RSSHDMI technology picks up a tech Emmy
By Angela Gunn | Published January 7, 2009, 1:55 AM
The founders of the High-Definition Multimedia Interface, which advanced the propagation of HD but angers many who dislike the specification's digital content control mechanisms, have been awarded an Emmy for their work.
The HDMI spec, released just over six years ago, manages one or more inputs in over 620 million products shipped so far; by the end of this year, 100% of digital televisions are expected to have at least one HDMI input.
The Technology and Engineering Emmy has a fascinating history: NASA received one in 1969-70 for managing to broadcast color TV from Apollo missions; Sony picked one up for Trinitron technology in 1972-73 and in 1975-76 for a concept that eventually became the VCR, to name but a few. The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences is no stranger to controversy, giving an award in 1986-87 to the fiends that developed colorized movies, turned Frank Sinatra's famous blue eyes brown, and made Jimmy Stewart cry during Congressional testimony. (Enjoy your award, Colorization Inc...in hell.)
The HDMI award isn't the first for a technology that might be considered a form of digital rights management, either. In 1985-86, M/A Com Inc. received a nod "for their contributions to satellite TV encryption and scrambling technology." (Ironically, Sony received an Emmy the very same year "for their design and manufacture of a consumer videotape recorder making it possible for the consumer to time-shift recording and viewing.")
But HDMI occupies a special place in the craw of tech folk, since its image constraint token can be used to block or seriously degrade playback of content -- even legally purchased content on legally owned machines. In particular, consumers who prefer to play back content through their computers are apt to run afoul of HDMI. That's mainly fine with content providers, who say they're doing to thwart piracy, but consumers have been rather vocal about seeing things differently.
The Emmy will be presented to ten companies involved with developing and propagating the standard. Those companies are Hitachi, Panasonic, Philips Consumer Electronics, Silicon Image, Sony, Thomson, Toshiba, Intel, Japan Aviation Electronics (JAE), and Molex. The actual presentation, part of the 60th Annual Technology and Engineering Emmy Award ceremony, is scheduled for Wednesday evening at CES. A full list of this year's award recipients is available on the Emmy site.
Hey, everyone, the next time either Tool, or foxfart, replies to your postings with their libertopian nonsense just post this link and you can then easily dismiss them.
http://sethf.com/essays/major/libstupid.php
Score: 0
...and runner-up was Wi-Fi spray.
Score: 0
HDMI has so far been one of the most difficult technologies that I've had to work with over the past year and a half as a custom integrator. Since there is no real "Standard", rather a "list of recommended implementations" (Take a look at the feature set of lets say HDMI 1.3a. All of the items on that long list of features may or may not actually be active in a specific device.)
In the early years, devices were fraught with handshake issues, dropouts, bugs and at times simply wouldn't work . Things are certainly better these days in those regards, but the technology is still frustrating to work with.
There's also the thought that every HDMI input and output on a device warrants a royalty payment to the HDMI group (which is even more disturbing, considering that this format forced upon us by content owners)
And don't get me started on the DRM.
An Emmy? How about a class action lawsuit.
Score: 0
Oops, double post.
Score: -1
yawn
And to think my money would have been on the AC power cord.
or plastic...
or the word "green".
Score: 0
So you're saying it's not easy reading green? :-D Foxfyre, you are in for a *long* week. I'm beginning to think companies are playing it up at least in part to avoid talking about the economy, but certainly it's a focus and it polls well in consumer-focus testing. Now, explain to me why plastic would get an Emmy? Or did you mean silicone or Botox? (Srsly, the list of previous winners is pretty interesting stuff if you enjoy your tech history; there's a PDF at http://emmyonline.tv/tech/ .)
Score: 0
HDMI is simply a consolidated interconnect with a relatively small footprint adapter - but not small enough for it to be found useful for IT use - where DisplayPort has displaced it.
Add that to the absurd prices normally charged for it in most retail outlets and you have a thoroughly underwhelming bit of technology!
Why plastic, aside for the sarcastic understatement? Simple! It not only is fundamental to the design and manufacture of every device out there (say that about HDMI!), but it is almost infinitely adaptable for any use desired. In other words, without it, much of the market as we know it simply wouldn't exist. Can that be said with regards to HDMI????
The award for HDMI is simply a self-congratulatory plaque that a dozen companies can hang on their wall which is presented by a mutual admiration society. ...Just like its namesake in the film industry! Anyone who has been in this industry for more than a year or two recognizes this!
But I do get a perverse kick out of its fundamental relationship in the enablement of HDCP! ;-)
Score: 0