What equipment do I need for a home theater system?

[davidkjefferson]

I have no knowledge on home theater systems. I bought a new TV and am getting a 5.1 speaker system for Christmas. How does it connect to the TV? I've heard things about AV receivers. Is one needed to hook this up? Explain in layman's terms please.

[Mr Peabody]

You do need a A/V receiver. The general set up is hook your sources like disc players, satellite or cable to the receiver then the video output from the receiver to the TV. Most of these should be via HDMI cables.

Your speakers are powered by the receiver, you will have a center channel which should be placed at the center of your TV screen, usually above or below depending on your configuration. You will have a main left/right speaker and two left/right rear. The signal goes from your source into the receiver and is decoded then sent to the proper speaker for surround sound. Most receivers will have an auto speaker set up with microphone that is pretty easy to use. If your speaker package didn't come with a subwoofer you may want to consider buying one with the receiver as surround sound has a dedicated low frequency output usually labeled "LFE" (low frequency effects) or just "sub out"

Maybe not the cheapest on the market but I'd recommend looking at Marantz receivers for ease of set up and reliability.

Sound should not come from all speakers at a time so don't panic, the sound should go with the activity in the movie, so most sound will be from center speaker where the dialog and center screen action is. Left/right will be music from the sound track, action on those sides ofscreen and panning of sound to match the action, rear is ambiance and again panning of sound to match the movie.

The Dolby Labs website is very good for set up diagrams of speakers and descriptions of various surround versions. I hope this helps get you started.

[topspeed]

Setting up a HT can be daunting for even the most seasoned AV enthusiast, so I understand your trepidation. As Mr. P said, you'll definitely need an AV Receiver (AVR) and as someone who just added one a few months ago, I have to say it's hard to imagine one easier to set up than Marantz. Just plug the HDMI cable in the "HDMI OUT" on the back of the AVR and the other into your HDMI Input on the tv and do what the screen tells you to do. It will show you exactly what to plug in and where to plug it in. Marantz took the time to make this as foolproof as possible, the fact that they sound great and utilize exceptional components is icing on the cake. Of course, as Mr. P pointed out, you're unlikely to find one in bargain bin at your local big box store. However, I've got a 50+ yr old Marantz 2230b capably powering my bedroom rig, so you do get what you pay for.

One aside, don't get caught up in power (watt) ratings too much. More isn't necessarily better depending on the speakers you get. Most speakers are pretty efficient, especially if you're getting a 5.1 HT-in-a-box set-up, and unless the room you're putting the rig in is ginormous, 80-100wpc should be more than ample.

Hope this helps

[3db]

Try this link to get a visual.. the first yellow box

Home Theater Network ...The Ultimate Connection Diagram

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

Sound should not come from all speakers at a time so don't panic, the sound should go with the activity in the movie, so most sound will be from center speaker where the dialog and center screen action is. Left/right will be music from the sound track, action on those sides ofscreen and panning of sound to match the action, rear is ambiance and again panning of sound to match the movie.

Mr. Peabody, this is outdated information. While most dialog will come from the center, most sound will come from the three front speakers, with equal bandwidth and volume to the front as much as from the other channels. There are frankly times when all channels are required to produce signals equally(action movies especially) so equal requirements for each channel are required these days. Your advice is based on the Prologic days when surround channels were created differently from the front channels. We don't live in that world anymore. We put not only music in the left/right channels, but a majority of the positioned sound effects are there as well. Rears are no longer ambience only, but have discrete sound effects(and even dialog) panned to them - so they should not be treated as an afterthought.

[Mr Peabody]

Mr. Peabody, this is outdated information. While most dialog will come from the center, most sound will come from the three front speakers, with equal bandwidth and volume to the front as much as from the other channels. There are frankly times when all channels are required to produce signals equally(action movies especially) so equal requirements for each channel are required these days. Your advice is based on the Prologic days when surround channels were created differently from the front channels. We don't live in that world anymore. We put not only music in the left/right channels, but a majority of the positioned sound effects are there as well. Rears are no longer ambience only, but have discrete sound effects(and even dialog) panned to them - so they should not be treated as an afterthought.

