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Please Explain: ARC

ARC, which stands for audio return channel, is part of the HDMI 1.4 specification. Here's what it means in practical terms for your home theatre set-up.

Ty Pendlebury Editor
Ty Pendlebury is a journalism graduate of RMIT Melbourne, and has worked at CNET since 2006. He lives in New York City where he writes about streaming and home audio.
Expertise Ty has worked for radio, print, and online publications, and has been writing about home entertainment since 2004. He majored in Cinema Studies when studying at RMIT. He is an avid record collector and streaming music enthusiast. Credentials
  • Ty was nominated for Best New Journalist at the Australian IT Journalism awards, but he has only ever won one thing. As a youth, he was awarded a free session for the photography studio at a local supermarket.
Ty Pendlebury

ARC, which stands for audio return channel, is part of the HDMI 1.4 specification. It enables your HDMI cable to both send and receive sound, which is useful because it means you only need one cable to connect your TV to your compatible sound system, no digital audio cable required.

There are some caveats though, as the video explains. For more basic information on what HDMI is all about, see our feature Why HDMI? What you need to know before going digital.