Knowledge Base

The HDMI Licensing Knowledge Base is a library of current information about the HDMI standard. Select an appropriate category from the pull down below, or, you may use your own search terms to obtain results.

If your question involves a specific product, please contact the manufacturer directly. The HDMI Knowledge Base does not contain information about specific products.

Click on the:

 http://www.hdmi.org/learningcenter/kb.aspx

Most Frequently Asked Questions

• Q. Does HDMI support Closed Captioning?
• Q. What is HDMI?
• Q. Who supports HDMI?
• Q. What are the advantages of HDMI over existing analog video interfaces such as composite, S-Video and component video?
• Q. What functionality was added to each version of HDMI?
• Q. Are all of the new HDMI versions backward compatible with previous versions?
• Q. What testing is required?
• Q. Is HDMI backward compatible with DVI (Digital Visual Interface)?
• Q. Does HDMI accommodate long cable lengths?
• Q. How do I run HDMI cables longer than 10 meters?
• Q. How can I tell if a cable is an HDMI certified cable?
• Q. What is the difference between a “Standard” HDMI cable and a “High-Speed” HDMI cable?
• Q. Where can I find a copy of the Adopted Trademark and Logo Usage Guidelines?
• Q. Can I upgrade my existing HDMI equipment to add the newer features?
• Q. How can I tell the differences in each version of the HDMI specification?
• Q. Where can I get more information on becoming a HDMI Adopter?
• Q. What is the difference between DVI and HDMI?
• Q. How will HDMI change the way we interface with our entertainment systems?
• Q. What are the HDMI-related questions consumers should ask when shopping for a new CE or PC device?
• Q. As more and more devices converge, is HDMI an interface that can accommodate convergence between the PC and CE?

• Q. Can I use HDMI to connect one from to another using wall plates?
• Q. Is there support in the HDMI interface for closed caption information?
• Q. What is the difference between Active HDMI and Passive HDMI?
• Q. Does HDMI support Closed Captioning?
• Q. What is HDMI?
• Q. Who supports HDMI?
• Q. What are the advantages of HDMI over existing analog video interfaces such as composite, S-Video and component video?
• Q. What is the advantage of using HDMI over existing audio interfaces such as analog RCA connectors and digital SPDIF (coax and optical connectors)?
• Q. What is the life expectancy of HDMI?
• Q. How can a consumer identify which HDMI products support a specific feature, such as DVD Audio or Deep Color?
• Q. How do I get extra ports to plug in all of my devices if I only have 1 HDMI plug on my TV?
• Q. How will HDMI change the way we interface with our entertainment systems?
• Q. What are the HDMI-related questions consumers should ask when shopping for a new CE or PC device?
• Q. As more and more devices converge, is HDMI an interface that can accommodate convergence between the PC and CE?
• Q. Are we seeing any adoption of HDMI in the PC space?

• Q. Can I use HDMI to connect one from to another using wall plates?
• Q. Is there support in the HDMI interface for closed caption information?
• Q. What is the difference between Active HDMI and Passive HDMI?
• Q. Do I need a different cable for a TVs that have the higher 120MHz refresh rate?
• Q. What is HDMI?
• Q. How can a consumer identify which HDMI products support a specific feature, such as DVD Audio or Deep Color?
• Q. Do I need v1.3 HDMI to hear the new Dolby TrueHD and DTS Master HD audio content on HD-DVD or Blu-ray players?
• Q. What is the difference in quality between listening to Dolby TrueHD/DTS-HD over HDMI, SPDIF (i.e. coax or optical), or analog from the player to the A/V receiver?
• Q. What is the difference between decoding Dolby TrueHD/DTS-HD in the player (i.e. sending over HDMI as decoded PCM) vs. decoding in the A/V receiver (i.e. sending over HDMI as encoded Dolby TrueHD/DTS-HD bitstream)?
• Q. What products or applications will take advantage of new HDMI 1.3 capabilities?
• Q. What is meant by the term “Deep Color” and why is it important?
• Q. What is “x.v. Color?” or “xvYCC”?
• Q. What is the difference between “Deep Color” and “x.v.Color?” or “xvYCC”?
• Q. How will consumers know which products have the latest implementation of HDMI 1.3?
• Q. Why is Lip Sync important?
• Q. What types of video does HDMI support?
• Q. What version of HDMI does a consumer need to view 1080p content?
• Q. Do you need a new version of HDMI to play Blu-ray and HD-DVD content in high definition?
• Q. What is HDMI’s new Deep Color capability?
• Q. Does HDMI support Dolby 5.1 audio and high-resolution audio formats?
• Q. Does HDMI support Dolby Digital, DTS, and high-resolution audio formats?
• Q. Does HDMI support SACD?
• Q. What is TMDS and where can I learn about it?
• Q. What is CEC?
• Q. How will HDMI change the way we interface with our entertainment systems?
• Q. What are the HDMI-related questions consumers should ask when shopping for a new CE or PC device?
• Q. As more and more devices converge, is HDMI an interface that can accommodate convergence between the PC and CE?
• Q. What can a PC with HDMI do that cannot be done with DVI?