Does your home entertainment system produce the highest quality sound? Unless your equipment has HDMI 2.1 and Enhanced Audio Return Channel (eARC), this is not the case.
The ARC standard has been around for a while, connecting your TV and hi-fi into a single, lightweight wireless entertainment system. Nevertheless
, now comes eARC to take audio to the next level.
Find out all about ARC and eARC, why you will one day need them, and which are the best TVs and audio gear for sale in 2020 that should include eARC in our detailed guide below.
What is the CRA?
Audio Return Channel (ARC) is a type of audio transmission that connects the output from your speakers to the controls on your TV, which means you don't need a separate remote or interface to manage the volume. Of course, HDMI cables already carry audio from Blu-ray players, game consoles, and set-top boxes to a TV. P
But with ARC, they can also send audio in reverse, from a TV to an external speaker or sound bar, without having to connect a separate audio cable.
Ready to remove an additional remote from your already complicated home entertainment setup? Here's how.
Why do we need the CRA?
ARC is an often overlooked protocol that is at the heart of nearly every home entertainment product., and to understand ARC is to know its "upstream" from its "downstream". The first thing you should know is that as a feature of the HDMI specification,
ARC allows a TV to send audio signals upstream to a connected soundbar, one-piece home theater, or AV receiver. To do this, you first create a "handshake" between the TV and the audio device, creating a two-way street for information.
By sending audio back and forth, ARC eliminates the need for optical audio cables (also known as S/PDIF), reducing unnecessary clutter that's probably already giving you headaches at home. Simply put, ARC is a cable killer.
Does my TV support ARC?
Probably
while you should have a TV with an ARC-compatible HDMI slot, almost every TV has had such a thing for years.
To find it,
look at the chain of HDMI slots on your TV and you'll see that at least one has a small reference to ARC next to it.
An HDMI licensing spokesperson told TechRadar: "An ARC-compatible TV can send or receive audio over HDMI, upstream or downstream, depending on system settings and user preferences." It is usually automatic:
use the ARC compatible HDMI slot on a TV and can automatically send audio to any soundbar with an HDMI input. No delay either.
Lip sync functionality was introduced in HDMI 1.3 to ensure that audio remains perfectly matched to video. Since then, all HDMI standards have automatically compensated for processor delays, whether the audio is moved up or down.
The humble HDMI cable carries the video and audio source to your TV, but eARC can return audio (Image credit: iStock)
What is eARC?
The next version of ARC, Enhanced ARC (eARC), aims to dramatically increase bandwidth for an expected increase in audio data. eARC can handle more advanced audio formats and superior audio quality, being able to handle 32 channels of audio and even 38-channel 8-bit/24kHz uncompressed 192 Mbps data channels. So EARC supports Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD Master Audio, Dolby Atmos, and DTS:X. This means that the surround sound we're listening to has been greatly improved.
Whether you're listening through a 5.1 system with separate speakers, a soundbar or headphones, gives you a more nuanced and immersive sound. ARC therefore evolves into eARC to be managed in the new HDMI 2.1 specification.
HDMI licenses also told us that "eARC simplifies connectivity, provides greater ease of use, and supports the most advanced audio formats and best audio quality."
What is HDMI 2.1?
HDMI 2.1 is the latest update to HDMI for higher video resolutions and higher refresh rates. As well as being designed to handle the next generation of video: 8K resolution at 120 frames per second (HDMI 2.0 only handles 8K at 30 fps), TVs, Blu-ray players and game consoles support HDMI 2.1 frame rates plus up to 120 fps even for 4K video. The bandwidth of HDMI 2.1 cables will increase from 18 Gbit/s to 48 Gbit/s. Older HDMI cables may struggle with this type of data rate, but any newer HDMI cable is fine.
HDMI 2.1
Which TVs, AV receivers, and soundbars in 2020 include eARC?
Not as much as we expected. HDMI 2.1 certified products, all of which support eARC, were scheduled to go on sale in 2020, but at the time of writing, the coronavirus has put a dent in everyone's plans, with numerous Initial shipments and delayed review units. However, there is good news:
every new LG TV released in 2020 has HDMI 2.1 certified HDMI slots and thus automatically supports eARC. Elsewhere, it's uneven: Samsung's flagship Q950TS TV has four HDMI locations, but only one is HDMI 2.1 certified. Two of Sony's new LCD TV lines for 2020 will include HDMI 2.1: the 8K Z8H (Z8H) and 4K X900H (XH90) lines. The 2020 Panasonic TVs will not include HDMI 2.1, but will include eARC via HDMI 2.0 certified HDMI slots. Confused?
It seems that some features of HDMI 2.1, including eARC, but also ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode) and VRR (Variable Refresh Rate), may be offered as an alternative solution on HDMI 2.0 certified equipment. Therefore, some 2020 and even 2019 TVs, AV receivers, and sound bars have had firmware updates to make these features active. Nevertheless,
check what each manufacturer supports or doesn't support before you buy.
EARC-compliant audio equipment, crucial if you want to enjoy eARC switching in a home theater setup, is more common, with firmware updates now available from Sony, Only, Pioneer, and Integra for recent AV receivers and soundbars. .
What is the variable refresh rate (VRR)?
The HDMI 2.1 specification also includes interesting but relatively unknown features that could quickly become commonplace.
Variable Refresh Rates (VRR) allow a TV to display a dynamic refresh rate in sync with the content, typically ranging from 30Hz to 144Hz.
"I think this is going to be very important this year -- there were a lot of demos at CES 2020," said Paul Gray, director of research (Consumer Devices) at independent consulting and analytics firm Omdia. "A lot of internet content has really weird frame rates like 73Hz, so it's not just gaming that will benefit." So expect more TVs to handle YouTube and web content better.
What is Automatic Low Latency Mode (ALLM)?
Another little-discussed part of HDMI 2.1 is Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM)., which is to create a new and improved "game mode" for televisions. Allows the TV to set the ideal latency (the delay when you refresh a web page or stream a game) for
create smooth, lag-free display and interactivity. It may slightly degrade the image, so
ALLM is not designed for movies (even streaming movies), but it's meant to bring a more fluid feel to gaming, especially with the release of the PS5 and Xbox Next Generation X series consoles, and even video conferencing too. For now, eARC is an emerging standard, but we'll soon see it dominate home entertainment.