Besides the quality of a TV’s screen, arguably one of the most important parts of any TV is its HDMI ports. These ports, which have been the gold standard on TVs for almost 20 years now, help connect your TV to a wide range of devices, including streaming sticks, consoles, PCs, sound systems, and projectors. And the reason HDMI has become so ubiquitous on TVs is that it’s both convenient and powerful, capable of delivering high-quality video and audio through a single cable.
But there’s a myth about HDMI ports specifically that I want to clear up, and it has to do with the eARC HDMI port found on many TVs today. eARC stands for Enhanced Audio Return Channel, and its main purpose is to allow audio devices, such as a receiver or soundbar, to receive high-quality, uncompressed audio from your TV, including formats like Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Atmos, and DTS: X.
However, there’s a misconception that because eARC is designed with audio devices in mind, plugging in other devices that aren’t strictly audio-related, such as a PS5, Switch 2, Xbox, or Blu-ray player, won’t work properly. But that’s not the case whatsoever, and depending on your TV, the eARC port might actually be the best HDMI port on it.
You don’t have to avoid your TV’s eARC port
On some TVs, it’s the only HDMI 2.1 port
On most smart TVs, the HDMI port that supports eARC is usually labeled above it, and TV manufacturers do this to make it as clear as possible which port you’ll want to plug your sound system into. And while yes, if you have a soundbar or receiver, the eARC port is absolutely the one you’ll want to use, that doesn’t mean the eARC port is off-limits if you don’t have a sound system.
When you plug a non-audio-only device into an eARC port, such as a Blu-ray player, it acts like a regular HDMI port and still delivers both high-quality video and audio. In other words, you can plug any HDMI device into eARC, and it’ll work just fine.
But one of the core reasons why it’s so important not to avoid the eARC port on many modern smart TVs, is that eARC is sometimes one of, if not the only, HDMI 2.1 port on the TV. If you’re not familiar with exactly what HDMI 2.1 entails, you can read all about it in this Pocket-lint story here, but essentially, it means that if you want the best picture quality and HDR experience possible, including features like 4K at 120Hz and Dynamic HDR, as well as HDMI 2.1-specific gaming features like ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode) and VRR (Variable Refresh Rate), you’ll want to plug your device into it, especially if it’s a gaming PC, PS5, or Xbox.
Quiz
HDMI Ports & History
Trivia Challenge
Think you know your HDMI versions from your ARC from your eARC — put your display tech knowledge to the ultimate test!
HistoryVersionsFeaturesHardwareStandards
In what year was the first HDMI specification (version 1.0) officially released?
Correct! HDMI 1.0 was released in December 2002 and became commercially available in 2003. It was developed by a consortium of electronics manufacturers including Sony, Panasonic, and Philips as a successor to analog standards.
Not quite — HDMI 1.0 arrived in late 2002 and hit the market in 2003. It was a landmark moment for home entertainment, replacing bulky analog connections with a single digital cable capable of carrying both audio and video.
Which founding companies were part of the original HDMI consortium that developed the standard?
Correct! The original HDMI founders included Hitachi, Panasonic, Philips, Silicon Image, Sony, Thomson, and Toshiba. Together they created a royalty-bearing standard that would go on to dominate home AV connectivity worldwide.
Not quite. The founding seven companies were Hitachi, Panasonic, Philips, Silicon Image, Sony, Thomson, and Toshiba. Notably, Apple was not an early backer, and Samsung joined later as a major adopter rather than a founding member.
Which HDMI version first introduced support for 4K video at 60 frames per second?
Correct! HDMI 2.0, released in 2013, boosted bandwidth to 18 Gbps and introduced 4K resolution at 60Hz. It was a crucial upgrade for the emerging 4K TV market and also added support for 32 audio channels.
Not quite — it was HDMI 2.0, released in 2013, that first enabled 4K at 60fps. HDMI 1.4 could handle 4K but only at a sluggish 30fps, which was fine for still images but not smooth enough for video or gaming.
What does the ‘ARC’ in HDMI ARC stand for?
Correct! ARC stands for Audio Return Channel, introduced in HDMI 1.4. It allows a TV to send audio back down the HDMI cable to a soundbar or AV receiver, eliminating the need for a separate optical audio cable.
