Hook Up Home Near Mack

So, you bought a hometheater system? Great! Watching a movie on a properly set up surroundsound system, or listening to your music through a new set ofspeakers can be an amazing experience. But, the key to a great hometheater isn't just spending a lot of money. Setting up the systemcorrectly is just as important as what you buy. This guide, verysimply, walks through the basics of speaker placement, how to hookeverything up, and how to change a few settings to really make yoursystem shine. Throughout this article are links to other articlesthat go into more depth on each topic. Be sure to also check out our related YouTube video discussions linked below for further insights.

Where Do I Place My Speakers?

In most rooms you won't beable to place your speakers in the perfect spots. It would be greatif every room was designed with surround sound in mind, but alas, itisn't. Still, there are some good rules to go by. The diagram belowshows the ideal placement for speakers in a 7.1 system. Notice howthe speakers are perfectly set up for one seating location, theelusive 'sweet spot'. Because most people are not hermitswatching movies in solitude, you will probably have a variety ofseating locations. When placing your speakers, you will need todecide if you want to optimize your system for one location or, as weprefer, place speakers so that individuals in a variety of positionscan experience good quality surround sound. Choosing to setup yoursystem for multiple seating locations may also affect your decisionto go with a 5.1 or 7.1 system, but more on that later.

1. When he meets up with you and your friends late at night by himself. What you tell yourself: 'He just wanted to hook up.' Why you're wrong: He could've told you to come meet up with him instead.
2. Find the best Computer Help near you on Yelp - see all Computer Help open now. Explore other popular Local Services near you from over 7 million businesses with over 142 million reviews and opinions from Yelpers.

Check out the Speaker Layout of the Audioholics Showcase Theater Room

Noise - Setting up a home theater's speakers will vary wildly depending on how close your neighbors are; additionally, your home's acoustics will play a part in determining which speakers best fit your needs. Space - As mentioned in the last step, your home's size will limit things like TV screen size, speaker strength, and more.

Dolby Suggested Speaker Layout

Let's go over each speakerlocation and what the considerations should be for each.

Center Channel Speaker:The center speaker should be located directly above or below thedisplay. The majority of the dialogue in a movie comes through thecenter speaker, so it is important to think carefully about theplacement. Try to place the center speaker as close to the televisionas possible being careful to angle the speaker towards your ears.

Front Left/RightSpeakers: The front, or main, speakersprovide off-screen effects and carry all the stereo soundtrackinformation as well as the background environments. Placing these tooclose together will create a small sound stage, and you will lose outon separation between the front 3 speakers (center, front left, frontright). If they are too far apart, you will have a gap in the soundstage between the front 3 speakers. Again, place these speakers asclose to ear level as possible, paying particular attention togetting the tweeters as close to ear level as possible. Finally,please do yourself a favor, and do not mount these in the corners ofyour room.

Surround Speakers: Theplacement of surround speakers is typically where people go wrong.The most common mistake is putting them behind you. Surroundspeakers, as seen in the diagram above, are supposed to go directlyto your left and right. Unlike the front 3 speakers, surroundspeakers should be placed anywhere from a couple inches above earlevel to 2 feet above ear level, when seated.

Surround Back (7.1)Speakers: In some rooms, adding two moresurround speakers, often called 'rear' or 'surroundback' speakers, can be quite beneficial. However, it will dependa lot on your room size and where you have your seating. For example,surround back speakers are particularly helpful when there aremultiple rows of seating, where it isn't possible for everyone tofully experience surround effects in a 5.1 system. Before you getcaught up in assigning money and resources to a 7.1 system, be sureto take a look at your room (and budget) before just buying surroundback speakers. If you do decide to purchase surround back speakers,they can be configured in a variety of ways, depending upon your A/Vreceiver and whether or not you are using a standard 7.1 mode (DolbyPro Logic IIx, for example) or one of the various THX modes which areavailable.

Subwoofer(s): Ina 5.1 or 7.1 system, the .1 is the subwoofer. So, if you had twosubwoofers, you would have a 5.2 or 7.2 system.In my experience, many salespeople underplaythe importance of a subwoofer. A cheap, inadequate, or poorly placedsub has the ability to ruin an otherwise great system. Many peoplemay advise you to just place the subwoofer in the corner, which makesmany industry professionals cringe. There is no 'best'place for a subwoofer; the best thing to do is experiment withdifferent places around the room. If you have tiny satellite speakerswith a crossover set to >80Hz it is a good idea to keep thesubwoofer somewhere in the front of the room. More on this topic, andinformation on what a crossover (X-over) is, will be discussed laterin this article. Below are links to additional articles on speakerand subwoofer setup:

Connecting the Speakers andSubwoofer(s)

Once you have put yourspeakers in place, it is time to plug them into the receiver. Thisshould be simple enough, but I have seen many good installers makecareless mistakes here, which will have a major impact on soundquality.

