Some HDMI 2.1 features can be added to existing products with Firmware updates

In a recent meeting with HDMI Forum, FlatpanelsHD confirmed that certification for HDMI 2.1 devices starts this year and that some of the standards new features can be added to products using firmware updates.   

The backporting features is not uncommon with HDMI, with HDR support coming to the original PS4 despite the fact that it uses HDMI 1.4 instead of HDMI 2.0, the standard where HDR support was first officially introduced. In this meeting, HDMI Forum’s CEO Rob Tobias and his staff confirmed that features like QMS (Quick Media Switching), eARC (enhanced Audio Return Channel) and VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) could be backported to existing HDMI products provided the hardware is capable.   

Remember that HDMI does not speak for manufacturers, so this is not a guarantee that these features will be coming to existing products, though it does mean that some of these features could come to TVs and other products before full HDMI 2.1 devices hit the market. This means that consoles like the Xbox One X or PS4 Pro could be updated to support variable refresh rates, with Microsoft revealing that they had plans to offer variable refresh rates with their Xbox One X before the HDMI 2.1 standard was ratified.