With the right home theater setup, you get to bring the entire cinema experience straight into your living room. However, as good as this sounds, the idea of actually setting up your home theater can be weirdly intimidating.
But, following the right set of guidelines can make the entire procedure quite stress-free. Before you can begin your home theater setup, you’ll need to have some important components first.
Things You Need to Setup Your Home Theater
It certainly becomes much easier when you think of your home theater equipment connection in terms of channels or roads used in delivering goods from a manufacturer to a distributor.
The starting points are components such as DVD players, cable boxes, media streamers, etc., while the endpoints are the TV and loudspeakers.
What you have to do is to get the audio and video signals from their source components and link them to your sound system and video display. Below is a list of components you will need in your home theater setup quest.
1. Home Theater Receiver (this is the AV or Surround Sound Receiver)
2. TV
3. DVD player (Some home theaters already come with this in-built)
4. Loudspeakers
5. Subwoofer
6. Connection cables and speaker wire
Tips to Setting Up Your Home Theater
Basically, a home theater setup can include components like an AV receiver, a TV, a DVD player, and a cable box. Also, you must have at least five speakers as well as a subwoofer to complete the 5.1 surround sound system. In this section of the article, you’ll learn about how to connect these different components.
Home Theater Receiver
The home theater receiver is the component that provides roughly the entire source of the connectivity including switching and all audio decoding, processing as well as amplification to power up and bring your speakers to life.
Generally, most video and audio components are run through the home theater receiver.
How to send video from the home theater receiver to the TV screen
Firstly, start by connecting the AV receiver’s TV monitor output to a video input on your TV. Typically, you can achieve this connection using the HDMI cable to link up the receiver with your TV.
When done correctly, you will be able to view video visuals from all the video sources that are connected to your home theater directly on your TV screen. The AV receiver will have to be turned on while the right source input must be selected on your TV display.
How to send audio from the TV to the home theater receiver
Before you can send audio from your TV to the home theater, your TV must have audio outputs. Connect your TV’s audio outputs to the AV receiver’s Aux audio or TV inputs.
Another alternative is by using the Audio Return Channel (HDMI-ARC) that lets you connect to the TV and AV receiver. Of course, both units will need to have this feature before it can be used.
Any one of these methods will let you watch sources connected to the TV and listen to stereo or surround sound audio via the home theater.
The TV
To start with, if you receive TV programs using an antenna, then make sure the antenna is connected directly to your TV. If you own a Smart TV, then get it connected to the internet.
Also, if you get your programming from a cable or satellite box, ensure the incoming cable is connected directly to the box. Once this is confirmed, you can connect your satellite or cable box to the TV and your home theater system in two ways;
1. Connect the AV output of your box to your TV directly.
2. Connect your cable box directly to the home theater receiver then route the signal to your TV.
DVD Player
If your DVD player is a separate component from your home theater, then will need to connect one of the player’s video outputs to the AV receiver’s DVD video input. However, if your DVD player comes with an HDMI output, then, by all means, use it.
On the other hand, if the DVD player doesn’t have an HDMI output, you should use another available video output and combine it with a coaxial cable/digital optical cable from the DVD player to the AV receiver.
The Speakers and Subwoofer
No home theater setup is complete without connecting and positioning the speakers and the subwoofer.
Start by placing your speakers and subwoofer in the right positions. Keep reading this guide to learn how.
Next, connect the speakers to the AV receiver and be sure to pay attention to the correct polarity (positive and negative – red and black colors). Ensure the speakers are correctly connected to the relevant channels.
For the subwoofer, connect the line output of the AV receiver to the subwoofer.
Home Theater Speakers and Subwoofer Setup
Here’s a good way to quickly set up and position your home theater speakers and subwoofer. However, keep in mind that this setup sample is typical for square or rectangular-shaped rooms.
Regardless of this, you might still have to adjust your placement for other room shapes and to improve acoustics. There are two main home theater speaker placements – the 5.1 and the 7.1 channel speaker placements.
The 5.1 Channel Speaker Placement
Arguably one of the most common home theater speaker setups, the 5.1 channel speaker placement lets you spread five speakers across the room with a subwoofer. The speakers are also usually labeled so you can easily understand which is which.
Front center channel: As the name suggests, this speaker should be placed in front either below or above the TV.
Subwoofer: This should be placed either to the right or left of the TV.
Main front speakers (Right and Left): These speakers should be placed equidistant from the center speaker and positioned at about a 30-degree angle from the center channel.
Surround speakers: The two surround speakers should be positioned either to the side or slightly behind the listening position – about 90 – 100 degrees away from the center speaker. Also, these speakers can be positioned above the listener.
The 7.1 Channel Speaker Placement
Similar to the 5.1 channel speaker setup, the front center and left/right main speakers, as well as the subwoofer, are placed in the same position.
The left and right surround speakers are positioned at the left and right sides of the listener.
The rear surround speakers can also be elevated above the listener or placed behind the listening position to the left and right. They should be placed at about 150-degrees from the front center channel speaker.
Recommended Home Theater Systems for Your Home
Just in case you’re looking to purchase a home theater system, you can check out some of the recommended top-quality sound systems right here.
Royal 1050W Home Theatre (RHT-D6551S)
Your search for a premium-quality home theater stops here. The Royal 1050W Home Theatre (RHT-D6551S) is all you need to transform your home into a chamber of wild and exciting entertainment.
The 5.1 channel home theater features four satellite speakers and a subwoofer. You can also watch your favorite movies using its DVD player or stream them directly with its SD and USB port.
Royal 1850W Home Theatre (RHT-D105512T)
If high fidelity sound is what you crave, then turn to the Royal 1850W Home Theatre (RHT-D105512T). This sound system delivers exceptional audio that leaves your room trembling in joy.
The 1050W home theater from Royal Electronics features two tall speakers along with two satellite speakers and a subwoofer for booming sounds. Let your TV audio come alive today by connecting it with this home theater.
Conclusion
To fully experience the surreal, cinematic quality of a home theater system, you have to get it set up properly. To do this, you’ll need to have several components and obtain knowledge on how to connect and position the home theater speakers.
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