HDMI-CEC Brand Names HDMI Consumer Electronics Control (CEC) trade names

What HDMI-CEC is

Consumer Electronics Control is a feature of HDMI designed to control connected devices with one remote: individual CEC devices can command each other without user intervention, for up to 15 devices. It is a single-wire bidirectional serial bus based on the CENELEC AV.link protocol, carried on pin 13 of the HDMI connector. CEC wiring is mandatory, but implementing CEC in a product is optional. It was defined in HDMI 1.0 and updated in HDMI 1.2, 1.2a and 1.3a, which added timer and audio commands. In an FAQ on HDMI 2.1 marketing, HDMI LA lists CEC as a 1.4b feature and says HDMI 2.1 devices must stay backward compatible with 1.4b.

The brand names, by maker

One protocol, many labels. Wikipedia's list of trade names includes Anynet+ (Samsung), SimpLink (LG), BRAVIA Link, BRAVIA Sync and Control for HDMI (Sony), VIERA Link, HDAVI Control and EZ-Sync (Panasonic), EasyLink (Philips), Aquos Link (Sharp), CE-Link and Regza Link (Toshiba), RIHD for Remote Interactive over HDMI (Onkyo), Kuro Link (Pioneer), NetCommand for HDMI (Mitsubishi), INlink (Insignia, Westinghouse) and 1-Touch Play (Roku). Hisense and Vizio simply call it CEC. Apple's support advice reduces the whole list to one rule: because manufacturers use different names, look for a setting that ends in Link or Sync, and it gives LG SimpLink, Philips EasyLink, Samsung Anynet+, Sharp Aquos Link and Sony BRAVIA Sync as examples.

Where the setting lives in 2026

Samsung says Anynet+ is its implementation of HDMI-CEC and sits under Settings, All Settings, Connection, External Device Manager, Anynet+ (HDMI-CEC) on 2023 to 2024 models, with older paths under General for 2017 to 2021 models. After enabling it, wait up to 2 minutes for the TV to detect connected devices. LG's current help page puts Simplink (HDMI-CEC) under All Settings, System, Devices, HDMI Settings on webOS 26 and later TVs, and under General, Devices, HDMI Settings on the 2021 webOS 6.0 sets. Apple says that if your TV or receiver supports HDMI-CEC, Apple TV uses the HDMI connection so the TV or receiver remote can control it; see Apple TV 4K.

How CEC works on the wire

CEC is a single shared bus, open-collector and passively pulled up to +3.3 V, running at 417 bit/s, a thousand times slower than the 400 kbit/s I²C it resembles. Each bit lasts 2.4 ms with a tolerance of 0.35 ms. A logic 1 is held low for 0.6 ms and a logic 0 for 1.5 ms. A frame opens with a start bit of 4.5 ms total and carries up to 16 bytes of 10 bits each: eight data bits, an end-of-message bit and an acknowledge bit. Addresses are four bits, so there are 16 of them, and address 15 is the broadcast address.

As a worked example, a remote key press generates a 3-byte frame: a header, the User Control Pressed opcode (0x44) and an operand naming the button. Wikipedia puts the total, including idle time and the long start bit, at 88.5 ms, or 37 bit times. One key press therefore takes about a tenth of a second on the wire.

Why it wakes devices that look asleep

CEC is a separate electrical signal from the other HDMI signals, so a device can shut down its high-speed HDMI circuitry in sleep mode and still be woken by CEC. Wikipedia adds that the bus is one shared line connected directly between all HDMI ports on a device, so it can pass through a device that is completely powered off, not just asleep. That is the mechanism behind a streaming box waking the TV and switching its input.

What the commands do

One Touch Play lets a source switch the TV to its input when playback starts. System Standby puts multiple devices to standby with one button. Routing Control switches sources, Remote Control Pass Through forwards remote codes and System Audio Control lets a TV remote change the volume of an AV receiver. Beyond those, the command set includes Preset Transfer, One Touch Record, Timer Programming, System Information, Deck Control, Tuner Control, OSD Display, Device Menu Control and Device OSD Name Transfer. Samsung says Anynet+ manages up to 12 devices, three of the same type, with home theatre systems limited to one. CEC also activates ARC: DPL Laboratories says ARC is switched on through CEC, while eARC does not depend on it; see eARC vs ARC.

Why cross-brand CEC misbehaves

Because implementation is optional, the same protocol behaves differently across brands. LG says Simplink works only with devices that show the Simplink logo. Samsung's troubleshooting list names a device without HDMI-CEC support, an incompatible or damaged HDMI cable, a device that is not powered on or in standby, outdated TV software, and a universal remote that conflicts with Anynet+. The Linux CEC documentation adds that broadcast messages such as Standby and Active Source can be lost, so it is wise to send them twice, and that most DisplayPort-to-HDMI adapters do not tunnel CEC. Apple tells users to confirm which HDMI port supports CEC in the TV manual and to check that CEC is on in the menu.

For practical fixes see HDMI-CEC, HDCP handshake failure and the streaming device guide, and for the cable side read the HDMI cable guide.