Using your TV in a home theater
Your TV has several features that make it an ideal TV for a home theater. But you might not notice them because they remain in the background until you decide to use them.
Turning off the speakers
When you use your TV with a sound bar or an external amplifier and speakers, you’ll probably want to turn off the internal TV speakers.
To turn off your TV’s built-in speakers, in the screen menu, navigate to and change the setting.
| Your TV’s internal speakers can be enabled and disabled automatically as needed by system audio control, as described in Using your TV in a home theater. The internal speakers are also turned off when you use the headphone jack. |
Changing the audio mode
Your TV has two audio modes, accessed by navigating in the screen menu to :
- —Use this setting for internal speakers, headphones, and external stereo amplifiers connected through the , , or headphone jack.
- —Use this setting to automatically detect the best audio setting based on the audio stream in the content you are watching. If you have connected your TV to an external Dolby Digital or Dolby Digital Plus compatible amplifier, receiver, or sound bar through or , your TV automatically selects the appropriate surround sound capabilities of the device based on the characteristics of the current program.
Setting up a digital audio connection
You can connect your TV to an external amplifier, receiver, or sound bar by using either of these two connections:
- —The HDMI Audio Return Channel enables your TV to output digital audio on one of its HDMI connectors. The connected amplifier can also function simultaneously as an input source to your TV, if needed. To use the ARC capability, you must connect an HDMI cable from your amplifier's HDMI ARC connector to the connector on your TV. You also must:
- Be sure your HDMI cable is certified by HDMI.
- Enable HDMI ARC under , as explained in Enabling HDMI ARC.
- —Your TV has an connector that outputs a digital audio signal. To use the optical output, connect a digital optical audio cable from the amplifier to the connector on your TV.
| Dolby Digital Plus format is not available through the output. This format is only available through the connection. |
After making the required HDMI ARC or digital optical audio connection, go to option and select the audio format to use.
| In most cases, is the best option. Other settings can result in no sound when the content you are viewing does not contain the audio stream type you selected. |
Controlling other devices through CEC
Consumer Electronics Control (CEC) enables your TV and other CEC-compatible home entertainment components to control one other in various ways. First, the CEC-compatible devices must “discover” one another and report their capabilities. After this, one device can control another according to the features you enable. For example, playing a disc on a Blu-ray player could switch your TV to the Blu-ray player's input. Or, powering off your TV could also power off the Blu-ray player and the home theater receiver.
Discovering connected CEC devices
To discover CEC devices:
- Make sure that your CEC-compatible components are connected to your TV with a suitable high-speed HDMI cable that supports HDMI ARC and CEC control.
- Turn on each component and make sure all components have CEC enabled.
| Some manufacturers have their own branded names for CEC functionality, so you might need to read the product documentation to correctly identify the CEC features of the device. |
- On your TV’s screen menu, navigate to and then select . Press to repeat the discovery process, if necessary.
When finished, your TV displays a list of CEC devices that are connected to each HDMI input, as well as any devices that had previously been connected. Your TV remembers the names of multiple CEC devices even when they are no longer connected. If the list is longer than the allowed space, press 
to see a complete list in a scrollable window.
Enabling HDMI ARC
is the audio return channel that is available on one of your TV’s HDMI ports. The audio return channel enables you to send a Dolby Digital audio signal back to a home theater receiver that is also sending an audio and video signal into your TV. Using HDMI ARC reduces the number of cables needed and optionally lets you control the volume and mute state of the receiver by enabling system audio control.
HDMI ARC is disabled by default. To enable HDMI ARC, in the screen menu, navigate to , and then highlight . Press to enable or disable the feature.
| Enabling also enables . After enabling , you can disable if you prefer. |
Enabling system audio control
System audio control enables your TV remote control to change the volume and mute state of an amplifier or sound bar connected through HDMI, and to display the external device's volume and mute status in your TV’s on-screen display.
Your TV automatically turns off its internal speakers and sends volume and mute control signals to an external amplifier when all of the following are true:
- is enabled on your TV.
- Your TV is connected to a CEC-compatible amplifier, it is powered on, and CEC discoverability is enabled.
- The CEC-compatible amplifier's HDMI ARC connector is connected to your TV’s connector with a suitable HDMI cable.
When the CEC-compatible amplifier is off, your TV automatically turns on its speakers (unless you have turned them off as described in Turning off the speakers) and resumes local control of volume and mute state.
To enable or disable system audio control, in the screen menu, navigate to and highlight . Press to enable or disable the feature.
Enabling 1-touch play
1-touch play enables a component to control which TV input is active. For example, pressing on your Blu-ray player switches your TV to the Blu-ray input.
1-touch play is disabled by default. To enable 1-touch play, in the screen menu, navigate to and highlight . Press to enable or disable the feature.
Enabling system standby
The system standby feature causes other components to power off when you power off your TV. Depending on the CEC System Standby implementation, it also might enable connected components to power off your TV when you power off the component.
System standby is disabled by default. To enable system standby, in the screen menu, navigate to and highlight . Press to enable or disable the feature.
Tap or click images to make them larger
Insignia 40"/48" 1080p, 60Hz, LED Roku TV | NS-40DR420NA16/NS-48DR420NA16
Open topic with navigation
-jack.gif)
HDMI ARC—The HDMI Audio Return Channel enables your TV to output digital audio on one of its HDMI connectors. The connected amplifier can also function simultaneously as an input source to your TV, if needed. To use the ARC capability, you must connect an HDMI cable from your amplifier's HDMI ARC connector to the HDMI1 (ARC) connector on your TV. You also must: