{"video_id":"fp_rCFE4qjWgv","title":"HDMI ARC and eARC","channel":"Techquickie","show":"Techquickie","published_at":"2023-08-08T21:24:00.028Z","duration_s":237,"segments":[{"start_s":0.0,"end_s":4.64,"text":"Ever wonder why there's a special HDMI port on the back of your TV that says ARC next","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":4.64,"end_s":7.76,"text":"to it? Even though it looks exactly the same as the other HDMI ports?","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":7.76,"end_s":12.92,"text":"ARC stands for Audio Return Channel, and it's sneakily one of the HDMI's best features,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":12.92,"end_s":19.24,"text":"with a few caveats. To put it simply, ARC sends an audio signal back down the HDMI cable to an AV receiver","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":19.24,"end_s":24.8,"text":"or a set of speakers, such as a soundbar. You just need to make sure both devices support ARC.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":24.8,"end_s":27.96,"text":"It's relevant when you're using external speakers instead of the ones built into your","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":27.96,"end_s":32.16,"text":"TV. There are lots of folks with this kind of setup who aren't necessarily home theater","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":32.16,"end_s":37.52,"text":"or tech enthusiasts. Built-in TV speakers are often lacking in sound quality, partially because they have","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":37.52,"end_s":41.8,"text":"to be made rather small to fit inside the thin, thin TVs we're used to today, and partly","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":41.8,"end_s":45.24,"text":"because manufacturers are typically much more concerned with picture quality than they are","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":45.24,"end_s":49.6,"text":"with sound quality, meaning external speakers are extremely popular.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":49.6,"end_s":54.04,"text":"Without HDMI ARC, you'd have to use at least one additional cable to send sound from your","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":54.04,"end_s":58.32,"text":"TV to your external speakers whenever the content you're watching originates from the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":58.4,"end_s":62.48,"text":"TV itself. So we're talking about situations where you're watching over-the-air channels with","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":62.48,"end_s":66.8,"text":"an antenna, or using built-in smart TV apps for streaming content.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":66.8,"end_s":71.4,"text":"Of course, if you've connected any external sources like streaming devices, cable boxes,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":71.4,"end_s":75.88,"text":"Blu-ray players, or game consoles directly to the TV, and you're just using a soundbar","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":75.88,"end_s":79.36,"text":"instead of a full-fledged home theater system with a receiver, you'd need some kind of","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":79.36,"end_s":84.2,"text":"cable to connect your TV to the soundbar, regardless, whether it's an HDMI cable or","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":84.28,"end_s":88.68,"text":"a TOSLink cable, or just some old-school red-and-white RCA cables.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":88.68,"end_s":93.64,"text":"But HDMI ARC is still useful if you're going the soundbar route, as the newest version,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":93.64,"end_s":100.28,"text":"called eARC, can carry 32 channels of uncompressed audio, meaning it'll work with fancy object-based","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":100.28,"end_s":106.28,"text":"round-sound schemes like Dolby Atmos and DTSX, technologies which TOSLink and RCA don't","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":106.28,"end_s":110.52,"text":"support. And of course, if you've got one of those soundbars that can pass through HDMI video","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":110.52,"end_s":115.24,"text":"signals from multiple external devices, you can just connect everything to the soundbar,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":115.24,"end_s":119.6,"text":"have a single HDMI cable running from the soundbar to your TV, and take advantage of","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":119.6,"end_s":124.12,"text":"HDMI ARC just as you would if you had used a traditional AP receiver.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":124.12,"end_s":128.76,"text":"But despite the obvious benefits of HDMI ARC and eARC, there are some situations where","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":128.76,"end_s":135.36,"text":"you might actually not want to use it. Probably the biggest issue with ARC is that it's usually coupled with a feature called","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":135.36,"end_s":140.56,"text":"Consumer Electronics Control, or CEC. In theory, CEC is a good idea.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":140.56,"end_s":144.08,"text":"It's the feature that allows you to control the volume on your receiver or soundbar with","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":144.08,"end_s":149.62,"text":"one remote, causes the audio system to switch off whenever you turn off the TV, and switches","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":149.62,"end_s":153.68,"text":"the input automatically when you fire up an attached device like a game console.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":153.68,"end_s":158.08,"text":"I personally hate having multiple remotes, and I love these quality of life improvements.