Sony has announced that eARC support has arrived on its latest line of AV receivers and soundbars, as part of the upcoming HDMI 2.1 specification.
On the back of Pioneer and Onkyo’s announcement last week, Sony has joined in on the Enhanced Audio Return Channel (or eARC) action – rolling it out to Sony's HT-ZF9 soundbar (also being bolstered with Alexa support in English, French & German), among other products. This Amazon voice support will allow users to manage playback and control of volume, and more.
The update will bring with it support for the likes of Dolby Atmos and DTS:X between eARC-compatible TVs (such as Sony’s recently launched BRAVIA AF9 OLED and ZF9 LCD TVs) and Sony soundbars or receivers.
Sony’s three Dolby Atmos and DTS:X-supporting soundbars – comprising of the HT-ST5000, the HT-ZF9 and the HT-XF9000 – make the shortlist of products currently updated with receive eARC compatibility. On the receiver side, the STR-DH790 and STR-DN1080 receivers are up first.
Products’ software can be updated over the internet, or via USB when downloaded online.