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ARC or not to ARC...CEC or not to CEC? HUH? (1 Viewer)

Should I connect my AV Receiver via ARC to ARC in TV?


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Tia23

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I'm very new to this. I've read a lot of articles/reviews/watched videos giving advice and there are heaps saying to use ARC but then there are those who say not to use it... I dont really understand how it works?

ARC is for audio? yes? - so how come theres information out there that ARC cant do Dolby atmos through HDMI? i dont get it and then even more complicating... CEC - so this "wakes up the tv?" is that right? for example, if everything is off...but then something triggers the apple tv (lets say...accidentally choosing wrong apple tv to airplay to - if CEC is on..then apple tv would wake up which would wake up the tv and wake up the av receiver, and it will automatically start playing/mirroring or just all be on all at the same time and then now that the tv is on - i change inputs to ps4 because i want to play a game.. so apple tv is no longer being used..will that automatically turn off because i'm not using it..and then turn off the tv and then everything else?

I havent received my set up yet but I cant wait to install everything. i just want to do it the right way the first time.. any expert advice, information, questions or comments are all welcome :)
 

Scott Merryfield

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It rally depends on your system. The more complex the setup, the less I would recommend using either feature. CEC can be somewhat useful if you just have a display and one or two source components and no receiver, but you still probably will not be able to use a single remote for every function. If you have a receiver in the setup, you will be much better off getting a universal remote control instead.

As for ARC, I think of it as the house cat of home theater — it’s finicky and you never are sure what the hell it’s going to do. I would only use it if absolutely necessary — such as to get sound from the apps in a smart TV to your receiver. Even then, you will probably have another option by running a digital audio cable from the display to the receiver.
 

Todd Erwin

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I have never been able to get ARC to work consistently to any great deal of satisfaction. Quite often, it all depends on what order everything is powered on in, and sometimes you have to just shut power off to everything and start over. Part of the problem is that ARC requires CEC, and it is very particular in how it works.

ARC and CEC are great ideas, in theory, when they work. The problem is that when they don't work, it can cause even the most conservative person to curse like a sailor.

I usually tell friends and even clients to forget ARC and CEC, get yourself a streaming device (Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV) that offers the apps you like and a universal remote (Logitech Harmony). You'll thank me in the long run.....
 

JohnRice

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The FIRST thing I do when I get any new equipment. If it's a TV, attach an optical cable from it to the the receiver (as in, no ARC) and turn OFF everything that has anything to do with CEC.

I hope that answers your question.
 

Todd Erwin

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Optical from the TV to the receiver, though, is only going to give you 2.0 PCM audio in most cases.
 

Tia23

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Set up is av receiver with tv (not sure yet with connection, either optical or hdmi (arc)) and then I have a bluray DVD player, ps4, Apple TV, Foxtel box (Australian pay tv for more services) and a MacPro all connected to AV receiver.. which I would like to control with 1x remote most likely Logitech universal remote.

It rally depends on your system. The more complex the setup, the less I would recommend using either feature. CEC can be somewhat useful if you just have a display and one or two source components and no receiver, but you still probably will not be able to use a single remote for every function. If you have a receiver in the setup, you will be much better off getting a universal remote control instead.

As for ARC, I think of it as the house cat of home theater — it’s finicky and you never are sure what the hell it’s going to do. I would only use it if absolutely necessary — such as to get sound from the apps in a smart TV to your receiver. Even then, you will probably have another option by running a digital audio cable from the display to the receiver.
 

Tia23

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I have never been able to get ARC to work consistently to any great deal of satisfaction. Quite often, it all depends on what order everything is powered on in, and sometimes you have to just shut power off to everything and start over. Part of the problem is that ARC requires CEC, and it is very particular in how it works.

ARC and CEC are great ideas, in theory, when they work. The problem is that when they don't work, it can cause even the most conservative person to curse like a sailor.

I usually tell friends and even clients to forget ARC and CEC, get yourself a streaming device (Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV) that offers the apps you like and a universal remote (Logitech Harmony). You'll thank me in the long run.....[/QUOTE

But is it possible to get Dolby atoms using just the optical chord?
 

