How to Set Up a Home Theater System

Authored by: Support.com Tech Pro Team

1. Introduction

Sometimes you want to watch a cinematic experience in the comfort of your home. In order to do this you need to set up a home theater system.

A home theater system is the integration of sound and video. It allows you to watch your favorite movies and music with unrivaled picture and audio. The home theater has a receiver with HDMI and video ports to route and connect all of your components easily. It also has multiple speakers to give you an audio experience similar to that of a movie.

This guide will help you review what you need to do to set up your home theater. We're going to use the most common home theater system setups to ease you into learning about it, but keep in mind that there are more complex theaters out there.

Tools You'll Need:

• A paperclip
• iPhone charging cable
• Access to a computer with iTunes installed
• Any other non-consumable tools needed
• Comment out tools section if no tools are necessary

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Supplies You'll Need:

• Zip ties
• Any other consumable supplies
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Before You Begin:

• You must have access to a computer with iTunes installed.
• You must have that thing for the other thing so you can do the thing.

You must have this thing before you whatever.

• Title of GP User Should Do First
• Title of GP User Should Do First
• Each individual prereq should have its own box like this. Not all will contain multiple links.
• Comment out prerequisites section if no prereqs are necessary

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What is a Home Theater System

A home theater is made up of several different parts all working together to bring you the best viewing and listening experience.

Receiver or Tuner

This is the 'hub', or the central point all of your equipment connects to. Your Receiver will take in inputs from various sources, and route them to various outputs. For example, you connect your game console to your receiver, and your receiver plays the sound through the speakers connected to it, and displays the video on the television which is also connected to it.

Speakers

Of course, in order to hear anything you need speakers. Available in 5.1 or 7.1 configurations with surround sound. You'll need a center channel, a right channel, and a left channel at the very least.

Power

You'll need something to deliver power to your home theater system. There are different degrees of power and protection. A surge protector offers decent protection from power issues and multiple plugs to power all your devices.

Source

Something that generates audio or video that connects to your AV Receiver. Your Blu-Ray player is a source of audio and video for the movies you play on it. Your cable box is a source of audio and video for television, and so on.

Cabling

There are multiple kinds of cabling available. Some are better than others.

HDMI: A common type of cable used to connect home theater equipment. Stands for "High Definition Multimedia Interface".

Optical:A common type of cable and connection for home theater equipment. Sometimes called TOSLINK or Digital Optical. It is a fiber-optic cable for audio.

Coax:A common type of cable to connect from your antenna, satellite dish, or cable provider to your decoder box.

2. Select an Appropriate Power Source for the System

While you simply need to power every device in your home theater setup, thinking about how to protect your investment from power surges is also something to consider.

This is an area where a little planning goes a very long way:

• How many devices will you be connecting?
• If you have six total devices, a small four plug power strip will not suffice.
• Will you want to expand and add more devices later?
• Most people will end up adding to and expanding with more devices in the future. You'll want to have extra outlets available to accommodate your future needs.
• Do you want an easy way to turn on and off your whole setup?
• Some power delivery devices will have front-facing power switches, or readouts for how power delivery is happening.
• What shape of plugs do you have?
• While most devices have moved away from the large, boxy AC to DC adapters that stick out of the wall or hang off the socket, they can still pose a problem. Depending on the type of power delivery accessory you choose, these types of plugs might interfere with neighboring outlets. Some power delivery device manufacturers have taken this into account, and rotated the plugs to make it less of an issue.

All power delivery devices wear out over time. Some may wear out more slowly, but expect to have to replace this part of your system every couple of years to avoid problems.

Different types of Power Protection

There are 3 different types of power distribution and protection devices.

It can be extremely dangerous to connect one power delivery device to another, or 'daisy-chain' them. Always plug these devices directly into a wall outlet, and not into another power delivery device.

Outlet Duplicator / Power Strip

• Very low cost.
• Minimal, if any, protection. Most power surges are just passed through to your equipment which can damage or ultimately destroy them. Some models have a small fuse in them which is destroyed when a particularly strong surge occurs.

