Control a set-top box or player with your VIDAA TV remote (HDMI & CEC)

Turn on CEC Control, then switch the device on

To make a VIDAA TV’s remote control a set-top box, Blu-ray player, games console or soundbar connected by HDMI, turn on Settings → Connection → HDMI & CEC → CEC Control, then switch the device on. On TVs that match Hisense’s 2025 U9 e-manual, the device then connects to the TV by itself and you can use the TV remote to move around the device’s menu on screen.

Two things have to be true on the device side, and the TV can’t fix either of them:

• The device must support HDMI-CEC. HDMI-CEC is the standard that lets devices connected by HDMI send each other commands. If the device doesn’t support it, Hisense says these features won’t work.
• The device’s own CEC setting must be on. Manufacturers often give it their own name, so look in the device’s manual.

Even then, Hisense warns that some of the device’s menus and some TV remote buttons may not work. Keep the device’s own remote nearby.

This page covers controlling the device. For sending the TV’s sound to a soundbar, see the VIDAA soundbar guide.

Before you start

• Connect the device to one of the TV’s HDMI sockets with an HDMI cable. CEC works only over HDMI. Hisense recommends a standard HDMI cable in good condition.
• Plug the device into the mains and turn on its CEC setting.
• Check the picture first: if you can’t see the device on the TV, see switching inputs on a VIDAA TV.

Turn on CEC Control

1. Press Home on the TV remote and open Settings (the gear icon).
2. Open Connection, then HDMI & CEC.
3. Select CEC Control and set it to On.
4. Turn on the connected device.

The manual says the device connects to the TV automatically. When it has, use the TV remote to open and move around the device’s on-screen menu. The manual doesn’t describe a message that confirms the connection, so the test is whether the device responds.

Which CEC features the TV supports

Hisense’s manual lists the HDMI-CEC features the TV supports by their standard HDMI names only: One Touch Play, Routing Control, System Standby, Device OSD Name Transfer, Remote Control Pass Through, Give Device Power Status and System Audio Control. It doesn’t explain them. What it does describe is on this page: using the device’s menu with the TV remote (above), the power links (next section) and a soundbar’s volume.

The connected device has to support each feature too. Hisense doesn’t say which remote buttons are passed through to the device.

Choose how the TV and device switch on and off

Three more switches sit in the same Settings → Connection → HDMI & CEC menu:

There’s one more link you can’t switch separately: with CEC Control on, the TV goes into standby when the connected CEC devices are turned off, if the device supports it. If your TV switches itself off whenever you turn off the box or player, this is the likely reason. To stop it, turn CEC Control off (below), which also stops the TV remote controlling the device.

Control a soundbar’s volume

If a soundbar or amplifier is connected to the TV’s HDMI ARC/eARC socket, the same CEC Control setting lets the TV remote change its volume instead of the soundbar’s remote. Connecting the soundbar and choosing the TV’s sound output are covered in the VIDAA soundbar guide.

If the device doesn’t respond to the TV remote

Work through these in order:

1. Check the TV remote itself. If it doesn’t control the TV either, start with the VIDAA remote guide.
2. Check CEC Control is still On under Settings → Connection → HDMI & CEC.
3. Check the device’s own CEC setting is on, and that the device supports HDMI-CEC. Its manual is the place to confirm both.
4. Check the cables. The device’s power cable should be firmly connected, and the HDMI cable secure at both ends. Try a different standard HDMI cable if yours may be damaged.
5. Try the device’s own remote. Hisense says some of the device’s menus and some TV remote buttons may not work over CEC. If the device works with its own remote but not one particular TV remote button, that’s the limitation, not a fault.

If the TV and device don’t switch on or off together, check the same device and cable points, then check that CEC Control, Device Auto Power Off and Device Auto Power On are on. Remember that Device Auto Power On also needs the TV’s input set to that device.

If none of this works, note the TV model, the device and the HDMI socket you used before contacting Hisense or the device’s manufacturer.

Turn CEC off

To stop the TV and connected devices controlling each other, go to Settings → Connection → HDMI & CEC → CEC Control and set it to Off. The TV remote will no longer control the device or a soundbar’s volume, and the device will need its own remote.

Common questions

Does CEC work over the TV’s USB or optical connection?

No. The manual describes HDMI & CEC only for devices connected with an HDMI cable.

Where is the CEC setting on older VIDAA TVs?

Not in the same place. The older VIDAA layout in Hisense’s 2021 manual has its own HDMI-CEC setting; the inputs guide gives the path for both layouts.