The Shenzhen 8K Ultra HD Video Industry Collaboration Alliance recently announced GPMI, a new audio and video wired interface that may make the widely known HDMI and DisplayPort interfaces a thing of the past.
Developed by a group of more than 50 Chinese tech companies including Hinsense, Skyworth, TCL and others, General Purpose Media Interface (GPMI) combines “video, audio, network connection, power supply and supply” into a single cable,
The new wired media connector supports 8K video and reduces the number of cables required to stream data as well as power. GPMI comes in two variants – a Type-C cable that supports USB-C standard and offers 96 Gbps of bandwidth with 240W of power supply, and a Type-B wire with a proprietary connector that bumps up the bandwidth to 192 Gbps while providing 480W of power.
How is GPMI better than DisplayPort, HDMI, Thunderbolt and USB?
The GPMI Type-C cable may seem like it’s very slow compared to the proprietary Type-B GPMI, it is interesting to note that the 96 Gbps bandwidth is more than double the standard 40 Gbps speed a USB4 port with Extended Power Range offers under USB PD 3.1.
GPMI also has a significant advantage over HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort 2.1 UGBR20, which top out at 48 Gbps and 80 Gbps respectively while delivering no power. In case you are wondering, both Thunderbolt 4 and USB 4 offer 40 Gbps of bandwidth and deliver up to 100W and 240W power.
GPMI also eliminates the need for a separate power cable. (Image Source: Hiresearch)
In a nutshell, GPMI offers seven advantages over current generation interface technologies like bidirectional multi-stream, bidirectional control, high power supply, ultra fast data transfer and full chain security.
And since the GPMI Type-C interface also works with USB Type-C, you won’t have to worry about compatibility issues. The Shenzhen 8K Ultra HD Video Industry Collaboration Alliance also announced that the GPMI interface will be coming to upcoming Smart TV products, but it won;t be a surprise if monitor makers also adapt the technology.
Story continues below this ad
The only downside GPMI has is that it supports 8K streaming, which is less than HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort 2.1, which can output images and videos in 10K and 16K respectively. This means that unlike HDMI and DisplayPort cables, which require a separate power supply, the GPMI standard can help reduce wire clutter and e-waste as well. Also, only Chinese companies will be adapting the new connector at the moment, and it is still unclear if popular brands like Sony, Intel, AMD and NVIDIA jump on the GPMI bandwagon.
© IE Online Media Services Pvt Ltd
Mohammad Rizwan: ‘Not even one per cent ashamed that I can’t speak English despite being Pakistan captain’