First, you need to makesure you don't mix up the positive (typically red, or marked with a +mark) and negative (typically black, or with no markings) ends ofyour speaker wire. The black and red labeling is simply forconvenience, the wires are the same. You simply need to make surethat whatever wire you attach to the positive terminal on thespeaker; you attach the same wire to the positive terminal on thereceiver. The same goes with the negative wire. Don't worry too muchif there is no way to tell the difference between the + and –wires, you can check for it later, but it is much easier to hook itup correctly the first time.

You will need somethingthe strip the wire back, typically a wire stripper, dykes, or utilityknife will work. Be careful first to not cut yourself, and second tonot cut off the copper strands inside the wire jacket. You only needto strip back enough so the bare wire can go into the back of thereceiver and speakers. If you strip off too much, the wires may touchand short out; somewhere between 1/4' and 1/2' works well.

If you want a really cleanlook, or think you will be moving your speakers or equipment anytimesoon, installing banana plugs or spade plugs on the ends of yourspeaker wire is extremely helpful. Banana and/or spade plugs aresimply metal/gold ends that attach to the bare copper strands. Theymake connecting and disconnecting equipment easier, quicker, andreduce the chance of wires touching and shorting out. With that said,it is up to you if you would like to use them or not, it is more of apreference than anything else, though after hooking up tons of A/Vreceivers, we wouldn't be caught dead without them.

Your subwoofer will hookup with a single RCA cable. You will see some RCA cables marketed as'subwoofer' cables. If you purchased one that is fine, butif you have a high quality RCA cable lying around, you could use thattoo, and it's likely that there's little difference. There is a plugon the back of every modern AV receiver labeled, 'sub out'or 'sub preout.' Just connect that to the input on yoursubwoofer. Some subs will have multiple RCA inputs on them; you willwant to use the one labeled 'LFE in'. If your subwooferdoesn't have that label, connect the RCA to the left input or use aY-splitter to send signal to both inputs. Some subwoofers will alsohave speaker connections on the back, however these should only beused if you have an older receiver that doesn't have an RCA subwooferoutput. You may also notice a 'phase' switch or dial, alongwith 'gain/volume' and 'low pass filter'. Fornow, don't touch the phase adjustment, put the gain/volume a littleunder 1/2, and turn up the low pass filter all the way (probablyaround 120Hz) or set it to 'disable' or 'off'.

Selecting the Right Cables andConnections - What's the Difference?

Modern A/V receivers havea number of input options, and finding the best way to hook upeverything can be hard to do. The typical manual doesn't do much morethan confuse the average consumer. I cannot tell you how many clientsI have talked to who have spent hours pouring over manuals only toend up more confused than when they started. This section of thearticle should make sense of all of the inputs, outputs, knobs, andwires that create our home theater systems. First I will explain somebasic concepts, then go through a common scenario of hooking upequipment. This article does not discuss hooking up equipment withreceivers that don't support HDMI; however, the principles in thisarticle will also help connect older equipment.

First, we need to look atthe types of connections you will encounter.

In most systems, you will only use HDMI

• Composite video is thelowest quality and oldest of the connections discussed here. Itdoes not support HD. It should only be used if absolutelynecessary, for example a VCR may use composite video
• Component video uses 3RCA cables. It does support HD; although, most devices limit it toa 1080i resolution.
• HDMI is the newest connection, and the one thatyou will most likely use. An HDMI cable handles both video andaudio. It is the highest quality connection available, in most newsystem this will be the only cable you need.
• Stereo audio uses twoRCA cables and supports 2 channels of audio. This connection doesnot support 5.1 surround sound or digital audio.
• Digital coax uses anRCA cable to pass 5.1 surround sound signal. Digital coax istypically colored orange or black. It is available on many DVD andBlu-ray players, but it does not support the highest quality soundavailable on Blu-ray discs. It is far better than stereo RCAaudio, however.
• Optical cables uselight to pass a 5.1 surround sound signal. It is available on manyDVD and Blu-ray players, but it does not support the highestquality sound available on Blu-ray discs.

How to Get 5.1 Surround Sound from your Home Theater System YouTube Video Discussion

If all of your equipmentsupports HDMI, connection should be a breeze. In some cases yourequipment won't have an HDMI output. Maybe you are hooking up a Wiiwhich only supports composite video (a yellow RCA cable), orcomponent video (red, green, blue). In that case, you will have torun either composite or component cable(s) for your video signal, anda separate cable for sound. With a Wii, your only option for sound isstereo audio.

Hooking Up Our Example System

Because there are so manydifferent types of connections, it would be impossible to cover howto hook up each type of device, so I have chosen to use a few populardevices to use as examples. Let's start with the following equipment:a Blu-ray player, a Wii, an HD Satellite box, and a 7.1 AV Receiver.Below is a picture of the receiver, and a diagram of how everythingshould be hooked up.

