Samsung TV 2018 Settings Guide: What to Enable, Disable and Tweak

How to Turn on HDMI-CEC on 2018 Samsung TVs

One of the best things about current smart TVs is how they take the complexity out of connecting and controlling your home theater equipment. Thanks to a feature that Samsung calls Anynet+, you can control your cable box, gaming console and other HDMI-connected devices with Samsung's One Remote. It's a cool and handy feature.

This feature is not unique to Samsung; Anynet+ is simply a brand name for a basic function of HDMI called Consumer Electronics Control or HDMI-CEC. Other brands call it by other names, but it's the same basic feature. Thankfully, enabling this feature is super simple (assuming it isn't enabled by default).

1. Open the External Device Manager. To activate HDMI-CEC, go to the External Device Manager, found under the General Settings menu.

2. Activate CEC. The first option in the External Device Manager is Anynet+ (HDMI-CEC). Select this item, and press Enter to activate the feature.

Once HDMI-CEC is activated, you can use it with any HDMI-connected device that supports the CEC standard.

3. Navigate to Universal Remote. In the source list, select Universal Remote, and add a new device.

With your devices connected and your remote in hand, you'll be able to control your entire entertainment setup in comfort, without ever having to swap remotes.

Brian Westover

Brian Westover is currently Lead Analyst, PCs and Hardware at PCMag. Until recently, however, he was Senior Editor at Tom's Guide, where he led the site's TV coverage for several years, reviewing scores of sets and writing about everything from 8K to HDR to HDMI 2.1. He also put his computing knowledge to good use by reviewing many PCs and Mac devices, and also led our router and home networking coverage. Prior to joining Tom's Guide, he wrote for TopTenReviews and PCMag.