What Is This HDMI ARC Port on My TV?

By

Jason Fitzpatrick

Published May 3, 2017

If you look on the back of your TV, you’ll likely see a few HDMI ports—but one of them may be labeled ARC, or something similar.

Quick Links

• HDMI ARC: The HDMI Specification You’ve Never Heard Of

• Using HDMI ARC: Read the Fine Print (Twice)

If you look on the back of your TV, you’ll likely see a few HDMI ports—but one of them may be labeled ARC, or something similar. This is no ordinary HDMI port. HDMI ARC can greatly simplify your audio cabling needs and setup if you know where to look for it and how to implement it.

HDMI ARC: The HDMI Specification You’ve Never Heard Of

Historically, an AV receivers was the heart of the home media experience, and everything connected through it. DVD/Blu-ray players, cable boxes, game consoles, and other devices all went into the box, and then video and audio signals were split between the TV and the speakers, respectively.

While there is still a time and place for a dedicated receiver, many newer HDTVs—with smart features built right in and a plethora of ports on the back—can serve as the hub, with the receiver taking a back seat (if there is a receiver at all).

Related: How to Improve Your HDTV’s Sound with a Compact, Inexpensive Sound Bar

But without a receiver handling the audio in a central location, how do you get the sound from the HDTV to the auxiliary speakers (like that nice new soundbar you picked up)? You could rely on older standards like the optical TOSlink cable—the little dog-door-like port is still ubiquitous on HDTVs—but if both your HDTV and your speaker system are newer, you don’t have to settle for using a 30 year old optical cable standard and can both par back the number of cables you use as well as the newer audio formats HDMI can handle but TOSLink cannot.

Related: Why Can I Control My Blu-ray Player with My TV Remote, But Not My Cable Box?

Since HDMI 1.4,  HDMI has supported a specification known as HDMI ARC (Audio Return Channel) that offers two-way communication, similar to the HDMI control scheme specification HDMI-CEC. In the original HDMI standard, your TV could receive audio through HDMI, like when your Blu-ray player sends audio and video on the same cable—but it could not send audio out. HDMI ARC allows your TV to send audio out so, now, any audio generated by the built-in antenna tuner, smart TV apps like Netflix, or any other on-TV source, can be sent out to your surround sound system or sound bar.

In theory, using this feature should be as simple as plugging in an HDMI cable. In practice, however, labeling methods (or lack there of), manufacturer standards, and other variables can get in the way.

Using HDMI ARC: Read the Fine Print (Twice)

Even though HDMI ARC has been around since HDMI 1.4 (released in May of 2008), the way manufacturers have implemented it ranges from “very well and clearly” to “halfway and hazily” all the way to “not at all”.

With that in mind, the best thing you can do is read the fine print, and closely at that. Don’t think we say that flippantly, either—we actually mean it both literally and figuratively. Look at the tiny finely printed labels on the HDMI ports on both your HDTV as well as the speaker system or receiver you wish to pipe it out to. Here’s an example from the back of a Vizio TV:

We’ve got to hand it to Vizio on this one. Some manufacturer’s only label their HDMI ARC ports as “ARC”, some don’t even label them at all, but Vizio actually slapped both “Audio Out” and “ARC” on there, giving poor consumers a fighting chance and figuring out exactly what’s going on.

In other cases, even when the port is labeled, it’s can be a bit confusing. In the case of this Sony sound bar, seen below, the ARC port is labeled “TV (ARC)” and “HDMI Out”. This labeling reflects that the soundbar is also an HDMI switcher, so you’re supposed to plug your HDMI-based gear into the bar and then the bar into the TV (so the ARC port is actually functioning both as an HDMI out from the bar as well as TV in for the ARC-delivered sound).

Not only might you find yourself reading the fine print on the actual case of your devices, but you may end up needing to read the fine print in the actual manuals—some ports work automatically, for example, and other times you’ll need to turn the port on in the audio menu of your TV. Not only do manufacturers often not label the HDMI ARC port, but there are many times odd manufacturer imposed limitations on the implementation of the ARC specification.

