EARC hdmi cable question

[All4dom]

I just purchased a samsung q80 tv & q600c soudbar. Do I need to use an earc cable? 

[OoYORIoO · Accepted solution]

@All4dom

Thank you for using the Samsung Member's Community and thank you for your question regarding your Samsung Television and Samsung Soundbar.

Samsung Product Support:

https://www.samsung.com/ca/support/model/HW-Q600C/ZC/

Samsung Product Support Connectivity Instructions:

https://www.samsung.com/ca/support/tv-audio-video/soundbar-how-to-set-up/

"Connecting your soundbar to a TV through HDMI will give you the best audio because HDMI cables transmit sound digitally. There are 2 ways to connect your soundbar with HDMI: you can connect a device to your soundbar (like a Blu-ray player) and then connect the soundbar to the TV, or you can use ARC (Audio Return Channel). The first method will give you the best possible sound from external devices you regularly use. ARC is the way to go if you want great sound from streaming apps on your TV and a soundbar.

Connect your soundbar and an external device using HDMI:

1. Turn off the TV, soundbar, and external device. Then, connect one end of an HDMI cable to an HDMI port on your TV (make a note of which one for reference).
2. Connect the other end to the HDMI OUT port on your soundbar.
3. Connect a second HDMI cable to the HDMI OUT port on your external device. Connect the other end to the HDMI IN port on your soundbar.
4. Turn on the external device and the soundbar. Press the Source button on the soundbar until "HDMI" appears on the display.
5. Turn on the TV and change its source to the HDMI port where the soundbar is connected.
6. Your TV will display images from the external device, and audio will play from the soundbar.

Connect your soundbar with HDMI ARC:

HDMI ARC (Audio Return Channel) lets certain TVs and soundbars transfer audio back and forth using one HDMI cable. In other words, you can use the HDMI port as both an input and audio output. The only downside is that your soundbar is going to take up a port on your TV that would normally connect an external device.

1. To set up HDMI ARC, power on your TV and soundbar.
2. Next, connect one end of an HDMI cable into the HDMI IN (ARC) port on your TV.
3. Connect the other end into the HDMI OUT (TV-ARC) port on your soundbar.
4. Next, change the source on your soundbar to the D.IN setting (press the Source button on the soundbar until "D.IN" appears on the display).
5. After a few seconds, "TV ARC" will appear on the soundbar's display, and the TV will transfer audio through the soundbar.

Additional information:

Everything should be working now, but you can take it a step further and make your setup the best it can be:

Turn on Anynet+ on your soundbar by pressing the Right navigation button on the soundbar's remote. This will make the soundbar turn on automatically when you turn on the connected external device. Some soundbars have a button labeled Anynet+ on the remote. If neither of these methods work, check out the user manual for your Samsung soundbar.

Make sure Anynet+ (HDMI-CEC) is enabled on your TV. This will make the TV turn on when the device and soundbar are turned on. If you have a Samsung TV, navigate to Settings, and then select General. Select External Device Manager, and then select Anynet+ (HDMI-CEC). Check the user manual for your TV if these instructions do not match, or if you do not have a Samsung TV.

Lastly, you should enable HDMI-CEC settings on your external device and set up universal control on your TV. To set up the HDMI-CEC settings on your external device, you will need to check out the user manual for your device. For universal control, check out our guide.
Note: If your external device is 4K-compatible, you need to make sure the soundbar supports 4K pass-thru. Samsung 2017 650 series or above all support 4K pass-thru, so you should be good to go if you have this model.

Thank you for using the Samsung Member's Community and thank you for your question regarding your Samsung Television and Samsung Soundbar.