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One of the best things about the HDMI standard is Consumer Electronics Control (HDMI-CEC), which allows different devices to control each other. This can be as simple as turning on the TV with a Blu-ray player and setting it to the correct channel, or using HDMI Arc to send sound from the TV to the soundbar. Sounds great, if HDMI ARC and CEC are not working properly, then you have come to the right place. This is what you need to know.
First of all, it is worth noting that all HDMI-CEC is a certain standard, and manufacturers have implemented it in a slightly different way. The system also very strictly stipulates which devices to connect first and the order in which they are connected. If you can't get all the functions to work, we will show you how to do it-including making CEC work-so that your TV will automatically turn on and off, and troubleshoot HDMI ARC to make it always work.
HDMI-CEC must be enabled on all devices. What makes this situation more difficult is that all devices call it slightly different. For example, Sky Q sets it to HDMI control, LG named it Simplink, Samsung named it Anynet+, Sony named it Bravia Sync, and Panasonic named it VIERA Link or EZ-Sync.
This will make things a little more complicated, but you only need to look at the HDMI option's settings menu to find the correct control. It is very important to enable HDMI-CEC for all devices including sound bars, TVs, set-top boxes and Blu-ray players.
If you have disabled HDMI-CEC on any device, it may be your problem. However, if the setting is enabled (or the setting is enabled) for all settings, and HDMI-CEC does not work properly, you need to skip to step 2.
HDMI-CEC is really picky about the order in which the devices are plugged in, because it affects the handshake that makes the system work properly. Where HDMI-CEC does not work properly, you need to turn off all power on the plug and unplug all HDMI cables from the TV.
Next, turn on the TV first. Then, if you have any external sound devices (sound bars or AV amplifiers), you need to plug them into the HDMI port on the TV first, and then turn on the power. Next, plug in a set-top box (such as Sky Q) via HDMI and turn on the power. Finally, follow up with media players and Blu-ray players.
This allows HDMI-CEC to work properly, so, for example, turning on Sky Q will turn on the TV and set it to the correct channel. However, don’t be surprised if turning off the set-top box keeps the TV on, as this is usually the case.
The HDMI Audio Return Channel (ARC) is a subset of the HDMI-CEC standard, which allows the TV to send audio to the sound bar or AV receiver via the HDMI cable. If you do not get any sound in this way, you should first perform the second step above. Next, you need to set the TV to use HDMI arc, and it will automatically send audio to the soundbar.
If you still cannot hear the sound or the sound is intermittent, it may be caused by an unsupported audio format. For example, you can set Sky Q to use Dolby Digital Plus, but if the soundbar and TV don't support this format, you won't get any audio. Therefore, you need to check the sound output of each device and make sure to set them as compatible devices. For example, Sky Q can provide you with normal (stereo), Dolby Digital and Dolby Digital +, you can try them in turn.
For a Blu-ray player with no sound, please try to enter the settings menu and select PCM as the output, which will limit your use of stereo, but can solve the HDMI ARC audio problem. For more information, see
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