CE Pro February 2022 - 16

Audio+Video
DISPLAYS | COMPONENTS | FURNISHINGS | ENTERTAINMENT | SERVICES
HDMI 2.1a
Update Version
Adds Source-Based
Tone Mapping
HDMI Forum & HDMI Licensing
Administrator groups preview HDMI 2.1a
spec, highlighting how SBTM optimizes
High Dynamic Range imagery.
By Arlen Schweiger
ADDING TO ITS ALREADY
robust feature set, HDMI 2.1
technology is being updated
to support Source-Based
Tone Mapping (SBTM) in
HDMI 2.1a, the upcoming version
introduced by the HDMI
Licensing Administrator and
HDMI Forum groups during a
pre-CES briefi ng in December.
The feature is said to
improve the all-important
HDR (High Dynamic Range)
technology that helps fuel
the HDMI 2.1 ecosystem's 4K
image quality.
Though the HDMI groups
did not have a presence at
CES 2022, HDMI LA CEO/
president Rob Tobias and
HDMI Forum president
Chandlee Harrell had lots of
reasons for the custom channel
to be excited about the
interface as HDMI celebrates
its 20th anniversary in 2022.
Going from 2.0 to 2.1
provided a leap forward for
home entertainment capabilities,
and as Ultra High Speed
16 | CE Pro February 2022
(UHS) cables proliferate and
sources such as the latest
gaming consoles and 4K/8K
displays take advantage of its
myriad features, AV systems
will generate even better
quality, Tobias and Harrell
note - a win-win for integrators
and consumers.
The addition of SourceBased
Tone Mapping in
the upcoming HDMI 2.1a
spec provides communications
between sources and
displays (sinks) enabling the
sources to assist the displays
with HDR processing, which
is typically where the heavy
lifting is done.
" This is really around
getting the most out of High
Dynamic Range, " Harrell says.
" It's a new feature that allows
a portion of this HDR tone
mapping to be performed by
the source device in addition
to tone-mapping done by the
display device. "
Sharing the tone-mapping
capabilities enables the source
Content such as gaming and streaming menu screens that
potentially mix HDR and SDR will benefi t from HDMI 2.1a
Source-Based Tone Mapping addition.
to send video that takes
full advantage of a specifi c
display's HDR capabilities,
he says, done by adjusting
output of the source device
to match up with the sink.
" This is an important
new HDR capability to
HDMI-enabled products to
further enhance consumers'
high-quality viewing experience, "
Harrell says.
For context, he noted that
today's TVs deliver much
broader color and brightness
ranges than ever, and HDR
is frequently used to map
both Standard and High
Dynamic Range content. The
processing combines dynamic
brights, deeper blacks,
brighter whites and the huge
range of colors to generate
an immersive image.
" Displays - TVs, PC
monitors - are supporting
that content, but not
all displays have the same
HDR capability; they have
diff erent ranges, diff erent
color brightnesses, " Harrell
explains. " That's fi ne when
it's one video stream of HDR
video transmitting HDR10,
HLG [Hybrid Log Gamma],
because the TV will typically
map HDR content into
the display's capability to
get the maximum color and
contrast. "
But, he notes, these days
there's a range of current
and legacy content throwing
HDR, SDR, dynamic HDR,
high-resolution graphics or a
user interface at the display,
together at the same time.
Think of perhaps a home
navigation screen when
surfi ng Netfl ix, or maybe a
connected smart home UI on
a large display.
" This can be a diffi culty for
the one-stream HDR that's
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CE Pro February 2022

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