Related: What Is eARC?

Ideally, any sound piped into the TV or created on the TV (by, say, your cable box or the Netflix app on the TV) should be passed over the HDMI-ARC connection to your connected speakers. In practice, some manufacturers and models have weird rules regarding how the sound is delivered. For example, some TVs will only pass along the sound that is generated directly on the TV itself (by, say, the internal over-the-air tuner or a built-in smart app) but will not pass along sound that is piped in by one of of the HDMI ports (say, from your attached Blu-ray player). The only way to figure this out, short of hair-pulling trial and error, is to read the manual for both your ARC-capable HDTV and your ARC-capable speaker system or receiver.

Finally, there is one rare pitfall that not too many people these days will run into. If you have two ARC-capable devices, but the sound delivery isn’t working, consider replacing your HDMI cord. If you have a very old pre-HDMI 1.4 cord its worth picking up a cheap new HDMI cord off Amazon for a few bucks to ensure the cord is compliant with the new specifications. This six foot $7 model from AmazonBasics will get the job done and is clearly labeled as ARC-compliant.

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Although it hasn’t been implemented perfectly across the industry, if your devices support it HDMI ARC is a great way to use your HDTV as a central hub, pipe out your audio to your speakers, and cut down on cable clutter in the process.

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About The Author

Jason Fitzpatrick is the Editor-in-Chief of How-To Geek. He oversees the day-to-day operations of the site to ensure readers have the most up-to-date information on everything from operating systems to gadgets.

Prior to his current role, Jason spent several years as Editor-in-Chief of LifeSavvy, How-To Geek’s sister site focused on tips, tricks, and advice on everything from kitchen gadgets to home improvement. Prior to that, he was the Founding Editor of Review Geek. Jason has over a decade of experience in publishing and has penned thousands of articles during his time at LifeSavvy, Review Geek, How-To Geek, and Lifehacker.

He’s been in love with technology since his earliest memories of writing simple computer programs with his grandfather, but his tech writing career took shape back in 2007 when he joined the Lifehacker team as their very first intern. After cutting his teeth on tech writing at Lifehacker and working his way up, he left as Weekend Editor and transferred over to How-To Geek in 2010.

With years of awesome fun, writing, and hardware-modding antics at How-To Geek under his belt, Jason helped launch How-To Geek’s sister site Review Geek in 2017. In 2019, he stepped back from his role at Review Geek to focus all his energy on LifeSavvy. In 2022, he returned to How-To Geek to focus on one of his biggest tech passions: smart home and home automation. In 2023, he assumed the role of Editor-in-Chief.

In addition to the long run as a tech writer and editor, Jason spent over a decade as a college instructor doing his best to teach a generation of English students that there’s more to success than putting your pants on one leg at a time and writing five-paragraph essays. While his days of steering students toward greatness are behind him, his lifelong desire to delight, entertain, and inform lives on in his work at How-To Geek.

If you’re looking for him after hours, he’s probably four search queries and twenty obscenities deep in a DIY project or entranced by the limitless exploration possibilities of some open-world game or another. He loves long walks on virtual beaches, playing worker placement board games with inconsequential themes, and spending time with his family and menagerie of pets and plants.

What Is HDMI ARC? | Tom’s Guide

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

HDMI ARC is a lifesaver. Instead of requiring multiple remotes and potentially even additional cables, ARC allows you to simplify your home theater setup, all while improving your audio quality over older standards.

If you’ve set up a new TV or soundbar recently, you may have seen the ARC or eARC label on one of your HDMI inputs. Despite being around for over a decade now, this feature is still relatively new, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if you were staring at the ARC label wondering what it was. 

The short answer? It’s actually one of the best home theater features to emerge in recent years. HDMI ARC and eARC are both methods to transfer the audio signal from one device to another. They’ve risen in prominence as HDMI standards have improved and higher bandwidth HDMI cables allow you to pass more data between devices.  

Pair HDMI ARC with HDMI-CEC and you’ll be able to control your home theater system with a single remote rather than two or three. This essentially reduces the need for a universal remote and won’t require you to enter specific remote codes to get everything working. Plus with ARC and eARC, you also enable the ability to play Dolby Atmos content through a compatible Dolby Atmos soundbar or speaker system. So not only is your life easier, but your home theater sound gets a boost too.

HDMI ARC and eARC are some of the best innovations in the home theater space in a very long time. Ready to find out more about them? Read on and we’ll outline everything you need to know about HDMI ARC.

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What is HDMI ARC?

The often-overlooked ARC stands for “Audio Return Channel,” and ever since the HDMI 1. 4 standard was introduced, ARC has started rolling out to new TVs, soundbars and A/V receivers. This protocol offers two-way communication between devices over a single HDMI connection. Essentially, the HDMI ARC port lets you use HDMI as both an input and an audio output.

Since ARC was introduced in 2009, it has become a very common standard, and you’ll find it on all of the best TVs we’ve reviewed, as well as the best soundbars, from the Devialet Dione to the Sonos Arc. 

Anything that works with the HDMI 1.4 standard should support ARC, but check the documentation for your specific devices to be sure. Not all TVs support ARC despite coming out after HDMI 1.4 was launched as a standard, but nearly all will.

HDMI ARC: What you can do

That two-way flow of sound offered by HDMI ARC means that you can easily do some things that potentially used to require extra cables.

(Image credit: Tom’s Guide)

First, you can connect your audio system with a single HDMI cable. Connect your soundbar to the TV using the designated ARC-capable port, and you can use it for every device that connects to the TV, including Blu-ray players, game consoles and other devices. And it does that through the TV itself, instead of requiring a separate audio receiver.

(Image credit: HDMI.org)

Second, you can run these connections through the soundbar itself, letting you shift the multiple HDMI connections from the TV to the soundbar without requiring any additional setup. This is especially helpful for instances in which your TV is wall mounted and you either don’t have access to all of the HDMI ports or simply want a cleaner look with fewer cables running to and from the TV. It also means fewer cables to install.

Depending on how far away your streaming player is to your TV, you might need an active HDMI cables that require power from a USB-C connector. If you’re buying a new HDMI cable, look for the HDMI Cable Power logo that can draw power from the source device instead of requiring a separate USB cable.  

When your TV is connected to a soundbar or speaker system, you can also use the ARC connection to deliver TV audio to your speakers. Audio going to the TV from an antenna, for example, can also be output over HDMI and piped through the soundbar instead of just the TV’s built-in speakers. This is especially important for smart TVs, for which streaming services deliver all content via Wi-Fi, with nothing to feed into a receiver. Instead, the ARC connection lets you output that sound to your soundbar without having to connect with a dedicated audio cable.

You can also use this in conjunction with another HDMI standard, called Consumer Electronics Control (HDMI-CEC), which lets you control external devices – like Blu-ray players or satellite boxes – using you TV remote. By using the ARC connection for audio and the HDMI-CEC functionality (this should be enabled on your TV by default), you can reduce both the number of cables used and the number of remote controls needed for your home theater.

HDMI ARC: Setting up for sound

It may take a couple of extra steps to get everything activated and set up for ARC, depending on your TV’s manufacturer and the specific model.

(Image credit: Sony)

First, determine which port(s) have ARC support. Most TV manufacturers offer ARC output over only one HDMI port instead of all three or four ports on the set. This is usually indicated by a label on the set itself. If the HDMI ports aren’t clearly labeled, you can check the TV manual, which should indicate which HDMI port to use.

Second, you may need to activate ARC output on the TV. You will generally find this feature in the Settings menu, under Audio. While many TVs auto-detect devices with ARC capability, others require you to turn on the feature manually.

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

Finally, just plug in your stuff. This is dead simple; any HDMI cable will work. The only thing to keep in mind is that the ARC-enabled port needs to be connected to your external audio device.

HDMI ARC: Possible disadvantages

While the simplicity of ARC and audio-over-HDMI is great, it’s not entirely perfect. The ARC standard was designed specifically to replace S/PDIF digital audio outputs (also called TOSLINK), and thus supports every audio format that would normally pass through S/PDIF: Dolby Digital, DTS and PCM audio. It can handle both the TV’s regular two-channel audio and 5.1 surround sound without any trouble.

(Image credit: Sony)

But it also has the same limitations as the S/PDIF standard it replaces. Namely, it can’t send HD or high-bit-rate audio used by standards like Dolby Atmos and DTS:X. This is especially irritating because downstream audio over HDMI can carry the signal with no problem; it’s purely a limitation of the ARC spec.

Even more irritating, some TVs actually downgrade the audio output over ARC, converting everything to two-channel sound even if it originated as 5.1 audio. It’s not common, but depending on your TV’s make and model, you might actually wind up with lower sound quality over ARC. In these instances, connecting an extra audio cable or two may be worth the trouble to get higher sound quality.

The upgrade: HDMI 2.1 with eARC

The next version of HDMI ARC arrived in 2018 when HDMI 2.1 started to arrive on TVs. HDMI 2.1 connectivity has plenty of benefits, like higher bandwidth for higher resolutions and framerates, as well as cool new features like automatic game modes. 

But HDMI 2.1 also offers a new and improved version of ARC, called Enhanced Audio Return Channel, or eARC. The biggest improvement eARC offers is support for full-resolution audio signal, meaning that it supports Dolby Atmos and other uncompressed sound formats.

(Image credit: HDMI.org)

Not all TVs currently use HDMI 2.1 for all HDMI ports, but a significant number offer partial 2.1 support for specific features, with eARC being the most widely offered. You’ll find eARC on models from LG, Samsung, Sony, TCL, Vizio and Hisense – and pretty much every model on our list of the best TVs we’ve reviewed. (Even better, we have a separate list of the best TVs with HDMI 2.1, letting you narrow your shopping to models that offer the new standard.)

Unlike the original HDMI ARC, which works with all HDMI cables, eARC does require new cables that have the higher bandwidth of the 2.1 spec. eARC will work with HDMI 2.0 cables as well, but they won’t offer 4K resolution at 120fps. So we do recommend getting an HDMI 2.1 cable so you get the most out of your home theater setup.

• TV Buying Guide: 11 Things You Need to Know
• The best shows on Netflix

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Brian Westover is currently Lead Analyst, PCs and Hardware at PCMag. Until recently, however, he was Senior Editor at Tom’s Guide, where he led the site’s TV coverage for several years, reviewing scores of sets and writing about everything from 8K to HDR to HDMI 2.1. He also put his computing knowledge to good use by reviewing many PCs and Mac devices, and also led our router and home networking coverage. Prior to joining Tom’s Guide, he wrote for TopTenReviews and PCMag.

How to connect a TV to a computer via HDMI

I decided to prepare a separate article in which I will tell in detail and show with an example how to connect a TV to a regular desktop computer using an HDMI cable. The topic is relevant, and I often get asked about it. In fact, nothing is difficult. But there are some nuances that we will try to understand in the framework of this article.

Almost every, not even the newest TV has at least one HDMI input. And in the computer, on the back panel of the system unit there is an HDMI output. This means that we can easily connect a PC to a TV using a regular HDMI cable, which you can probably buy in every digital equipment store.

Why connect them? Everything is very simple. TV can work as a monitor. That is, you can display an image from a computer on a TV screen. The TV can be used as the main monitor or as a second monitor. This means that the image from the PC will be displayed on the screen of a conventional monitor and TV at the same time. Or just on TV. It already depends on your tasks. It should be noted that not only the image is output via HDMI, but also the sound.

I myself, and other users, most often connect a PC to a TV to watch movies on the big screen, or to play games. You can also connect a gamepad to your computer and play on the big screen. Some people use TVs instead of monitors. They work with documents, surf the Internet, etc. But it seems to me that this is not very convenient. Yes, and the eyes get tired faster. For constant work at the computer, it is better to use a monitor. And connect a TV to watch movies, photos, games, etc.

