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MHL 3.0 to bring support for 4K resolution

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The MHL Consortium — a group of companies who came together to create the MHL standard for USB-based HD output –has announced specification 3.0 for their platform. MHL 3.0 will bring a lot of under-the-hood changes that most folks won’t care about, but it’s the convergence of all those changes that will bring the most interesting and exciting changes of them all.

mhl-port

The biggest deal is the standard’s new support for 4K resolution, a technology poised to take off with 4K-based displays already beginning to seed the market. The MHL Consortium says the device is capable of handling double the bandwidth than the 2.0 spec was. MHL 3.0 will also allow people to have several displays showing content in 4K simultaneously. We’re not sure what sort of crazy setups you have that will need all of that, but it can’t hurt to have just in case.

MHL has quickly grown into a desirable option for smartphone and tablet OEMs who want to keep the amount of external ports on their devices down, and it’s only getting better from here on out. We’ll be looking to see who might be the first OEM to take a swing at MHL 3.0, but for now be sure to read the rest of the technical details down below.

  • 4K (Ultra HD): Support of 4K formats up to 2160p30
  • Simultaneous high-speed data channel
  • Improved Remote Control Protocol (RCP) with support for peripherals such as a touch screen, keyboard and mouse
  • Power charging up to 10W
  •  Backward compatible with MHL 1 and MHL 2
  • Latest HDCP 2.2 content protection
  • Enhanced 7.1 surround sound with Dolby® TrueHD and DTS-HD
  • Connector agnostic  uses as few as five pins
  • Support for simultaneous multiple displays

 

Quentyn Kennemer
The "Google Phone" sounded too awesome to pass up, so I bought a G1. The rest is history. And yes, I know my name isn't Wilson.

Verizon DROID MAXX and DROID Ultra available starting today

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18 Comments

  1. Now.. If only the price of 4K TV’s weren’t so damn high.

    1. They’ll come down. Our phones will be 4K soon. :P

      1. Our phones will also be as big as a TV soon too!

        1. They’re already here. Have you seen the latest phablets at 6.3″?

          1. They are REALLY pushing that bezel space. So much that they’re putting buttons on the back. LoL!!

    2. That’s what I was thinking, now I just need a 4k TV to watch this on.

    3. But there would still be no content. There is a SEVERE lack of 1080p aside from blu-cakes.

      1. That’s why we have games

    4. “the rent is too damn high” or in this case, the “price”

  2. I thought we were moving away from wire’s & going wireless, Mirecast wireless display, Wireless charging!

  3. Amazon sell a 4K TV for $1000. It’s a 50 inch though and made by a company named Seiki I believe.

    1. Seiki also has a 39″ 4k I do believe. Its $699 at amazon http://www.amazon.com/Seiki-Digital-SE39UY04-39-Inch-Ultra/dp/B00DOPGO2G

  4. How does MHL 3.0 compare with SlimPort?

  5. Another cable to deal with. All the technology in the world we still can’t eliminate them

    1. There is always the option of not dealing with 4K. Look – one less cable!

    2. I don’t want wireless. It’s too slow. And the lag behind it. To reduce that lag, wireless display output would need to go through your wireless router. That way you don’t have to spend money on a $300 dongle.

      But the WiFi route would require you have at least 10Mbps internet speeds. And 10Mbps isn’t offered everywhere as internet speed.

      So…? I think I’ll stick with these wires. And since I work in IT, I know about my wire management. That’s probably why wires don’t really bother me all that much. LoL!!

      1. I think his point was that technology has evolved so much yet we depend on cables. Yes. I Want wireless… not in the form of today’s laggy and slow wireless… but one that does the job so well that doesn’t make us miss the wires in any way.

  6. Oh!! So I’ll be able to dual screen my Android phone? Does this open the door for multiple Windows being integrated into KeyLime Pie and any app can do it? Oh my, that would be quite lovely if that came to fruition.

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