The only definitive method on how to check HDMI port version on your monitor, your TV, your PC or any other multimedia device is to check its specsheet. The specsheets give you the best answer regarding the version of the HDMI port you have.
For desktop PCs, you can check the specsheet of either the motherboard or the graphics card to identify its version. For laptops, that is also quite straight forward as a simple search for its technical specsheet would reveal the version of HDMI port it uses. The same goes for monitors, TVs, projectors, home theater systems etc.
However, before you indulge yourself into the specsheet of your device, you have to understand the technical jargon particularly regarding what the different HDMI versions entail.
In the following text, I will talk in detail about HDMI versions as well as how to identify which version your particular device has.
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Different HDMI Versions and Data Rate
There are various HDMI versions. Each newer version increases the overall bandwidth of the HDMI interface. In other words, newer version can carry more information.
This in turn means that a newer HDMI version would be able to support higher resolution, higher refresh rates as well as a higher color bit depth.
Which brings us to the next point: the amount of data rate sent over the interface depends upon these three parameters:
- Resolution
- Refresh rate
- Color bit depth
The higher these parameters, the more data your interface would need to carry. However, your interface needs to have enough bandwidth in order to support your desired data rate.
This is where the newer and improved version of HDMI come into play. The following table shows the different HDMI versions, the total bandwidth they can carry, and also the max resolution and frame rate they can support.
| HDMI Version | Max Resolution | Max Refresh Rate | Max Bandwidth (Gbit/s) | Effective Bandwidth (Gbit/s) | HDR? | Audio Technology Supported |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HDMI 1.0 | 1080p | 1080p @ 60 Hz | 4.95 | 3.96 | No | - 8 Audio Channels |
| HDMI 1.1/1.2 | 1440p | 1440p @ 30 Hz | 4.95 | 3.96 | No | - 8 Audio Channels -Super Audio CDs |
| HDMI 1.3/1.4 | 4096 x 2160 (4K) | 120 Hz @ FHD Resolution 30 Hz @ 4k Resolution 24 Hz @ 4k Resolution | 10.2 | 8.16 | No | - 8 Audio Channels - ARC - Dolby TrueHD - DTS-HD |
| HDMI 2.0 | 4096 x 2160 (4K) | 60 Hz @ 4K Resolution | 18 | 14.40 | Yes | - 32 audio channels, - Dynamic Resolution Adaptation (DRA) - High-Efficiency Advanced Audio Coding (HE-AAC) |
| HDMI 2.1 | Upto 10240 x 4320 (10K) | Upto 120Hz @ 10K | 48 | 42.67 | Yes | - 32 audio channels - eARC |
So, in other words, if you wish to run a 4K display, you will need to have atleast an HDMI 1.4 interface. However, if you wish to run a 4K display at 60Hz, you will need an HDMI 2.0.
Similarly, if you wish to play at Full HD @ 144Hz, the HDMI 1.4 interface would suffice. However, in order to play Full HD @ 240Hz, you will HDMI 2.0.
A good equation to take note of in order to calculate the data rate for your desired settings is as follows:
(H + Hblank) × (V + Vblank) × (C x 3) × F
Where,
- H is horizontal pixel count
- V is vertical pixel count
- C is the color depth
- F is the refresh rate
- Hblank is the Horizontal blanking interval
- Vblack is the Vertical blanking Interval
Hblank = 80 pixels for FHD @ 60 Hz, Vblank = 30 Pixels for FHD @ 60 Hz. These changes depending on the desired resolution.
How To Check HDMI Port Version?
With that said, the only definitive way to check the HDMI port version is through the specsheet of your device.
There are various devices that feature an HDMI port. Some feature them as output, where as other feature them as input ports. The devices include, but are not limited to:
- Desktop Motherboard – Output HDMI Ports
- Desktop Graphics Card – Output HDMI Ports
- Laptop – Output HDMI Ports
- PC Monitors – Input HDMI Ports
- Televisions – Input HDMI Ports
Other devices include, gaming consoles, projectors, home theater systems etc
Checking HDMI Port Version on Motherboard – Output HDMI Ports
You can check the version of HDMI port on your motherboard through its specsheet by heading over to the section labelled as “graphics”, “onboard graphics” or something along those lines.
