What Are The Differences Between HDMI 1.0, 2.0 and 2.1

Like all electronic specifications, HDMI has alot of details that consumers and even tech’s just don’t need to know.   Things like twists in the cable and the designation of power on certain pins are usually only of interest to manufacturers.  Below are the HDMI specs we think most consumers will care about.

HDMI 1.4 supports the past while HDMI 2.1 supports the future which a maximum resolution of 10K at 120Hz.  Nothing on the market today performs to that spec, but it will be here sooner than you think so if you want to buy a high end cable, we suggest you consider the HDMI 2.1 (when you can actually buy v2.1 cables!)

Below is a table of all the notable HDMI specifications you are likely to run into and the the last 4 items have links to solid articles that explain the feature in detail:

HDMI Version	Release Date	Max Resolution	Max 4K Frame rate	HDCP 2.2	HDMI Ethernet	Audio Return	Connector Type	High Dynamic Range	Wide Color Gamut	Hybrid Log Gamma	Dynamic Metadata Dolby Vision
1.0	Dec-02	2K	n/a	No	No	No	A&B	No	No	No	No
1.4	May-09	4K	30Hz	No	No	No	ABCD&E	No	No	No	No
2.0	Sep-13	4K	60Hz	Yes	Yes	Yes	ABCD&E	No	No	No	No
2.0a	Apr-15	4K	60Hz	Yes	Yes	Yes	ABCD&E	Yes	Yes	No	No
2.0b	Mar-16	4K	60Hz	Yes	Yes	Yes	ABCD&E	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
2.1	Aug-18	10K	120Hz	Yes	Yes	Yes	ABCD&E	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes