How to Connect Home Theater Components

A home theater system can have many different components. At a minimum, the system will have a television, an AV receiver, surround sound speakers and a cable box or satellite receiver. However, you can also set up other components like video game systems, computers and light switches. No matter what components your home theater system has, you can connect the components in the same way.

Things You'll Need

• 1 audio/video cable per component
• Speaker wire
• Home theater to PC unit

Instructions

1. Look at the back of your television and all of your components to determine what type of connection cables they use. Most components have several options. For the best picture and sound, connect your components with the best possible connection types. From highest quality to lowest are HDMI, component video, S-video, composite video and RF. Have enough cables for the connections you want to connect all of your components.

2. Plug the TV audio cable into the audio out jacks on the TV and the other end into the audio in jacks on the receiver. Then, plug the TV video cable into the video out jacks on the receiver and the other end into the video in jacks on the TV.

3. Plug the video cable for your video source, such as a Blu-ray player, into the matching output ports on the back of the source. If using HDMI, only one HDMI cable is necessary for both audio and video. Plug the other end of the cable into the corresponding input port on the back of the AV receiver. Connect the output ports of each component to the corresponding input ports on the back of the receiver with the cables you choose. If you don't have enough video in jacks on the receiver for all of your components, you can purchase a video switcher box to switch between components.

4. Plug the speaker cables or wires into the corresponding audio out jacks on the AV receiver and insert the other ends into your home theater speakers. The appropriate cables for this come with the speakers. If they didn't, consult the speaker manual to determine the best type of cable for your speakers. Speaker cables can be audio or digital and the two aren't interchangeable, so make sure you have the right cables.

5. Connect a home theater PC unit to an HDMI jack on the AV receiver, if you want to connect computers, cellphones, modems or routers to your home theater system.

Tips & Warnings

• Study the manual for your AV receiver to determine the best setup for your system. Every system is different.

References

• Home Theater Network: The Ultimate Connection Diagram
• Home Theater: Connecting With Your New AV Receiver