Tired of many remotes? Here's the secret to controlling all your devices with one remote control

You have a bunch of remotes mixed up on your coffee table, and it's easy to get confused. And they take up a lot of space! But your TV may have a feature that can make controlling your various devices more convenient.

Different devices can be connected to our TV: a digital television set-top box, a streaming platform set-top box, a game console, a soundbar, a Google Chromecast or a disc player. And all these devices have their own controls. You can of course purchase a universal remote control to control them all. Don't rush to spend money! Your TV may have a feature that not everyone knows about that can make your control of your different devices more convenient.

This solution is called HDMI CEC (HDMI Consumer Electronics Control), a high-definition multimedia interface feature that powers modern TVs and other multimedia devices released since 2005. This feature enables communication between media devices connected to each other via HDMI ports and allows one device to remotely control other devices in the media system. This means that, thanks to HDMI CEC, the remote control of a modern TV can replace all additional remote controls without the need to purchase a universal remote control. Having control over multiple devices from one remote control, you can turn them on and off, control their operation, enter their menus and change settings, record programs, movies and gaming sessions, and much more.

Naturally, the first thing you need to do is make sure that all your devices are properly connected to your TV via HDMI cables. We recommend disconnecting all cables and reconnecting them, but it is important to connect them one at a time, immediately checking the connection of each device.

Usually HDMI-CEC function is disabled by default, and not everyone knows about its existence; very few people know how to properly configure this function in order to gain control over all connected multimedia gadgets. Another difficulty lies in the fact that different TV brands often have their own name for this function. However, you can always google what the brand of your TV calls HDMI-CEC, and then look for it in Settings.

Now let's enable HDMI-CEC on your TV. Open the Settings menu of your TV. Different models and brands may have different menu configurations, but generally your menu route should be: Settings > General Settings > Device Manager > Hardware Settings > HDMI Settings. Here you will find a slider that enables HDMI-CEC.

But that's only half the battle. Once you have activated the feature on your TV, you need to do the same on your connected devices. , this function is activated automatically when it works on a connected TV. However, on game consoles, you must give permission in Settings to turn other devices on and off in order for them to communicate with your TV-set. But you can also verify this in their Settings.