Solved! Newbie - HDMI or an HDMI ARC for Soundbar to TV

[eileencat]

Hi there, I purchased a 55 in. Samsung UHD 4K TV, both the TV and Soundbar have HDMI Arc inputs. Do I need an ARC cable specifically, or is just a regular HDMI cable fine to use? What difference would I hear with a ARC HDMI?

I'll have more questions later about coaxial cables.

Thanks for any assistance!
Eileen

 

[jsmithepa]

Yup connect both HDMI ARC, they will start to talk to each other. If u have to buy a new HDMI cable, an HDMI 2.0x cable will do nicely, otherwise ANY HDMI cable u have laying around will work too.

 

[madmatt30]

An hdmi cable is an hdmi cable is an hdmi cable!
There is no such thing as an arc or hdmi 2 cable, just varying qualities of the cables themselves depending on where you bought them from.

 

[eileencat]

An hdmi cable is an hdmi cable is an hdmi cable!
There is no such thing as an arc or hdmi 2 cable, just varying qualities of the cables themselves depending on where you bought them from.

So madmatt, given my question and posted as a newbie, if it were you what hdmi cables would you purchase?

 

[madmatt30]

Amazon basics branded cables are cheap & absolutely fine for your use.

 

[americanaudiophile]

You could use the optical audio output of the TV. There is no advantage in using ARC and you won't lose an HDMI input.

 

[eileencat]

Thank you all for your help. Yesterday I did purchase Amazon basics, then I was reading about HDMI ARC and thought I may have purchased an incorrect HDMI. Sounds like I'll be just fine.

 

[jsmithepa]

Thank you all for your help. Yesterday I did purchase Amazon basics, then I was reading about HDMI ARC and thought I may have purchased an incorrect HDMI. Sounds like I'll be just fine.

I misunderstood your question. ARC is not a cable thing, ARC is about a feature that is available on the HDMI ports on both TV and SB. Both must have it, consult manual to be sure.

 

[eileencat]

Thank you all for your help. Yesterday I did purchase Amazon basics, then I was reading about HDMI ARC and thought I may have purchased an incorrect HDMI. Sounds like I'll be just fine.

I misunderstood your question. ARC is not a cable thing, ARC is about a feature that is available on the HDMI ports on both TV and SB. Both must have it, consult manual to be sure.

jsmithepa, Yes in my question, I said both TV and Soundbar do have ARC inputs, this is why I thought I needed ARC specifically.