Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
The easiest way to connect any New TV To new Speakers or receiver It uses a single HDMI cable and an audio return channel feature. This allows the connection process to be simplified and reduces the number of different cables you need. Almost all modern TVs and audio devices (that have HDMI anyway) have either ARC or the newer eARC. While you can use Optical cableHDMI is easier and provides additional features such as Dolby Atmos.
For most people, all you need is a single HDMI cable to run between your TV and soundbar. While it should be as easy as it sounds, sometimes it is not. I’ll cover all of that, but first: the basics.
Do you need an ARC?
To be fair, many people don’t need an ARC. If you only listen to audio using your TV speakers and don’t have a receiver or amplifier, this feature is unnecessary. The goal of ARC is to send or convert audio generated by your TV to an external audio device, i.e. an amplifier or receiver.
because The sound on most TVs is terribleWe highly recommend getting at least Speakers To improve your TV experience. Check out our guide on How to buy speakers and Amplifiers vs amplifiers For more.
If you have a fairly old soundbar or receiver that has HDMI, it probably has ARC as well. Here’s how it works.
On the left is a traditional non-ARC setup, requiring an HDMI cable from the Xbox to connect it to the sound system, another to send video to the TV, and an optical cable to send TV app audio back to the sound system. With ARC, the HDMI cable connected to your TV can send TV audio back to the sound system. A two-way street, so to speak.
Can you use ARC?
Check the HDMI connections on the back of your TV, soundbar, or receiver. If the HDMI port has ARC, it should be marked as such. Both your TV and amplifier or receiver must have ARC for it to work. Often, only one port has ARC or eARC, and on TVs, it’s usually the first or third.
Notice the small ARC mark on the HDMI outside of this receiver. An HDMI-equipped amplifier may look similar.
eARC and HDMI 2.1
Starting from HDMI version 2.1b (The latest is 2.2but it’s still unchanged eARC) Enhanced Audio Return Channel, also known as eARC, has largely replaced ARC. While Dolby Atmos can be passed through regular ARC today (via Dolby Digital Plus), eARC provides enhanced bandwidth for high-quality Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio streams, including Dolby Atmos.
The new format also has lip sync compensation. This feature was optional in ARC, but is now required. This allows you to pair the sound with the visuals more easily, which has always been a problem in the modern TV era.
To take advantage of the new features, both pieces of hardware must be eARC compatible. Fortunately, eARC is available with much more than just high-end equipment 8K TVs. Since 2019, most mid-range and high-end TVs have eARC. These days, even budget models have eARC. It’s backwards compatible with ARC, but don’t expect Atmos streaming through an old TV. Although most new TVs don’t need the other HDMI 2.1 features, manufacturers can implement the most useful parts of HDMI 2.1, such as eARC.
Maybe you You don’t need new HDMI cables for eARC. Older Ethernet cables, either standard or high-speed, will work. High-speed cables and newer cables will also work. Your existing cabling probably has Ethernet, and you don’t know it, so it probably works too. To take advantage of some of the other HDMI 2.1 gaming features, such as variable refresh rate and 4K 120 Hza better high-speed cable is needed, otherwise you won’t get any signal.
Prove
Things are simpler for regular ARC, and basically all HDMI cables should work with it. There are two main ways to connect the system using ARC and/or eARC. For our purposes, we’ll assume you have a TV, receiver or soundbar, a Blu-ray player, and a game console (Xbox, Switch, or PlayStation).
Again, notice the ARC mark on the HDMI connection that will be connected to the TV. In the first option below, you can connect all sources to the soundbar, and then just connect one cable to the TV.
1. Use your TV as an HDMI adapter: Connect your Blu-ray player and game console to the TV, then connect one HDMI cable from the TV to the soundbar. The TV becomes the central hub of your entertainment system.
This setting lets you use your TV remote to switch between Blu-ray player and game console sources, and in most cases, you can use your TV remote to control the volume.
A potential downside to this setup is that you may not be able to get 5.1 surround sound or higher. This is a bigger problem if you’re using a surround receiver instead of most speakers (which usually can’t play the full 5.1). We will discuss this further in the “Version 5.1 Issues” section.
2. Use your receiver or amplifier as an HDMI switch: Connect your Blu-ray player or game console to your receiver or soundbar, and then connect one cable to your TV. Some budget speakers may not have enough HDMI inputs for all your sources, in which case you’ll have to use setting 1.