Todd Erwin

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Everything HDMI into the receiver, then HDMI to the TV. Apple TV and Blu-ray should give you Atmos, as long as the audio on those devices are set to Bitstream and not PCM, and any "bonus audio" is turned off on the Blu-ray.
 

JohnRice

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What Todd said. The receiver does the switching, not the TV. People tend to want to connect everything to the TV and have it do the switching, but that is the wrong way to do it. The only reason you need any audio to go from the TV to the receiver is for sources that come FROM the TV, like internal apps or the terrestrial tuner, if you're using it. You want Atmos, connect the source the to receive using hdmi. ARC doesn't even factor into it.
 

Scott Merryfield

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I have never been able to get ARC to work consistently to any great deal of satisfaction. Quite often, it all depends on what order everything is powered on in, and sometimes you have to just shut power off to everything and start over. Part of the problem is that ARC requires CEC, and it is very particular in how it works.

ARC and CEC are great ideas, in theory, when they work. The problem is that when they don't work, it can cause even the most conservative person to curse like a sailor.

I usually tell friends and even clients to forget ARC and CEC, get yourself a streaming device (Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV) that offers the apps you like and a universal remote (Logitech Harmony). You'll thank me in the long run.....
ARC does not require CEC - - at least, not with my Denon receiver and Vizio 4K display. I still don't use either feature, though, for all the reasons we have listed.
 

JohnRice

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Set up is av receiver with tv (not sure yet with connection, either optical or hdmi (arc)) and then I have a bluray DVD player, ps4, Apple TV, Foxtel box (Australian pay tv for more services) and a MacPro all connected to AV receiver.. which I would like to control with 1x remote most likely Logitech universal remote.
If the TV itself is never a source for audio, then the entire question of ARC is needless. ARC is ONLY for sending audio FROM the TV TO the receiver. The setup you described has all the sources connected to the receiver. YOU'RE DONE.
 

Tia23

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Thanks guys! This is really helpful information!

Will atmos still work (from the blu Ray & Apple TV) if I connect an optical cord aswel?

So I’m not gonna use arc.. i’ll use hdmi to connect from receiver to HDCP2.2 in the tv and also connect optical.. will atmos still work?
 

Scott Merryfield

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Thanks guys! This is really helpful information!

Will atmos still work (from the blu Ray & Apple TV) if I connect an optical cord aswel?

So I’m not gonna use arc.. i’ll use hdmi to connect from receiver to HDCP2.2 in the tv and also connect optical.. will atmos still work?
Your BD player and Apple TV should be connected to your receiver - - not your TV - - via HDMI. You then connect the video/monitor HDMI output from your receiver to an HDMI input on your TV. If you do this, then you will get Atmos sound from the BD player and Apple TV regardless of whether you connect a digital audio cable from the TV to the receiver.
 

JohnRice

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Thanks guys! This is really helpful information!

Will atmos still work (from the blu Ray & Apple TV) if I connect an optical cord aswel?

So I’m not gonna use arc.. i’ll use hdmi to connect from receiver to HDCP2.2 in the tv and also connect optical.. will atmos still work?
There's something very basic you still aren't understanding. You connect your sources to the receiver. The receiver handles the audio. Once the signal gets to the receiver, the audio part is done. Then the receiver passes the video on to the TV. ARC (Audio Return Channel) is not needed. It is ONLY used to pass audio from the TV to the receiver, for stuff that originates in the TV, such as the tuner and apps. It doesn't sound like you are using any of those, so there probably isn't any need to pass audio from the TV to the receiver at all.
 

ChucksterMania

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So based on what I've been reading on here, if you want to watch something that originates from an app on the Smart TV like Netflix or Plex, there's no way to pass an Atmos signal from the Samsung One Connect to the receiver because neither HDMI ARC nor Optical Out will do it. Correct? I'll have to do everything from my Roku?
 

Stephen_J_H

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Correct. The latest version of HDMI [2.2] will supposedly allow Atmos over ARC, but it hasn't even rolled out yet. I only used ARC when I was using smart apps from my Panasonic 3D plasma, like Netflix. Now, I hardly ever use it.
 

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