HDMI 2.2 Specification released with up to 96Gb/s bandwidth

Currently, some of the best-rated cables on Amazon (such as this 6.6ft example from Anker) bear the Ultra High Speed certification from the HDMI Forum. It has just been supplanted by a new one to watch out for from the same independent group, however.

Ultra96 is the new, official feature name associated with HDMI 2.2, chosen to reflect the fact that the new standard calls for bandwidth of up to 96 gigabits per second (Gb/s), as opposed to 48Gb/s in HDMI 2.1.

The new buzzword is a little misleading as it can technically also be applied to cables that achieve 64Gb/s or 80Gb/s instead. Nevertheless, the HDMI Forum asserts that attaining the right to slap Ultra96 (or "Ultra96 HDMI Cable") on a new accessory's packaging indicates support for all of the new HDMI 2.2 features.

They include support for image reproduction at up to 16K/60 frames per second (fps); 12K/120fps, 8K/60fps and uncompressed 4:4:4 chroma subsampling and 4K/240fps/4:4:4 at either 10-bit or 12-bit color, whereas HDMI 2.1 goes up to 8K/60fps.

Its successor also supports Latency Indication Protocol (LIP), a feature that might improve audio-video (AV) sync for home theater systems that might include a soundbar or an AV receiver.