Galactus
Devourer of Worlds
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Friday 23-Jun-2006 10:45 AM New HDMI 1.3 standard adds more reasons to start getting in your PS3 pre-order now
Sony has just confirmed that the PS3 will support super high def in the form of a new HDMI 1.3 standard which it says will, "enable the next generation of HDTVs, PCs and DVD players to transmit and display content in billions of colors with unprecedented vividness and accuracy."
In a joint announcement with its partners Hitachi, Panasonic, Philips and Toshiba, Sony pimps HDMI 1.3 by saying it "more than doubles HDMI's bandwidth and adds support for Deep Color technology, a broader color space, new digital audio formats, automatic audio/video synching capability ("lip sync"), and an optional smaller connector for use with personal photo and video devices. The update reflects the determination of the HDMI founders to ensure HDMI continues evolving ahead of future consumer demands."
Sony boss Ken Kutaragi wasn't slow to point out the advantages for potential PS3 owners (at least, the one's who plump for the more expensive 'premium' model, with the cheaper version not supporting HDMI) saying, "By introducing the next-generation HDMI 1.3 technology, with its high speed and deep colour capabilities, PS3 will push the boundaries of audiovisual quality to the next level of more natural and smoother expression on the latest large flat panel displays."
If HDMI 1.3 lives up to the hype, perhaps that PS3 price tag isn't looking quite so expensive after all. We'll let you digest the HDMI 1.3 specs in the official release below - have a read then let us know if its made you consider a PS3 purchase this November more seriously.
The Official line on HDMI 1.3 capabilities:
Higher speed: HDMI 1.3 increases its single-link bandwidth from 165MHz (4.95 gigabits per second) to 340 MHz (10.2 Gbps) to support the demands of future high definition display devices, such as higher resolutions, Deep Color and high frame rates. In addition, built into the HDMI 1.3 specification is the technical foundation that will let future versions of HDMI reach significantly higher speeds.
Deep color: HDMI 1.3 supports 30-bit, 36-bit and 48-bit (RGB or YCbCr) color depths, up from the 24-bit depths in previous versions of the HDMI specification.
Lets HDTVs and other displays go from millions of colors to billions of colors
Eliminates on-screen color banding, for smooth tonal transitions and subtle gradations between colors
Enables increased contrast ratio
Can represent many times more shades of gray between black and white. At 30-bit pixel depth, four times more shades of gray would be the minimum, and the typical improvement would be eight times or more
Broader color space: HDMI 1.3 removes virtually all limits on color selection.
Next-generation "xvYCC" color space supports 1.8 times as many colors as existing HDTV signals
Lets HDTVs display colors more accurately
Enables displays with more natural and vivid colors
New mini connector: With small portable devices such as HD camcorders and still cameras demanding seamless connectivity to HDTVs, HDMI 1.3 offers a new, smaller form factor connector option.
Lip Sync: Because consumer electronics devices are using increasingly complex digital signal processing to enhance the clarity and detail of the content, synchronization of video and audio in user devices has become a greater challenge and could potentially require complex end-user adjustments. HDMI 1.3 incorporates an automatic audio/video synching capability that allows devices to perform this synchronization automatically with accuracy.
New lossless audio formats: In addition to HDMI's current ability to support high-bandwidth uncompressed digital audio and currently-available compressed formats (such as Dolby Digital and DTS), HDMI 1.3 adds additional support for new, lossless compressed digital audio formats Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio.
Sony has just confirmed that the PS3 will support super high def in the form of a new HDMI 1.3 standard which it says will, "enable the next generation of HDTVs, PCs and DVD players to transmit and display content in billions of colors with unprecedented vividness and accuracy."
In a joint announcement with its partners Hitachi, Panasonic, Philips and Toshiba, Sony pimps HDMI 1.3 by saying it "more than doubles HDMI's bandwidth and adds support for Deep Color technology, a broader color space, new digital audio formats, automatic audio/video synching capability ("lip sync"), and an optional smaller connector for use with personal photo and video devices. The update reflects the determination of the HDMI founders to ensure HDMI continues evolving ahead of future consumer demands."
Sony boss Ken Kutaragi wasn't slow to point out the advantages for potential PS3 owners (at least, the one's who plump for the more expensive 'premium' model, with the cheaper version not supporting HDMI) saying, "By introducing the next-generation HDMI 1.3 technology, with its high speed and deep colour capabilities, PS3 will push the boundaries of audiovisual quality to the next level of more natural and smoother expression on the latest large flat panel displays."
If HDMI 1.3 lives up to the hype, perhaps that PS3 price tag isn't looking quite so expensive after all. We'll let you digest the HDMI 1.3 specs in the official release below - have a read then let us know if its made you consider a PS3 purchase this November more seriously.
The Official line on HDMI 1.3 capabilities:
Higher speed: HDMI 1.3 increases its single-link bandwidth from 165MHz (4.95 gigabits per second) to 340 MHz (10.2 Gbps) to support the demands of future high definition display devices, such as higher resolutions, Deep Color and high frame rates. In addition, built into the HDMI 1.3 specification is the technical foundation that will let future versions of HDMI reach significantly higher speeds.
Deep color: HDMI 1.3 supports 30-bit, 36-bit and 48-bit (RGB or YCbCr) color depths, up from the 24-bit depths in previous versions of the HDMI specification.
Lets HDTVs and other displays go from millions of colors to billions of colors
Eliminates on-screen color banding, for smooth tonal transitions and subtle gradations between colors
Enables increased contrast ratio
Can represent many times more shades of gray between black and white. At 30-bit pixel depth, four times more shades of gray would be the minimum, and the typical improvement would be eight times or more
Broader color space: HDMI 1.3 removes virtually all limits on color selection.
Next-generation "xvYCC" color space supports 1.8 times as many colors as existing HDTV signals
Lets HDTVs display colors more accurately
Enables displays with more natural and vivid colors
New mini connector: With small portable devices such as HD camcorders and still cameras demanding seamless connectivity to HDTVs, HDMI 1.3 offers a new, smaller form factor connector option.
Lip Sync: Because consumer electronics devices are using increasingly complex digital signal processing to enhance the clarity and detail of the content, synchronization of video and audio in user devices has become a greater challenge and could potentially require complex end-user adjustments. HDMI 1.3 incorporates an automatic audio/video synching capability that allows devices to perform this synchronization automatically with accuracy.
New lossless audio formats: In addition to HDMI's current ability to support high-bandwidth uncompressed digital audio and currently-available compressed formats (such as Dolby Digital and DTS), HDMI 1.3 adds additional support for new, lossless compressed digital audio formats Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio.
At least Microsoft & Nintendo has not forgotten that yet
