This meeting took place at the Dolby Labs office in New York, and focused on three new aspects of HDMI 1.3: xvYCC, Deep Color, and next-generation audio codecs (Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, and DTS-HD Master). The beauty of HDMI 1.3 is that it allows for the inclusion of all of these new features plus also passes full HD images of 1920x1080 or 1080p, and all other digital audio codecs on one simplified cable.

HDMI 1.3 is a bigger pipe than previous versions of HDMI; and, since it's bigger, it can pass more bits of information. The first new feature for HDMI 1.3 is xvYCC in which the color space standard extends the color gamut for more realistic and natural color going beyond the current viewable standard by 1.8 times. This removes current color limitations and enables the display of any color viewable by the human eye. xvYCC will first be introduced on Mitsubishi HDTVs in 2007-- most likely on their laser-based DLP rear projection HDTV. Sony will be also adding xvYCC to HDTV sets in 2007 also.

Deep Color is the 2nd new feature to HDMI 1.3 and adds more bits to describe each pixel, wich turns millions of colors into billions of colors with 10-bit, 12-bit and 16-bit color depth up from the current 8-bit color depth. This allows for unprecedented detail and smoother images than previously realized. Deep Color reduces on-screen color banding area with subtle gradations for a more accurate reproduction of on-screen images in true life colors.

Lastly, HDMI 1.3 also passes Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby True HD and DTS-HD. The audio landscape is changing as the next-generation optical formats feature greater storage capacity. The creates new opportunities for improved audio quality with more channels and flexibility of performance. With expanded bitrates, it allows for more channels and high quality pushing current bitrates from 384K for Dolby Digital up to a whooping 3M bits per second for Dolby Digital Plus. This is 100-percent lossless audio 100-percent of the time. Thanks to HDMI 1.3 audio performances can be bit-for-bit identical to studio masters. HDMI 1.3 has the capability of expanding data rate up to 18Mbps and 14 channels or 13.1 with 192 kHz sampling rate and a 24-bit word length for both stereo and multi-channel applications.

Epson has announced the first front 1080p video projector that will include HDMI 1.3 as well as Denon on its new A/V Receivers and DVD players for 2007. Initial models should start shipping late Spring. Toshiba's new HD-XA2 HD DVD player not only includes HDMI 1.3 output, but also supports 1080p resolution. These and other HDMI-1.3-enabled products will be unveiled at CES 2007 next month in Las Vegas, NV. CES 2007 will run from January 8, 2007 till January 11, 2007.