The connection process will be the same for TVs from different manufacturers: LG, Samsung, Sony, Philips, Panasonic, Ergo, Hitachi, etc. Just like there will be no big differences in Windows settings. Yes, the settings in Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7 are slightly different, but not critical. I’ll show you everything.

If you have a laptop, then you can do everything according to this article: how to connect a laptop to a TV via HDMI.

Preparation: check HDMI ports on TV and computer, select cable

First we need to check if our devices have the required ports. We also need an HDMI cable to connect. Let’s look at everything in more detail. If you have everything, then you can go directly to the connection and configuration.

1. The HDMI input on the TV is usually located on the side, or on the back panel (sometimes here and there). They must be signed and numbered. They look like this (Philips on the left, LG on the right):
   If your TV has at least one such port, then everything will work out.
2. Next, take a look at the back panel of your computer (I will enter the system unit). There we need to find the HDMI output. HDMI can be either on the motherboard (integrated graphics on newer boards) or on the video card. But, even if you have this port on the motherboard (as I have in the photo below), and there is a separate discrete video card with HDMI output, then the TV needs to be connected to the video card.
   I took a photo of the system unit in a horizontal position. In my case, the TV can be connected to the HDMI output on the video card. If your computer does not have an HDMI output, but has DVI, then you can buy a DVI-HDMI adapter. And if there is only the old VGA, then you can also use a VGA-HDMI adapter, but then the sound will not be output to the TV, since VGA is not a digital output. If you want to connect a TV and a monitor to your computer at the same time, you will need either two HDMI or HDMI and DVI. We will also need the appropriate cables.
3. HDMI cable must be the length we need. If I’m not mistaken, they are up to 20 meters. If you do not have a separate cable, then you can use the one with which the monitor is connected. If you have it connected via HDMI. I have this cable:
   The most common, inexpensive cable.

If you have ports on both devices and a cable, then you can connect.

Connect TV to computer using HDMI cable

Simply take a cable, plug it into the HDMI output on your computer and the HDMI input on your TV.

Important! Devices need to be connected when they are turned off and the power is off. There is a risk of burning ports. There are such cases.

If you connect the TV as a monitor, that is, the only screen, then the circuit will look something like this:

Also, let’s look at another case when a TV and a monitor are connected at the same time.

TV set as second monitor for PC

The monitor can also be connected via HDMI (as I have in the photo below), via DVI, or even via VGA. As a result, two screens will be connected to the PC.

We figured out the connection. Most likely, in your case there will already be a system unit with a monitor connected to it. And all you need to do is connect a TV to it.

Select HDMI input as signal source in TV settings

Most often, after connecting and turning on devices, there is no image on the TV. There will be an inscription like “No signal”, “No signal source selected” or something like that. On the TV, you need to select the signal source. The port where we connected the cable.

To do this, your TV remote must have a separate “SOURCES”, or “INPUT” button.

After clicking on it, a menu should open in which you can select the signal source. You can see which port on the TV you connected the cable to (each port has its own number). Or just select an active source. The process itself may differ depending on the TV. I have an old LG.

The picture from the computer should appear on the TV. This will be either a copy of what is displayed on the monitor (if any), or a blank desktop (expand).

An article that may come in handy at this stage: why there is no image on the TV from a computer (laptop) via an HDMI cable.

The main thing is that the picture from the computer appeared on the TV screen. Further, in the Windows settings, we can already change the image output mode. There are several of them.

Setting up an HDMI-connected TV in Windows

The screen resolution is adjusted automatically in most cases. So in the Windows settings, we can only change the mode of operation with multiple displays. This is only relevant when a monitor and TV are connected to the PC. If there is only one display, then these settings are not needed.

The easiest way to change the mode in Windows 10, Windows 8 and Windows 7 is the keyboard shortcut Win + P .

After clicking on them, the “Project” menu will appear. In ten it looks like this:

In Windows 7:

Let’s look at each mode in more detail.

