Thousands of flat panel TV owners, who installed wall mounted TV's using a 1.2 or 1.3, HDMI cable to connect to a media or Blu ray player, now, face the prospect of having to spend hundreds of dollars stripping out the cable HDMI from behind walls if they want to upgrade their TV to 3D.

The problem, which is caused by the introduction of new HDMI 3D technology, which allows high speed 3D movies to be played to a 3D TV, will force many TV owners to upgrade their HDMI cables if they want to experience 3D TV from a Blu ray disc, or 3D media player claims Len Wallis the Managing Director of Len Wallis Audio in Sydney.

"We are well aware of the problem and the magnitude of what we face if a customer wants to upgrade to 3D. It is not the long run cables that are a problem because in most cases we have used Cat 6 Ethernet cable to connect between devices. This cable is then connected with a HDMI cable which is easily accessible. It is the cable that has been plastered into walls and voids that is going to have to be replaced".

"We are literally weeks away from there being 3D TV's in the market and right now we don't have a solution to the problem" said Wallis.

"To get a true 3D experience in the home a consumer needs a 3D TV a 3D Blu ray player or 3D media player as well as a HDMI cable that allows for high speed 3D content and Internet connectivity" said Wallis.

 Recently the HDMI Licensing introduced new HDMI v1.4a specifications which most manufacturers are now building into their TV's and attach devices.
The new HDMI v1.4a specification includes enhancements that allow 3D applications, games and movies to be delivered to a TV.

According to CEDIA executives 3D from a Blu ray player will be 1080p per eye, and the bandwidth will require the high speed HDMI cables.

Previous versions of the HDMI specification have provided for such features as 1080p video, Deep Colour, and device control (CEC). Now, with version 1.4 officially released, HDMI is poised to move beyond its previous role as a single-cable digital replacement for all of those red, white, yellow, green and blue cables that used to make the backs of our AV equipment look like a rat's nest.

Today it's all about delivering Internet and 3D content.

Steve Venuti, president of HDMI Licensing said "We published these latest enhancements to support the market need for broadcast 3D content," says "When we launched 1.4 in June of 2009, we deferred the selection of mandatory 3D format(s) for broadcast content until the market direction was more clearly defined. The market has spoken and the HDMI Consortium has listened and responded to accommodate those market needs."

The enhancements call for the addition of two mandatory formats: "top-and-bottom" to the spec; and that along with "side-by-side horizontal" requirements for bringing 3D broadcast content into the home.

HDMI's announcement notes that v1.4a is meant to offer a level of interoperability for devices that will facilitate home viewing of those 3D sports, 3D Discovery channel programming, 3D Avatar Blu-ray, 3D gaming and whatever else manufacturers and studios can stuff into our TVs.

It lists the mandatory formats now as:
For movies - Frame packing, 1080p@23.98/24Hz
For game content - Frame packing, 720p@50 or 59.94/60Hz
For broadcast content - Side-by-side horizontal, 1080i@50 or 59.94/60Hz; Top-and-bottom, 720p@50 or 59.94/60Hz and 1080p@23.97/24Hz
Addi tionally, there are requirements for devices that serve up the 3D:
Sources - must support at least one mandatory format
Repeaters - must be able to pass through all mandatory formats.