Don’t Buy an HDMI 2.1 TV or Monitor Before You Read the Fine Print

Just like USB, SD, and different ports, not each HDMI enter is identical, and utilizing the suitable one might have a marked impact on issues like image high quality, body charges, and latency.

If deciphering each model of HDMI wasn’t already tedious sufficient, we now know that the most recent and biggest HDMI 2.1 commonplace, effectively, isn’t very standardized. A TFTCentral investigation revealed that the TV or monitor you buy with “HDMI 2.1″ might not support any of the latest features.

TFTCentral smelled something fishy when it saw that a Xiaomi monitor with HDMI 2.1 support only reached the specifications for HDMI 2.0. Instead of 4K resolution, the panel was limited to 1080p. And the thing is, Xiaomi technically didn’t do anything wrong. It all comes down to semantics and some murky (and consumer-hostile) guidelines set by the HDMI Licensing Administrator.

In this case, Xiaomi was compliant in the eyes of the HDMI gods for burying this small endnote within the terms and conditions: “Due to the subdivision of HDMI certification standards, HDMI 2.1 is divided into TMDS (the bandwidth is equivalent to the original HDMI 2.0 and FRL protocols). The HDMI 2.1 interface of this product supports the TMDS protocol, the maximum supported resolution is 1920×1080, and the maximum refresh rate is 240Hz.”

Now we’re getting into the technical weeds but, in short, HDMI 2.0 is a subset of HDMI 2.1, meaning its specifications are housed within the newer standard. The standards organization even said it would no longer certify for HDMI 2.0, telling TFTCentral that HDMI 2.0 “no longer exists” and that the features and capabilities of HDMI 2.1 are optional. As long as a monitor supports one of the newer standards, it can be called HDMI 2.1.

As you’d expect, HDMI 2.1 consists of many standards, so TV and monitor makers could theoretically grab the lowest hanging fruit, add it to their (formerly) HDMI 2.0 ports, and slap an HDMI 2.1 label on the box.

The HDMI requirements physique even confirmed to The Verge that what Xiaomi is doing is completely inside the guidelines and that all of us depend upon producers to be sincere about their merchandise. The downside is that they hardly ever are.

History tells us that even reputable brands will do whatever they can to use the latest buzzwords to push products out. We’ve seen mobile carriers weasel their way into using pseudo 4G and 5G labels, TV brands selling sets with HD compatibility but without the resolution to display it, and monitors from household names claiming to support HDR despite not supporting the official standard.

It’s a frustrating scenario for consumers, who these standards bodies should be prioritizing. Now seeing HDMI 2.1 listed in the specs for a TV doesn’t necessarily mean it can support resolutions of up to 10K, bandwidth at 48Gbps, and Dynamic HDR. And while these were always only theoretical features, there was at least a minimum threshold we could take comfort in. Now the minimum includes HDMI 2.0 specs and could mean a maximum supported resolution of only 1080p.

HDMI 2.1 has made headlines in latest months due to the capabilities it permits on next-gen consoles and gaming PCs—specifically, the power to run 4K video games at 120Hz. You miss out on these advantages when you don’t have the suitable connection and high-speed HDMI cable. Now, even when you suppose you may have the suitable setup, you won’t.