Home Theater Connection Diagram

• Blu-ray – One HDMI cablegoes from the Blu-ray player to an HDMI input on the receiver.
• Satellite/Cable Set-topBox – One HDMI cable goes from the Satellite/Cable Set-top receiverto an HDMI input on the receiver.
• Wii – A component videocable (must be purchased separately, does not come with the Wii) goesfrom the Wii to a component video input on the receiver. The receiverin this example will take the component input and convert it intoHDMI so a component video cable does not need to be ran to the TV.Most new receiver over $500 will do this conversion (see Editor'snote below).
• TV – Only one HDMI cablegoes to the TV, from the 'monitor out' on the receiver (seeEditor's Note below for the exception to this rule). One mistake alot of people make here is purchasing an HDMI cable that is tooshort. I would recommend a 6' or 8' HDMI cable when hooking up any TVover 46', assuming your gear is located just below. The commonlengths of 2' to 4' are best suited for connecting your sourceequipment to the receiver.
• Receiver – You can plugyour sources (Wii, Blu-ray, Satellite/Cable set-top box) into theHDMI and Component inputs on the receiver. On the back of thereceiver the input will typically be labeled, just remember whichinput everything is plugged into. Most new receivers over $500 willconvert component or composite video to HDMI. S-video inputs andoutputs should never be used. Ever.

Editor'sNote: If you have an older HDMI receiver, orone that doesn't provide HDMI upconversion, be sure to connectcomposite and component video outputs to your television as well ifyou utilized those inputs. You'll also have to change inputs on yourTV when you change sources on your A/V receiver. Realize this whenyou consider buying the entry-level model, so you're aware of theextra steps involved.

YouTube Video Discussion: 10 Tips to Improve your Home Theater Experience

BasicSettings and Tweaks

Too many people purchasegreat home theater equipment, and take the time to plug it inproperly, only to forget a couple settings thatcan make or break their entire experience. For most audiophiles, thisis the fun part. Spending some time testing your system can make thedifference between a good system and a greatsystem. Below is a list of common devices and what settings youshould make sure to check on each one.

TV:The first thing to understand about TVs is that the Color or PictureMode settings out of the box (which affect brightness, tint, hue,saturation, etc…) are not set to give you the most accuratepicture. There are many articles about calibrating TVs, so I willjust give some basic suggestions. First, set your TV picture to'movie' or 'cinema' mode. If it has a 'THX'mode, use that. For daytime viewing, you may want to go with one ofthe other modes, but at night, be sure to reconfigure so you getcloser to accurate color. The easiest and cheapest way get your TVlooking good is to use a test disc. A test disc will have variouspatterns that show you how to adjust settings. Most THX certifiedBlu-ray discs and DVDs have a free THX optimizer that will guide youthrough adjusting brightness, contrast, tint, and sharpness. So, gorummaging through your DVD or Blu-ray collection and find one withthe THX logo. Pop it in, dig through the disc menu till you find theTHX optimizer, and go to town. Note that without a blue filter youwill not be able to adjust tint with this disc (unless you have aSamsung TV which has a Blue-only mode you can engage). If you want totake the calibration one step further, purchase an actual test disc.Disney's WOW disc is great for beginners, and only costs around $35.Finally, decide whether or not you like the 120/240/480Hz mode whichgoes by an endless myriad of names, including 'MotionFlow','ClearScan', 'Auto Motion Plus', 'SPS','TruMotion', etc… If you notice some programs look toosmooth, or like a soap opera, the 120/240/480Hz settings are toblame.

Satellite or Cable box:With a Satellite or Cable box, there are only a few settings tocheck. You need to see if the box has an adjustment for 'Dolby Digital', if so, set it to 'on'. Some cable boxesdon't have that option, in that case it should be enabledautomatically. Also, on Satellite boxes make sure '1080p'and '16x9' is selected. Most cable boxes will not offer1080p, in that case make sure '1080i' is selected.

Blu-ray:Surprisingly enough, many Blu-ray players do not send out anuncompressed surround sound signal by default. If you are using areceiver that supports Dolby TrueHD and Dolby Master Audio (if it isless than 3 years old, and is hooked up with HDMI you should begood), go into the settings on your Blu-ray and set audio output to'bitstream uncompressed' or 'pass-through'. EveryBlu-ray player is different, so you may want to consult the manual tosee what setting will work with Dolby TrueHD and Dolby Master Audio,and then choose that setting. I would also recommend turning off anydynamic range control options. As for video, set the resolution to'1080p' (assuming you have a 1080p-compatible flat-panel).

Xbox 360:The Xbox is pretty easy to setup. Turn on Dolby Digital in theSettings menu and set the resolution to 1080p. Newer Xbox 360s havean HDMI output, but older ones will need to use and optionalComponent video (red/green/blue) and a TOSlink optical digital cablefor 5.1 surround sound.