Read what I wrote again, no one mentioned bandwidth etc or leaving something as an after thought. You exaggerate, what comes from each speaker depends on the movie and unless action sceens the rears don't get much play. Your extraneous info was no help to the OP's question and only serves to show your trolling skills.

[bfalls]

Taking both arguments into account, I watched/listened to several 5.1 programs on HBO and Showtime this evening (Californication, Trueblood,...). My observation was closer to what SirT states. Rarely was there dialog without something going on in both L and R channels providing a fuller sound across all front speakers. Even the rears have more signal but more for ambience, but still more than heard from DLP.

Other good examples of full-range from all channels are sport programs. Listen to boxing for example. You almost always hear all channels enveloping you putting you into the crowd making you part of the action. I'm not a team sport fan, but I'll bet others can chime in on Basketball and Football. And this is just from TV which to me has obvious limitations over DVD and Blu-ray.

He is a noob, but why limit his expectations. Your assessment seem more of what you would expect from 5.1 derived from stereo. The Marantz is a good recommendation. We now need to recommend a full-range speaker system to take advantage of what it ca provide. If you limit his expectations, he'll end up with a Bose system or worse feeling anything better would be a waste of money.

[Mr Peabody]

On the other hand I've helped people who were using "all channel" stereo, showed them how to use the digital connection and once heard 5.1 was in shock because they no longer had consistent sound from all speakers. I think if you read what said and not focus on certain words it's pretty self explanatory without overkill detail. I have a 3.0 set up in one room and even on that not all 3 front speakers always have content. On the 3.0 I'd have the full array if possible, I don't want to down play 5.1 or better because it's definitely worth it. I think it's better not to over sell as well.

It may also depend on how you have your system set up, some people boost the rear channels, I used the auto set up and left mine as the program set it.

I don't watch sports but you are correct that all speakers there fire with crowd noise etc. Same on sceens with rain or when the effects are going on all around. But I did say what you hear would be content dependent. It seems you all scanned a few words to focus on and make it a bigger deal than it should be.

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

Read what I wrote again, no one mentioned bandwidth etc or leaving something as an after thought. You exaggerate, what comes from each speaker depends on the movie and unless action sceens the rears don't get much play. Your extraneous info was no help to the OP's question and only serves to show your trolling skills.

Let's show where you went astray shall we.

Sound should not come from all speakers at a time so don't panic,

This is incorrect and shows your lack of knowledge of soundtrack creation. There are times when sound WILL come from all of the speakers. If all sound did come from all of the speakers, the OP would think there is something wrong based on your obviously ignorant statement.

You exaggerate, what comes from each speaker depends on the movie and unless action sceens the rears don't get much play.

Oh really? Listen to the movie 2012. There is low level information coming from all channels throughout the entire movie. Go listen to Hunt For Red October. There is low level information coming from all channels regardless of what is happening on screen. Go watch Saving Private Ryan. There is both high level and low level signals coming from all channels throughout this movie. I could name nearly one hundred more, but I made my point.

Rude responses reduces the credibility of the site. Who would post only to be insulted or attacked. You are welcome to not post here.

[3db]

Mr. Peabody, this is outdated information. While most dialog will come from the center, most sound will come from the three front speakers, with equal bandwidth and volume to the front as much as from the other channels. There are frankly times when all channels are required to produce signals equally(action movies especially) so equal requirements for each channel are required these days. Your advice is based on the Prologic days when surround channels were created differently from the front channels. We don't live in that world anymore. We put not only music in the left/right channels, but a majority of the positioned sound effects are there as well. Rears are no longer ambience only, but have discrete sound effects(and even dialog) panned to them - so they should not be treated as an afterthought.

Its been my experience that not all channels are reproducing at the same volume, especially the surround channels in action movies. Do you have an example of one because I WANNA get it and play.

[Magda]

This is a very difficult question to answer! However, in my opinion the most important thing to buy are loudspeakers! Choose high-quality highspeakers, although they are a bit more expensive, you will be happy with your choice!