Version 3.0 of the MHL (Mobile High-Definition Link) specification,...

Version 3.0 of the MHL (Mobile High-Definition Link) specification, available for download early next month, is expected to ship in products beginning next year, Judy Chen, president of Silicon Image subsidiary MHL, told Consumer Electronics Daily. The next-gen spec, announced Monday, will double the bandwidth of the current interface, making it suitable for 4K resolution content with a wider color gamut, MHL said. A new feature is a high-speed data channel that will support file transfers between a laptop or external drive and a phone, Chen said. Current products with MHL connectivity are not upgradeable to MHL 3.0, she said. Other features include an improved Remote Control Protocol supporting touch screens, keyboards and mice; power charging up to 10 watts; backward compatibility with MHL 1 and 2 devices; compatibility with HDCP 2.2; and support of Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD, multiple displays and multiple connector types, MHL said. Users will be able to watch 4K content from a smartphone on a TV while using the TV’s remote control to control stop, rewind, fast forward and pause functions; enabling game play on a 4K display with no lag; turn a mobile device into a portable PC by adding peripherals including a mouse and keyboard; and interact with a car’s infotainment system through a smartphone while it’s charging, MHL said. MHL has an installed base of more than 330 million MHL 1- and 2-enabled products from more than 200 adopters, it said. The group plans to expand beyond the mobile-to-TV interface this fall to become “a relevant connectivity standard for audio/video receivers, Blu-ray Disc players, game consoles, and set-top boxes,” it said. Further details will be available later this year, it said.