HDMI 2.1a standard appeared for the first time

Previously, on the monitors sold by related manufacturers, the HDMI 2.1 labeling problem was agitated. According to the official statement, the HDMI 2.0 standard no longer exists, and only the HDMI 2.1 standard will be available in the future. The HDMI 2.1 standard is optional. As long as the display manufacturer specifies which functions and technologies the device supports, it can meet the labeling requirements. For consumers who are unfamiliar with the specific functions and features of HDMI, this kind of marking method will obviously be troublesome when purchasing. Many people have criticized the official HDMI method.

Before the upcoming CES 2022 show, HMDI LA, the governing body of the HDMI standard, confirmed that the HDMI 2.1a standard specification will be released soon. The new HDMI 2.1a standard specification will add a function called SBTM (Source-Based Tone Mapping) to optimize the HDR display effect and give users a better experience. This is not a new HDR format or replacement of existing HDR technology, but just to help existing HDR content match the display device to provide richer display effects, but the source device and target device must support the new standard. According to the official, many devices can support SBTM function through a firmware update.

Source-Based Tone Mapping (SBTM) is a new HDR feature that allows a portion of the HDR mapping to be performed by the Source device instead of the Display device. SBTM is especially useful in cases where HDR and SDR video or graphics are combined together into a single picture, such as picture-in-picture or a program guide with an integrated video window. SBTM also enables PCs and gaming devices to automatically produce an optimized HDR signal in order to maximize the utilization of the display’s HDR capabilities without manual user configuration of the Source device.