HDMI to Create Unified CEC Identity

Author	Andy Vandervell
Published	8th Jan 2008

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What do Anynet, Aquos Link, BRAVIA Theatre Sync, Regza Link, RIHD, Simplink and Viera Link all have in common? As it happens, everything! All are actually marketing tags for the Consumer Electronic Control (CEC) protocol included in the HDMI 1.3 standard, which among other things enables devices to turn on automatically when another device is activated. And, though HDMI has been incredibly successful, becoming the definitive high definition connection, this confusion has been one of its key failings.

Acknowledging this, VP of Marketing of HDMI Licensing, Steve Venuti, has announced today the intention to create a standard logo and name that would be used by all manufacturers to identify this functionality. Naturally, this is no bad thing even if it's something that ought to have been done from the start but what are the manufacturers going to make of this?

When pressed, President of HDMI Licensing, Joseph Lias, stressed that he hoped and believed that manufacturers would agree to the move, understanding that a consistent message would be more beneficial than the attempts to differentiate their products with complicated marketing. It's a point he said was supported by feedback from retailers and consumers and though he seemed bullish about the prospect, he did go as far as to suggest that it might terminate the license of any manufacturer who didn't follow the move. However, this does seem like an unlikely development and hopefully clarity and common sense will prevail.