Not quite — ARC stands for Audio Return Channel. Introduced with HDMI 1.4, it was a clever addition that lets your TV send audio upstream to an external speaker system using the same cable already carrying video to the TV.
What is the maximum bandwidth supported by the HDMI 2.1 specification?
Correct! HDMI 2.1 supports up to 48 Gbps of bandwidth, a massive leap from HDMI 2.0’s 18 Gbps. This allows it to handle 8K at 60fps, 4K at 120fps, and features like Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) for gaming.
Not quite — HDMI 2.1 delivers a whopping 48 Gbps of bandwidth. That’s nearly triple the 18 Gbps of HDMI 2.0 and enables next-generation features like 8K resolution, 4K/120Hz gaming, and Dynamic HDR all over a single cable.
HDMI was designed as a digital successor to which widely used analog video interface?
Correct! HDMI was conceived as a successor to component video, the analog standard that dominated home theater setups in the late 1990s and early 2000s. HDMI combined audio and video into one cable, something component video could never do.
Not quite — HDMI was designed to replace component video (YPbPr), the three-cable analog system common in home theaters. While DVI is a digital cousin of HDMI and shares much of its underlying technology, component video was the primary analog standard HDMI aimed to supersede.
Which HDMI version was the first to support Ethernet data sharing over the HDMI cable?
Correct! HDMI 1.4, released in 2009, introduced the HDMI Ethernet Channel (HEC), which allows a 100 Mbps network connection to be shared between devices over the same HDMI cable. It was a forward-thinking feature, though rarely implemented by manufacturers.
Not quite — HDMI 1.4 was the first version to include the HDMI Ethernet Channel when it launched in 2009. In theory it lets devices share a broadband connection without extra cables, though in practice very few products ever took advantage of this feature.
What key improvement does eARC offer over the original ARC in HDMI 2.1?
Correct! Enhanced Audio Return Channel (eARC) introduced in HDMI 2.1 supports high-bandwidth, lossless audio formats including Dolby TrueHD, DTS:X, and object-based formats like Dolby Atmos. Original ARC was limited to compressed formats like Dolby Digital 5.1.
Not quite — the big leap with eARC is its support for uncompressed, lossless audio and object-based formats like Dolby Atmos and DTS:X. Standard ARC could only pass compressed audio, meaning audiophiles with high-end soundbars were missing out until eARC arrived with HDMI 2.1.
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For example, on Amazon’s latest Ember QLED Series TV, the only HDMI 2.1 port is the eARC port. Even on higher-end TVs, like the Sony Bravia 8 II OLED, there are only two HDMI 2.1 ports, and one of them is the eARC port. So, depending on your TV, you may actually need to use the eARC port, as it could be the best HDMI port on the TV and the only one capable of supporting HDMI 2.1 features.
However, keep in mind that while eARC was introduced with the HDMI 2.1 specification in 2017, some TV manufacturers have backported eARC capabilities to HDMI 2.0. On most newer TVs, this isn’t the case, but it’s still worth noting. It’s best to check your TV’s manual or specifications to confirm exactly what its eARC port supports and which HDMI ports, if any, support HDMI 2.1.
My experience with eARC
Gaming has never looked better
I’ve been using the eARC port on my LG C5 TV with my gaming PC for almost a year now, and it’s been flawless. 4K at 120Hz works great, as do HDR and Nvidia G-Sync, and I haven’t encountered any issues like weird screen effects or quality problems. It’s hands-down the best gaming experience I’ve ever had, and I’m still amazed every time I launch a game and see how vivid it looks, especially titles like Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, The Witcher 3, and Oblivion Remastered.
While I mainly use my gaming PC with my TV’s eARC port, I’ve also tested several other devices via eARC, including my Fire TV Stick 4K Max, Roku Ultra, PS5, and Switch 2, and they’ve all worked perfectly.
To put it bluntly, there’s absolutely no difference between the other HDMI 2.1 ports on my TV and using eARC.
So if you have an eARC port on your TV and don’t have a sound system to hook up to it, don’t be afraid to use it. It acts just like any other HDMI port when you plug something into it, and in some cases, depending on the model, it might be the most powerful HDMI port on your TV.
- Display Size
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42, 48, 55, 65, 77, or 83 inches
- Operating System
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webOS
- Display Type
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OLED