PS3:The PS3 has automatic resolution and audio settings, but I wouldstill recommend checking them. Go to the settings and run through theauto setup for audio, and the auto setup for video. For video, verify1080p is selected. For audio on the PS3 slim, verify Dolby TrueHDand Dolby Master Audio are selected. If they aren't, make sure yourreceiver supports them and turn them on manually.

Wii:If you are using component video cables, set the resolution to 480p.Also, go into the sound settings and turn on surround sound. Thiswill send Dolby (mono) Surround audio to your receiver that can bedecoded into a pseudo 5.1 experience using Pro Logic II DSP.

AV Receiver:The AV Receiver is the heart of your system. Each receiver will havea varying level of control, and some seem to have endless pages ofcustomization while others only have a few basic settings. Most newreceivers come with an auto-setup mic. These mics vary in accuracyand thoroughness. Some mics take measurements from multiplepositions. Other, less expensive mics only take measurements at oneposition. I always recommend running the mic because some features onyour receiver will not work without running the initial setup. Justrealize that even the best mic can, and probably will, make mistakes.

If you decide to run the Auto Setup function, make sure you go into the bass management menus after the calibration is completed to check the crossover settings for your speakers and subwoofer. Most Setupsystems either don't set a crossover setting, or they do it non ideally for your speaker system. This is why we recommend manual setup of your bass management. Navigate to that option on your receiver. You willhave a global crossover setting, or you will see a list of eachspeaker with a frequency next to it. You'll also be able to set eachspeaker to 'Large' (i.e. 'don't use the crossover')or 'Small' (i.e. 'use the crossover'). Acrossover frequency will set how low of frequency signals are sent toyour speakers. Every speaker is different, so there is no absoluteanswer, but 80Hz is a good guess in most situations. You can alsolook up the speaker's user manual and the manufacturer will typically(unless they are Bose) tell you how low the speaker will play. Forexample, a small satellite speaker with a 3-inch 'full-range'driver might only play down to 120Hz. In general, and I am making abig generalization, set all of your speakers to 'Small'unless they have a powered subwoofer in them. If you havefloorstanding or bookshelf speakers, start by setting your crossoverfrequency to 80Hz. If you have smaller, satellite style speakers, setthe crossover between 100Hz-120Hz. Many auto setup systems will incorrectly identify a surround speaker as large simply because its placed close to a wall where it gets a little bass boost. It is a better option to set the speaker to 'small' because it will take the strain off the smaller speaker by not allowing it to produce the deep bass frequencies while redirecting the bass to the speaker that is designed to do this - the subwoofer. Most of the time havingmultiple crossover settings per channel group simply isn't needed so ifyour receiver offers this option, just set all your speakers to 'small'and their corresponding crossover settings to 80Hz. If you do set the subwoofers crossover frequency higher than 80Hz, we again recommend placing the subwoofer towards the front of the room to make it less localizable. In order to keep this article frombeing too terribly long, I will stop there. Below is a link to a morethorough article about crossover frequencies. If you really want toget into home theater, I crossover frequencies is something you willwant to learn more about.

When using the includedmicrophone, don't just throw it on the couch and hit start. Blankets,pillows, barking dogs and cushy chairs can all skew the results.Position the mic as close as possible to your ear level when seated -and, ideally, you'll place it on a tripod. Then, step out of thelistening area, make sure everything is quiet, and start the test.Follow through with each listening position, if the mic takesmeasurements at more than one location. Once the setup is done, youwill want to go into the menu on the receiver. Typically this is doneby hitting the 'menu' button on the receiver remote (someremotes need to be put in 'receiver' or 'amp'mode first). The on-screen display will then show up on the TV. Youshould find a setting in the receiver menu to manually adjust thespeakers.

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Auto Setup vs. ManualSetup

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Most of the time theautomatic setup systems get speaker identification and channel levelspot on. If you ran auto setup in the last step, the setup mic shouldhave already figured out if you have a 5.1 or 7.1surround sound system and set the speaker type and levels as well ascrossover if that is part of the included configuration process. Ifyou want to manually double check everything, however, you can do sowith an SPL meter. An SPL meter is used to measure how loud a soundis and can be purchased from radio shack for about $50. You simply point the SPL meter up at the ceiling, ear height, at the primary listening position and set it to 'C-weighted' and 'slow response'.

There will bea setting for 'test tones' where you can adjust channel levels up or down in your receiver's menusystem (typically under Manual Setup). You want to set each channel so they measure roughly the same on your SPL meter. 75dB is usually a good reference point. Feel free to bump the subwoofer channel up a few dB however, as most people prefer a little bass boost. Don't be surprised if your levels are differenton your left and right channels if, for example, your Surround Leftspeaker is farther away from the listening position than yourSurround Right speaker, or if one speaker is nearer to a wall thanthe other.

If you notice that yoursubwoofer level is turned down as far as possible, you should turndown the volume knob on the back of the subwoofer a little bit, andrun the setup mic again.

