Until recently, only LG and Samsung offered televisions with four HDMI 2.1 ports, as they were the only ones using their own or customized chips. Hisense, Sony, Panasonic, Philips, and TCL were limited by ready-made MediaTek chips, which allowed for a maximum of two HDMI 2.1 ports. Now this is set to change. In 2025, the first televisions from other brands with three or four full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 ports will hit the market, all thanks to the new MediaTek Pentonic 800 chip.
Hisense confirms – four HDMI 2.1 in new models
MediaTek announced its new processor in mid-2024, but it was unclear whether it would actually allow for four HDMI 2.1 ports in televisions. Now the situation is clear – Hisense has confirmed that some 2025 models will have four full-bandwidth HDMI 2.1 ports, and in some regions, the U8Q model will get three HDMI 2.1 and one USB-C with DisplayPort support. This is the first instance where a television has a USB-C port for image transmission. This could be an acknowledgment of PC users who utilize this standard.
Will other brands follow in Hisense's footsteps?
So far, only Hisense is openly discussing new ports, but since MediaTek supplies its processors to most manufacturers, it can be expected that TCL, Philips, and Sony will also take advantage of the Pentonic 800 or its upgraded version. Sony and Philips have not yet announced new models at CES 2025, but it is only a matter of time before more televisions with four HDMI 2.1 ports appear. Everything indicates that 2025 will bring more televisions ready for the latest consoles and computers, without the need to choose which device to connect to the limited number of ports.
