What Is HHMI ARC & What Does It Mean?

You’ve got a TV. You’ve got your HDMI cable. But what is HDMI ARC, and why should you care?

- David Richards

TV spec sheets can seem like a mess of acronyms at the best of times, but one that you’ll have seen crop up more than most is HDMI ARC.

That’s because it’s kind of a big deal. It stands for Audio Return Channel, and if you’ve had a new TV since 2009, you may have even been using it without knowing it.

But getting clued up on what it is and why it matters is key to ensuring you get the most from your TV setup. Thankfully, we’re here to help, with everything you need to know.

If you have purchased a new TV lately there is every chance that on the back is an HDMI ARC slot.

ARC stands for Audio Return Channel and while it’s been around for nearly a decade it’s only now with the advent of new soundbars that ARC is really coming into play.

In a nutshell HDMI ARC allows you to use one HDMI cable for both vision and sound.

While HDMI has been carrying pictures and audio from source to receiver since its inception in 2004 ARC has delivered the ability to “downstream” and “upstream” – using one cable.