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Where Do I Place My Speakers?

In most rooms you won't beable to place your speakers in the perfect spots. It would be greatif every room was designed with surround sound in mind, but alas, itisn't. Still, there are some good rules to go by. The diagram belowshows the ideal placement for speakers in a 7.1 system. Notice howthe speakers are perfectly set up for one seating location, theelusive 'sweet spot'. Because most people are not hermitswatching movies in solitude, you will probably have a variety ofseating locations. When placing your speakers, you will need todecide if you want to optimize your system for one location or, as weprefer, place speakers so that individuals in a variety of positionscan experience good quality surround sound. Choosing to setup yoursystem for multiple seating locations may also affect your decisionto go with a 5.1 or 7.1 system, but more on that later.

1. When he meets up with you and your friends late at night by himself. What you tell yourself: 'He just wanted to hook up.' Why you're wrong: He could've told you to come meet up with him instead.
2. Find the best Computer Help near you on Yelp - see all Computer Help open now. Explore other popular Local Services near you from over 7 million businesses with over 142 million reviews and opinions from Yelpers.

Check out the Speaker Layout of the Audioholics Showcase Theater Room

Noise - Setting up a home theater's speakers will vary wildly depending on how close your neighbors are; additionally, your home's acoustics will play a part in determining which speakers best fit your needs. Space - As mentioned in the last step, your home's size will limit things like TV screen size, speaker strength, and more.

Dolby Suggested Speaker Layout

Let's go over each speakerlocation and what the considerations should be for each.

Center Channel Speaker:The center speaker should be located directly above or below thedisplay. The majority of the dialogue in a movie comes through thecenter speaker, so it is important to think carefully about theplacement. Try to place the center speaker as close to the televisionas possible being careful to angle the speaker towards your ears.

Front Left/RightSpeakers: The front, or main, speakersprovide off-screen effects and carry all the stereo soundtrackinformation as well as the background environments. Placing these tooclose together will create a small sound stage, and you will lose outon separation between the front 3 speakers (center, front left, frontright). If they are too far apart, you will have a gap in the soundstage between the front 3 speakers. Again, place these speakers asclose to ear level as possible, paying particular attention togetting the tweeters as close to ear level as possible. Finally,please do yourself a favor, and do not mount these in the corners ofyour room.

Surround Speakers: Theplacement of surround speakers is typically where people go wrong.The most common mistake is putting them behind you. Surroundspeakers, as seen in the diagram above, are supposed to go directlyto your left and right. Unlike the front 3 speakers, surroundspeakers should be placed anywhere from a couple inches above earlevel to 2 feet above ear level, when seated.

Surround Back (7.1)Speakers: In some rooms, adding two moresurround speakers, often called 'rear' or 'surroundback' speakers, can be quite beneficial. However, it will dependa lot on your room size and where you have your seating. For example,surround back speakers are particularly helpful when there aremultiple rows of seating, where it isn't possible for everyone tofully experience surround effects in a 5.1 system. Before you getcaught up in assigning money and resources to a 7.1 system, be sureto take a look at your room (and budget) before just buying surroundback speakers. If you do decide to purchase surround back speakers,they can be configured in a variety of ways, depending upon your A/Vreceiver and whether or not you are using a standard 7.1 mode (DolbyPro Logic IIx, for example) or one of the various THX modes which areavailable.

Subwoofer(s): Ina 5.1 or 7.1 system, the .1 is the subwoofer. So, if you had twosubwoofers, you would have a 5.2 or 7.2 system.In my experience, many salespeople underplaythe importance of a subwoofer. A cheap, inadequate, or poorly placedsub has the ability to ruin an otherwise great system. Many peoplemay advise you to just place the subwoofer in the corner, which makesmany industry professionals cringe. There is no 'best'place for a subwoofer; the best thing to do is experiment withdifferent places around the room. If you have tiny satellite speakerswith a crossover set to >80Hz it is a good idea to keep thesubwoofer somewhere in the front of the room. More on this topic, andinformation on what a crossover (X-over) is, will be discussed laterin this article. Below are links to additional articles on speakerand subwoofer setup:

Connecting the Speakers andSubwoofer(s)

Once you have put yourspeakers in place, it is time to plug them into the receiver. Thisshould be simple enough, but I have seen many good installers makecareless mistakes here, which will have a major impact on soundquality.

First, you need to makesure you don't mix up the positive (typically red, or marked with a +mark) and negative (typically black, or with no markings) ends ofyour speaker wire. The black and red labeling is simply forconvenience, the wires are the same. You simply need to make surethat whatever wire you attach to the positive terminal on thespeaker; you attach the same wire to the positive terminal on thereceiver. The same goes with the negative wire. Don't worry too muchif there is no way to tell the difference between the + and –wires, you can check for it later, but it is much easier to hook itup correctly the first time.

