From ARC to eARC

Simply put, the Enhanced Audio Return Channel (eARC) is the next generation of ARC. It’s a feature implemented in the most recent HDMI connectivity 2.1 specification.

The main benefit of eARC is a significant boost in bandwidth and speed. This allows you to send higher-quality audio from your TV into your DM-NAX-SSP and from there to your LAN network. Additionally, there’s scope with this technology for eARC to deliver up to 32 channels of audio, including eight-channel, 24bit/192kHz uncompressed data streams at speeds of up to 38Mbps.

This means all those high bitrate formats currently available on 4K Blu-ray Disc® technology, streaming services such as the Dolby® TrueHD format or DTS HD® Master Audio format, and object-based formats such as Dolby Atmos® and DTS:X® are all compatible with eARC. The upshot: It can make delivering great hi-res music and immersive audio a breeze, even at sea.

Enter the Crestron DM-NAX-XSP, a solution that brings eARC technology to wherever it’s needed.

What it Means for Marine Installations

Why is this relevant to marine integrations? Thanks to the constantly improving availability of high-speed internet connections at sea, and TVs and sources like the Apple TV digital media extender and Roku® players becoming “smarter” through the use of apps for streaming services, we see increased demand for a reliable way to route back audio to our central multi-room amplifiers without latency and quality loss.

And eARC is the leading method to get audio back from your TV screen. By leveraging this technology, Crestron is now able to send that audio to your DM NAX amplifier — wherever it is located — so you can play the audio in any room with optimum quality.