China’s New HDMI Alternative Is Fast, but Who Is It Really For?

Somehow, it seems similar the HDMI modular can't drawback a break. Just arsenic the latest HDMI 2.2 modular was revealed up of CES earlier this year, a caller challenger from China has entered the ring: the General Purpose Media Interface (GPMI).

What Is the New GPMI Standard?

GPMI (General Purpose Media Interface) is the latest proprietary connector modular developed by the Shenzhen 8K UHD Video Industry Cooperation Alliance (SUCA)—a consortium of implicit 50 Chinese tech giants, specified arsenic TCL, Hisense, Skyworth, and Huawei.

The caller GPMI modular features 2 connector types: a proprietary Type-B and a Type-C that is physically compatible with USB-C. Both GPMI versions harvester precocious bandwidth, powerfulness delivery, and networking into a azygous cable, positioning GPMI arsenic a imaginable rival to HDMI, Thunderbolt, and DisplayPort. Here's however GPMI compares to existing standards:

This operation of precocious information transportation and powerfulness transportation successful a azygous cablegram could, successful theory, let users to link TVs, laptops, gaming consoles, Blu-ray players, and different devices with conscionable 1 cable.

The smaller Type-C connector could besides beryllium utilized for VR devices, supporting precocious resolutions and refresh rates with minimal latency—no abstracted powerfulness cablegram required. If anything, the convenience and simplicity of utilizing conscionable 1 cablegram is simply a beauteous neat feature.

Companies Outside China Are Unlikely to Adopt the New Standard

To beryllium honest, arsenic awesome arsenic the caller GPMI modular is, I don't deliberation that we'll spot it connected TVs extracurricular the SUCA confederation anytime soon. This includes the 3 astir recognizable manufacturers: Samsung, Sony, and LG.

On the different hand, Hisense and TCL are some large TV brands with a beardown beingness successful the US. Since they're portion of the alliance, they'll apt see GPMI connected immoderate models. It's besides imaginable that they'll nutrient 1 mentation with GPMI for China and different with HDMI 2.2 for planetary release.

However, adjacent if TVs travel with GPMI equipped, the different extremity of the GPMI cablegram would besides request to enactment the standard. This would necessitate GPMI to go commonplace crossed each devices utilized successful the Western world.

I conscionable can't spot Sony, Microsoft, oregon Nintendo adopting GPMI successful their next-generation gaming consoles. GPU manufacturers similar NVIDIA, AMD, and Intel are besides improbable to swap retired a azygous HDMI larboard oregon DisplayPort successful favour of a GPMI one. After all, we already person a somewhat little almighty but wide supported modular that handles some tons of powerfulness and data: Thunderbolt.

Thunderbolt is disposable connected prime monitors similar the Dell UltraSharp 4K Thunderbolt Hub Monitor (U2725QE). You tin usage a handheld, laptop, oregon immoderate different Thunderbolt instrumentality to some show contented and complaint your instrumentality simultaneously. That said, I couldn't find immoderate TVs that enactment Thunderbolt.

Just to clarify, this is each axenic speculation connected my part. I could beryllium wholly wrong, and GPMI mightiness extremity up swallowing each different modular to go the 1 connector to regularisation them all. ​​​​​​

The Upcoming HDMI 2.2 Standard Is Already Overkill

While much bandwidth is ever better, we're inactive years distant from TVs and PCs reaching the maximum bandwidth limits of GPMI Type-B oregon adjacent Type-C, which matches the 96Gbps bandwidth of the upcoming HDMI 2.2 standard.

For context, the existent HDMI 2.1b modular contiguous connected modern TVs, monitors, and graphics cards supports up to 48Gbps of bandwidth. That's capable for resolutions and refresh rates similar 10K astatine 100Hz, 4K astatine 144Hz without compression, oregon up to 4K astatine 240Hz with DSC.

If you've got an 8K TV, cognize that HDMI 2.1b tin grip up to 30Hz uncompressed oregon 120Hz with DSC. The modular besides supports 1440p astatine 240Hz, which happens to beryllium my monitor's existent spec. Honestly, it's already overkill for astir people.

With HDMI 2.2 coming retired aboriginal this year, it'll propulsion the limits adjacent further. It volition bash 12K astatine 120Hz oregon 4K astatine a whopping 480Hz. The modular volition connection capable headroom for ultra-high resolutions, utmost refresh rates, higher bit-depth color, and precocious HDR formats.

Granted, HDMI doesn’t enactment powerfulness transportation implicit the aforesaid cable, but that’s a niche usage lawsuit already covered by Thunderbolt.

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While SUCA's GPMI modular is undoubtedly impressive, it's besides overkill for astir consumers. Consumer-grade displays and rendering devices person a batch of catching up to bash earlier they tin adjacent saturate the outgoing HDMI 2.1b standard, fto unsocial the upcoming HDMI 2.2. Additionally, GPMI's Chinese origins and the ongoing tariffs marque mainstream adoption unlikely. As a result, the aboriginal of this connector is uncertain for devices extracurricular of China.