You will need somethingthe strip the wire back, typically a wire stripper, dykes, or utilityknife will work. Be careful first to not cut yourself, and second tonot cut off the copper strands inside the wire jacket. You only needto strip back enough so the bare wire can go into the back of thereceiver and speakers. If you strip off too much, the wires may touchand short out; somewhere between 1/4' and 1/2' works well.

If you want a really cleanlook, or think you will be moving your speakers or equipment anytimesoon, installing banana plugs or spade plugs on the ends of yourspeaker wire is extremely helpful. Banana and/or spade plugs aresimply metal/gold ends that attach to the bare copper strands. Theymake connecting and disconnecting equipment easier, quicker, andreduce the chance of wires touching and shorting out. With that said,it is up to you if you would like to use them or not, it is more of apreference than anything else, though after hooking up tons of A/Vreceivers, we wouldn't be caught dead without them.

Your subwoofer will hookup with a single RCA cable. You will see some RCA cables marketed as'subwoofer' cables. If you purchased one that is fine, butif you have a high quality RCA cable lying around, you could use thattoo, and it's likely that there's little difference. There is a plugon the back of every modern AV receiver labeled, 'sub out'or 'sub preout.' Just connect that to the input on yoursubwoofer. Some subs will have multiple RCA inputs on them; you willwant to use the one labeled 'LFE in'. If your subwooferdoesn't have that label, connect the RCA to the left input or use aY-splitter to send signal to both inputs. Some subwoofers will alsohave speaker connections on the back, however these should only beused if you have an older receiver that doesn't have an RCA subwooferoutput. You may also notice a 'phase' switch or dial, alongwith 'gain/volume' and 'low pass filter'. Fornow, don't touch the phase adjustment, put the gain/volume a littleunder 1/2, and turn up the low pass filter all the way (probablyaround 120Hz) or set it to 'disable' or 'off'.

Selecting the Right Cables andConnections - What's the Difference?

Modern A/V receivers havea number of input options, and finding the best way to hook upeverything can be hard to do. The typical manual doesn't do much morethan confuse the average consumer. I cannot tell you how many clientsI have talked to who have spent hours pouring over manuals only toend up more confused than when they started. This section of thearticle should make sense of all of the inputs, outputs, knobs, andwires that create our home theater systems. First I will explain somebasic concepts, then go through a common scenario of hooking upequipment. This article does not discuss hooking up equipment withreceivers that don't support HDMI; however, the principles in thisarticle will also help connect older equipment.

First, we need to look atthe types of connections you will encounter.

In most systems, you will only use HDMI

• Composite video is thelowest quality and oldest of the connections discussed here. Itdoes not support HD. It should only be used if absolutelynecessary, for example a VCR may use composite video
• Component video uses 3RCA cables. It does support HD; although, most devices limit it toa 1080i resolution.
• HDMI is the newest connection, and the one thatyou will most likely use. An HDMI cable handles both video andaudio. It is the highest quality connection available, in most newsystem this will be the only cable you need.
• Stereo audio uses twoRCA cables and supports 2 channels of audio. This connection doesnot support 5.1 surround sound or digital audio.
• Digital coax uses anRCA cable to pass 5.1 surround sound signal. Digital coax istypically colored orange or black. It is available on many DVD andBlu-ray players, but it does not support the highest quality soundavailable on Blu-ray discs. It is far better than stereo RCAaudio, however.
• Optical cables uselight to pass a 5.1 surround sound signal. It is available on manyDVD and Blu-ray players, but it does not support the highestquality sound available on Blu-ray discs.

How to Get 5.1 Surround Sound from your Home Theater System YouTube Video Discussion

If all of your equipmentsupports HDMI, connection should be a breeze. In some cases yourequipment won't have an HDMI output. Maybe you are hooking up a Wiiwhich only supports composite video (a yellow RCA cable), orcomponent video (red, green, blue). In that case, you will have torun either composite or component cable(s) for your video signal, anda separate cable for sound. With a Wii, your only option for sound isstereo audio.

Hooking Up Our Example System

Because there are so manydifferent types of connections, it would be impossible to cover howto hook up each type of device, so I have chosen to use a few populardevices to use as examples. Let's start with the following equipment:a Blu-ray player, a Wii, an HD Satellite box, and a 7.1 AV Receiver.Below is a picture of the receiver, and a diagram of how everythingshould be hooked up.

