Last week I wrote about how my favourite Apple TV+ show of the minute, Silo, which I've just finished watching, has something of a problem – despite its 4K HDR accolades on the best streaming service for sci-fi fans, the bitrate at which it streams just isn't up to scratch in my view.
That article gained a lot of traction, especially on Apple News, and many readers wrote in with similar experiences to mine – but others suggested that the source of the Apple TV+ app is critical. Indeed, a physical Apple TV is claimed to stream better – something my colleague, News Editor, Rik Henderson, is currently background checking.
The very hint of that device offering an improvement, however, has made me want to buy an Apple TV 4K. But there's a problem: I already don't have enough HDMI ports on my TV. With a PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Nintendo Switch OLED, EE TV Box Pro, and HDMI eARC connected to one of the best soundbars, I already don't have enough ports to plug everything in.
How many HDMI ports is enough?
There's a defunct Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K back there somewhere, too, I think – although it's probably vanished behind a sea of cables, as there's not enough space to plug in all the best streaming devices, let alone adding yet another. It's a problem – and one that the best TVs of the future need to address in my view.
Most TVs these days have four HDMI ports maximum – some have three, others have just two. As I've described above, though, that's not really enough – especially with the whole HDMI eARC aspect taking over one port to push sound from incoming sources to a soundbar effortlessly.
HDMI eARC is always assigned to port 2, too, which is essential (owed to the HDMI 2.1 standard requirement) but also frustrating – as I'll get into below in more detail – because this therefore occupies one of the higher-specification ports, which most TV manufacturers assign to just two of the four ports, rather than all of them.
If you're asking me, I think the next TV I buy ought to have six HDMI ports. There's clearly the demand for it, as I'm not alone here, and with manufacturers moving inputs away from the TVs themselves – LG's OLED M5 being one wireless example, Samsung's The Frame Pro being another – there's the physical capacity to offer it. Even if it was just a pricier variant, so that we, the customers, could decide.
HDMI 2.0, 2.1, 2.2 – What does it mean?
The other bugbear of mine is that a lot of TV-makers with four HDMI ports on their TVs only designate two of them as the HDMI 2.1 standard, first introduced back in 2017. This was an important upgrade over HDMI 2.0 as it offers eARC, 4K resolution at up to 120 frames per second, and more.
As of 2025, the HDMI 2.2 standard is also official (read more about that here) – but we're unlikely to see this in many TVs for a short while. While it's a step forward, for 4K TV owners it's not an obvious essential. Its big upgrades are to support 12K resolution, with the best 8K TVs being the biggest benefactors – as the standard can offer 120Hz or more (with 240Hz supported, which will be a big focus for the best gaming monitors – but you'll need new cables!).
So why don't most makers offer four HDMI 2.1 ports in their TVs? Because the majority are limited by what's available, sourcing from MediaTek and often selecting the more affordable chips which lack the support. MediaTek's Pentonic 800, announced in 2024, does support four HDMI 2.1, which you'll begin to see on higher-end TVs outside of LG and Samsung – the two makers that handle their own processing tech – in coming months.
That doesn't address the demand for more ports, though, until an even newer-gen version is announced and/or LG's and Samsung's independent research and development arrives at a solution to offer more inputs. Sure, there are HDMI passthrough soundbars and HDMI switchers on the market that offer a part-way solution – but I simply don't want all the extra boxes, cables, and hassle
So, c'mon future TVs of 2026, let's address the HDMI problem for the better...
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