According to definitions of Abbreviationfinder.org, HDMI refers to the acronym for High-Definition Multimedia Interface, which is a conductive digital audio and video interface that allows the transmission of uncompressed data, thus showing itself as a better alternative to analog standards, such as VGA, radio frequency and many others.
An HDMI connector can replace all existing connectors used in DVD players, computers, TVs, monitors and other equipment. In addition to having a much higher transmission quality than most other alternatives, HDMI provides a communication interface between any digital audio and video source, compatible with any device.
Using a single cable, HDMI supports any video format. This includes standard resolutions (480i / p, 576i / p), high definition (720p, 1080i / p) and specifications 1.4 and 2k (2160p). According to the Consumer Electronics Control standard, this communication interface currently supports up to 32 channels of digital audio, with the audio and video signal encoded in TDMS (Transition Minimized Differential Signaling) for uncompressed digital transmission via the HDMI cable.
In terms of security, HDMI is also compatible with HDCP (High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection), which is an anti-piracy system.
The concept of HDMI is to connect audio and video signals from a device with just one cable, without the need for multiple connections to connect all signals. Companies Panasonic, Philips, Silicon Image, Hitachi, Sony, Toshiba and Thomson are the main developers of this standard.
Because it is made digitally, the HDMI connection promotes better audio and video quality, which is a great advantage for using this standard. Unlike DVI, for example, HDMI supports higher resolutions, while DVI, in addition to being much thicker, only makes a video connection.
HDMI 2.0 is the latest version of this standard and was first officially presented at the IFA in September 2013 in Berlin, Germany. The cables continued to have 19 pins, which still allows the use of HDMI 1.4 technology, prior to 2.0, with the same plug.
2.0 technology has improved image and sound quality. Supported resolutions are now 4K or Ultra HD, with a 50 or 60 Hz frequency rate. HDMI 1.4 also had support for 4K, but with a frequency of only 25 Hz, which becomes a problem for data transmission on TVs with 4096 x 2160 pixels resolution.
The update also allowed an improvement in the audio quality. The sound now has 32 simultaneous channels and up to 1,536,000 Hz of transmission. This means a capacity 15 times greater than that of commercial DVDs and even more than CDs.