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Q I have a 7.1 system with an Integra AV receiver and I use a cable box for TV. When I switch to the Netflix app on my Sony TV, the receiver doesn’t switch to ARC; it stays on HDMI and I get TV audio instead of Netflix. Sometimes, powering down everything works to restore the connection, but the issue soon returns. Any thoughts on this? Thank you. — Larry Hochstetler

A We seem to get a lot of questions about TV audio and ARC (Audio Return Channel) via HDMI, so it’s definitely worth revisiting here!

ARC was introduced in 2009 as part of the HDMI 1.4 standard, allowing for two-way flow of audio and video signals over a single HDMI cable. Since ARC was designed to replace the S/PDIF digital audio outputs of the day, it is limited to handling the same compressed audio formats as S/PDIF, namely Dolby Digital, DTS, and PCM audio up to 5.1 channels. (ARC did increase bandwidth up to 1 Mbits/second versus S/PDIF’s 384 Kbits/second.) For all intents and purposes, the audio output from an HDMI ARC connection and a Toslink optical audio connection will be identical.

When HDMI 2.1 arrived in 2018, it introduced eARC (enhanced Audio Return Channel). This not only increased the maximum audio bandwidth to 37 Mbits/second, but it also included support for next-gen, lossless audio formats like Dolby Atmos and DTS:X in resolutions up to 192/24, making it far superior to both ARC and Toslink connections. Beyond the improved audio, I’ve found that eARC is also far more reliable when it comes to switching inputs and controlling volume on a connected AV receiver or soundbar. When available, that is the preferred audio connection.

Since you didn’t mention eARC, or give the model of your TV or receiver, I’ll assume that isn’t an option for your situation. In my experience, the ARC connection between components was always quite buggy, not switching inputs or automatically engaging as you mention, which is why my installation company almost always uses the TV’s Toslink connection instead of ARC — it delivers the same performance and is just way more reliable. To cut down on input switching, you could connect your cable box directly to your TV via HDMI, and then keep your receiver on the TV Audio input (configured to use the optical audio input).

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