If you are unboxing a brand new 4K TV, soundbar, or A/V receiver, you might come across a lot of acronyms at the best of times but two terms that you will see pop up most are HDMI ARC and HDMI CEC adapter for TV. The trusty High-Definition Multimedia Interface has been the go-to digital connector for TVs, screens, and projectors evolved as a do-it-all connecting, acting as a medium for various video and audio formats.
However, what do these symbols mean? HDMI is a common connector for sound and video. Devices and projectors all use this standard. For a better experience, HDMI CEC is a protocol that lets the devices connected to a TV through an adapter talk to each other and have the same control. For instance, if multiple devices are connected to your Apple TV then you can turn on the TV or other device, put it on standby, control the soundbar, and much more using a single remote.
Rather, HDMI ARC stands for audio return channel, which is a clever protocol that sits within the HDMI standard, in theory, it is a special function of HDMI high-speed certified adapters that can simplify a complicated AV set-up and help the user reduce the number of cables they need to for the sound to be sent back to the transmitter.
The HDMI technology is incredibly useful and has the potential to significantly simplify your TV or Projector set up in myriad ways, starting with controlling all your audio from one remote. However, differentiating between the two, what these exactly are, and why this matters is the key to ensure that you get the most from your TV set up. Thankfully, we are here to help with everything you need to know.
HDMI ARC
First, you need to check the HDMI connections on the back of the TV you need to set up, it can be a soundbar or receiver. If the HDMI port can carry out the ARC functionality, it should be marked out as such. So all-in-all both your TV and soundbar must have ARC for it to work.
Perhaps your smart TV uses Amazon Prime or Netflix video which is a built-in video app. In this case, you don’t want to use your TV’s speaker for audio, and rather hear the audio out from your newly bought audio bar which supports HDMI ARC.
Even before HDMI ARC came into existence, users wanting to have a connection with their soundbar had to connect an optical cable from the back of their TV to an optical input on their audio device which can be a messy solution. And HDMI ARC proved to be a perfect solution to this.
HDMI ARC is designed to reduce the need for optical cables between your TV and a soundbar or external Home Theatre System. The audio signal is capable of traveling both ways to and from the speakers which allow users to send audio ‘downstream’ from a compatible HDMI ARC socket on a soundbar or AV receiver which also improves the sound quality and latency of the signal.
HDMI CEC adapters for TV
Another acronym? Yes! This feature is called CEC, also known as Consumer Electronics Control and the key feature is that it works perfectly to make your AV setup simpler. In theory, HDMI CEC was created to enable all devices connected by HDMI to work as one or it lets the remote from one piece of the gear to control, as long as they are connected with HDMI. This means that, as typically you would have to switch off your soundbar and TV separately, however, with the HDMI CEC feature, the soundbar or Blue-ray player attached to your TV will power down as you switch off your TV device. For instance, your TV’s remote can adjust the volume on your soundbar. It also prevents you from using 5 different remotes for 5 different devices attached to it.
Once the adapter is connected, one remote should work for universal functions such as volume and powers across all your sources, provided you get all set up correctly. And so, HDMI ARC and HDMI CEC aren’t the same things, but there is definitely an overlap.
