CEC (Consumer Electronics Control) is the part of the HDMI standard that allows HDMI devices to pass control signals to each other. The most common use of CEC is to allow a video device (like an Xbox or Blu-ray player) to turn on the TV when the video device itself is powered up.
Auto-Switching Issues
CEC can cause unwanted behavior in some cases, like when multiple devices are connected to an HDMI switch. Symptoms of CEC conflicts include TVs or other HDMI devices unexpectedly powering off or on, or changing inputs. Turning off CEC, particularly on the TV, can resolve those issues.
Many companies use a specific trade-name for CEC in their device settings. If you need to turn CEC off on a device but can’t find an option for it, use the list of CEC trade-names below to help locate the correct feature to disable on your device.
CEC trade-names:
- 1-Touch Play (Roku)
- Anynet+ (Samsung)
- Aquos Link (Sharp)
- BRAVIA Link, BRAVIA Sync, Control for HDMI (Sony)
- CE-Link, Regza Link (Toshiba)
- E-link (AOC)
- EasyLink (Philips)
- Fun-Link (Funai, Sylvania, Emerson, Magnavox, Philips)
- HDMI-CEC (Hitachi)
- INlink (Insignia)
- Kuro Link (Pioneer)
- NetCommand for HDMI, Realink for HDMI (Mitsubishi)
- RIHD (Remote Interactive over HDMI) (Onkyo)
- RuncoLink (Runco International)
- SimpLink (LG)
- T-Link (ITT, Thomson)
- VIERA Link, HDAVI Control, EZ-Sync (Panasonic)
- CEC (Vizio)
The above names will usually be in the device settings.
If you aren’t able to locate a CEC option, or a brand-specific option listed above, it’s possible your device does not allow CEC to be turned off.
Hardware Solutions
BlueRigger has a CEC Blocker Adapter available on Amazon that blocks HDMI pin 13, effectively preventing CEC commands from being sent/received by HDMI devices. It may help in situations where a TV powers off or on, or changes inputs unexpectedly and CEC can’t be disabled in the settings.
Additional information about CEC can be found here.