In this setup, the receiver/amplifier is the central hub of the entertainment system. You’ll switch between your sources and adjust the volume using your receiver/amplifier’s remote. You’ll only use your TV remote to turn the TV on and off and access any apps built into the TV. In theory, the TV will turn on and off automatically when you do the same on the receiver. This is called CEC, but it doesn’t always work. More about this in the next section.
HDMI CEC controller
Another HDMI feature is called CEC, or CEC Consumer electronics monitoring. Almost every company has their own name for this feature, including SimpLink, Anynet Plus, Bravia Sync, and others. In theory, CEC will allow a remote from one piece of gear to control another, as long as it’s connected to HDMI. For example, in Setting 1 above, your TV remote can adjust the volume on your soundbar.
There’s no guarantee it will work, especially across different brands or ages of equipment. If there’s any aspect of setting up ARC that might cause you problems, it’s this. You may not be able to realize the dream of using a remote control unless you get one Universal remote control. If that doesn’t work, Google might help. It may be as simple as having to operate your equipment in a specific order. Ultimately, this aspect of control may not work.
The final setup step is to make sure that your TV and amplifier/receiver know how to send or seek out the audio being sent over the audio return channel. If everything is connected correctly and it’s not working, turn everything off and then back on again. If that doesn’t work, it’s time to delve into the settings. It should be fairly obvious in the setup menus how to enable audio via HDMI or ARC specifically, but if not, all owner’s manuals are on the manufacturer’s website. if Which If it doesn’t work, try turning on the devices in a different order: TV then soundbar, or soundbar then TV.
Troubleshooting
One last thing to check. If everything else looks correct, but you’re still not getting sound, or you’re getting sound from some sources but not all, check the audio output settings on the problematic TV or source. Find a setting that lets you Change “Bitstream” to “PCM” Or vice versa. Switching to the other may solve the problem.
Some soundbars like the Vizio Elevate offer Dolby Atmos audio via eARC, as well as a second (or in some cases a third) HDMI input.
Problems with 5.1
As great as ARC is, there’s one big problem: 5.1-channel audio. Technically, TVs are not allowed to send 5.1 audio via HDMI. In other words, if you’re watching a movie on Blu-ray with 5.1 Dolby Digital or DTS and it’s connected directly to your TV (setting 1 above), your receiver may only be able to get 2.0 audio. TVs that can do this are said to have “5.1 pass-through.” This restriction helped create eARC, which we discussed above, but which enables external speakers to play both 5.1 channel and Dolby Atmos.
Some current TVs can still output 5.1, while other TVs will output 5.1 via optical output, but not ARC. Our friends at Rtings.com You have an extensive list of what TVs doEven though it only dates back to 2017.
Keep in mind that this issue is only relevant if you have a 5.1 source, such as a Blu-ray player or game console, and You are trying to send this device’s audio via ARC from your TV to your receiver. If your TV does not support 5.1 pass-through, you can either connect this source to the receiver directly or you can connect the TV and receiver using an optical cable. Optical cables do not carry Atmos devices.
Connecting a source like Blu-ray directly to your receiver/speaker has another benefit: Doly Atmos, Dolby True HD, and DTS Master Audio. If you have an older TV, these HD formats cannot be sent via ARC, but you will be able to send them using eARC.
Arc reaction
On paper, ARC is a great way to simplify your home theater system. The reality is more complex. Read any user reviews about any product that has ARC, there will be issues getting it to work. Depending on the age of your equipment and the complexity of your setup, running ARC and Stay Running can be frustrating.
Our advice for most people is to connect your sources to a receiver or amplifier, if possible, and only use ARC to get audio from the TV’s internal applications. Not every system will work this way, at least if your soundbar doesn’t have enough HDMI inputs. With endless setup possibilities, we can’t give perfect, perfect advice. In theory, connecting directly to your audio device will provide the best chance of getting the highest sound quality.
Also, though Optical cables and connections disappearthey offer a more traditional way of delivering audio that may present fewer issues, at the expense of some sound quality and ease of use that is theoretically less simple. If in doubt, go visual.
Note: This guide was first published in 2019 but has been updated with new information and links.
In addition to covering television and other presenting techniques, Jeff conducts photography tours Amazing museums and sites around the worldincluded Nuclear submarines, Huge aircraft carriers, Medieval castles,epic A 10,000 mile road trip And more.
Also, check out Budget travel for dummiesAnd his travel book, and his book Best-selling science fiction novel About submarines the size of a city. You can follow it Instagram and YouTube.