HDMI v2.1 upgrade announced for Arcam and JBL Synthesis

Arcam and JBL Synthesis, both members of the Harman Luxury Audio group, have announced an HDMI 2.1 upgrade program for all current models in their range.

Arcam’s AVR10, AVR20, AVR30, and AV40 AV receivers will be upgradable to HDMI 2.1 from Q4 2021, as will JBL Synthesis SDR-35 and SDP-55 models .

To meet the needs of 4k 120 fps and 8k capable games consoles, and future devices, the engineering team has developed a new HDMI 2.1 video board that can be retrofitted by any authorised Arcam or JBL Synthesis service centre. After conversion, these AVRs will feature HDMI 2.1 capability on all inputs and outputs.

The new HDMI 2.1 upgrade includes full 48Gbps bandwidth, up from 18Gbps with HDMI 2.0, with resolutions supported up to 10K, and frame rates are supported up to 120fps.

While the new standard maintains the same physical connector and is backwards compatible with existing HDMI 2.0 cables and components, new Ultra High Speed HDMI cables are required to unlock the full capabilities of HDMI 2.1 products.

“By announcing this forthcoming HDMI upgrade today, we are giving our customers the confidence that their AVR will remain at the leading edge of audio and video capability and will support the future wave of 8K video products.” said Jim Garrett, Senior Director, Product Strategy and Planning, Harman Luxury Audio. “We will be working with our global dealer and distributor partners to ensure that the upgrade process is as quick and painless as possible and that performance and reliability are first-rate.”

Details and pricing of the HDMI 2.1 upgrade will be announced later this summer in advance of the Q4 2021 availability.