ARC for dummies

ic1male · 8 Apr 2019 at 17:17

Can someone explain how you use Audio Return Channel on new TVs, please?

Do you plug your soundbar into the HDMI with ARC connector on the TV and then your devices like PC/console into the soundbar? Or do they still get plugged into the TV in other HDMI ports and the TV magically splits video into one port and sound into another?

iamtheoneneo · 8 Apr 2019 at 19:45

I believe you can do either.

Steampunk · 8 Apr 2019 at 20:16

Yes, ARC works in both directions. Once you've connected your soundbar to the HDMI with ARC, you can plug other things into either the TV (sends the sound to the soundbar) or the soundbar (sends video to the TV).

ic1male · 8 Apr 2019 at 20:17

Thanks. I understand it now.

Jamesyboyjim · 10 Apr 2019 at 14:11

I have a soundbar with arc which I wanted to plug into my arc enabled hdmi port, problem is, all 3 of my hdmi ports have devices connected that are 4k, my soundbar doesn't mention what it is capable of passing through with the hdmi in port, will it need to be specifically capable of this or is arc just a simple passthrough? I was assuming it would only work upto 1080p and not support hdcp required for 4k, would I be right in this assumption?

ic1male · 10 Apr 2019 at 16:45

Yeah you’ll have to check that your soundbar supports HDCP 2.2 on the ports you use. At least that’s what I’d imagine.

TALON1973 · 10 Apr 2019 at 16:48

You will need to select the right setting on TV to get it to work as well.

Jamesyboyjim · 11 Apr 2019 at 09:16

ic1male said:
Yeah you’ll have to check that your soundbar supports HDCP 2.2 on the ports you use. At least that’s what I’d imagine.

Thanks. I'm 99.9% sure it only supports 1080p. I'll stick with optical then, still sounds good