This HDMI feature has completely transformed my living room ‣ Diverse Daily

Technology is quite advanced nowadays, and if you have a household of modern equipment, it probably means you have plenty of HDMI cables lying around. A nice feature you might not be aware of is HDMI-CEC, and I don’t blame you if that’s the case.

The way this system works is that it lets one remote control all of your devices. For example, if you have a soundbar plugged into your TV, you might notice that your regular TV remote controls the volume. If that’s the case, that means HDMI-CEC is at work. It’s a neat feature, and that’s the biggest change for me.

In fact, it’s tough to imagine going back to a world where I don’t have HDMI-CEC. Once you get it turned on and have just one remote controlling everything, it’s a game-changer. If you have a bunch of equipment, I recommend getting the feature turned on.

A transformative experience for your home

One remote to rule them all

A person holding a remote in front of the Apple TV F1 channel.

I got an ottoman for my living room a while ago with the intention of sitting back and putting my feet up while I watched TV. What ended up happening is that I filled it up with my TV remote, my Apple TV 4K remote, and my receiver remote. It left no room for my legs, and it was clear something had to change. For some reason, I didn’t even think about researching anything until I randomly realized my Apple TV remote was able to control the volume of my receiver.

This ended up being a game-changer, and I finally tucked away both my TV and receiver remotes. I have since replaced that remote with a universal remote with an IR blaster, so I don’t even need HDMI-CEC. However, the point still stands, and if you don’t have a universal remote, HDMI-CEC will come in handy.

If one remote can control all of your devices, then there’s no reason not to do it. The only thing you have to do is make sure you have this setting enabled on each of your devices. It shouldn’t take too long to do, and you’ll be thanking yourself once it’s done.

Another nice thing about this is that you don’t have to buy a bunch of new cables. Just about every HDMI cable will do, even ones dating back to HDMI 1.4. If you have a bunch of equipment that uses HDMI, then you should be well covered. The only thing you have to do is turn on the necessary settings and plug them into your TV.

All in all, it’s a really good feature that I think everybody can benefit from. Obviously, if you’re just using a TV with nothing hooked up to it, it’s not really important. However, I think things like soundbars keep growing in popularity, and HDMI-CEC is one of the things that makes that accessory really shine. Nobody likes having to use multiple remotes, and this makes that a thing of the past.

Sadly, it’s not always perfect

Some bumps in the road

Screenshot of holding HDMI cable labeled with Blu-ray sticker.

As is the case with most modern technology, nothing seems to work perfectly. There are many instances of HDMI-CEC running into trouble, and some devices just decide to stop working for whatever reason. In my experience, the fix has always been to turn it off and on again. It’s something I have to do frequently with my aging Apple TV 4K, so it’s something I’m used to at this point. Of course, it’d be a lot better if things like this didn’t happen, because it’s very easy for somebody to become frustrated and write off the whole experience.

I don’t want that to happen to anybody because it’s truly a magical experience once everything starts to work properly. When you add more and more to your setup, it’s going to feel so much better to control everything with one remote instead of several. Since I use tech like this often, I’m used to there being hiccups here and there, and I can understand why somebody who is just trying to watch their favorite shows doesn’t want to bother with troubleshooting. I think troubleshooting is part of the fun, but I understand that I’m in the minority there.

HDMI-CEC is still a great feature, but it’s not perfect. I don’t know if there will be a world where it ever gets perfected, especially with people who are relying on one remote to control several of their devices. There are bound to be problems, and they only grow as you continue to add equipment into the mix.

As I mentioned, there are some workarounds to this problem, and a universal remote is one of them. I have the SofaBaton X2, and that’s definitely one of the priciest ways around the problem. There are cheaper remotes out there, but honestly, I’d recommend giving HDMI-CEC a shot before going this route. You might not have any trouble, and you can save yourself quite a bit of cash if it works out for you.