3D was arguably the biggest story at CES, but intertwined with 3D is the debut of the HDMI 1.4 standard. Leaving aside for the moment the challenges that have dogged A/V integrators for years about HDMI in general, it's worth examining the 1.4 specification and considering the implications it holds from a system design standpoint.

Before commencing that however, let's take a quick look at how HDMI 1.4 differs from the earlier iterations. HDMI 1.4 increases the maximum image resolution to 4K × 2K (3840×2160p at 24Hz/25Hz/30Hz and 4096×2160p at 24Hz). It adds an HDMI Ethernet Channel, which allows for a 100 Mb/s Ethernet connection between the two HDMI connected devices (a great idea with a thousand and one uses, in my opinion). It introduces an Audio Return Channel, a new Micro HDMI Connector (great, another adaptor to stock!); along with expanded support for colour space, and an Automotive Connection System for car A/V.

Of course, the majority of the attention placed on HDMI 1.4 is how it relates to 3D video. The spec supports nearly a dozen different stereoscopic 3D formats. For the full list, readers can consult HDMI's Wikipedia page (at present, the full spec document on HDMI.org is only open to industry partners.)

Knowing all that, what do integrators need to do today in order to deal with HDMI 1.4 and 3DTV down the road? A key element of system design is engineering in forward compatibility. Insofar as it's possible to do so, good A/V designers think about what will be coming down the technology pipe in the next couple of years, and build in the capacity to keep future upgrades from being either impossible or overly difficult. One of the most cost effective examples of this is to specify conduit behind the walls, so that adding or replacing cables at a later date is greatly simplified.

Fortunately, provided that High Speed HDMI 1.3 cables are already in place (according to HDMI.org, High Speed cables are those which are rated to deliver a bandwidth of 340Mhz, or a data rate of up to 10.2Gbps.)  All HDMI 1.4 features will be supported, with the exception of the HDMI Ethernet Channel.

"The specification for HDMI 1.4 has not changed and is backwards-compatible with the previous HDMI Rev.1.3 as far as the cable is concerned," explains Jeffrey Boccaccio, President of DPL Laboratories Inc, a company that tests the performance of HDMI equipment. "This allows integrators to still use HDMI 1.3 cables for installations which may be later upgraded with 1.4 sources and displays."

In addition to the lack of the Ethernet Channel, it's also important to note that HDMI 1.3 cables will only support 3D at 1080i resolution. With those caveats in place, ensuring that High Speed HDMI 1.3 cables are used means that future upgrades of clients' systems to HDMI 1.4 sources and displays won't be terribly difficult. Even if it isn't believed that some 1.4 features like Ethernet will be required down the road, it's still a good idea to spec conduit into longer cable runs behind the wall or ceiling, just in case.

On then topic of future performance, Boccaccio points out that "HDMI Licensing is studying future adjustments to the spec to accommodate emerging 3D technologies. For now, it is impossible to say where this may lead us, so my qualified advice is to follow a high-quality installation protocol that protects the stability and maximizes the performance of 1.3 cables."

This is all good news for single room A/V jobs, but what about multi-room video distribution? At least at press time, none of my contacts at video distribution vendors were prepared to go on the record about the implications of HDMI 1.4 for distribution equipment that sends HDMI over network cabling. As a result, part of this topic will need to be revisited in the future as new developments proceed.

Like in the CE industry as a whole, change is the only constant in the custom channel. Especially given the custom channel's prior history with complications brought about by HDMI, the promise (on paper, at least) that future upgrades to HDMI 1.4 in installations that currently are using HDMI 1.3 might be done simply and easily is welcome news. Whether or not this ends up being the reality in the field remains to be seen, but you can be sure that Marketnews will keep integrators posted.

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