HDMI 2.1 AND TV: 2021 IS THE YEAR OF EXPANSION, NEW MODELS ARE COMING
HDMI 2.1 was one of the hot topics in the TV world last year. At first it was even difficult to understand which TVs really supported them, due to a confusion born of bad communication , first of the HDMI Forum, then of the TV producers themselves, who were not able to explain what HDMI 2.1 really is. and how they work . This standard was created with the intention of offering a flexible platform to TV manufacturers, giving them the ability to integrate only some of the features available , after all some of them go far beyond the needs of 4K TVs. healthbeautystudio
Then there have been cases like that of LG, which used HDMI
2.1 with reduced bandwidth on the OLED 2020 range. In practice, nothing changes
in terms of functions, but clearer communication would have been more correct.
In short, HDMI 2.1 has had a troubled growth so far , but with the new TVs on
the way, the situation is destined to change.
HDMI 2.1 in the mid-range?
This first period of the life of HDMI 2.1 was not the
happiest as we have seen. 2021 must therefore be the year of confirmation, also
facilitated by greater public awareness of the innovations that this standard
brings with it.
However, the expansion in the use of HDMI 2.1 must
necessarily go through a more massive implementation in products, which arrived
last year with the dropper, just think that Sony and Panasonic did not have
OLED TVs with HDMI 2.1 in their. list. In this sense, Samsung has led the way
to the entire sector, since last year it also brought the standard to models
with a cost of less than 1000 euros., from 50 to over 75 inches. The Korean
giant, leader of the TV market, is ahead of the others in this respect and the
2021 range can only confirm what has been seen in the recent past.
LG was also among the first companies in the TV world to
focus on HDMI 2.1, offering them as well on products costing less than 1000 €.
The whole OLED range can count on complete support for the standard (net of the
reduced band), the same thing for high and mid-range LCDs, only the cheaper
models do not have it.
Last year's big absentees were Panasonic and, incredibly,
Sony. Panasonic, with its focus on the world of cinema and viewing quality, was
certainly in no hurry to bring a TV with HDMI 2.1 to market. Sony on the other
hand, with the launch of PS5, has lost a great opportunity.
Many enthusiasts would have liked to buy a new Sony TV
together with the console, but they were faced with only one model compatible
with this standard, the XH90 that we reviewed a few months ago , a good LCD but
certainly not comparable to the levels reached by the OLED range of the
Japanese house.
Fortunately, the prospects for this year are very different
for both brands. Panasonic will have to show openness towards HDMI 2.1 to try
to recover an audience, that of gamers, who have often moved to other shores to
find the characteristics they are looking for in a TV, also bringing a quality
of vision that has proven itself in these years at the top of the category in
the cinema field .
Sony, on the other hand, in all likelihood, will bring HDMI
2.1 into its new OLED range, at the same time expanding support to other LCD
models, perhaps at a lower end, the one that generates greater sales volumes.
In this way it could take advantage of the synergy with PS5 to capture the
attention of a huge fanbase around the world, many of which have been orphaned
by the new console due to the lack of availability.
In short, if 2020 was the year of the arrival of HDMI 2.1,
2021 will be the confirmation of this standard , destined to spread more and
more in the next period.
