Does Apple TV Box Have an HDMI eARC Port?

Technology develops quickly. Apple also never falls behind. We must stay current with all the new ports and integrations that are being added. So, it begs the question: Does Apple TV support HDMI eARC?

The most recent ARC (Audio Return Channel) update is called eArc. Because ARC is built into our HDMI ports, you may send more data over them and enjoy great audio with your movies.

Do we know if our already-purchased Apple TV has this new eArc upgrade, though?

To cut to the chase, only the second generation of Apple TV includes eArc as a standard component.

Which HDMI input should I use if that is the case? What happens if I attach a soundbar? What should I do?

Do not worry. All of these situations, as well as others, will be covered today.

How Should I Connect My Apple TV to an HDMI Input?

It’s not always as simple as inserting something into a port. It can become a little complicated, even though we wish it weren’t. Next, we’ll discuss which HDMI input you should utilize with your Apple TV.

Even though Apple TVs can be connected to your TV using any HDMI connection, if it doesn’t seem to work, we need to figure out another issue. That serves as the input.

More than just an HDMI port is input. Not merely a cable but also a socket are involved. And even if it also means all of the aforementioned, we must choose a specific HDMI input for our Apple TV.

Therefore, the input you select from the Apple menu or the menu on your particular TV is the one that is appropriate for your Apple TV.

As an illustration, suppose your smart TV has three HDMI input ports, and you decide to connect your Apple TV through the HDMI connection to port number two.

In order for everything to work properly, you must now go to your TV’s menu, cycle through your port selections, and make sure you have chosen HDMI port number two.

We should also give one more scenario.

The HDMI input you should utilize is the port that is correctly identified if you require an HDMI port with ARC or eArc. To put it another way, search for the HDMI port marked with HDMI ARC or HDMI eArc.

Make sure you’ve selected that input in your input options once you’ve connected the HDMI cable to the proper HDMI port so your TV knows what to do next.

Does Apple TV Box Have an HDMI eARC Port?

In fact, Apple TV does support HDMI eARC. The qualification in this situation is that only the second generation has HDMI eARC.

The HDMI 2.0a port of the first-generation Apple TV 4K does not support eARC integration.

You most certainly have an HDMI connector with eARC if you own an Apple TV 4K second generation.

How Do I Connect My Soundbar to My Apple TV?

You now know which HDMI port on your Apple TV has eArc, and you also bought a great soundbar. So it’s essential to know how to link your Apple TV to your soundbar.

We’ll cover how to set up your soundbar with your HDMI cables and other required wires in this section. After that, we’ll examine how to connect your Bluetooth soundbar.

STEP 1: Plug your Apple TV into a power outlet.

Even though it might seem obvious, the first thing we’ll do is plug your Apple TV’s power cord into it.

Next, we can plug our device’s power cord into the socket.

Hint: The power port looks like two half-circles joined together.

STEP 2: Use an HDMI cable to connect your Apple TV to your sound bar.

We’ll now take our HDMI cable and plug it into our Apple TV. Once your Apple TV is set up, you can connect it to your soundbar using the other end of the cable. Make sure you’re using an HDMI eArc port.

You do not get an HDMI cable from Apple. So, if you don’t have one, you’ll have to buy one. If so, make sure you buy one that supports either 4K or 60Hz.

Make sure you buy an HDMI 2.0 with Ethernet or an HDMI 2.1.

STEP 3: Hook up your soundbar to your TV

Now, we’ll hook up your sound system to our TV. Depending on how old your TV is, the connections may be a little different. Still, an HDMI cable is usually used for this step as well.

STEP 4: Change how your TV is set up for output.

Now everything is connected. Next, we’ll use the menu on our TVs to make sure the settings are right for our soundbar.

1. First, to turn on your TV, press the Power button.
2. Next, check to see if Apple TV is working right. You’ll know because you’ll be able to see it on your TV.
3. Get the Apple TV remote and hit the Menu button.
4. Go to the tab called “Settings.”
5. Now, go to the menu that says “Audio and Video settings.”
6. You’ll need to scroll down this menu until you see Format (or Audio Format.)
7. Choose the format you want.
8. Lastly, choose Dolby Digital 5.1 (or Dolby Atmos).

Now, your soundbar is properly connected to your Apple TV and the best sound quality is on.

If you’d rather watch a video, here’s one that gets right to the point.

Conclusion

As you can see, the Apple TV does have eArc, but only the second generation. Still, we hope you learned more about your HDMI ports, how to choose which HDMI input to use, and how to connect your soundbar to your Apple TV.

Do you want to learn anything else? Tell us in the comments below.