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":158.08,"end_s":164.56,"text":"But the problem is that all these different gadget manufacturers can and do implement CEC","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":164.56,"end_s":170.24,"text":"in different ways, meaning that devices don't necessarily talk to each other properly, resulting","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":170.24,"end_s":176.04,"text":"in weird behaviors, the power switching off when you don't want it to, and even audio","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":176.04,"end_s":183.84,"text":"coming out of the wrong speakers. Although CEC and HDMI ARC are technically separate features, many TV manufacturers design their","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":183.84,"end_s":189.2,"text":"software to where you cannot turn off one feature without also turning off the other,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":189.2,"end_s":194.64,"text":"leading to CEC glitches becoming a common gripe for folks who use HDMI ARC in their","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":194.64,"end_s":199.32,"text":"setups. This can be especially infuriating if you have a receiver connected to a cable box as","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":199.32,"end_s":204.44,"text":"cable boxes tend to be cheaply designed and ripe for CEC hiccups.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":204.44,"end_s":212.2,"text":"There are a couple of ways to avoid these glitches. If you have a simple setup that only handles stereo sound or conventional 5.1 channel surround,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":212.2,"end_s":217.56,"text":"you might consider using additional cables like TossLink or RCA instead of using ARC","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":217.56,"end_s":225.32,"text":"at all. If you really want to be a hacker, you can keep ARC and disable CEC by covering up pin","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":225.32,"end_s":230.4,"text":"13 on the HDMI cable. But please don't sue us if something goes awry.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":230.4,"end_s":236.96,"text":"Thanks for watching guys, if you liked this video hit like, hit subscribe and hit us up in the comments section with your ideas for topics that we should cover in the future.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0}],"full_text":"Ever wonder why there's a special HDMI port on the back of your TV that says ARC next to it? Even though it looks exactly the same as the other HDMI ports? ARC stands for Audio Return Channel, and it's sneakily one of the HDMI's best features, with a few caveats. To put it simply, ARC sends an audio signal back down the HDMI cable to an AV receiver or a set of speakers, such as a soundbar. You just need to make sure both devices support ARC. It's relevant when you're using external speakers instead of the ones built into your TV. There are lots of folks with this kind of setup who aren't necessarily home theater or tech enthusiasts. Built-in TV speakers are often lacking in sound quality, partially because they have to be made rather small to fit inside the thin, thin TVs we're used to today, and partly because manufacturers are typically much more concerned with picture quality than they are with sound quality, meaning external speakers are extremely popular. Without HDMI ARC, you'd have to use at least one additional cable to send sound from your TV to your external speakers whenever the content you're watching originates from the TV itself. So we're talking about situations where you're watching over-the-air channels with an antenna, or using built-in smart TV apps for streaming content. Of course, if you've connected any external sources like streaming devices, cable boxes, Blu-ray players, or game consoles directly to the TV, and you're just using a soundbar instead of a full-fledged home theater system with a receiver, you'd need some kind of cable to connect your TV to the soundbar, regardless, whether it's an HDMI cable or a TOSLink cable, or just some old-school red-and-white RCA cables. But HDMI ARC is still useful if you're going the soundbar route, as the newest version, called eARC, can carry 32 channels of uncompressed audio, meaning it'll work with fancy object-based round-sound schemes like Dolby Atmos and DTSX, technologies which TOSLink and RCA don't support. And of course, if you've got one of those soundbars that can pass through HDMI video signals from multiple external devices, you can just connect everything to the soundbar, have a single HDMI cable running from the soundbar to your TV, and take advantage of HDMI ARC just as you would if you had used a traditional AP receiver. But despite the obvious benefits of HDMI ARC and eARC, there are some situations where you might actually not want to use it. Probably the biggest issue with ARC is that it's usually coupled with a feature called Consumer Electronics Control, or CEC. In theory, CEC is a good idea. It's the feature that allows you to control the volume on your receiver or soundbar with one remote, causes the audio system to switch off whenever you turn off the TV, and switches the input automatically when you fire up an attached device like a game console. I personally hate having multiple remotes, and I love these quality of life improvements. But the problem is that all these different gadget manufacturers can and do implement CEC in different ways, meaning that devices don't necessarily talk to each other properly, resulting in weird behaviors, the power switching off when you don't want it to, and even audio coming out of the wrong speakers. Although CEC and HDMI ARC are technically separate features, many TV manufacturers design their software to where you cannot turn off one feature without also turning off the other, leading to CEC glitches becoming a common gripe for folks who use HDMI ARC in their setups. This can be especially infuriating if you have a receiver connected to a cable box as cable boxes tend to be cheaply designed and ripe for CEC hiccups. There are a couple of ways to avoid these glitches. If you have a simple setup that only handles stereo sound or conventional 5.1 channel surround, you might consider using additional cables like TossLink or RCA instead of using ARC at all. If you really want to be a hacker, you can keep ARC and disable CEC by covering up pin 13 on the HDMI cable. But please don't sue us if something goes awry. Thanks for watching guys, if you liked this video hit like, hit subscribe and hit us up in the comments section with your ideas for topics that we should cover in the future."}