HDMI Licensing, LLC, the agent "HDMI has reached an installed base of more than 600 million devices and now touches almost every consumer device that plays HD content. We want to give the industry a preview of where the HDMI specification is headed as we continue to innovate and meet the needs of this dynamic marketplace," said Steve Venuti, president of HDMI Licensing, LLC.

The updated HDMI spec is expected to consolidate HD video, HD audio and now high speed data with the addition of Ethernet in the HDMI cable. It is also expected eliminate the need of a S/PDIF cable by allowing a TV to send audio streams upstream to an A/V receiver for processing and playback over the HDMI cable. The upper limit of the HDMI link will also be increased to handle 4kx2k and 3D. It will also inlcude new connector specification for the auto industry as worlds? largest auto makers move to digital HD video and audio for 21st century cars with HDMI. Finally, a new smaller 19-pin connector will be introduced.

The HDMI standard continues to grow in the marketplace with now over 850 adopters worldwide. According to market research firm In-Stat, over 394 million HDMI-enabled devices are expected to ship in 2009, and by the end of 2009 100% of digital televisions will have at least one HDMI input.