How to Connect Home Theater Components

Hooking up your Home Theater receiver to your dvd player, gaming console, cable box etc.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Components and your cables that you choose.

1. First learn about your cables that you are going to be using. A HDMI cable can be used to carry sound as well as video from your components to your receiver. Optical cables will provide high quality Dolby Digital sound from your components to your receiver. RCA can also be used for sound and will usually be red and white in color, however they will not give you Dolby Digital sound. For video you can use HDMI, Component cables, S-Video, or the yellow rca type. Remember to only use one of these on each component. Do not connect any cables with the power on to these devices, you could damage the electronics.

2. Connection of DVD player & Gaming Consoles: For sound I prefer to use an optical cable from the optical out on the dvd player to one of the optical inputs on your receiver. For video I prefer to use the component cables which are blue, green, and red in color. Connect from the out on the dvd player to the component in on your receiver. You will then need to connect a component cable from your out on the receiver to the input on your television. This connection will carry all the video to your television and will only have to be made one time.

3. Gaming Console: Most modern consoles such as the Xbox 360 will use component cables (blue,green,red) for the video and the optical for sound which is dolby digital. The steps for connecting the DVD player is the same for modern consoles. Older consoles may use the rca type of connection, if so you will connect the red, white, and yellow from the out of the console to the input on your receiver. The red and white are for sound and the yellow is for video. You may also have to connect a yellow rca from the output of the receiver to the input on the back of the television. You will have to change the video input on the television ever time in order to see the video, the input number will match the connection on the back of the tv.

4. Cable Box/Satellite receiver: Connect your coax cable to the in on your box, this brings in the sound as well as the video. Then either use the best connection available for video most likely it will be component (blue,green,red) or S-Video. Use the out on the box to one of the inputs on your receiver. Then connect the sound using another optical from the out on the box to one of the ins on the receiver.

Tips & Warnings

• Don't forget that if you have the HDMI ability that you only need that type of cable. It carries the video as well as the dolby digital sound. However, most of the time some of your electronics will not use the HDMI.
• Component cables will carry the same quality video as HDMI.
• Don't break the bank on cables, buy good ones but do not let the salesman work you over on high dollar cables. Good cables will do just fine. You will not hear the difference between a $30 optical cable or a $100 optical cable.
• Don't buy junk cables either and try to avoid the use of rca if possible.
• Some receivers are not capable of switching the video streams. If this is the case you will have to run matching video cables from the video out on the receiver to the inputs on your television. Also remember to set the video input on the television to match the input on the back of the television. Otherwise you will hear sound but have no video.
• Do not make any connections with the power on. Wait until everything is complete to power up.
• Use a surge protector you wont regret it. I have lost expensive electronics in the past due to not using one.

[sylvestri09]

on 8/11/2009 I always found this hard to do....thanks for the helpful advice.