At CES 2025, the HDMI Forum, Inc. made a significant splash by unveiling HDMI 2.2, the next iteration of the HDMI specification. This new version boasts an impressive leap in bandwidth, now reaching 96 Gbps, a notable jump from HDMI 2.1’s 48 Gbps. This increase in bandwidth promises to elevate gaming to new heights, enabling both cables and cutting-edge gaming hardware to deliver astonishingly faster frame rates and stunning high resolutions. With HDMI 2.1 cables, we’ve been limited to 4K and under 200 frames per second, forcing gamers to either opt for DisplayPort on their PCs or dial down resolution for higher fps. However, the upcoming “Ultra96” cables due in mid-2025 are set to change the game, offering 4K visuals at a remarkable 480 frames per second.
4K is merely the starting point. Whether it’s 5K or 8K that takes center stage next, HDMI 2.2 is ready to roll, capable of churning out an impressive 240 frames per second. There’s more: it can even handle 12K at up to 120 fps, which showcases just how future-proof this specification is. This could be a game-changer across the A/V industry, where the demand for 12K is steadily growing.
Still, HDMI 2.2 isn’t without its limits, particularly when it comes to uncompressed video. For those who demand the purity of uncompressed content, it can support 4K at up to 240 fps or 8K at up to 60 fps, all in glorious full chroma with 10-bit and 12-bit formats. Higher resolutions and frame rates will need a touch of compression to fit into HDMI 2.2’s 96 Gbps pipeline, but this development is certainly a significant upgrade over the current industry standard.
Despite the promising specs of HDMI 2.2, it’s ultimately up to display and gaming gear manufacturers to integrate this into their products. This raises the big question: when will we actually see devices support HDMI 2.2? When HDMI 2.1 was rolled out in 2017, it took a couple of years before we saw it in high-end gaming laptops, GPUs, and consoles like the PS5 and Xbox Series X released in 2020. However, given the explosive growth in gaming, particularly on PCs, the wait might be shorter this time.
If you’re currently eyeing a new gaming monitor or TV, should you hold out for HDMI 2.2? Personally, I’d say no. It may be a year or two before it becomes a common feature in displays. Sony and Microsoft, in particular, might not rush to support it, given that the current HDMI 2.1’s capability of 4K/120 fps is still more than sufficient for most games. Enthusiast PC gamers, on the other hand, will probably be the earliest adopters, thanks to Nvidia and AMD, which frequently incorporate cutting-edge display features into their graphics cards. That said, HDMI 2.2 might arrive too late for Nvidia’s upcoming RTX 50-series, rumored to debut during CES 2025.
