Get in Sync with the HDMI 1.3 Technological Upgrades

Serious home theater owners are always on the lookout for upgrades and improvements on existing technologies that will enhance their home theater experiences. One such technology anxiously anticipated has been HDMI 1.3. It has been said that HDMI 1.3 is that upgrade that every home theater enthusiast has been waiting for. As with any technological upgrade, there are some key differences over previous versions, and HDMI 1.3 is no exception.

There are several key items regarding HDMI 1.3 that are worthy of mention. The first key item relating to HDMI 1.3 is an update to the consumer electronic channel or the CEC remote control mechanism. The CEC upgrade for HDMI 1.3 includes additional timer and audio commands. The second key upgrade is 1080p (1080 vertical lines progressive scan), which allows for higher resolution and higher refresh rates on the panels. Next, de-color across the interface has been improved. Although an overall technical concept, ‘de-color’ is a very rich format for colors on the screen. Finally, ‘lip sync’ is available in HDMI 1.3 that was not available in previous releases. What lip sync means in terms of the HDMI 1.3 upgrade, if you look at the Blue-Ray disc player, for example, one thing that the consumer wants to make sure of is that the movements of the lips coincide with the words that are heard. When inspecting video processors within relative panels, there is some intense technology and processing chips. It takes time to process color in 16-32 bit or higher. In previous HDMI versions, there have been delays between the audio heard and the video displayed. The receiver can delay its audio based on guidelines sent over to it from the television. As a result, the key item updates have been made available in HDMI 1.3 versus the earlier releases.

Another particular feature of HDMI 1.3 is its backwards compatibility with HDMI 1.0, 1.1, and 1.2. However, components will not always be universally compatible because the feature was recently defined in the newer release. For those components that are backwards compatible, they will function nicely together since most testing labs have worked to make sure that HDCP plays nicely within each component and they are in most cases compatible with one another.

When searching for HDMI 1.3 components and their compatibility with existing components, the consumer is recommended to locate an HD certified or verified endorsement on the products’ packaging. A certified or verified product gives the consumer the confidence that the product will function correctly, provided the directions are carefully followed for the system setup, resulting in reduced product returns and increased customer satisfaction.

Crack the Code of Home Theater Protocol Compatibility

Home theater owners are likely familiar with a pesky problem involving protocol compatibility. Both the HDMI protocol and its companion HDCP (high definition content protection) are very complex protocols. What has been discovered within the industry is that when products are submitted to an HDMI DCT/ATC (authorized test center) for compliance protocols, implementation problems or issues are uncovered. The good news is that there are steps being taken to help the consumer reduce their frustration levels when shopping for their home theater components.

With such a wide variety of home theater products on the market, incompatibility is a very like possibility. Fortunately, testing laboratories are working to alleviate inoperability among components. Programs for inoperability focus on testing products from multiple manufacturers to ensure that manufacturers’ products are interoperable or compatible, so that when a consumer takes that product home it is a very high-level quality of experience. High definition devices are premium device; therefore, the consumer is especially inclined to have their respective premium devices to be compatible. The authorized test centers ensure that all of the tested premium devices are operable and compatible regardless of the manufacturer.

Often times, all the consumer has to do is to go to any of the Home Theater website discussion forums, type in the term “interoperability,” and pages and pages of “My new DVD player won’t work with my new plasma TV”, “My satellite box won’t work with my receiver”, “This won’t pass the signal to that” and so on are returned in the search results. Authorized testing plans ensure that all home theater components mesh and gel and provide the consumer with the best home theater or digital life experience possible.

Although the testing emphasis is often on HDMI testing, a better term is “interoperability testing.” HDMI testing implies that the testing is only an interface protocol test or a test of a single device. In addition to testing the single device, testing laboratories test devices within a network to make sure they are interoperable as well. There is basically a matrix of multiple manufacturers being tested against other multiple manufacturers for interoperability. Other testing procedures are carried out beyond basic protocol analysis. For example, signal quality is tested along with physical hot plug testing including multiple connects and disconnects. The ultimate need is that all devices work each and every time the consumer uses them without any compatibility or operability issues.

Compatibility is of particular importance to home theater owners seeking the best home theater experience they can achieve. When searching for compatible components, consumers should look for a specific certified compatibility sticker on their selected components to know that, regardless of manufacturer, the components that they are buying are going to work well with all the other toys that they have at home.

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