In 2002, the High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) was founded by major electronics manufacturers, including Hitachi, Philips, Sony, Toshiba and others. HDMI is the first uncompressed all-digital interface that carries audio and video signals, and is backwards compatible with the video-only digital interface DVI.

HDMI has been manufactured to comply with an evolving set of specifications, each released as a different version and assigned a version number. The first version was HDMI 1.0, corresponding to the initial release of HDMI in 2002; the most recent version is HDMI 1.3, released in June 2006. Each version has used the same hardware and cable, but has increased the speed or throughput and the types of information that can be sent through them. For example, HDMI 1.0 supported a maximum bitrate of 4.9 gigabytes per second, while HDMI 1.3 supports 10.2 GB/s.

Here is a brief overview of the version history of HDMI:

HDMI 1.0 - 12/2002 Single-cable digital audio/video connection with a maximum bitrate of 4.9 Gbps. Supports up to 165 Megapixels/second of video (1080p @ 60 Hz or UXGA) and 8-channel/192kHz/24-bit audio. HDMI 1.1 - 5/2004 Additional support for DVD Audio content protection HDMI 1.2 - 8/2005 Additional support for Super Audio CDs HDMI Type A connection available for PC sources PC sources can use native RGB color while retaining the option to support YCbCr color. Support for low-voltages sources HDMI 1.3 - 6/2006 Single-cable digital audio/video connection increased to 10.2 Gbps Increased color support, including 30-bit, 36-bit, and 48-bit color depths (RGB or YCbCr) Supports xvYCC color standards Supports automatic audio syncing capability Supports output of Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio streams (audio codec formats used on HD DVDs and Blu-ray Discs) for external decoding by AV receivers. Availability of a new mini connector for devices such as camcorders.

Here is a summary of the major improvements from Version 1.2 to 1.3:

Feature	HDMI 1.2	HDMI 1.3
Maximum Data Rate	4.95 Gb/s	10.2 Gb/s
Maximum Bandwidth	165 MHz	340 MHz
Maximum Resolution	1920x1080 progressive (1080p)	2560x1440 progressive (1440p)
Maximum Color Bit Depth	24 bits	48 bits
Maximum Colors Displayed	16.7 Million	281 Trillion
DTS & Dolby Digital 5.1 Support	Yes	Yes
Dolby TrueHD & DTS-HD Support	No	Yes
Maximum Audio Sample Frequency (2 channels)	192 kHz	768 kHz
Maximum Audio Sample Frequency (3 to 8 channels)	96 kHz (4 streams max)	192 kHz (8 streams max)