What is HDMI?
HDMI stands for high definition multimedia interface. It is actually a standard that gives a set of guidelines for making connections between digital devices with emphasis on high bandwidth. The standard is for either audio or video interfaces and the data sent is uncompressed. This standard is known as the EIA/CEA-861. HDMI was started in 2003 and exists up to date.
HDMI uses transition minimized differential signaling (TMDS) to move a digital signal from one place to another. The sending device first has to encode the signal that it is sending. This helps to preserve signal quality since it will degrade when it makes many transitions from 1 to 0. The cable usually has two pairs of twisted cables. One pair carries the actual encoded signal while the other pair carries an inverse of the original signal. When the signal reaches the receiver, the original signal and the inverse are compared to derive a differential. The receiver then makes compensations for signal loss using this differential. (more…)