Sunnyvale (CA) - HDMI Licensing, the group behind high definition multimedia interface specifications, today announced a new specification and licensing standard for high-def devices, which aims to make the features of HDMI devices more transparent.

HDMI has essentially become the universal platform for high definition video delivery, but receiving approval to use the HDMI logo and trademark has been relatively ambiguous. According to new rules set by HDMI licensing, manufacturers will now have to add not only the version number to their HDMI sticker, but also certain optional features that are supported by the device.

"Our goal with the release of the HDMI Trademark and Logo Usage Guidelines is to provide the CE industry with a common language to explain HDMI functionality, and to ensure that the new terms will clearly describe the performance of each feature to the consumer," said HDMI Licensing president Les Chard.

What has been rather confusing so far, is the fact that an HDMI version number does not require functionality, but specifies a list of optional features for manufacturers to select depending on their target market. As a result, the feature set of a device marked with a “HDMI 1.3” sticker cannot be entirely clear to the consumer.

According to the new guidelines, HDMI-enabled features such as Deep Color functionality, x.v. Color, extended color gamut and advanced audio formats will have to be clearly laid out for products shipping from today on. An acceptable use of the new guidelines could be logos that state "HDMI (V.1.3 with Deep Color, x.v.Color)", HDMI licensing said.

For each stated feature, the new rules specify a minimum level of functionality that must be met by the device in order to use the terminology. For example, a display device described as supporting Deep Color must be capable of accepting a Deep Color signal (greater than 8 bit color depth).