Home Theater Connection Diagram

• Blu-ray – One HDMI cablegoes from the Blu-ray player to an HDMI input on the receiver.
• Satellite/Cable Set-topBox – One HDMI cable goes from the Satellite/Cable Set-top receiverto an HDMI input on the receiver.
• Wii – A component videocable (must be purchased separately, does not come with the Wii) goesfrom the Wii to a component video input on the receiver. The receiverin this example will take the component input and convert it intoHDMI so a component video cable does not need to be ran to the TV.Most new receiver over $500 will do this conversion (see Editor'snote below).
• TV – Only one HDMI cablegoes to the TV, from the 'monitor out' on the receiver (seeEditor's Note below for the exception to this rule). One mistake alot of people make here is purchasing an HDMI cable that is tooshort. I would recommend a 6' or 8' HDMI cable when hooking up any TVover 46', assuming your gear is located just below. The commonlengths of 2' to 4' are best suited for connecting your sourceequipment to the receiver.
• Receiver – You can plugyour sources (Wii, Blu-ray, Satellite/Cable set-top box) into theHDMI and Component inputs on the receiver. On the back of thereceiver the input will typically be labeled, just remember whichinput everything is plugged into. Most new receivers over $500 willconvert component or composite video to HDMI. S-video inputs andoutputs should never be used. Ever.

Editor'sNote: If you have an older HDMI receiver, orone that doesn't provide HDMI upconversion, be sure to connectcomposite and component video outputs to your television as well ifyou utilized those inputs. You'll also have to change inputs on yourTV when you change sources on your A/V receiver. Realize this whenyou consider buying the entry-level model, so you're aware of theextra steps involved.

YouTube Video Discussion: 10 Tips to Improve your Home Theater Experience

BasicSettings and Tweaks

Too many people purchasegreat home theater equipment, and take the time to plug it inproperly, only to forget a couple settings thatcan make or break their entire experience. For most audiophiles, thisis the fun part. Spending some time testing your system can make thedifference between a good system and a greatsystem. Below is a list of common devices and what settings youshould make sure to check on each one.

TV:The first thing to understand about TVs is that the Color or PictureMode settings out of the box (which affect brightness, tint, hue,saturation, etc…) are not set to give you the most accuratepicture. There are many articles about calibrating TVs, so I willjust give some basic suggestions. First, set your TV picture to'movie' or 'cinema' mode. If it has a 'THX'mode, use that. For daytime viewing, you may want to go with one ofthe other modes, but at night, be sure to reconfigure so you getcloser to accurate color. The easiest and cheapest way get your TVlooking good is to use a test disc. A test disc will have variouspatterns that show you how to adjust settings. Most THX certifiedBlu-ray discs and DVDs have a free THX optimizer that will guide youthrough adjusting brightness, contrast, tint, and sharpness. So, gorummaging through your DVD or Blu-ray collection and find one withthe THX logo. Pop it in, dig through the disc menu till you find theTHX optimizer, and go to town. Note that without a blue filter youwill not be able to adjust tint with this disc (unless you have aSamsung TV which has a Blue-only mode you can engage). If you want totake the calibration one step further, purchase an actual test disc.Disney's WOW disc is great for beginners, and only costs around $35.Finally, decide whether or not you like the 120/240/480Hz mode whichgoes by an endless myriad of names, including 'MotionFlow','ClearScan', 'Auto Motion Plus', 'SPS','TruMotion', etc… If you notice some programs look toosmooth, or like a soap opera, the 120/240/480Hz settings are toblame.

Satellite or Cable box:With a Satellite or Cable box, there are only a few settings tocheck. You need to see if the box has an adjustment for 'Dolby Digital', if so, set it to 'on'. Some cable boxesdon't have that option, in that case it should be enabledautomatically. Also, on Satellite boxes make sure '1080p'and '16x9' is selected. Most cable boxes will not offer1080p, in that case make sure '1080i' is selected.

Blu-ray:Surprisingly enough, many Blu-ray players do not send out anuncompressed surround sound signal by default. If you are using areceiver that supports Dolby TrueHD and Dolby Master Audio (if it isless than 3 years old, and is hooked up with HDMI you should begood), go into the settings on your Blu-ray and set audio output to'bitstream uncompressed' or 'pass-through'. EveryBlu-ray player is different, so you may want to consult the manual tosee what setting will work with Dolby TrueHD and Dolby Master Audio,and then choose that setting. I would also recommend turning off anydynamic range control options. As for video, set the resolution to'1080p' (assuming you have a 1080p-compatible flat-panel).

Xbox 360:The Xbox is pretty easy to setup. Turn on Dolby Digital in theSettings menu and set the resolution to 1080p. Newer Xbox 360s havean HDMI output, but older ones will need to use and optionalComponent video (red/green/blue) and a TOSlink optical digital cablefor 5.1 surround sound.

PS3:The PS3 has automatic resolution and audio settings, but I wouldstill recommend checking them. Go to the settings and run through theauto setup for audio, and the auto setup for video. For video, verify1080p is selected. For audio on the PS3 slim, verify Dolby TrueHDand Dolby Master Audio are selected. If they aren't, make sure yourreceiver supports them and turn them on manually.

Wii:If you are using component video cables, set the resolution to 480p.Also, go into the sound settings and turn on surround sound. Thiswill send Dolby (mono) Surround audio to your receiver that can bedecoded into a pseudo 5.1 experience using Pro Logic II DSP.

