DF Weekly: HDMI 2.2 delivers up to 16K resolution – but do we actually need it?

Last week, the HDMI 2.2 standard was ratified, opening the door to extreme high bandwidth display connections. 16K resolution at 60 frames per second? No problem. Completely uncompressed 4K at 240fps? It’s entirely within spec, with the prospect of DSC compression taking that up to a remarkable 480fps. However, in a world where 8K displays – especially TVs – are becoming ever-rarer, is HDMI 2.2 actually required? I’d say that this isn’t necessarily about the absolute maximum pixel count, it’s more about doubling the amount of bandwidth available and the opportunities available because of that.

Key to the HDMI 2.2 specification is that bandwidth has indeed doubled over HDMI 2.1 to the point where a new cable standard – Ultra96 – is required to ensure that the display output signal makes its way to the new generation of displays. The way this works is that current “Ultra High Speed” HDMI cables are rated for a maximum of 48Gbps – the top-end of HDMI 2.1, while Ultra96 copes with the increased bandwidth demands of the new standard – so 64Gbps, 80Gbps and 96Gbps signals will require the new cable.

This opens the door to much higher resolution displays. The HDMI consortium refers to 16K (15360×864) at 60fps along with 12K (12880×6480) at 120fps as potential standards. It sounds like an obscene amount of pixels – totally unneeded, in fact – but it’s pretty clear that the whole standard isn’t about the displays of today but the screens of tomorrow. It’s also about increased fidelity and precision in the formats we have today. HDMI 2.2 can handle 8K at 60fps just like HDMI 2.1, the difference being that this is delivered at full chroma 4:4:4 resolution with 10-bit and 12-bit colour.

• 0:00:00 Introduction
• 0:00:57 News 1: Objective testing: Switch 2 display is very slow
• 0:23:45 News 2: Fast Fusion adds “Pure” visual mode without DLSS
• 0:34:24 News 3: Hellblade 2 to receive 60fps option on consoles
• 0:41:59 News 4: Nvidia announces RTX 5050
• 0:54:12 News 5 HDMI 2.2 spec revealed
• 1:05:42 News 6: John reviews his LG 5K2K OLED monitor!
• 1:23:21 Supporter Q1: Is it smarter to focus on raster lighting techniques on consoles instead of ray tracing?
• 1:31:05 Supporter Q2: Is low-level optimisation dead in an era of multiplatform games?
• 1:36:12 Supporter Q3: Should developers build their games around achieving 60fps on consoles?
• 1:42:30 Supporter Q4: Should we be worried about Switch 2’s image quality in demanding games?
• 1:46:19 Supporter Q5: Will ray tracing remasters be a common sight in the PS6 era?
• 1:52:24 Supporter Q6: What is behind you when you record DF Direct?

The stage is set for much higher resolution displays in the future then – although there are limits: HDMI 2.2 couldn’t work with the Las Vegas Sphere at 60fps (that requires 16K by 16K resolution!). What’s more interesting in the shorter term is that the existing 4K standard sets to benefit in a meaningful way. For gaming at least, 4K resolution is established now at the top-end, but the race is on to deliver that at ever increasing refresh rates and believe it or not, 240Hz and a DSC-powered 480Hz do actually serve a purpose.

On a nuts and bolts level, the higher the refresh rate, the more the typical issues of flat panel displays are diminished, resulting in improved motion clarity. More than that, we already have hardware that can accommodate the limits of 4K 240Hz displays: you can max out Cyberpunk 2077 in path tracing mode on an RTX 5090 and use DLSS multi frame generation to exceed 200fps. Factor in optimised settings – or less demanding titles in general – and even less powerful hardware can enter the conversation. 240Hz uncompressed with HDMI 2.2 is nice, but 480Hz with DSC takes us one step closer to eliminating flat panel artefacts.

Of course, DisplayPort is typically the PC connection of choice, where the latest 2.1b standard takes us to 80Gbps of bandwidth, but I would expect HDMI 2.2 support to be included too on future displays. Perhaps more pertinent for TVs is the recent rumour that AMD’s next architecture – dubbed UDNA – has been tipped to support HDMI 2.2. If true, that suggests that the next generation of consoles will have access to those extreme resolutions. It’s typically the case that today’s high-end PC experience paves the way for the next generation of consoles and while that might be a tad optimistic, the move to support machine learning based features will mean that frame generation will almost certainly be a key component of whatever hardware Sony and Microsoft will deliver next.

HDMI 2.2 is just one of the topics covered in DF Direct Weekly – our regular show discussing the latest gaming and technology news. It’s embedded at the top of this page but please do check it out – we discuss the ongoing controversy surrounding Switch 2’s “slow” display – now backed with benchmark data – and we test out Fast Fusion’s new “pure” mode that completely removes the contentious DLSS upscaling. We also spend some time speculating about the upcoming RTX 5050, while John and Oliver discuss their latest display purchases. The OLED vs LCD debate continues!

Meanwhile, if the prospect of sitting down for two hours to watch/listen to us is perhaps asking too much, please consider subscribing to DF Clips, where the Direct – along with other Digital Foundry content – is condensed down into smaller, more ‘absorbable’ videos. We typically post at least two of those per day.

DF Direct Weekly kicked off as a community-driven podcast for the DF Supporter Program, but it’s evolved into a foundational component of our YouTube channel – but if you are a Supporter, you get the chance to help shape the show, submit your questions and get early access (typically Saturday afternoon/evening). Supporters also get early access opportunities, news updates from the team and of course, high quality video downloads of everything we do. It’s not often we plug the Supporter Program but Digital Foundry wouldn’t be around without it – and our vibrant Discord community is also pretty special. See you next week!