New Simplay Designation Means HDMI REALLY Works

There are a few problems with HDMI, the high-definition A/V connector. Let's forget about the fact that the connector is prone to falling out of the port, and that it is only a one-way solution for connecting a source to a display vs. the two-way IEEE 1394.

But one of the real problems boils down to EDID, or EEDID -- (Enhanced) Extended Display Identification Data). I've searched the Internet for a good explanation of EEDID, but can't find one. Basically, it's a VESA communications utility that exploits Microsoft's "plug-and-play" compatibility between sources and displays.

As ISF's Joel Silver explains, "The TV is supposed to tell the source, 'We're in America. I'm 1280 x 720. My name is XYZ product.'"

Silver says the big problem with EEDID is, "You've got most of the industry lying because no one wants Microsoft in the living room."

EEDID is something that the folks at HDMI and its creator Silicon Image can't do too much about, but they sure get the flak when HDMI "doesn't work" and it's because of EEDID.

What the HDMI group can do is require its licensees to implement EEDID completely and correctly, which is exactly what they're doing with the new designation SimplayHD. The designation goes a step further than the basic compliance testing that all products must pass before earning their HDMI stripes. "Even with compliance testing, there will be products that don't work right," says Joe Lee, director of product marketing, PC & Display Products, for Silicon Image.

One of the biggest problems is when sources are connected to A/V receivers, rather than directly to the television -- the usual scenario with professional installations. The HDCP copy protection scheme that is supposed to accompany the HDMI content doesn't always follow, damning the entire process.

Lee says that HDMI-compliant sources "should support HDCP repeating," as through an A/V receiver, but "quite a few products don't. ... Settop boxes are the worst offenders."

The SimplayHD certification ensures that sources get the video and copy-protection data all the way through to the display, even if there's an interceding receiver. During CES, the HDMI folks showed a non-Simplay DVD player working fine when connected directly to a TV via HDMI, but blanking out when connected via a receiver. The Simplay HD player, on the other hand, worked fine either way.

SimplayHD encompasses all types of products involved in an entertainment network, including TVs, sources, cables, and receivers, but the sources are the key.

Beyond SimplayHD, Lee says, "Yes, absolutely," there will be some kind of latching mechanism for HDMI connectors in the future.

UPDATE

We heard from Joe Lee, who had these clarifications:

• Simplay Labs has no direct association with the HDMI LLC or HDMI founders. There is indirect association in that Simplay Labs is a subsidiary of Silicon Image (and thus leverages the HDMI expertise of Silicon Image), which is of the seven HDMI founders. But the Simplay HD program is not something that is officially sanctioned by the HDMI group.
  

• One of the most common HDMI compatibility problems has to do with firmware in source devices (as mentioned in the blog). The fimware is responsible for things such as HDCP authentication and repeater support. Probably the most common failure is the lack of HDCP repeater function or failure to perform the authentication reliably in all type of usage scenarios. Since HDCP is not required nor tested by the HDMI Authorized Testing Center, this is where we have the potential for problems which is what the SimplayHD program tries to mitigate.