AV Receiver:The AV Receiver is the heart of your system. Each receiver will havea varying level of control, and some seem to have endless pages ofcustomization while others only have a few basic settings. Most newreceivers come with an auto-setup mic. These mics vary in accuracyand thoroughness. Some mics take measurements from multiplepositions. Other, less expensive mics only take measurements at oneposition. I always recommend running the mic because some features onyour receiver will not work without running the initial setup. Justrealize that even the best mic can, and probably will, make mistakes.

If you decide to run the Auto Setup function, make sure you go into the bass management menus after the calibration is completed to check the crossover settings for your speakers and subwoofer. Most Setupsystems either don't set a crossover setting, or they do it non ideally for your speaker system. This is why we recommend manual setup of your bass management. Navigate to that option on your receiver. You willhave a global crossover setting, or you will see a list of eachspeaker with a frequency next to it. You'll also be able to set eachspeaker to 'Large' (i.e. 'don't use the crossover')or 'Small' (i.e. 'use the crossover'). Acrossover frequency will set how low of frequency signals are sent toyour speakers. Every speaker is different, so there is no absoluteanswer, but 80Hz is a good guess in most situations. You can alsolook up the speaker's user manual and the manufacturer will typically(unless they are Bose) tell you how low the speaker will play. Forexample, a small satellite speaker with a 3-inch 'full-range'driver might only play down to 120Hz. In general, and I am making abig generalization, set all of your speakers to 'Small'unless they have a powered subwoofer in them. If you havefloorstanding or bookshelf speakers, start by setting your crossoverfrequency to 80Hz. If you have smaller, satellite style speakers, setthe crossover between 100Hz-120Hz. Many auto setup systems will incorrectly identify a surround speaker as large simply because its placed close to a wall where it gets a little bass boost. It is a better option to set the speaker to 'small' because it will take the strain off the smaller speaker by not allowing it to produce the deep bass frequencies while redirecting the bass to the speaker that is designed to do this - the subwoofer. Most of the time havingmultiple crossover settings per channel group simply isn't needed so ifyour receiver offers this option, just set all your speakers to 'small'and their corresponding crossover settings to 80Hz. If you do set the subwoofers crossover frequency higher than 80Hz, we again recommend placing the subwoofer towards the front of the room to make it less localizable. In order to keep this article frombeing too terribly long, I will stop there. Below is a link to a morethorough article about crossover frequencies. If you really want toget into home theater, I crossover frequencies is something you willwant to learn more about.

When using the includedmicrophone, don't just throw it on the couch and hit start. Blankets,pillows, barking dogs and cushy chairs can all skew the results.Position the mic as close as possible to your ear level when seated -and, ideally, you'll place it on a tripod. Then, step out of thelistening area, make sure everything is quiet, and start the test.Follow through with each listening position, if the mic takesmeasurements at more than one location. Once the setup is done, youwill want to go into the menu on the receiver. Typically this is doneby hitting the 'menu' button on the receiver remote (someremotes need to be put in 'receiver' or 'amp'mode first). The on-screen display will then show up on the TV. Youshould find a setting in the receiver menu to manually adjust thespeakers.

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Auto Setup vs. ManualSetup

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Most of the time theautomatic setup systems get speaker identification and channel levelspot on. If you ran auto setup in the last step, the setup mic shouldhave already figured out if you have a 5.1 or 7.1surround sound system and set the speaker type and levels as well ascrossover if that is part of the included configuration process. Ifyou want to manually double check everything, however, you can do sowith an SPL meter. An SPL meter is used to measure how loud a soundis and can be purchased from radio shack for about $50. You simply point the SPL meter up at the ceiling, ear height, at the primary listening position and set it to 'C-weighted' and 'slow response'.

There will bea setting for 'test tones' where you can adjust channel levels up or down in your receiver's menusystem (typically under Manual Setup). You want to set each channel so they measure roughly the same on your SPL meter. 75dB is usually a good reference point. Feel free to bump the subwoofer channel up a few dB however, as most people prefer a little bass boost. Don't be surprised if your levels are differenton your left and right channels if, for example, your Surround Leftspeaker is farther away from the listening position than yourSurround Right speaker, or if one speaker is nearer to a wall thanthe other.

If you notice that yoursubwoofer level is turned down as far as possible, you should turndown the volume knob on the back of the subwoofer a little bit, andrun the setup mic again.

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Testing It All Out - Listening!

You are done!! Speakersare placed and hooked up, all your equipment is plugged in, and a fewimportant settings changed. Now, put in our favorite CD, DVD, orBlu-ray and start listening. This is where most people quit; however,the true audioholic is never done with their system. Play around withspeaker and subwoofer placement. Run the THX optimizer audio tests,maybe get a full calibration on your TV. From this point on, learnmore about home theater and have fun.