Here it doesn’t seem that long ago since HDMI 2.0 was announced and released to the world. That was September of 2013. Now, three years later, we have HDMI 2.1 that is amping up for a release. A reminder that the life expectancy of anything you buy in tech is always short. Thankfully, if you were one of those who rushed out to buy everything 2.0 so that you can roll around in all of that 4K and HDR goodness, you should be fine.
One of the most expected changes in 2.1 is metadata. Currently, HDMI 2.0 supports static metadata and this affects things like HDR where you have one set HDR grade throughout the entire feature. HDMI 2.1 is expected to bring dynamic metadata to devices, unlocking the capability to now bend and adapt that grade, allowing each scene to flow a certain a way–something that formats like Dolby Vision was meant for.
You will more than likely see a little more bandwidth as well as it grows with each spec. HDMI 2.0 brought us 18Gbps allowing us to open the door to true 4K and HDMI 2.1 will quite likely help expand on this a little.
So we won’t be sending 4K into the graveyard or anything nor will you take a major kick to the shorts if you did jump on the 2.0 bandwagon. Simply put, those graphics you enjoy so much would simply be fine tuned a little with the new spec. This is what is expected at least. It’s always good to keep in mind that they haven’t fully announced anything yet. The odds are in your favor though–and even more so for those who haven’t bought into anything yet.
The announcement will be made during CES 2017 (January 4th) in Las Vegas where they will go over what’s to come and cut the tape for manufacturers to start running with things. This means all new high-end receivers too from companies like Yamaha are to be expected summer of 2017 (then again, you can pretty much expect this every summer) that will be rushing to take on the new spec.
