The US company has been trying to get permission from the HDMI Forum, which controls the HDMI standard, to add HDMI 2.1+ features to its driver. HDMI 2.1+ allows for super-fast and high-quality video and audio over a single cable.
According to Phoronix the HDMI Forum has said no to AMD, leaving Linux users in the lurch. AMD has been struggling to fix a bug that stops Linux users from enjoying 4K@120Hz or 5K@240Hz via HDMI 2.1 for three years.
The problem is that the HDMI Forum has made its specs private, meaning only members can access them. AMD and the X.Org Foundation, a group that supports open-source graphics, have been begging the HDMI Forum to let them use the specs for their open-source driver. AMD's Linux engineers have worked hard to develop a solution that meets the HDMI Forum's demands.
However, the HDMI Forum has rejected AMD's proposal, saying it does not allow open-source implementations of HDMI 2.1+. This means that AMD can't fix the HDMI bug in Linux with a new driver, so HDMI 2.1+ features will not work with open-source drivers. Linux users will have to use DisplayPort instead, another cable that supports high-speed video and audio.