 8K at this year's CES, but there is still no sign of native content anywhere. Game developers also think 8K is a little premature at the moment.
