HDMI 2.1 VRR support will come to AMD Radeon RX GPUs with a future driver update
HDMI 2.1 VRR support will come to AMD Radeon RX GPUs with a future driver update
AMD has announced a lot of new technology today, be it their Ryzen 2000G series of desktop APUs with Vega Graphics or their upcoming second-generation Ryzen and Threadripper series CPUs.
Amidst all of these hardware reveals, there is one that has not gotten much press, an announcement that was expected but showcases the differences between two of the world’s largest GPU producers. Today AMD revealed that they are planning to add HDMI 2.1 VRR (variable refresh rate) support with an upcoming release of Radeon Software Adrenalin, the standard that will bring variable refresh rates to future televisions.
Radeon Software will add support for HDMI 2.1 Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) technology on Radeon RX products in an upcoming driver release. This support will come as an addition to the Radeon FreeSync technology umbrella, as displays with HDMI 2.1 VRR support reach market.
This announcement came on the same day that Nvidia revealed their 120Hz 65-inch “Big Format Gaming Displays”, giant G-Sync HDR monitors that could be described as a range of large G-Sync smart TVs if it wasn’t for the fact that it doesn’t support TV channels or inputs. While Nvidia’s BFGD range is an impressive technological feat, they are built with mostly proprietary technology with a price tag that is likely to be astronomically high. Right now Nvidia has not committed to supporting HDMI 2.1, whose VRR tech is a mandatory portion of the standard.
AMD’s commitment to supporting HDMI 2.1 VRR showcases the company’s willingness to adapt to the market, whereas Nvidia is doubling down on their own technology with BFGDs. It is hard to see this as anything other than Nvidia’s attempt to take on the Gaming and TV markets, releasing this product at a time where the writing is already on the wall saying that future TVs/HDMI devices will support VRR.
You can join the discussion on AMD’s planned support for HDMI 2.1 VRR on the OC3D Forums.