How to Set Up a Home Theater System (original) (raw)

A home theater brings the movie-going experience home. However, for many, the idea of setting up a home theater system is daunting. Still, it can be pretty stress-free with the right set of guidelines.

This guide provides some basic guidelines for setting up a home theater system. The extent, combinations, and connection options vary depending on how many and what types of components you have, as well as the room size, shape, lighting, and acoustic properties.

What You Need to Set Up a Home Theater System

The first step is knowing what components you'll need for your home theater. Below is a list of standard components to consider.

The Home Theater Connection Path

Think of home theater equipment connections as roads or channels that deliver goods from producers to distributors. Source components like cable boxes, media streamers, and Blu-ray players are the beginning points, and the TV and loudspeakers are the endpoints.

Your task is to get the audio and video signals from the source components to the sound system and video display, respectively.

Onkyo and Jamo

Connecting Home Theater Components

A basic setup may include a TV, AV receiver, Blu-ray or DVD player, and a media streamer. You will also need at least five speakers and a subwoofer for 5.1 surround sound.

Below is a general outline of how to connect these different components.

Pioneer Electronics

The Home Theater Receiver

The home theater receiver provides most source connectivity and switching and audio decoding, processing, and amplification to power the speakers. Most audio and video components run through the home theater receiver.

Full Details on How to Set Up a Home Theater Receiver

TV or Video Projector

Connect the antenna directly to your TV if you receive TV programs via the antenna. If you have a smart TV, make sure it is connected to the internet.

LG

Connect the incoming cable to the box if you receive programming via a cable or satellite box. You then have two options to connect your cable or satellite box to the TV and the rest of your home theater system.

First, connect the audio/video output of the box directly to the TV. Then connect it to your home theater receiver, and route the signal to your TV.

The setup procedure is different if you have a video projector instead of a TV.

As for the TV or projector screen size, that's a personal choice. Even small mini-projectors can produce big pictures. In our opinion, the bigger the screen, the better in a home theater.

Blu-ray Disc, DVD, CD, and Record Players

The connection setup for a Blu-ray or Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc player depends on whether your home theater receiver has HDMI connections and whether the receiver can access both audio and video signals through those connections. If so, connect the HDMI output from the player to the receiver and from the receiver to the TV.

If your home theater receiver only offers HDMI pass-through, you may need to make additional analog or digital audio (optical or coaxial) connections between the player and the receiver. There are other connection options to consider if you have a 3D Blu-ray Disc player or 3D TV.

If you have a streaming Blu-ray Disc player, connect it to the internet via Ethernet or Wi-Fi.

For a DVD player, connect one of the player's video outputs to the DVD video input on the AV receiver. If your DVD player has an HDMI output, use that option. If your DVD player doesn't have an HDMI output, use another available video output (such as component video) combined with a digital optical/coaxial cable from the player to the AV receiver.

To access digital surround sound, an HDMI or digital optical/coaxial connection is required.

To connect either a CD or record player to an AV receiver, use the player's analog or digital audio outputs. If you have a CD recorder, connect it to the AV receiver through the Audio Tape Record/Playback input/output loop connections (if that option is available).

Media Streamer

If you have a media streamer, such as a Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Google Chromecast, or Apple TV, make sure it is connected to the internet. To view streaming content from these devices on your TV, connect the streamer to your TV in two ways, both using HDMI:

Roku

Routing a media streamer through a home theater receiver en route to the TV provides the best combination of video and audio quality.

Notes For VCR and DVD Recorder Owners

Although VCR production has been discontinued, and DVD recorder/VCR combos and DVD recorders are rare, many people still use them. Here are some tips on how to integrate those devices into a home theater setup:

Amazon

Connecting and Placing Your Speakers and Subwoofer

To complete your home theater setup, place and connect the speakers and subwoofer.

Yamaha and Harman Kardon

  1. Position the speakers and subwoofer, but be careful not to place them flush against any walls. Use your ears or follow this guide to find the optimal location for all the speakers, including the subwoofer.
  2. Connect the speakers to the AV receiver. Pay attention to the correct polarity (positive and negative, red and black), and make sure the speakers are connected to the correct channel.
  3. Connect the subwoofer line output of the AV receiver to the subwoofer.

To further optimize your speaker setup, use the built-in test tone generator, room correction, or automatic speaker setup systems that may come with the receiver. An inexpensive sound meter can also help with this task. Even if your receiver has an automatic speaker setup or room correction system, having a sound meter for manual tweaking can't hurt.

Speaker Setup Examples

The following speaker setup examples are typical for a square or slightly rectangular room. You may need to adjust the placement for other room shapes and additional acoustical factors.

5.1 Channel Speaker Placement

A home theater utilizing 5.1 channels is the most commonly used setup. You need five speakers (left, right, center, left surround, and right surround) plus a subwoofer. Here is how you should place them.

7.1 Channel Speaker Placement

Here's how to set up a 7.1 channel speaker system:

More speaker setup and placement options.

Home Theater Setup Tips

Here are some additional tips that can make your setup easier:

adventtr / Getty Images

Thanks for letting us know!

Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day

Subscribe