How to Install a Home Theater System

Home theater systems can come to bring the movie-going experience right into your living room. Any home theater system is only as good as its location and design. Use this guide to install your home theater system and get the most out of your equipment.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Power strips
• Speakers
• Television
• Speaker wire

1. Plan out your setup. Before you start unpacking speakers and moving furniture, it's a good idea to have a placement scheme in mind.

2. Consider the location of the outlets in your home theatre room. If possible, choose a room powered by a single circuit breaker to reduce the risk of damage due to the overload your home theatre system might cause. Supplement the number of outlets with power strips.

3. Place your TV. The television should be placed where it can be viewed straight on. The center of the screen should be aligned with the eyes of a seated person.

4. Place your speakers before you start hooking things up. If there are hearing-imparied people in your household, place the speakers so that someone could sit directly next to at least one speaker.

5. Position your central channel speaker above or below your TV. If you put it on top of your TV, make sure the front edge of the speaker is aligned evenly with the front of your TV screen.

6. Place your front left and right speakers at equal distances on either side of your TV. The height of your left and right speakers should match the height of your central channel speaker.

7. Put your surround speakers at equal distances to the left and right of where you would normally sit and view your TV. Do not point your surround speakers directly at your viewing position. Try pointing them toward the back of the room or toward the ceiling.

8. Place your subwoofer to the side of the room, about halfway between your viewing position and your TV. You can adjust the bass reaction of your subwoofer by moving it closer to a wall to increase the bass, or by moving it away from a wall to decrease it.

9. Connect your speakers and theater system by running flat speaker cables down the length of your baseboard or lower portion of your wall. Consult your owner's manual for exact instructions.

Tips & Warnings

• Try to choose a room with ample outlets. Plugging too many power strips into one outlet can cause overload and creates a fire hazard.
• It is best not to set up your home theater system in a well-lit room with a lot of windows. If this is your only option, install good thick curtains to block sunlight.
• Your owner's manual should provide system-specific suggestions for the placement of your speakers.
• Try to put your speakers in areas where they are protected from being knocked over.
• Do not hook your main power source up to an outlet that is controlled by a light switch.
• There is no one perfect scheme for placing speakers.
• You will probably have to test and rearrange your speakers multiple times until you optimally match your speaker configuration with the acoustic capabilities of the room.

[putz57]

on 11/29/2008 have a bravia 576 all speakers work when i watch DVD but no sound when watching tv we also have dish network box but it is not directly hooked to tv

[sflhauling]

on 8/21/2007 Can someone give me a diagram on how to hook the componets