Released on = May 31, 2007, 10:53 am

Press Release Author = Octava Inc.

Industry = Electronics

Press Release Summary = Octava Inc., specialists in HDMI solutions, announces the
release of its HDMI Version 1.3 products for home theater use. Octava Inc. has
updated several of its HDMI switch products to HDMI V1.3 to complement the HDMI 1.3
standard. The bandwidth has been increased from 4.95 Gbps to 6.75Gbps in order to
support the new available features. In addition, several power saving features has
been incorporated to further enhance the products. All products utilize Smart
Scanning TM to intelligently control the HDMI switch.

Press Release Body = Octava Inc., specialists in HDMI solutions, announces the
release of its HDMI Version 1.3 products for home theater use. Octava Inc. has
updated several of its HDMI switch products to HDMI V1.3 to complement the HDMI 1.3
standard. The bandwidth has been increased from 4.95 Gbps to 6.75Gbps in order to
support the new available features. In addition, several power saving features has
been incorporated to further enhance the products. All products utilize Smart
Scanning TM to intelligently control the HDMI switch.

The inevitable rule in the information age is: "if it can be digitized, it will."
The transition from analog to digital in the video world has been quick and a key
enabler of this has been HDMI, High Definition Multimedia Interface. Virtually all
HD equipment utilizes HDMI to transport audio/video from the sources to the display.
The original rendition of HDMI, HDMI 1.0 was released back in 2002 and has been the
de facto standard for HD Video transmission.

HDMI enables full digital transport of both audio and video from source to display
using a single cable. HDMI is the dominant standard for HD distribution and will
continue to evolve in order to remain the best HD connection available. As the
digital revolution has continued, HDMI has also evolved from 1.0, 1.1, 1.2 and
mostly recently HDMI 1.3. Some of the key points regarding HDMI 1.3 are summarized
below.


Do I need HDMI 1.3:

You will still get incredible 1080 P HD picture quality with HDMI 1.1 and HDMI 1.2.
HDMI 1.3 is backwards compatible with previous versions of HDMI. Getting HDMI 1.3
display and HDMI sources will enable you to take advantage of the extra feature
enhancements available. If you are in the market for a new HDTV, then it would be
advisable to get one with HDMI 1.3 support. However, you should look for the
specific features that are supported.

HDMI 1.3 - what is different:
On the physical layer level, all HDMI versions utilize Transmission Minimized
Differential Signaling, TMDS and the physical connector looks identical. The major
enhancements of HDMI 1.3 are:

Expanded Data Rate Support:
HDMI 1.2 supports aggregate data rate of 4.95 Gbps. In order to ensure that HDMI is
the connectivity of the future, HDMI 1.3 has provisions to eventually double the
bandwidth from 4.95 Gbps to 10.2 Gbps. For comparative purpose, USB 2.0 has a
maximum data transfer rate of 480 Mbps, 1/20 of the data rate of HDMI 1.3.

Although, HDMI 1.3 has provision for up to 10.2Gbps, the transition will be gradual
with the first devices available to achieve 6.75Gbps initially.

Deeper Color and higher resolution:
The increased bandwidth in HDMI 1.3 enables higher display resolutions beyond the
typical 1920x1080P resolution and improved color depth. For example, HDMI 1.2
allows 8 bits/ pixel to be allocated for color information. In version 1.3, HDMI
has provisions to support 10, 12 and 16 bit color/ pixel thus allowing for even
improvement in picture quality.

Lip Synch Correction:
The modern HDTV performs complex digital processing to the incoming video signal
such as de-interlacing, format conversion, noise reduction and etc. The digital
video processing takes finite time to execute and must be synchronized with the
audio portion of the incoming signal to ensure that both video and audio are
synchronized and no delay is perceived. Most HDTV have compensation to ensure that
the audio and video are properly synchronized However, many consumers will likely
process the audio separately in a surround sound system. HDMI 1.3's lip synch
feature allows the audio and video signal to be synchronized to external HDMI
devices.

Mini Connector:
HDMI 1.3 has also added an optional mini HDMI connectors so handheld HD video
devices such as HD video cameras can also utilize HDMI for HD connectivity.

What is still the same:

HDMI 1.3 is fully backwards compatible with previous versions of HDMI. So if your
display supports 1.2 and your source is 1.3 capable. The source and display will
arbitrate for the best available format. HDCP, although not required by HDMI 1.3,
still enables HDCP to be implemented over the HDMI interface.


Web Site = http://www.octavainc.com

Contact Details = Octava Inc.
7076 Peachtree Industrial Blvd.
Suite 100
Norcross, Ga. 30071
Phone: 770-825-0388