They look identical, but HDMI and HDMI ARC ports are different. Discover the 3 hidden ways these ports handle your sound.

Rik is Pocket-lint's senior news editor and has been a tech and games journalist since the 80s. He has seen and covered just about every console, mobile phone, gadget and home cinema device launched ...

HDMI, which stands for 'High-Definition Multimedia Interface' (keep that in your back pocket for future pub quiz use), first appeared 20 years ago and quickly transformed how we connect our TVs, ...

HDMI ARC (Audio Return Channel) and eARC remove the need for a separate audio cable when sending sound from a TV to a compatible soundbar or AV receiver. For more, see what is HDMI ARC? HDMI eARC ...

HDMI was marketed as an easy fix for improving the sound quality of your home theater experience. The reality is that HDMI ARC/eARC don’t always work as advertised. Understanding this dilemma, almost ...

The Sonos Arc is a great soundbar, but it would be even better if it had two HDMI ports to get around the limitations of TVs that lack eARC support. The Sonos Arc is an exceptional soundbar, and not ...

The HDMI eARC port found on most TVs is an upgrade from the HDMI ARC standard with higher audio bandwidth that supports high-quality surround sound devices.

So I just bought myself a 5.1 surround sound ARC enabled sound bar, the Vizio SB36512-F6. This is currently being plugged into a TCL 55R617. My plan, with how my understanding of how HDMI ARC should ...