Hot off the heels of its existing MHL 3.0 cable spec that delivers 4K Video over MicroUSB and keeps the device charged, The MHL Consortium has taken the wraps off of SuperMHL, which goes even further. SuperMHL – which appears to be geared towards being a HD Cable replacement – not only increases the maximum picture resolution up to 16 times that of “Full HD” 1080p – in other words, what other media is referring to as “8K HD” – but is cable of a wider range of colours. 281,474,976,710,656 of them in fact, thanks to support for up to a 48-bit colour space, which should allow for more true-to-life shades. Future devices that support the new standard – which aren’t even available to the public as yet – will also be able to use the cable for linked communications; so theoretically if one had a TV, receiver and Blu-ray player all linked up using SuperMHL cables, then one remote could control them all.

Both ends of the SuperMHL Cable

The new standard is capable of delivering power output up to 40 Watts, even while it delivers video, meaning it will also be capable of simultaneously charging a device while you watch. 40 Watts is powerful for most high-end tablets to charge efficiently; it might even be in the range for certain laptops. As for Audio, there’s also support for all-encompassing sound technologies like Dolby Atmos and DTS-UHD for clear, crisp HD sound as well. Finally, the cable is reversible; allowing it to be used either way around much like USB Type-C. The cable technology will be available later this month – but devices that use it are likely to be a while away still, so while the technology will be in our hands shortly it will still be a long wait before we’re watching 8K TV regularly.