Surge Protectors

• Average cost.
• Provides decent protection to your devices. Some of these types tend to offer some extra protection as well for cable lines or networking lines. Many come with simple warranties that protect against power surge damage should your devices incur any while connected to one of these.

Power Conditioners

• Very high cost.
• Provides not only decent protection, but also 'conditions' the power, so there's little if any noise or power fluctuations introduced to your equipment. While subjective and very dependent on what is coming to your equipment in the first place, some people feel it can help with picture and sound quality.
• These tend to be aesthetically pleasing, and integrate well with modern home theater and surround sound setups.

3. Television Placement

You'll want to have a decent home theater cabinet for all of your components.

Gone are the days of clunky CRT televisions and giant cabinets that you have to wrestle to customize and get everything to fit. You can still have a giant cabinet for your 80 inch Smart TV but now you can choose whether to put it on a stand or mount it to the cabinet. You can even hang your television above the cabinet entirely by mounting it to your wall.

Whatever your choice for your television, make sure it has enough room to breath as it can get hot and that you can see it properly.

• Positioning:  Keep the television screen away from overhead lights and direct sunlight to eliminate glare. Avoid putting your TV at a severe viewing angle. Keep it centered and straight on to the main viewing area.
• Distance: While opinions vary among experts, the most widely accepted rule for optimal distance when watching television is attained by applying this formula:
• Television size (diagonal measurement) / 7 = number of feet away for best viewing. For example: If you have a 65 inch television, you'd divide that by 7 and get a 9 foot distance away from the television for the best viewing.
• Height: The height of a television should be centered around your eye level. So, if you consider a regular couch will sit about 16–20" off the floor, and an adult's eye level is about 2 feet above that height, you get that the optimum sight line for a television is centered at about 3.5 feet above the floor.

If you don't want to get the math involved, just level your television where your gaze is in the center of the screen.

4. Component Placement

Your receiver and sources are most likely going to be nearby each other either on a shelf or stacked in a cabinet. Make sure each unit has room to air out the heat and that none of the cables are straining or pinched. You'll want to make sure these also have access to your remote's field.

Avoiding an Overheating System

• To avoid your system heating up too much you need to give it space. Make sure your unit has good clearance on the top and sides to dissipate heat and allow cooler air to flow around the case.
  

• If your system is frequently overheating you may need to modify the shelf you have it on or even consider installing computer case fans to push hot air out and cool air in.
  

• Heat rises. If stacking your equipment or keeping it close to each other, make sure the hottest piece is on the top. That way that piece of equipment doesn't push heat into the others.
  

5. Speaker Placement

Your speakers are another beast entirely. Their set up depends on how many, what kind, and what your intent is.

Luckily, speakers are often named after their location. For example, Front Speakers will be directly in front of your system, either above or below the television.

When placing your speakers, make sure you have enough wire for a little slack and that they aren't strained between points or crimped, bent, or wedged.

5.1

A 5.1 Surround Sound system has 5 speakers and a subwoofer. A front center speaker will go near your television. You'll then have a left and right center speaker set which will go on either side of your system. The last two speakers will either go beside where you sit or slightly behind it.

7.1

A 7.1 system has 7 speakers and a subwoofer but, just like in a 5.1 setup, the side speakers are placed to the left and right of your seating position and face directly towards you. The additional rear speakers are positioned behind you, facing forward. Position both pairs of speakers one to two feet above ear level for best performance.

6. Connect the Parts of the Home Theater Together

There are multiple different cables you can use to connect all the parts of your home theater. You might have speaker cables, you might have component cables. Nearly every modern piece of home theater equipment will have the option to connect with an HDMI cable now. You should try to use the best quality equipment that you can get a hold of.

Connect Your Television to Your Reciever

1. Let's begin by connecting your television to the receiver. In most cases, most people prefer to use the simple, excellent HDMI connection between their home theater receiver and their TV. Plug one end into the back of your TV.
   

