How to Hook Up an Entertainment Center

With all the plugs, wires, inputs and outputs, it's easy to feel overwhelmed when trying to hook up your entertainment center. It's really not as hard as you might think, and once you learn a few basics, it turns into a very manageable task. This how-to article will serve as a guideline for hooking up your personal entertainment center.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• A stereo receiver with the appropriate inputs and outputs
• The necessary wires to connect the components together
• Wire strippers
• Zip ties
• A second person to help move the center

1. 
    
   This entertainment center has 4 main components - the TV, the receiver, the Wii, and the DVD/VCR player. Note that the cd changer on the top shelf is not being hooked up.

   Take an inventory of all components that you'll be hooking up to your stereo receiver. This entertainment center has a Nintendo Wii, a DVD/VCR player, and a TV that will be hooked up to the reciever.

2. 
    

   Look at the back panel of your receiver to see how many different sources. The round red and white plugs are analog audio inputs. The single round yellow plug is a composite video input or output. The round black plugs labeled DVD/CD Digital is for a digital coaxial audio input, while the square hole to it's right accepts a digital optical audio input. From top to bottom, this receiver has analog audio inputs for a CD player. The VCR/DVD player and TV/Sat hookups include analog audio as well as composite video hookups. The DVD/CD hookups include analog and digital audio inputs and composite video inputs. Finally, there is a composite video connection labeled 'monitor out' which is used to send video to your tv from either of the other three video inputs.

3. 
    

   Now that you're familiar with what inputs the receiver can handle, you need to figure out what outputs each source has. The DVD player has a Digital Coax audio output, as well as an analog audio output. For video, it has composite, s-video, and component video connections.

4. 
    

   The Nintendo Wii has analog audio and composite video outputs.

5. 
    

   The TV has analog audio ouputs and composite video inputs.

6. 
    

   Now it's time to hook each component up to the receiver. I'll start with the DVD player. You always want to use the highest quality connection available. Since the DVD player has a digital audio output, and the DVD/CD source on the receiver accepts a digital audio input, we will use this connection to send audio from the DVD player to the receiver. Use a digital audio cable to connect these two plugs. Although the dvd player has s-video and component video ouputs, the receiver only accepts a composite video input for the DVD/CD source. Connect these two plugs using a composite video cable.

7. 
    

   The Wii is the next source to hook up. The only to video inputs left are the TV/Sat inputs, and the DVD/VCR inputs. Since it would be logical to use the TV/Sat inputs for the TV, we'll use the DVD/VCR inputs for the Wii. Simply plug the three plugs from the Wii into their respective DVD/VCR inputs.

8. 
    

   Sometimes you'll want to watch a tv program, but have the audio play through the stereo. In order to do this, first connect a set of analog audio cable to the analog audio outputs on the back of the TV.

9. 
    
   Ignore the fact that the cables from the DVD player to the receiver have changed. It is still hooked up as described above.

   Then plug the analog audio cables into the analog audio inputs for the TV/Sat on the back of the receiver.

10. 
     

    Now that all the audio and video inputs are hooked up, we need to connect the 'monitor out' connection on the receiver to a video input on the TV. This will allow us to view video from the DVD player or Wii on the TV. Connect a composite video cable to the monitor ouput connection on the reciever.

11. 
     

    Then connect the other end to one of the video inputs on the back of the TV

12. 
     

    Hooking up the speakers is the next step. Run speaker wire from each speaker to the back of the receiver, then connect the wires to the correct speaker jack.

13. 
     

    Most subwoofers have an amplifier built into the enclosure, and only require a single rca cable to be ran from the receiver to the sub. Connect the rca cable (it looks just like a composite video or analog audio cable) to the 'sub out' and then plug it to the input on the subwoofer.

14. 
     

    Finally connect the cable wire to your tv.

Tips & Warnings

• Always use the best quality connection available between a source and the receiver. Audio connections, in order from best to worst, are HDMI, digital (analog or optical), then analog. Video connections, in order from best to worst, are HDMI, component, s-video, then composite video.
• HDMI cables carry both audio and video, so using them whenever possible will simplify wiring.
• Use cable ties to prevent your cables from getting tangled up.
• When hooking up your speaker wires to your receiver, you can tap the ends of the wire to the positive and negative terminals of a AA battery to see what speaker the wires leads to. The speaker will make a crackling noise when you touch the battery to it's wires.
• As you're hooking up the sources to your receiver, write down what source goes to what input. It will be useful to use as a reference.
• Make sure not to use metal wire ties to wrap your cables up. The wire could rub through and damage the wires and/or equiment
• This guide is only an example for reference, and the steps you take to hook up your entertainment center will likely be different.