When will the public have access to products with HDMI 1.3 capabilities?

When will the public have access to products with HDMI 1.3 capabilities? When will the public have access to products with HDMI 1.3 capabilities? Consumers have been hearing about HDMI 1.3 for a while now, and they want to know when they will be able to purchase products that have these capabilities. First let's discuss HDMI 1.3, what it is and what it does. HDMI stands for High Definition Multimedia Interface. This is an audio/video interface that is all digital and has the capability to transmit uncompressed streams. HDMI also has compatibility with High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP) Digital Rights Management technology. HDMI is a new replacement for older analogue standards, like RF, which includes SCART, Coax, Component Video, Composite Video, DVI-A, VGA, and RCA connectors, and the consumer electronics product replacement for the older digital standards, like DVI, which includes both DVI-D and DVI-I. HDMI gives an interface between any compatible digital audio/video source, such as a a DVD player, set-top box, a video game system, a PC, or an AV receiver, and the compatible digital audio and/or video monitor, like a digital television (DTV). In 2006, HDMI began to show up as a feature on prosumer, HDTV camcorders, and even some high-end digital still cameras. HDMI will support any PC or TV video format. This includes enhanced, standard, and high definition video, as well as multi-channel digital audio all on a single cable. HDMI is independent of the various standards for DTV, like DVB, -T,-S,-C, and ATSC, as these are encapsulations of the MPEG movie data streams, which are transmitted to a decoder, and then output as uncompressed video data on HDMI. HDMI encrypts the video data into TMDS for digital transmission over HDMI. The devices are created to follow various versions of the specification, with each version numbered, like 1.0, 1.1, etc... Each future version of the specifications uses the same cables but increases the capabilities and / or throughput of what can be sent over the cables. HDMI 1.3 is the fifth version released so far. Version 1.0 was released in December of 2002 and was the latest technology. Currently HDMI 1.0 is obsolete and never used. HDMI 1.1 was released in May of 2004 and it added support for DVD audio format. Next came version 1.2 in August of 2005, and this change was big. This version has support for one bit audio, up to 8 channels, which is used on Super Audio CDs, a requirement for 1.2 and any future displays to support low-voltage sources, and other technologically advanced specifications. In December of 2005 version 1.2a was released, and this version completely specifies Consumer Electronic Control (CEC) features, CEC compliance tests, and command sets. HDMI 1.3 was released on June 22, 2006. There are several significant changes to the 1.3 specifications. One of these changes is that the single-link bandwidth has been increased to 340 MHz, or 10.2 Gbps. Another change is optional support for 30 bit, 36 bit, and 48 bit xvYCC with Deep Color, with over one billion colors, up from 24 bit color space in previous versions. This newest version also has the capability incorporated for automatic lip syncing. HDMI 1.3 also has support for the output of DTS-HD Master Audio and Dolby TrueHD streams for the external decoding done by AV receivers. These are lossless audio codec formats that are used on Blu-ray Discs and HD DVDs. The first product that had HDMI 1.3 capabilities was made available to consumers in November of 2006. This was Sony Corporation's Playstation 3. Also already available on the market, but with an enormous price tag at close to $3,000, is Epson's EMP-TW1000. This is the first display publicly available to consumers that has support for 30 bit deep color. A/V Receivers, displays, and disc players that are compatible with HDMI 1.3 will be released in mid 2007. As time passes, more products will be available with compatibility to HDMI 1.3 specifications. Consumers who are anxiously awaiting products that follow the new specifications may have some difficulty in locating them, however, since the licensing organization does not require manufacturers to specify which version of HDMI that particular product supports. The group simply states that consumers shouldn't look for a specific version of HDMI, but rather to look for the function that the device is to support, such as a specific audio format or deep color.