As you look ahead to the new gaming experiences coming in 2024, one technology standard is sure to enhance your experience: HDMI 2.1. First released in 2017, HDMI 2.1 included a host of upgrades over previous versions like HDMI 2.0 that promise to vastly improve how you play.

With support for higher resolutions, faster refresh rates, and new gaming-focused features, adopting HDMI 2.1 gaming monitors ensures your setup can take full advantage of upcoming consoles and PCs.

Read on to explore 10 specific ways HDMI 2.1 is going to benefit you as a gamer in the new year by delivering immersive, lag-free gameplay. Let’s dive in!

1. Play Games in 8K Resolution

One of the biggest upgrades HDMI monitors bring is support for 8K resolutions. As 8K gaming becomes more common in 2024, HDMI 2.1 will allow you to play the latest titles with stunning 33 million pixel clarity. With an 8K display, HDMI 2.1 cable, and compatible graphics card, you’ll be among the first to experience the ultra-sharp visual fidelity of the future.

2. Enjoy Buttery Smooth 120Hz+ Refresh Rates

While 4K at 60Hz looks great, HDMI 2.1 monitors take things to a whole new level by supporting refresh rates up to 120Hz and beyond. This means games will appear incredibly fluid and responsive as images flash across your screen over 100 times per second. Paired with a compatible TV or monitor, HDMI 2.1 ensures you can leverage the full potential of high-end displays.

3. Experience Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) Technology

VRR synchronizes the display’s refresh rate to the frame output rate of your graphics card, helping to eliminate screen tearing and stuttering when frame rates fluctuate. This provides a much smoother experience, whether a game dips below or spikes above the screen’s standard refresh rate.

• Without VRR, the display refreshes at fixed intervals (like every 16.6 ms at 60 Hz), regardless of when new frames are ready. This can lead to frames being displayed twice or skipped altogether, causing visual artifacts. VRR solves this by allowing the refresh rate to vary.
• Common VRR standards supported by HDMI 2.1 monitors include AMD FreeSync and NVIDIA G-SYNC. Both work by having the GPU communicate the current frame rate to the display over HDMI. The display then adjusts its refresh intervals accordingly in real-time for a seamless experience.
• For example, say a game is rendering between 50 and 60 fps on your 4K 120 Hz display. With VRR, the refresh rate would dynamically change between 50 and 60 Hz to match the game’s fluctuating performance. This prevents tearing and maintains smoothness.
• The wide refresh rate support of HDMI 2.1 gaming monitors (like 48–120 Hz) gives VRR more flexibility to sync refresh intervals with a broader range of frame rates. On older HDMIs, VRR may have been limited to tighter refresh windows.
• VRR even benefits games that run at a locked refresh rate. It eliminates minor inconsistencies that could still cause stuttering on non-VRR displays. The adaptive refresh provides an ultra-smooth baseline experience.
• Many games will also be optimized in 2024 to take advantage of VRR for improved performance. Developers may target variable refresh windows rather than a fixed rate, knowing the experience will be stutter-free.

In the future, VRR could even enable dynamic resolution scaling features. Games might render at lower resolutions during intense scenes if they can rely on VRR to prevent artifacts from changing resolution.

4. Enjoy Low Latency Mode (ALLM) for Faster Response

HDMI 2.1’s Low Latency Mode (ALLM) automatically puts your TV into its lowest-lag gaming mode when it detects a game console is being used. This ultra-fast game mode cuts down on display input lag, resulting in virtually imperceptible response times. With ALLM, you’ll have a competitive edge with faster on-screen reactions.

5. Transfer Data at 48 Gigabits for More Bandwidth Headroom

Previous HDMI standards maxed out at 18 GB of bandwidth. Monitors with HDMI 2.1 blow this away with support for up to 48 GB of data throughput. This gives you plenty of overhead to push massive 8K resolutions and high refresh rates without compression. More bandwidth also means support for advanced HDR formats and potentially higher-quality textures in the future.

6. Play Multi-Stream Games Across Multiple Displays

With HDMI 2.1, you can run two displays off a single connection and take advantage of innovative multi-stream gaming. This allows select titles to render different images to two screens for asymmetric multiplayer. Or you could pair a 4K main display with an additional 1080p panel for maps, stats, or chat. HDMI 2.1 unleashes new possibilities for dual monitor setups.

7. Enjoy Deeper Color With 10-bit, 12-bit, & 16-bit Color Depth

HDMI monitors support 10-bit, 12-bit, and 16-bit color for over a billion possible shades. This provides a significant boost in color depth over the standard 8-bit found on older HDMI versions. Deeper color means more nuanced, lifelike hues that elevate your games. HDR content truly sings with increased bit depth, too.

8. Experience Next-Gen Audio Formats Like Dolby Atmos

HDMI 2.1 enables support for object-based 3D audio formats like Dolby Atmos. This brings a new level of immersion to games by placing sounds all around and even above you. Atmos content makes environments feel alive through incredible spatial awareness. HDMI 2.1 lays the groundwork to enjoy next-gen audio in both games and movies.

9. Get Future-Proofed for Technologies Like 8K120 & eARC

While not fully utilized yet, monitors with HDMI 2.1 ensure your setup can take advantage of emerging technologies. As GPUs and TVs advance, HDMI 2.1-certified devices give you peace of mind that everything is compatible. You’ll be ready to enjoy cutting-edge features like 8K at 120Hz, VRR at 4K120, and enhanced Audio Return Channel (eARC) for compatible soundbars.

10. Longer Cable Runs of Up To 100ft/30m Without Loss in Quality

HDMI 2.1-certified Ultra High Speed cables can reliably carry the 48 Gbps bandwidth over longer cable runs of up to 100 feet. This is huge for home theater setups where your components may be spread out. No more worrying about signal degradation over longer cable runs; just plug everything in up to 30 meters away without quality loss.

Read more: Will a 1440p Gaming Monitor Last for Next-Gen Games?

Conclusion

As you can see, adopting HDMI 2.1 brings a myriad of benefits that will vastly improve your PC and console gaming experience in 2024 and beyond. Whether it’s buttery smooth high refresh rates, support for exotic resolutions like 8K, reduced latency, or next-gen audio formats, HDMI 2.1 truly future-proofs your setup. By choosing HDMI 2.1-certified components, you set yourself up to get the most out of upcoming games, consoles, graphics cards, and more.