Goodbye HDMI, Hello GPMI? China's New Multimedia Connector Could Really Shake Things Up

(April 10, 2025) China’s homegrown tech sector is stepping into the AV connectivity game in a major way. Last week, the Shenzhen 8K Ultra HD Video Industry Collaboration Alliance—a group of more than 50 Chinese enterprises— announced a new multimedia connectivity standard known as GPMI, short for General Purpose Media Interface. The announcement brings with it a bold proposition: unified power and data transmission in a single connection while surpassing existing international standards for bandwidth and power delivery.

At the core of GPMI’s design is a response to a familiar challenge in the world of AV and imaging gear—running separate cables for video and power. GPMI’s answer? A high-throughput, high-power interface capable of delivering both. According to the published specs, GPMI Type-B supports up to 192Gbps of bandwidth with 480W of power delivery. A smaller variant, GPMI Type-C, delivers 96Gbps and 240W, and has already been authorized by the USB Implementers Forum for USB Type-C compatibility.

To put that in perspective, here's how GPMI stacks up against current standards:

• HDMI 2.1 (TMDS) – 18Gbps, no power
• HDMI 2.1 (FRL) – 48Gbps, no power
• HDMI 2.2 (FRL) – 96Gbps, no power
• DisplayPort 2.1 (UHBR20) – 80Gbps, 240W power
• GPMI Type-C – 96Gbps, 240W power
• GPMI Type-B – 192Gbps, 480W power

That last number is particularly noteworthy. At 192Gbps, GPMI Type-B potentially doubles the bandwidth of DisplayPort 2.1, opening the door for ultra-high resolution and high frame rate content transmission—think 8K video at 120Hz or beyond, without needing to split duties between multiple cables. The substantial bandwidth offered by GPMI holds the key to unlocking the full potential of advanced display technologies. Current limitations can necessitate compromises in color depth or chroma subsampling when displaying high-resolution, high-frame-rate HDR content. GPMI’s ample bandwidth, especially the 192 Gbps offered by its Type-B variant, could alleviate these bottlenecks and allow for true 12-bit color panels with access to nearly 69 billion colors.

GPMI already has some real-world momentum. Major Chinese electronics companies, including Huawei, Skyworth, Hisense, and TCL, have confirmed plans to integrate GPMI into upcoming smart TVs and potentially other display-centric devices. And the alliance says GPMI can be applied to broader applications beyond just televisions, envisioning use across imaging equipment, monitors, and potentially even gaming and workstation hardware.

Of course, global adoption remains to be seen, and it’s unclear how—or if—this new standard will be supported beyond Chinese domestic markets. Keep in mind, the current HDMI 2.1 standard allows for up to 48Gbps, and the vast majority of users need little more than 40Gbps. Still, as display technology advances and bandwidth demands continue to rise, GPMI’s pitch is a compelling one: fewer cables, single-line power combined with data transmission, and enough data headroom for the next wave of high-performance video gear.


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[Sonnie Parker]

Things that make you go, hmmmmm!

I'll be curious to see if it is adopted and how it would be implemented. I would assume we would continue to see HDMI connections even if GPMI caught on worldwide.

 

[Jefferad]

That's pretty intriguing. Would love to see us continue to deliver better solutions. I do always worry about the impact in terms of compatibility with sunk tech costs. Backwards compatibility can work on things like HDMI where the connector is the same and you are making incremental improvements. But this is more significant. Would be nice to see (and accelerate adoption) if they could develop an intermediary hub that splits out these signals and power to connect to existing hardware.

 

[Todd Anderson]

I'm not sure how to digest all of this. We're far off from needing this kind of bandwidth – right now, the vast majority of consumers aren't touching 40Gbps, which is 8Gbps short of the HDMI 2.1 standard. So, how willing will companies be to invest in something that far outshines the next HDMI 2.2 capacity - 96Gbps - which I doubt we'll see touched in the near future? That's a tough one.

There's a very good chance that we'll see the next HDMI leap land around 80Gbps.

Now, what's cool is that GPMI delivers more than enough power for a TV or projector. That's huge. But, with that being the case, what kind of cabling will be required to keep it safe?

I'd also imagine that all of these GPMI cables will need to have active data transfer.... the cost for a cable alone is going to be $$$.

Very interesting development, for sure. We'll have to wait and see how far this develops and whether or not actual adoption in the consumer world takes place.

 

[Sonnie Parker]

Good point... the cabling could be costly.

HDMI fiber optic is still considerably higher than regular HDMI, but at least it has come down some.

 

[Todd Anderson]

It has come down some, yes... but we tested a 56Gbps cable that had a price tag at $1300 (I think... it was up there!).

The more I think about this, the more I see it as a solution for commercial ventures in the near term. The amount of disruption this will create to pending designs and supply chain is potentially astounding. Tho, the Type B plug is supposed to be similar to our current HDMI plug – If that's the case, manufacturers wouldn't need to change physical aspects to new products, just internal cards and physical ports.