What is HDMI-CEC?
CEC (Consumer Electronics Control) is a feature built into the HDMI standard that allows devices connected by HDMI to control each other. For example, pressing Play on a Blu-ray remote can automatically turn on your TV and switch it to the right input, or turning off your TV can put your connected devices into standby — all without any extra wiring or software.
CEC is supported by virtually all modern TVs, but its implementation varies significantly between manufacturers. You may know it by a brand-specific name:
- Samsung — Anynet+
- LG — SimpLink
- Sony — Bravia Sync
- Panasonic — VIERA Link
The underlying protocol is the same across all brands.
What is the Pulse-Eight USB-CEC Adapter?
The Pulse-Eight USB-CEC Adapter is a small hardware device that plugs into your PC via USB and connects to your TV via HDMI. It allows your PC to send and receive CEC commands to and from your TV, enabling your PC to turn the TV on or off, switch inputs, control volume, and respond to remote control button presses — all over the HDMI cable.
This is particularly useful for:
- Home theatre PCs (HTPCs) — turning the TV on automatically when the PC wakes, and off when it sleeps
- Media centre software — Kodi, Plex, and similar applications can use the CEC adapter to control the TV and respond to remote control input
- Automation and scripting — triggering TV actions from Windows batch scripts, scheduled tasks, or home automation systems
- Developers — building applications that interact with HDMI-CEC devices using the libcec API
Pulse-Eight also makes NUC-specific CEC adapters for Intel NUC mini PCs, which connect internally rather than via USB.
What is libcec?
libcec is the open source software library that powers all Pulse-Eight CEC adapters. It handles all communication between your PC and the CEC adapter hardware, and provides the commands that applications use to send and receive CEC signals.
libcec is developed and maintained by Pulse-Eight and is available at: github.com/Pulse-Eight/libcec
The current version is libcec 7.1.1 (released June 2025). libcec powers the following tools:
- CEC-Tray — a Windows system tray application for basic TV control
- cec-client — a command-line tool for sending CEC commands and monitoring CEC traffic
- Standby Monitor — automatically controls the TV based on PC sleep/wake state
- EventGhost plugin — integrates CEC with the EventGhost automation platform
- Third-party applications — Kodi, Plex, and many other media centre applications use libcec directly
Supported Hardware
| Hardware | Notes |
|---|---|
| Pulse-Eight USB-CEC Adapter | Standard USB adapter, works with any PC with a USB port and HDMI output |
| Intel NUC HDMI-CEC Adapter | Internal adapter for Intel NUC systems (4th and 5th generation NUCs) |
| Skull Canyon / Hades Canyon NUC CEC Adapter | Internal adapter for Skull Canyon and Hades Canyon NUC systems |
| Raspberry Pi | CEC supported natively via the Pi's HDMI port — no adapter needed |
Supported Operating Systems
libcec supports Windows, macOS, and Linux. See the relevant setup guides for your platform:
- How to install libcec (Windows)
- CEC Adapter — Raspberry Pi setup guide
For Windows, download libcec-x64-7.1.1.exe for 64-bit systems (recommended).
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