High speed data will be carried along with high definition video and audio in the next version of the HDMI specification, it was revealed today.

HDMI Licensing, which licenses the HDMI specification developed by electronics manufacturers including Hitachi, Philips and Sony, said that the new HDMI specification will be launched "in the first half of 2009". It will add the ability to carry Ethernet over HDMI cables, eliminate the need for S/PDIF cables by permitting a TV to send audio upstream to an AV receiver over HDMI, and meet new performance demands by increasing the upper limit of the HDMI link. The current 19-pin connector will be made even smaller, and a new connector specification will be developed for in-car use.

"HDMI has reached an installed base of more than 600 million devices and now touches almost every consumer device that plays HD content," said HDMI Licensing president Steve Venuti.