Here you can see that the HDMI port on this motherboard supports 4096×2160 resolution @ 60 Hz refresh rate. This corresponds to HDMI 2.0. However, the caveat underneath shows that it can also support monitors with HDMI 2.1, but its max resolution and frame rate will conform to those of HDMI 2.0.
Checking HDMI Port on Graphics Card – Output HDMI Ports
Dedicated graphics card on desktop PCs also have HDMI ports. Since dedicated graphics cards are more robust and powerful compared to onboard motherboard graphics cards, they tend to feature newer and faster port versions more readily.
You can check the HDMI port version on a graphics card through its specsheet as well.
You can see here that this graphics card features 2 x HDMI 2.1 ports.
Also Read: Do Monitors Have HDMI Ports?
Checking HDMI Port Version On Laptop – Output HDMI Ports
You can use the same principle to check the HDMI version of the port on your laptop as well.
The following image shows the HDMI version on the MSI GL66 Pulse gaming laptop.
It is worth noting here that instead of mentioning the HDMI version, here you can simply see the specs of the HDMI in terms of max resolution and refresh rate supported by the port i.e 4K @ 60Hz.
From the specs of the port alone we can deduce that this refers to HDMI 2.0. As mentioned in the table above.
Also Read: How to Check HDMI Port on Laptop?
Checking HDMI Version on PC Monitors – Input HDMI Ports
PC monitors have input HDMI ports unlike the previous three devices which feature output HDMI ports.
In order to run the interface at a specific version, both output AND the input devices have to have the same version.
In other words, if you want to run your monitor at 4K @ 60Hz, you will need both your PC and your monitor to have HDMI 2.0 interface. The same goes for TVs
Monitors can have multiple HDMI input ports. These can be used to connect multiple devices such as PC in one HDMI port, while a gaming console in the other.
You can check the version of the HDMI port on a monitor through the specsheets as well.
The following image shows the specsheet for ASUS Tuf Gaming VG28UQL1A – a premium 4k gaming monitor.
You can see that this monitor features a total of 4 x HDMI ports. 2 of them correspond to HDMI 2.0 while the other two conform to HDMI 2.1 version.
Also Read: What is the Best HDMI Port for Gaming?
Checking HDMI Port Version on Televisions – Input HDMI Ports
TVs also feature multiple HDMI input ports. The simplest way to check the version of HDMI ports on a TV is also through its specsheet.
Often times, the specsheet will tell you exactly what version the HDMI ports conform to. The following image shows the specsheet for Sony Bravia A90J, we can see that this TV has HDMI 2.1 ports. Which makes sense because it can do 4K @ 120Hz.
However, sometimes, TVs do not specify the version of the HDMI. In that case, you can tell what HDMI version they conform to using the highest resolution and highest refresh rate of the TV.
For instance, if a TV has a resolution of 4K and has a refresh rate of 60Hz, then it would offer HDMI 2.0 interface. If the refresh rate or the resolution is higher than this, then it would have HDMI 2.1 ports.
If a TV is full HD, but has a true refresh rate of 240Hz, it would again have HDMI 2.0 ports. If a TV is Full HD and has a refresh rate of merely 120Hz, then it could have HDMI ports conforming to only HDMI 1.4. I would again like you to refer to the equation mentioned earlier which you can use to calculate the data rate for your desired resolution and refresh rate.
Also Read: Does HDMI Support 240Hz?
Final Words
Here I talked comprehensively about how to check HDMI port version on various input and output devices such as monitors, TVs and PCs.
Again, if a certain device does not exactly specify the version, you can often deduce it by looking at the maximum refresh rate and the resolution supported by the device.
Also Read: How to Check HDMI Cable Version?
