Can You Use HDMI and Optical Audio at The Same Time?

Both an HDMI and Optical Audio cable are used to get audio output. While HDMI cables also provide video output. Basically, users use only HDMI cables to get the audio and video output at a time, some of them try to use both HDMI and Optical cables for audio and video output.

Using HDMI as video output and optical cable as audio output is possible, but using both won’t provide you with the best sound quality. But still, it’s possible to use.

In today’s article, we’re here to assist you to clear your confusion and provide the important facts about these two HDMI and Optical cables that you need to know.

Is It Possible to Use HDMI and Optical Audio Cable at the Same Time?

In general, it depends on your type of device. If your device has both ports available then you can easily use the HDMI and Optical cable at the same time. You can find double connection ports in a lot of TVs but the main concern is can you get outputs for the different cables?

• Some of the TVs will not allow you to connect both the HDMI and Optical cable but if somehow you manage to connect them to the TV, then it’ll choose the last inserted cable connection.
• You’ll find some other TVs that will give you the freedom to choose between HDMI and Optical cable.
• There is some other TV too that will allow you to use different cables for video and audio output. In this case, the device will set a cable for video transmission and another one for the audio signal.

To summarize the whole thing, it’s all about the device you are using. So, if you have bought the device or planning to buy it near future, do check the user manual or you can also google it for details. It’ll help you to find out the monitor/TV that will let you use both HDMI and Optical cable and get output from each of the cable connections.

Simple Hack: Use Audio Extractor Device to Use HDMI and Optical Audio Cable

Let’s assume that your device is not allowing you to use both the HDMI and Optical cable but still you are determined to use both cables. Is there any solution to do that? The answer is yes, you can use both cables at a time by using an Audio Extractor.

An audio extractor device allows its user to use a different device for sound outputs without messing up the video quality that an HDMI cable transmits. You can use an Audio Extractor device to send audio signals to more than one speaker. It’s also one of the best devices for converting a digital signal into an analog signal.

Our Verdict

Hope that you have your answer by now. Now, let’s share some facts from our verdict on which one you should go for; use both HDMI and Optical, or just use one cable either HDMI or Optical.

You can go for both of them, it’s totally up to you but from our perspective, it’s good to use HDMI cable as your video and audio output. The possible reasons are:

• An HDMI cable can pass both audio and video signals. You can do both works with a single cable.
• Can process high-quality audio rather than an Optical cable. Such as Dolby TrueHD, DTS HD, etc.

The main fact is if you are willing to use both HDMI and Optical cable then first, you’ll need to find out a suitable device or you will need to buy an audio extractor device. Both things will cost you extra money and time. For this, it’s better to use an HDMI cable.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it better to connect a soundbar to an HDMI ARC or optical?

You should go for HDMI ARC without any confusion. Because it’ll give you both audio and video output. Besides that, you’ll get better sound quality rather than an optical cable.

Do I need both HDMI and optical for the soundbar?

Basically, soundbars consist of HDMI ports; for this, you can just use the HDMI cable only. If you don’t have an HDMI cable and have an optical cable then you can use it instead of HDMI.

Conclusion

To sum up, you can use both the HDMI and Optical cable if you want but for this, you will need to find out the exact device that supports both cables at a time. But there you can see you can get the whole thing in an HDMI cable, aren’t you?

Also, it’s not easy work to do when you are trying to use both cables simultaneously. Hope that you have your answer and we’ve tried to provide you with all the things you should know about HDMI and Optical cables. Gracias!