HDMI 2.1a will introduce SBTM functionality. Everyone will benefit – especially owners of cheaper screens

The upcoming HDMI 2.1a standard briefly appeared on the official HDMI.org website, and this upgrade of the long-standing HDMI 2.1 was confirmed by the administrator of the HDMI License. We did not receive an official announcement, but it will probably change the time of CES 2022.

HDMI 2.1 with SBTM function – what will change and what will improve the new standard of the popular video connector?

The most important thing is definitely what HDMI 2.1a will have to offer apart from increased resolution (10K, [email protected], [email protected]) and it will be a function Source-Based Tone Mapping, or SBTM for short. This is a set of features to improve and optimize HDR performance, which will require support from the screen and the source device. May in the form of post-premiere updates of models already available on the market.

Source-Based Tone Mapping (SBTM) is a new HDR feature that allows part of the HDR mapping to be performed by the source device and not by the display device. SBTM is especially useful in cases where HDR and SDR images or graphics are combined into a single image, such as picture-in-picture or a program guide with an integrated video window. SBTM also allows computers and gaming devices to automatically generate an optimized HDR signal to get the most out of the display’s HDR capabilities without the user having to manually configure the source device.

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– we could read on the HDMI.org website before hiding information about HDMI 2.1.

This means that the SBTM function in HDMI 2.1 will directly increase the picture quality obtained through HDR technology. It will also allow SDR or HDR enriched image to be displayed in separate windows at the same time. However, what is most important comes down to eliminating the image burnout effect with HDR mode (this will eliminate HDR10 + and Dolby Vision) compared to SDR in cheaper TVs with lower maximum brightness.