HDMI 2.2 requires a new cable, but you probably won’t need it

By Simon Cohen Published December 17, 2024

When CES 2025 rolls around in a few weeks, we’re going to get all of the details on the next HDMI specification, which, according to the HDMI Forum, will require a new type of HDMI cable.

In a joint email sent to journalists last week, the HDMI Forum (which develops new HDMI specifications) and the HDMI Licensing Administrator (which licenses these specs to manufacturers) said that the next HDMI specification will be revealed on January 6, with higher bandwidth, higher resolutions, and higher refresh rates.

These upgrades enable “higher quality options now and in the future for content producers such as TV, movie and game studios, while enabling multiple distribution platforms.”

And while the announcement didn’t call out HDMI 2.2 specifically, we’re fairly certain that’s what it will be called given that the email’s description of the HDMI LA says, “HDMI Licensing Administrator, Inc. (HDMI LA) is the agent appointed by the HDMI Forum to license Version 2.2 of the HDMI Specification.”

As with any new HDMI version, TV owners are bound to wonder if this announcement will make their existing gear obsolete, or if they’ll need to invest in new cables. The answer, for the foreseeable future, is no.

Even without knowing the full details of what HDMI 2.2 enables, here’s what we do know. If your TV is a 4K model (which the vast majority of TVs are), the existing HDMI 2.1 specification is more than capable of delivering uncompressed, 4K content along with dynamic HDR and lossless surround sound formats like Dolby Atmos in Dolby TrueHD. With up to 48Gbps of bandwidth, we aren’t aware of any 4K content that can’t be transmitted when using an HDMI cable that’s Ultra High Speed certified.

This includes gaming content from consoles with variable refresh rates of up to 120Hz, with support for source-based tone mapping (under HDMI 2.1a).

In other words, if your 4K TV is capable of displaying it on-screen, or playing it via its speakers or a soundbar, HDMI 2.1 is already sufficient for your needs now, and in the future.

But what about folks with 8K TVs? Today, there’s hardly any native 8K content. Of the 8K content that does exist, most of it uses a maximum refresh rate of 60Hz. These specs are already supported by HDMI 2.1, so 8K TV owners aren’t likely to need HDMI 2.2 anytime soon.

So who might benefit from HDMI 2.2? Right now, it’s mostly for hardware and software developers. The kinds of resolutions and refresh rates that the new spec (and the new cable) will support aren’t being used by content creators and they aren’t supported by source hardware like consoles, PCs, or streaming devices.

In time, once developers have had a chance to play with HDMI 2.2’s new capabilities and manufacturers have had an opportunity to work the new spec into their hardware roadmaps, we’ll eventually get to the point where a new content and device ecosystem emerges.

At that time, you’ll likely need to consider buying new gear (and new cables) if you want to see and hear the new experiences HDMI 2.2 enables.

For now, you can relax. HDMI 2.2 is coming, but your existing gear doesn’t need it.