One of my primary considerations when shopping for a smart TV is, you guessed it, the number of HDMI ports available. Or if only one of them is equipped for HDMI 2.1 or 2.2? Coping with an HDMI crunchUntil the stinginess endsThe ideal these days is four HDMI ports, all rated for 2.1 or later, one of them including ARC/eARC support for a soundbar or receiver. Cheaper models may dial back the number of ports, or mix in HDMI 2.0, which dates back to 2013. You can get compressed Atmos over HDMI 2.0 and basic ARC, so there's no sense stressing about HDMI when it comes to your audio chain.