• Computer screen only (turn off the projector) – in this mode, the image will be displayed only on the monitor.
• Duplicate (duplicate) – will be the same image on the screen of the monitor and TV. There is one caveat in this mode. This is the screen resolution. For example, if you, like in my case, have a monitor resolution of 1920×1080, and a TV of 1366×768, then 1366×768 will be set on the monitor and the picture will not be very good. And if the monitor is 1920×1080 and the TV is also 1920×1080, then the picture will be clear on both screens.
• Extend – the desktop will be extended to a second screen. In our case, this is a TV.
• Second screen only (projector only) – this is when the image from the computer will be displayed only on the TV. The monitor is disabled.

In most cases, these settings are sufficient.

Additional screen parameters

To open them, just right-click on an empty area of ​​the desktop. In Windows 10, you need to select “Display Settings”, and in Windows 7 – “Screen Resolution”.

A settings window will open where you can see how many screens are connected to the computer.

You can also define them (by clicking on the “Define” button), change the resolution of each screen and the mode of operation (which I talked about above).

In Windows 7, the settings of a TV connected via HDMI look like this:

We figured out how to set up the image on the computer.

What should I do if the sound from the computer does not go to the TV?

This happens very often. The picture appeared on the TV, but there was no sound. It does not exist at all, or it sounds from the speaker system connected to the computer. If you want the sound to go through the TV, then first check if the sound on the TV is muted or twisted.

Next you need to go to “Playback devices”.

Your TV must be in the device list. You need to right-click on it and set “Use as default”.

If the TV is not in the list, then right-click on an empty area and check the boxes next to two items: “Show disconnected devices” and “Show disconnected devices”.

If this does not work and the TV still has no sound from the PC, then try reinstalling the video card driver. Just download it and run the installation. Let the HDMI cable be connected to the computer at this moment.

How to check these settings in Windows 7, I showed in the article Why there is no sound via HDMI on the TV when connecting a laptop (PC). Be sure to watch it and read the comments. There is a lot of useful information there.

I have never encountered a problem with HDMI audio output. How many connected, everything worked immediately after connection. But there is such a problem.

Connecting a 4k TV to a computer. Ultra HD over HDMI

If you have an Ultra HD TV (aka 4k) and your video card supports this resolution, then there is a chance to get a beautiful and clear image. I checked, everything works. I have a Philips 4K TV. And the computer has a GeForce GTX 750Ti video card that supports resolutions up to 4096×2160.

There are a lot of nuances there. I’m not a gamer, so I’ll try to explain as best I can. The fact is that you can output a 4k image via HDMI, and I did it. But most likely we will get a frame rate of 30 Hz. Which is very little. To get 60 Hz, we need a video card with HDMI 2.0 and the same cable. That is why DVI cables are used to connect to 4k monitors. And I haven’t seen anything on DVI TVs.

I connected everything, started the computer, and saw that the image on the TV was some kind of strange, wrong colors. Maybe it’s just in my case.

Everything is solved very simply. First, I tried to disable UHD (Ultra HD) in the TV settings for the HDMI port to which the PC is connected. The image became normal, but the resolution turned out to be normal, 1920×1080. Therefore, this method is not very suitable for us.

To get a real 4k image with natural colors, you just need to change the screen resolution to the maximum 3840×2160 in the display properties in Windows 10.

The image immediately returned to normal. The scale was automatically set to 300%. Otherwise everything would be very small. It can be changed if necessary. I have not tried to play at this resolution. But I don’t think it’s realistic. Moreover, the video card on my computer is not the newest and not the most powerful.

Waiting for your comments. Ask questions and don’t forget to share your tips. Best wishes!

How to connect a TV to a computer via HDMI

Now, almost any TV has such an input, and most video cards have an HDMI output. Consider the features of such a connection.

If earlier, to connect a CRT TV to a computer, we only needed RCA connectors, which, first of all, output standard images, now we want to see higher quality images, such as HD video, but to transmit such image quality, we need already HDMI connectors.

