China launches GPMI standard to replace HDMI.

GPMI can transmit a maximum bandwidth of 192 Gb/s and provide a maximum power of 480 W to connected devices instead of just video data like HDMI.

The Shenzhen 8K UHD Video Industry Alliance, a group of more than 50 Chinese companies, has just launched a new wired connection standard called General Purpose Media Interface (GPMI) to replace the two popular connections currently HDMI and DisplayPort.

The standard was developed to support 8K resolution images and reduce the number of cables needed to transmit data and power between devices. According to HKEPC, GPMI cables will come in two types: Type-B with a proprietary connection type and Type-C using a design compatible with the current USB-C standard.

Since 8K has four times the number of pixels as 4K and 16 times the number of Full HD, GPMI is built to carry much more data than the current common standard. The standard is also designed to accommodate other variables that affect the required bandwidth, such as color depth and refresh rate.

Standard	Bandwidth	Power Supply
DisplayPort 2.1 UHBR20	80 Gb/s	NO
GPMI Type-B	192 Gb/s	480 W
GPMI Type-C	96 Gb/s	240 W
HDMI 2.1 FRL	48 Gb/s	Không có
HDMI 2.1 TMDS	18 Gb/s	Không có
Thunderbolt 4	40 Gb/s	100 W
USB4	40 Gb/s	240 W

The GPMI Type-C connector has a maximum bandwidth of 96 Gb/s and delivers 240 W of power. This is more than double the 40 Gb/s data limit of USB4 and Thunderbolt 4. However, it has the same power limit as the latest USB Type-C standard using the Extended Power Range (EPR) standard.

Meanwhile, the GPMI Type-B has superior specs including a maximum bandwidth of 192 Gb/s and a maximum power delivery of 480 W. While this is not enough to power a gaming PC with an RTX 5090 graphics card through an 8K display, it is still more than enough for many high-end gaming laptops today. This simplifies the desktop setup by requiring just one cable to provide both power and data to the laptop.

GPMI still supports common control standards like HDMI-CEC, which means users can use one remote control for all devices connected via GPMI.

The widely used video transmission standard now includes power delivery, USB Type-C (Alt DP/Alt HDMI) and Thunderbolt. However, this is mainly limited to displays, with many TVs still using HDMI. If GPMI becomes widespread, the market could soon be using just one type of cable for TV setups.