What is eARC? What’s the upgrade compared to ARC? Instructions for setting up eARC on Samsung Smart TVs

When you own a 4K TV or receiver, speaker or home theater system, you may see a small icon on your device’s HDMI connector that says eARC or ARC. So what is eARC? The following article will help you understand what eARC has to upgrade compared to ARC and how to set up eARC on Samsung Smart TVs!

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Overview of HDMI ARC

What is HDMI and HDMI ARC?

HDMI is a way for users to send audio data and digital images from a source to a high-quality television, soundbar, or amplifier.

HDMI becomes the AV connection port, you can use traditional analog sockets to play video. Currently, HDMI has evolved and has many user interfaces and versions such as 3D, 4D, 8K, HDR along with modern 2.1 frame rates.

HDMI ARC (Audio Return Channel) is a connection port to output audio back to speakers and amps thanks to the HDMI connection. HDMI ARC has the function of reducing the number of cables connected between the TV and the sound system, while improving the sound quality and limiting the delay between devices.

Uses of HDMI ARC

The HDMI ARC port makes it easier to transmit signals between the TV and audio equipment, without having to use complicated cables and additional installation costs. HDMI ARC can replace the receiver, but you can still connect speakers to the TV. This makes it easy for most devices to connect to the TV.

When the TV and home audio device support HDMI ARC port, it is possible to control two devices at the same time through the remote thanks to the remote control sync feature.

Overview of HDMI eARC

What is HDMI eARC?

In the past, when users used AV receivers in stereos, they always felt uncomfortable because they had to use a lot of cables and the sound quality was very poor. Therefore, to solve this situation, users need 1 HDMI port – a proprietary connection standard with full bandwidth to transmit images with high resolution and quality sound.

The Ethernet version and additional digital data support users against piracy when you are upstream and downstream. HDMi acts as a contiguous cable to audio devices, eliminating most other unnecessary connections.

HDMI appeared before and was capable of connecting to televisions, receiving video and audio signals from different sources such as video game consoles, Blu-ray players, AV receivers or set-top boxes. However, with the ARC protocol, it allows users to send audio data to the source device via an HDMI cable.

HDMI eARC is the next generation of ARC technology, a connection protocol that allows users to use one remote control for all the most common functions on home audio equipment via an HDMI cable.

ARC was first introduced in 2009. Up to 10 years later, an upgraded version of eARC or Enhanced Audio Return Channel (HDMI Advanced Audio Return Channel) continued to be released integrated with the new HDMI 2.1 standard.

Role of HDMI eARC

• The main benefit of eARC is the massive increase in bandwidth and speed, allowing you to send higher quality audio from your TV to a soundbar or AV receiver.
• The nightly HDMI eARC gives users the experience of controlling functions with the remote controller.

Difference between HDMI ARC and HDMI eARC

The biggest difference between ARC and eARC is bandwidth . Bandwidth represents the range of frequencies and the amount of data transmitted at a time.

The higher the bandwidth, the more vivid the digital audio signal. So, with the eARC channel, you can experience great sound quality for music, entertainment, and gaming.

Compared to ARC, eARC has been improved to a new level with better connectivity and better quality audio transmission, no delay in signal transmission.

Through the eARC connection, the sound will remain the best quality even with 3D surround sound formats such as Dolby Atmos and DTS: X.

Furthermore, because HDMI 2.1 specification provides faster data transmission with more bandwidth, both audio and video signals can be synchronized automatically and quickly and smoothly.

With eARC, your TV can both process the video signal, while still allowing the highest quality sound to be delivered to the connected audio system. This can significantly reduce the investment cost of all kinds of components in the family’s speaker system.

Comparison table of HDMI ARC and HDMI eARC

Function	HDMI ARC	HDMI eARC
5.1 . Compression	Have	Have
Uncompressed 5.1	Are not	Have
Uncompressed 7.1	Are not	Have
High bit and object rates up to 192kHz, 23 bits (Example: Dolby Atmos, DTS:X)	Are not	Have

Models that support HDMI eARC connection

Models that support HDMI eARC connection:

• TV: UHD TU 7000 and higher models.
• Soundbar: Q70T and higher models.
• Audio Formats: Latest and high bit rate audio formats supported include DTS Master, DTS:X, Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Atmos and many more.

Instructions for setting up HDMI eARC mode for Samsung Smart TVs

Step 1: Click the Home button on the remote > Click Settings .

Step 2: Select Menu Sound (Sound) > Next Select Expert Settings (Expert Settings) .

Step 3: You go to HDMI e-ARC mode > Then press Enter on the remote to start the mode.

Some errors and solutions when setting up eARC on TV

eARC not connecting

If the device has a problem when turning on ARC/eARC mode, you can remove the external devices like STB, OTT… connected to the TV and turn it back on after a few minutes. This may be caused by some external devices not properly connecting the HDMI, resulting in eARC not being able to connect on the TV.

You need to check the following to connect eARC to the TV.

• Check if the eARC port (same port as ARC) is connected or not.
• Check if the connected AV device supports eARC mode.
• User checks if HDMI cable support for HEAC or HEC.
• You reconnect the HDMI cable, then change to Auto for HDMI-eARC mode.

eARC connected but no sound

If your device has eARC connected but no sound, please check Digital Output Audio Format.

Besides, please check if the AV device supports Audio Output Format and review the output audio by changing the Digital Output Audio Format in order PCM/Auto/ Pass-Through.

Above is information about what is eARC concept? What’s the upgrade compared to ARC? Instructions for setting up eARC on Samsung Smart TVs. Hope the above information is useful to you readers!