WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.560 HDMI 2.1 has a ton of cool features, some of which are so important that they're heavily 00:00:04.560 --> 00:00:10.000 influencing the buying decisions of both gamers and general users alike, but as excited as you 00:00:10.000 --> 00:00:15.840 may be to run out and buy a bunch of new HDMI 2.1 gadgets, there's a major caveat that the 00:00:15.840 --> 00:00:20.240 manufacturers may not even be telling you about. It's similar to how each time there's been a 00:00:20.240 --> 00:00:27.280 new version of USB lately, they've been labeling every new USB product as USB 3.1, and later as 00:00:27.520 --> 00:00:33.840 USB 3.2, even if it doesn't support the max speeds of the new version. Pretty dumb, but unfortunately 00:00:33.840 --> 00:00:39.440 HDMI looks like it's falling into the same trap. The problem first came to light when a report 00:00:39.440 --> 00:00:45.200 uncovered a seemingly misleading list of features on a 240Hz monitor from Xiaomi. Although the 00:00:45.200 --> 00:00:51.920 spec sheet clearly stated it was HDMI 2.1 capable, it also clearly stated that the maximum resolution 00:00:51.920 --> 00:00:58.880 of the display was a mere 1080p, and the older HDMI 2.0 was already capable of 1080p at 240 frames 00:00:58.880 --> 00:01:03.440 per second. Of course, just because the device supports HDMI 2.1 obviously doesn't mean it's 00:01:03.440 --> 00:01:09.360 automatically 10k resolution, that's the highest resolution that HDMI 2.1 supports, otherwise we'd 00:01:09.360 --> 00:01:13.840 all be stuck paying thousands of dollars for any display we want to buy, that's not the case. But 00:01:13.840 --> 00:01:21.040 the kicker here was that this display that was 1080p didn't support any, any of the new HDMI 2.1 00:01:21.040 --> 00:01:26.480 features at all. So why was it still labeled as HDMI 2.1? Is it just some kind of mistake? Or 00:01:26.480 --> 00:01:31.680 Xiaomi trying to mess with this? Actually, that spec sheet was completely in order according to the 00:01:31.680 --> 00:01:37.040 new stupid rules. Okay, it turns out the actual issue here is that HDMI 2.1 licensing requirements 00:01:37.040 --> 00:01:45.600 now consider all of the old HDMI 2.0 features to be a subset of HDMI 2.1. In other words, the name 00:01:45.600 --> 00:01:52.880 HDMI 2.1 is replacing the name HDMI 2.0, and manufacturers, at least for now, 00:01:52.880 --> 00:01:58.720 have carte blanche to slap HDMI 2.1 on their devices, even if they're not offering anything new. 00:02:01.040 --> 00:02:08.080 What was the point of the two? But don't worry, poor buyer, that just wants a nice TV to pair 00:02:08.080 --> 00:02:13.760 with the Xbox you paid scalper level prices for, because there's also a requirement that if a product 00:02:13.760 --> 00:02:19.360 supports any of the new HDMI 2.1 features, the manufacturer has to list exactly which one 00:02:20.160 --> 00:02:25.840 to reduce uncertainty. And I guess that's better than nothing. But again, this is the same scheme 00:02:25.840 --> 00:02:30.080 that USB is using now. And nearly every tech observer on the planet has pointed out that this 00:02:30.080 --> 00:02:35.040 is a dumb way to indicate your product's capabilities. And it just muddies the waters instead of making 00:02:35.040 --> 00:02:40.400 them clearer. And even worse, if a company wants to actually look out for its customers and just stick 00:02:40.480 --> 00:02:46.240 with HDMI 2.0 on their spec sheet, well guess what? Manufacturers can't even get their product 00:02:46.240 --> 00:02:53.040 certified for HDMI 2.0 anymore. It has to be under the HDMI 2.1 banner now. Of course, while this might 00:02:53.040 --> 00:02:57.440 be a surprising bit of news, it shouldn't be positively jaw dropping. The folks behind the 00:02:57.440 --> 00:03:03.360 HDMI standard include a lot of hardware manufacturers who obviously want their products to sell well, 00:03:03.360 --> 00:03:10.000 and HDMI 2.1 sounds sexier than HDMI 2.0. Especially to those who know about the new features, 00:03:10.000 --> 00:03:15.600 but may not know about the shenanigans going on with the new naming scheme. Maybe one day, 00:03:15.600 --> 00:03:20.480 the industry will relent on this terrible, anti-consumer idea. But in the meantime, 00:03:20.480 --> 00:03:25.280 read that spec sheet carefully before plucking down tons of money on a shiny new TV or monitor, 00:03:25.280 --> 00:03:30.960 especially if it says HDMI 2.1 on the box you just found next to the Black Friday bargain bin. 00:03:30.960 --> 00:03:34.480 So if you liked this video guys, hit like, hit subscribe, and hit us up in the comment section 00:03:34.480 --> 00:03:38.880 with your ideas for topics that we should cover in the future. Man, this one gets my blood boiling.