Does HDMI 2.0 support 4K 60Hz? Bandwidth and HDR limitations

4K at 60 Hz with 8-bit 4:4:4 SDR color needs 13.4 Gbps, tight inside HDMI 2.0's 14.4 Gbps effective ceiling, with only about 1 Gbps of headroom. It fits, but pushing to 10-bit HDR (16.7 Gbps) doesn't, which is why HDMI 2.0 HDR modes commonly fall back to 4:2:2 or 4:2:0 chroma.

Required bandwidth

13.4 Gbps

Uncompressed

With DSC

4.5 Gbps

Visually lossless 3:1

Mode

3840×2160 @ 60 Hz

8-bit 4:4:4

Interface Bandwidth Analysis

See how much uncompressed and compressed bandwidth this resolution and refresh rate mode demands, compared to the native limits of common video cables.

Uncompressed Signal13.4 Gbps

Cable Limits Reference

HDMI 2.0

14.4 Gbps

✓ Native support

DP 1.4

25.9 Gbps

✓ Native support

HDMI 2.1

42.6 Gbps

✓ Native support

DP 2.1 (UHBR 20)

77.4 Gbps

✓ Native support

Display Mode: 3840 × 2160 @ 60 Hz

Color depth: 8-bit 4:4:4

Resolution

Refresh Rate: 60 Hz

Color Depth

Chroma

Required Bandwidth

Uncompressed

13.38 Gbps

With DSC (Display Stream Compression)

4.46 Gbps

Interface Compatibility

HDMI 1.4

DSC Required

HDMI 2.0

✓ Native

HDMI 2.1 (48G)

✓ Native

HDMI 2.2 (96G)

✓ Native

DisplayPort 1.2

✓ Native

DisplayPort 1.4

✓ Native

DisplayPort 2.1 (UHBR 10)

✓ Native

DisplayPort 2.1 (UHBR 13.5)

✓ Native

DisplayPort 2.1 (UHBR 20)

✓ Native

How this is calculated

10-bit 4:2:2 chroma at 4K 60 Hz comes in at 11.1 Gbps, comfortably inside HDMI 2.0 and visually nearly identical to 4:4:4 for photo and video content. Text on a desktop suffers slightly at 4:2:2 because the color-difference resolution is halved horizontally. This is the core limitation that pushed HDMI 2.1 into existence: HDMI 2.0 simply can't carry 4K 60 HDR at desktop-quality chroma without compression.

Verdict

13.4 Gbps fits HDMI 2.0 only for basic 4K 60 SDR. For HDR, higher refresh, or full chroma, HDMI 2.1 is required. This is why "4K-capable" cables advertised as HDMI 2.0 always have caveats.