How to Buy a Home Theater System

So now you've got a CD player, a DVD and digital video recorders (DVR), a plasma-screen TV, and a satellite dish. The perfect way to tie all these media components together is with a state-of-the-art home theater. Everything from low-end theaters-in-a-box to custom systems costing thousands of dollars is available. Here's how to create the ultimate private screening room.

Things You'll Need

  • List of current components
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Instructions

    • 1

      Take stock of your current components. A home theater system connects video sources (DVD, VCR, DVR, and cable or satellite boxes), a TV or monitor, and a set of five or six speakers through a home theater receiver. Many people also plug audio components (CD and MP3 players) into their receiver. It may be that all you need is a receiver and speakers.

    • 2

      Look at your space. If you have a dedicated room for the home theater, get a more powerful system (measured in watts per channel). For a bedroom, 40 watts is plenty; 40 to 80 watts is good for an average-sized living room. Get at least an 80-watt receiver if you have a large room with high ceilings.

    • 3

      Buy a receiver with at minimum Digital Theater System (DTS) or Dolby Digital. (Dolby Digital and DTS are competing, incompatible formats for home theater sound. Check your DVDs--they're more likely to have Dolby Digital sound.) Avoid receivers with Dolby Surround or Dolby ProLogic unless they also have Dolby Digital. Dolby Digital EX and DTS-ES are the next step up; THX is the top of the line.

    • 4

      Check out the universal remote that comes with the receiver. You'll want to operate several components with this remote, so make sure it's easy to use and makes sense.

    • 5

      Listen carefully to the speakers when you shop. Six speakers make up the ideal home theater: left and right front-channel speakers, left and right surround speakers, a subwoofer, and a center-channel speaker. The center-channel speaker is probably the most important, since most movie dialogue comes from it. If you're watching the bottom line, forgo the subwoofer.

    • 6

      Consider theater-in-a-box systems if your space is average to small or you're technically challenged. Combining receiver, speakers and cables (and often a DVD player), these systems offer easy setup and operation as well as a smaller price tag. Read up on these systems online or in specialty magazines, since their quality ranges from surprisingly good to very bad.

Tips & Warnings

  • Got kids? Dolby Digital includes a feature for latenight viewing that plays dialogue and quiet scenes a little louder, and noisy scenes a little quieter.

  • Always hook up components by the connectors that provide the highest-quality signal. For video components, they are (in descending order) component-video, S-Video, composite-video, and antenna/cable inputs. For audio components, they are digital optical, coaxial, and RCA connectors.

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Comments

  • lastgunslinger Jan 30, 2009
    I've been thinking about getting a home theater system for a while now. I'll definitely have to come back to this later for reference. Thanks for the article.
  • Simone Pierre Jan 28, 2009
    Thank you for the info ,I am actually considering buying one still contemplating.This information helps.
  • jonathan Jan 15, 2007
    I need to know how to hook up extra speakers to my cable box and there are wires but i dont know how to hook it.
  • jonathan Jan 15, 2007
    I need to know how to hook up extra speakers to my cable box and there are wires but i dont know how to hook it.

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