Wow, what a bunch of old farts (OF) better known as Boomers. Don't worry I'm one too.

HDMI 2.1 is important if you're using modern stuff. An old analog receiver that still works sure, use the splitter. I did with my 20 year old Onkyo but it started cutting out the right channel so I bought a Yamaha digital receiver last year with it's own internal switching between digital sources and I love the heck out of it. It switches my system between my PC, cable box, Amazon Firestick and DVD player. That receiver and my new TV requires HDMI 2.1 because the new acronym for the HDMI plug on the back of the TV is eARC. ARC is almost 20 years old and eARC is the latest. Here's the definition of it:

Quote:
The main differences between ARC and eARC lie in bandwidth and speed. The enhanced version of the Audio Return Channel has a much higher bandwidth than its predecessor. Bandwidth represents the range of frequencies or amount of data that is being transferred at a time. Higher bandwidth translates into a higher amount of data that can be transferred (a larger pipe). Higher bandwidth also means that digital audio signal doesn’t have to be compressed and is much more detailed, rich and vibrant


Bandwidth, speed, more data and no audio compression? Hmmm, might be useful...

Yes, some of these tech writers could explain it a bit better but they also have editors who tell them to keep it under so many words and there's no room for that. Plus their audience is much younger than we are, most do understand those things and it's a rite of passage that they not look ignorant to their friends. We were like that too, don't deny it guys. My favorite modern quote from Snoop Dogg, "If you don't like something, it wasn't made for you" or in this case not written for you.

It does seem kind of odd to see all the negativity about acronyms in a musicians forum. How many of those are used in digital audio music production? Musicians are nothing if not techies and video/audio go hand in hand and I know I'm not the only one here who uses a big screen TV as a computer monitor. When I see a new acronym concerning a subject I'm interested in I have no problem with looking it up, it's how I learn.

Biab/RB latest build, Win 11 Pro, Ryzen 5 5600 G, 512 Gig SSD, 16 Gigs Ram, Steinberg UR22 MkII, Roland Sonic Cell, Kurzweil PC3, Hammond SK1, Korg PA3XPro, Garritan JABB, Hypercanvas, Sampletank 3, more.