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HDMI Rapidly Builds Presence as PC Digital Interface with More Than 50 PC-Related Products on the Market
HDMI Licensing, LLC, the agent responsible for licensing the High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) specification, today announced the rapid penetration of HDMI into the PC market with more than 50 HDMI PC products currently available, including nearly two dozen desktop and notebook PCs, families of HDMI PC monitors from major manufacturers and a broad range of motherboards and graphics cards with HDMI outputs.
HDMI is the de facto standard digital interface for HDTVs and high-definition (HD) consumer electronics products. HDMI is also currently the leading interface for PCs intended for HD content usage, including connection to HDTVs and HD video camcorders.
Major PC makers, such as Acer, BenQ, Dell/Alienware, Hewlett-Packard, Samsung, Sony and Toshiba, have already announced or delivered desktop and notebook PCs with the HDMI interface. HP is shipping the affordable Pavilion dv9000t series notebooks with HDMI, while Sony offers HDMI as a standard feature on its full line of VAIO AR series of notebooks. BenQ plans to launch the Joybook S41 notebook PC along with an expanded offering of LCD monitors in the first half of this year, all featuring HDMI. Among the new products announced during the 2007 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas was Dell's HDMI-enabled Alienware Media PC that features a high-definition digital video recorder, enabling users to record and play back HD content via an HDMI output.
PCs with HDMI outputs can connect directly to more than 105 million HDTVs with HDMI inputs estimated by research firm In-Stat to be in the market by the end of the year. This allows PC users to play games, watch TV shows and movies, and view photos on their monitors or large screen TVs. Because HDMI is backward compatible with the Digital Visual Interface (DVI), the HDMI PCs can also connect directly to the enormous installed base of PC monitors with DVI inputs, which In-Stat estimates at 106 million shipped to date since 2002. (Note that content needing HDCP content protection requires that both source and display devices support HDCP to properly view protected video content).
Major producers of PC monitors are starting to introduce low-cost HDMI monitors to respond to the recent surge of PCs with HDMI outputs. ViewSonic Corporation has introduced the VX2435wm and VX2835wm, two LCD monitors that have HDMI inputs to provide clear, crisp high-definition images for enjoying diverse digital entertainment including Internet Protocol Television, movies and digital photos. LG Electronics offers a 24-inch LCD monitor with an HDMI input that is certified for use with Microsoft's new Windows Vista operating system. Another manufacturer, BenQ, has introduced four new widescreen LCD gaming monitors with HDMI connections, including a 19-inch model with an affordable price of $299.
“BenQ recognizes HDMI as the de facto standard interface for high-definition multimedia content that gives consumers greater flexibility to connect their monitors to PCs, game consoles and other high-definition content sources”, said Conway Lee, general manager of BenQ Digital Media Business Group. “BenQ took the lead by creating a full line of PC monitors and notebook PC products supporting HDMI, and we expect to see HDMI propagate further into the PC market as it uniquely enables convergence through easy connectivity between PC and CE devices.”
Accelerating the adoption of HDMI in the consumer PC market is Microsoft's new Windows Vista operating system, which contains rich multimedia functions and the ability to access and play back premium HD content from a variety of sources including ATSC tuners, digital cable tuners, HD DVD, and Blu-ray Discs. HDMI-enabled PCs are ideal for running Vista since HDMI is already a familiar digital interface among consumers who recognize its ability to seamlessly interoperate with both HDMI and DVI displays.
Recognizing the advantages HDMI offers with a simple single cable solution, Apple has also included an HDMI connection for the new Apple TV set-top box. The product allows consumers to wirelessly sync and stream high-definition content from a computer so HD movies and TV shows can be viewed on their television sets.
“With the widespread proliferation of PC products using HDMI connections in 2006 and 2007, HDMI is rapidly becoming the digital interface of choice for many PC users”, said Leslie Chard, president of HDMI Licensing, LLC. “The ubiquity of the HDMI interface in high-definition consumer electronics products, and the compatibility with the huge installed base of HDMI and DVI products makes HDMI a natural choice for PC users and gives PC product makers the largest target market.”
About HDMI
HDMI is the first and only consumer electronics industry-supported, uncompressed, all-digital audio/video interface. By delivering crystal-clear, all-digital audio and video via a single cable, HDMI dramatically simplifies cabling and helps provide consumers with the highest-quality home theater experience. HDMI provides an interface between any audio/video source, such as a set-top box, DVD player, or A/V receiver and an audio and/or video monitor, such as a digital television (DTV), over a single cable.
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