HDMI is a high definition multimedia interface. It can often be found on new models of computers, laptops and TVs. This interface uses a digital method of information transmission, which is why the transmitted images retain their quality. The HDMI connector is capable of transmitting digital data, both audio and video. HDMI is now very popular, because it is one of the most advanced and advanced interfaces.

Types of HDMI connectors

Today there are three types of HDMI connector:

• Type A is the most commonly used standard connector in the industry.
• Type C (micro HDMI), Type D (mini HDMI) – found on laptops, camcorders, portable computers. These are smaller versions that have all the functions of the prototype.
• Type B – This connector has an extended video channel that allows you to transfer images at resolutions above 1080p. But this type of connector is not as popular as the first three.

Each type of HDMI connector requires a special cable. There are 5 main options for HDMI cables:

• Standard. Supports video resolution up to 1080p.
• High speed. Supports almost all video formats, including even 3D and Deep Color.
• Standard with Ethernet. As you can see, among other things, it can provide Internet access.
• High Speed ​​with Ethernet. Also supports internet.
• Automotive. A special type designed to connect car HDMI devices.

Connecting a computer to a TV

To do this, we need an HDMI type A cable, which can be purchased at any computer store. It remains to find HDMI connectors on the TV and computer. As a rule, they are located on their back side. On a computer, this connector is located next to the monitor connector. If the computer has a built-in video card, then the socket, in most cases, is located near the USB ports.

If the TV is placed on the wall, it may be difficult to connect the HDMI cable. You can get out of this difficulty with the help of an HDMI corner or by purchasing a cable where one of the plugs is located at an angle of 90 degrees.

There are video cards where the additional connector is not HDMI, but DVI. In such a situation, you will need to additionally purchase a DVI-HDMI adapter. If the video card does not have HDMI and DVI ports, then you will not be able to connect the TV to the computer in this way.

When connecting HDMI, it is important to remember that if only a TV is connected to the computer via HDMI, and an additional monitor is not connected, your desktop will automatically appear on the TV screen when starting the OS. But there are exceptions in which the screen remains black. Therefore, it is best to first set the video card to a specific TV resolution. This can be done if you additionally connect a computer monitor to the system unit via the VGA or DVI output. Then it will accurately show the image, and you can set the desired resolution for the TV in the video card driver. If you have a FullHD TV (that is, HD Ready 1080p), your computer must necessarily output 1080p resolution, and if it is an HD Ready TV, then 720p resolution is enough.

Setup

The very first time you connect your computer to your TV, you will need to set up the picture. To do this, you need to right-click on the desktop, then it all depends on your operating system, but one thing is for sure, then you need to find the graphics card settings. Call the context menu on the desktop by pressing the right mouse button.

If Windows 7 is installed on your computer, then select “Screen Resolution”, then find the line “Screen” and select the appropriate option. If the connected TV is not automatically detected, then in the same window, click the “Find” button and wait until the TV search is completed.

The desktop of your computer will be displayed on the TV screen. If necessary, in the properties of the video card, you can adjust the resolution, desktop size, color correction and make other image settings.

If you often use your TV as a second monitor, then many video cards have modes such as “Clone” or “Mirror”, where both displays are configured exactly the same. You can also make both monitors work independently of each other, all this is available for the Extended Desktop mode.

By connecting HDMI-HDMI, the sound is most often transferred to the audio channel of the TV from the computer without additional cables and special problems. The main thing is to configure the computer’s audio settings by using the “output sound via HDMI” option. Please note that if the TV is equipped with an HDMI version 1 port, no sound will be transmitted. Also, sound will not be transmitted when connected via VGA, DVI and some video cards do not have a sound chip for HDMI.

Many owners of laptops and computers lack the diagonal of the “native monitor”. If conditional 15-24 inches is more than enough for permanent work, then it will not be enough for good games or movies. To enjoy the gameplay or watching a movie to the fullest, you can use a TV instead of a regular screen. With the above information, establishing a connection between two devices will no longer be a problem for you.