In the not too distant past, stereo receivers were only used for connecting components of your home stereo system and switching between them, but times have changed drastically in the home entertainment field in just the last few years. Today a stereo receiver, or digital receiver as they are sometimes called, is expected to also handle video inputs from any number of devices and be able to route that as well to the TV set. In addition, today's receivers must have the capability to decode surround sound and support up to at least 5 speakers and a subwoofer. That's a lot to ask, and also a lot to connect up, so let's discuss how to connect your digital receiver to your home theater setup.
If you buy an all-in-one home theater system package, you probably won't have much problem setting things up because it's all usually laid out for you in the instructions and the components should all match very well. But if you are putting together your own home theater package made up of different components then you need to plan ahead and buy the right equipment to get the job done.
As far as the receiver is concerned, be sure that you buy one that has the number of connections that you will need to handle all of your system components. For video, almost all receivers give you a connection for a DVD player, a VCR, and a cable or satellite box, but do you also plan to connect up a digital camcorder, a video game system, or digital video recorder? If so, you will need enough inputs for all these pieces of equipment too. And you can expect to pay more for that many extra connections, but if that is what you need, the cost is worth it.
Now you need to be sure that the connection types are what you want too. Almost all video equipment can be connected through a standard composite connection cable, but if you want to improve the video quality you will use an S-video connection instead. Having a good mix of input connections between the two can be a good idea as most camcorder video will not have to be of the highest quality anyway.
On the audio front, many digital receivers are coming with surround sound decoders built into the unit and that is usually the simplest solution. Just make sure that the digital connection for sound from your system components matches the input connection on the receiver. Usually it is either an optical or coaxial connection. Just be sure that whichever it is, they match on both ends.
Then be sure that you have enough speaker connections to drive your speaker setup. If you like to use the newer 6.1 or 7.1 surround sound system format you will need enough speaker connections on your receiver to power all those separate speakers.
Once you have the right equipment with the right connections, actually installing the receiver is a matter of staying organized as you go. It may be a good idea to label each cable set on both ends to remind you what goes where. And be sure to keep the polarity straight when you install the speakers too. Each speaker has a "+" and "-" terminal, so make sure that you match them up correctly with the corresponding terminal on the receiver or your sound quality will suffer.
Following a few well planned guidelines and being as organized as possible can help you to not only buy the right digital receiver equipment for your home theater setup, but also install it correctly as well.
The iPod is a new and wonderful way to store and listen to music. Once you've stored your favorite songs, wouldn't it be nice to share your collection with others. What you need to do is connect your player to your home stereo. To listen to your portable music player in your living room, you need to connect it either to a pair of speakers or to your existing home entertainment system.
The first option for listening to your portable player in your living room is to connect it to an audio docking system. These are systems that include a built in amplifier and a pair of speakers, slide your player into the dock and it will play through the docking system's speakers. Most of these docking systems are designed specifically for Apple's iPod, in theory; they should work with any portable music player. You want to make sure that the connector on the bottom of your player fits into the matching connector in the docking station.
Connecting to Powered Speakers
The secret behind all those docking systems is they are really just powered speakers with connecting cables. And you can use any set of powered speakers in the same fashion. The speakers you connect to your personal computer are powered speakers, so call because they don't need an external amplifier. The amplifier is built into the speakers themselves, making them self powered. Just as you can connect any PC to any set of powered speakers, you can connect any portable music player to the same speakers. All you need is a cable. This is a quick way to play your portable music play through a set of larger speaker. Just connect any set of computer speaker to the headphone jack of your music player. Instead of pumping the signal through a set of headphones, your music now plays through the connected set of powered speaker. It's that simple.
Connecting with Normal Audio Cables
For many people, setting up a pair of computer speakers in their living room is a less than ideal solution. You'll get much better sound by playing your portable music player through your existing home audio or home theater system. In the instance, you don't connect your player directly to your home speakers because those speakers aren't powered. They get their power from your audio receiver or amplifier, so that's where you want to plug in your music player. All you have to do is run a cable from the headphone jack to your music player into a set of right and left audio inputs on the back of your receiver. Switch your receiver to the appropriate input, press play on your iPod, and you get terrific sound fed through your entire audio system.
Both Jim Johnson & Gregg Hall are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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