WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.759 ever wonder why there's a special HMI port on the back of your TV that says 00:00:03.840 --> 00:00:10.200 Arc next to it even though it looks exactly the same as the other HDMI ports 00:00:07.500 --> 00:00:14.519 Arc stands for audio return Channel and it's sneakily one of the HDMI's best 00:00:12.179 --> 00:00:19.619 features with a few caveats to put it simply Arc sends an audio signal back 00:00:16.980 --> 00:00:23.699 down the HDMI cable to an AV receiver or a set of speakers such as a sound bar 00:00:21.539 --> 00:00:27.300 you just need to make sure both devices support Arc it's relevant when you're 00:00:25.680 --> 00:00:30.720 using external speakers instead of the ones built into your TV and there are 00:00:29.279 --> 00:00:34.440 lots of folks with this kind of setup who aren't necessarily home theater or 00:00:32.460 --> 00:00:38.040 Tech enthusiasts built-in TV speakers are often lacking in sound quality 00:00:36.719 --> 00:00:41.940 partially because they have to be made rather small that fit inside the thin 00:00:40.200 --> 00:00:45.180 thin TVs we're used to today and partly because manufacturers are typically much 00:00:43.739 --> 00:00:51.480 more concerned with picture quality than they are with sound quality meaning external speakers are extremely popular 00:00:48.719 --> 00:00:55.559 without HDMI ARC you'd have to use at least one additional cable to send sound 00:00:53.700 --> 00:00:59.579 from your TV to your external speakers whenever the content you're watching 00:00:57.300 --> 00:01:02.879 originates from the TV itself so we're talking about situations where you're 00:01:01.320 --> 00:01:07.380 watching over-the-air Channels with an antenna or using built-in Smart TV apps 00:01:05.580 --> 00:01:11.340 for streaming content of course if you've connected any external sources 00:01:09.420 --> 00:01:15.479 like streaming devices cable boxes Blu-ray players or game consoles 00:01:13.320 --> 00:01:18.180 directly to the TV and you're just using a sound bar instead of a full-fledged 00:01:16.979 --> 00:01:22.259 home theater system with a receiver you'd need some kind of cable to connect 00:01:20.220 --> 00:01:27.299 your TV to the sound bar regardless whether it's an HDMI cable or a toslink 00:01:25.140 --> 00:01:31.680 cable or just some old-school red and white RCA cables but HDMI ARC is still 00:01:30.180 --> 00:01:37.560 useful if you're going the sound bar route as the newest version called e-arc 00:01:34.560 --> 00:01:39.600 can carry 32 channels of uncompressed 00:01:37.560 --> 00:01:44.340 audio meaning it'll work with fancy object-based round sound schemes like 00:01:41.520 --> 00:01:48.600 Dolby Atmos and dtsx Technology switch toslink and RCA don't support and of 00:01:47.220 --> 00:01:52.799 course if you've got one of those sound bars that can pass through HDMI video 00:01:50.640 --> 00:01:56.820 signals from multiple external devices you can just connect everything to the 00:01:54.659 --> 00:02:01.259 sound bar have a single HDMI cable running from the sound bar to your TV 00:01:58.439 --> 00:02:05.579 and take advantage of HD my arc just as you would if you have used a traditional 00:02:03.119 --> 00:02:09.840 AP receiver but despite the obvious benefits of HDMI ARC and e-arc there are 00:02:08.039 --> 00:02:13.800 some situations where you might actually not want to use it and we'll tell you 00:02:11.700 --> 00:02:17.819 what those are right after we thank Best Buy get ready to save on your next tech 00:02:15.900 --> 00:02:21.239 upgrade with Best Buy's back to school sale maybe it's time to replace that old 00:02:19.680 --> 00:02:24.540 laptop you've been carrying around or get a second monitor to increase your 00:02:22.860 --> 00:02:28.560 productivity your Excel spreadsheets will thank you check out Best Buy's back 00:02:26.580 --> 00:02:32.160 to school sale and grab some new gear at the link below probably the biggest 00:02:30.420 --> 00:02:37.620 issue with Arc is that it's usually coupled with a feature called consumer 00:02:34.200 --> 00:02:39.300 electronics control or CEC in theory CEC 00:02:37.620 --> 00:02:42.900 is a good idea it's the feature that allows you to control the volume on your 00:02:40.920 --> 00:02:47.400 receiver or Soundbar with one remote causes the audio system to switch off 00:02:45.239 --> 00:02:51.180 whenever you turn off the TV and switches the input automatically when 00:02:49.260 --> 00:02:54.840 you fire up an attached device like a game console I personally hate having 00:02:53.040 --> 00:02:58.200 multiple remotes and I love these quality of life improvements but the 00:02:56.519 --> 00:03:04.500 problem is that all these different Gadget manufacturers can undo Implement 00:03:01.519 --> 00:03:08.879 CEC in different ways meaning that devices don't necessarily talk to each 00:03:06.780 --> 00:03:12.540 other properly resulting in weird behaviors 00:03:10.680 --> 00:03:17.459 the power switching off when you don't want it to and even audio coming out of 00:03:14.700 --> 00:03:22.140 the wrong speakers although CEC and HDMI ARC are technically separate features 00:03:19.379 --> 00:03:26.580 many TV manufacturers design their software to where you cannot turn off 00:03:24.120 --> 00:03:31.920 one feature without also turning off the other leading to CEC glitches becoming a 00:03:29.459 --> 00:03:35.879 common gripe for folks who use HDMI ARC in their setups this can be especially 00:03:34.140 --> 00:03:40.920 infuriating if you have a receiver connected to a cable box as cable boxes 00:03:38.400 --> 00:03:45.060 tend to be cheaply designed and ripe for CEC hiccups but there are a couple of 00:03:43.080 --> 00:03:49.379 ways to avoid these glitches if you have a simple setup that only handles stereo 00:03:47.220 --> 00:03:53.879 sound or conventional 5.1 Channel surround you might consider using 00:03:51.480 --> 00:03:59.340 additional cables like toslink or RCA instead of using Arc at all and if you 00:03:56.940 --> 00:04:06.659 really want to be a hacker you can keep Arc and disable CEC by covering up pin 00:04:03.420 --> 00:04:08.819 13 on the HDMI cable but please don't 00:04:06.659 --> 00:04:11.879 sue us if something goes awry thanks for watching guys if you like this video hit 00:04:10.080 --> 00:04:14.819 like hit subscribe and hit us up in the comment section with your ideas for 00:04:13.439 --> 00:04:16.939 topics that we should cover in the future