HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) has now been adopted by more than 200 companies worldwide, HDMI Licensing LLC announced at a tradeshow in Shanghai this week. HDMI adopters include cable/connector, semiconductor, system and test equipment vendors in the United States, Asia-Pacific, China, Japan and Europe. Hollywood studios, cable operators and satellite operators also support HDMI.
The FCC has mandated that after July 1st of this year, all 36-inch and larger and half of all 25-inch to 35-inch "Digital Cable-Ready" (i.e. those with CableCARD) TVs must feature an HDMI-HDCP or DVI-HDCP input. Additionally, all cable HD set-top boxes must feature HDMI or DVI output.
This raises a notable point, which is that just because various devices feature HDMI or DVI inputs or outputs, doesn't necessarily mean that they are functional. For example, the high-def DVR set-top boxes that were installed by my cable provider have DVI ports on the back but the cable company hasn't yet activated them. My plasma has DVI inputs, but they are useless right now without the corresponding outputs from the HD-DVR box. (The box also has a DOCSIS cable modem and ethernet port, also neither of which are currently enabled.) So while HDMI and DVI offer better picture quality (and sound quality in the case of HDMI) than traditional component video, they're of little use if the cable or satellite provider chooses not to make use of the more advanced technology.
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