Activate HDMI-CEC on your TV and you will never have to use additional controls again
HDMI-CEC is the function that lets you control all your devices with a single remote control. We explain what it is, how it works and when to activate it
There is a function that has been hidden in the menus of your television for years and, if you have not activated it, you are wasting time unnecessarily. HDMI-CEC — an acronym for Consumer Electronics Control — is the standard that allows all your HDMI devices to talk to each other and obey a single remote control. It's been around since before Smart TVs were the norm, and today it's more relevant than ever.
What is HDMI-CEC and how it works
HDMI-CEC is a technical specification built into the HDMI standard that allows bidirectional communication between devices connected by HDMI cable. In short, it is the protocol that makes it possible for your television and your soundbar, your console or your Chromecast to “understand each other” without you having to intervene with three different controls.
What many do not know is that this standard has existed since the early years of HDMI, but each manufacturer renamed it with its own name to differentiate itself. The result is that there are people with this function active without knowing it, and others who have never touched it because they do not recognize the name on the menu:
The function can manage up to 15 simultaneous devices connected via HDMI on the same television, assigning logical addresses to each one.
What is HDMI-CEC for in your living room?
The reason for HDMI-CEC is simple—to eliminate friction between devices—but its applications go beyond just saving controllers. We are facing a technology that completely reorganizes how you interact with your audiovisual equipment.
The most useful functions on a daily basis are:
What this means is that in a typical living room setup — TV, soundbar, console and streaming stick — you can operate everything with a single remote control, without complicated configurations.
When you should activate HDMI-CEC on your TV
The short answer is that you should have it enabled if you have more than one device connected via HDMI. But there are specific scenarios where HDMI-CEC makes a real difference and others where it can cause unexpected behaviors.
To activate it, the route varies by brand: in Sony it goes through Settings > External inputs > Bravia Sync, in LG through Settings > General > Simplink, and in Samsung through Settings > External device management > Anynet .
Is HDMI-CEC activated by default on all televisions? Not on all. Some modern televisions have it enabled from the factory, but many have it disabled in the input configuration menu. The recommendation is to check it directly in the TV settings according to the name your brand uses.
Does HDMI-CEC work with any HDMI cable? Yes, the CEC feature travels over the same standard HDMI cable — you don't need a special cable. What you do need is that both devices (the TV and the accessory) are compatible with CEC, something that most devices manufactured after 2010 already include.
Can I control the volume of my soundbar with the TV remote using HDMI-CEC? Yes, as long as the soundbar is connected to the TV via HDMI ARC or eARC and both devices have CEC enabled. This is precisely one of the most valued features of technology – system audio control – and it works with most modern sound bars.