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2. Many TVs have multiple HDMI ports. Your receiver is going to control all of this, now. Just use the port for HDMI 1.
3. Connect the other end of the cable to your receiver. You're looking for something labeled HDMI Out; it's usually a different color.
   

Connect Your Sources

1. Now that your tv is hooked up, let's hook up your sources. Connect each of your sources (CD, DVD, game console, turntable, etc.) to the appropriate connector on the back of your receiver. Many connectors will have labels to guide you.

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2. If you are using one, connect the coax cable for FM radio, and the 2-wire AM antenna lead on your tuner.
   

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2. Please be aware that the labels on the ports of your receiver are only a guide. These ports can accept any type of device being plugged into them and can easily be renamed within your receiver's settings.
   
   For example, a port labeled "CD" or "GAME" does not indicate that this is the only type of device it can accept.

Connect Your Speakers

1. Connect each speaker to your receiver. Pay close attention to positive and negative markings on each speaker wire, as not all speaker wire is color coded like the speaker inputs are on your receiver.
   

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2. Depending on the type of speaker terminals your receiver has, insert the wires following the illustration below.
   

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2. Connect your subwoofer. This tends to be a single RCA-style cable.
   

Connect Your Power

1. With your system plugged in, you can finally power it. Your receiver may have a non-removable power cable attached to the rear. If it does not, connect the supplied power cable to the rear of your receiver. Connect the other end to your power management device.
   

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2. Connect power for all your other devices to your power management device as well.

7. Test the Home Theater

1. Turn on all of your home theater system's devices.
2. Make sure each audio device works. Play some music!
   

1. Make sure each video device works. Set up a movie to watch or turn on the cable! This also gives you a chance to cycle through your inputs and make sure each one works.
   

1. You can make sure the speakers are in the correct locations by adjusting their positions slightly.
2. Test any other device you have setup as part of your home theater system.

It is critical to perform this step before moving forward, as we will be cleaning up the cables behind, next. After this, while it is entirely possible to make changes, it is a much greater hassle.

8. Keeping Your Cables Organized

We can now begin bundling together and making the cables behind your system neat and tidy.

You can use one, or multiple different methods to give the look, and accessibility you want to the wiring of your home theater or computer system.

Cable bundling

Cable bundling will most likely be the first step in cleaning up the cables from your home theater or computer installation.

Cable Ties

Sometimes called zip ties, these are plastic, with a groove on one side, and a simple locking mechanism on the other. After securing the cables, cut off the remaining end of the cable tie. Given their incredibly low price, they are disposable. When you need to add another cable, you cut the old one off, and just use a new one.

Velcro Straps

Much like cable ties, a simple Velcro strap has hooks on one side, felt on the other. The benefit is they can be easily unbundled or added to, without cutting the strip and having to use another.

Raceways

Sometimes called cable tunnels, these are for where cables are exposed, such as between your television and receiver, or going to your speakers. They place a cover over your cables to hide them in an aesthetically pleasing way. Many have little notches to lock your cables into.

Adhesive Pads

Small, sticky pads to attach your bundles to. Some come built into various straps or ties, some are reusable. Some examples are adhesive putties or double-sided tape.
These can be used to attach cable bundles, power adapters, or other equipment to the back of a desk or entertainment hutch.

Service Loops and Slack

Leave slack at your bundle points, these are called "service loops". Do not tighten down any strap too much, you want some give and movement in case something shifts, and you don't want to accidentally cut, bend, crimp, or otherwise damage your cables.

Label Everything

During your bundling process, it's often a good idea to use small labels near the ends of each cable, just in case you need to disconnect something in the future. You can use a label printer to make these, but a small strip of masking tape works just as well.

For example, on your Blu-ray player's HDMI cable, a little loop of tape saying "Blu-ray" where it connects to your Blu-ray player, and where it connects to the receiver, can help you immensely should you replace the player, or the receiver, somewhere down the line. Likewise for power cables.