When HDMI 1.4 made its debut, HEC or HDMI Ethernet Channel was pitched as a convenience factor. Rather than relying on two separate cables for AV and Ethernet, users could just use one cable connected to a TV or home entertainment device to fulfill their needs. Enhanced Audio Return Channel (also known as eARC) is the next generation of ARC. It’s a feature implemented in the most recent HDMI 2.1 specification. It is true that you can find ethernet being used in home applications, but for the most part, all devices use WiFi. This is one of the main hurdles HEC had to overcome and, for the most part, didn’t. There is one area where HEC was implemented, although in a much different way. This is the reason we see ethernet included in most HDMI cables produced today. Best Uses of HDMI Ethernet Channel/HEC Connectivity The idea of HEC was to connect one HDMI cable with ethernet from a modem or router to a TV and then all the devices that are connected to that TV via HDMI can also benefit from the internet connection (Gaming consoles, Bluray Players, etc). It would allow you to use one cable for all your connection needs (audiovisual and internet) instead of having to use separate connections. Why Didn’t Internet over HDMI Catch On? Ethernet and Wi-Fi interfaces were readily available to TV and home entertainment device manufacturers at cheaper fees. It was the least of their priorities to make significant changes to their device’s hardware and software to support such a niche function like HEC.

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The main benefit of eARC is a big boost in bandwidth and speed. This allows you to send higher-quality audio from your TV to a soundbar or AV receiver.Plenty of products other than TVs also offer eARC connectivity. Onkyo and Pioneer were the first to offer eARC updates on select AV products such as the Onkyo TX-RZ830, Integra DRX-5.2, Pioneer SC-LX502 and Pioneer VSX-LX503 AV receivers.

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The problem is your device, in most cases, the TV doesn’t have the hardware to support HEC but it can support ARC. Even if your TV can connect to the internet, it would use WiFi or an ethernet port, which would probably be many times faster than HEC, so there’s really no point for TV manufacturers to change their TV hardware to support HEC. Do I Need HDMI with Ethernet or ARC or eARC?On top of that, being limited by the 100 Mbit/s bandwidth and the maximum 8-meter cable length didn’t really help the case. It would have certainly been lunacy for the manufacturers to consider HEC over a dedicated Ethernet port or Wi-Fi card, as they reliably delivered better networking speeds without many sacrifices. HEC, or HDMI Ethernet Channel, comes included with cables and chip processors HDMI standard 1.4 or higher. They allow for the transmission of internet data at high speeds with better bandwidth. If you are using WiFi, you can use HDMI with ethernet to get a better, faster, and more stable connection. This can simplify your setup and opens up new opportunities for home network management. If you have a home theater sound system or a soundbar, ARC over HDMI is a useful feature. What it does is establish a communication between the audio and video devices connected directly to the HDMI ports on your television.