How to Hook up your Home Theater Receiver for the best Surround Sound Experience

If you're new here, the way our How-To guides work is simple: you click a link, say, for Home Theater Receivers (which brought you here). The first page contains a short introduction and will probably start by identifying things, things like components, inputs, outputs, cables, and etc. After that, you'll find some navigation links at the bottom of ever page allowing you to continue to the next page in the How-To or select any page via a drop-down box.

What is a Receiver?

A receiver is that big, heavy thing that you plug your speakers and other components into (like a DVD player, TV, CD player, Xbox, PlayStation, iPod, and etc.). Its the "brain" of the show, really. The idea of connecting all your components to a receiver is the concept of audio/video switching, allowing you to switch to different video sources (like TV, DVD, camcorder) on your TV and thus changing the audio source accordingly - all without touching anything but the receiver. Of course, the main purpose behind audio/video switching with a receiver is to drive audio to external speakers, like surround sound or stereo speakers.

Most receivers have a plethora of inputs; up to 8 speakers and a subwoofer (more commonly, 5.1, or five speakers and a subwoofer), several video inputs, and even HDMI inputs. You could plug your Xbox, Plasma, and DVD player into the receiver and use one remote to switch between all the different video sources (games, TV, DVD video) and have your speakers pump out surround-sound. Let's start with inputs and outputs. If you don't understand something, read through the entire How-To as most of it will be explained in detail. If you still don't get something, check out the Glossary and our Forum.

Keep in mind that a receiver is the hub of your entire home theatre, so this How-To will actually guide you through the basics of connecting your complete home theater.

So what the heck is all this stuff on the back of my receiver? Click on the picture below to zoom in!

That's the back side of a big, bad receiver. Its a Harman Kardon AVR-247 - a great piece of home theater equipment, aimed at the mid to entry level market. It'll run you about $400.
Go ahead and click on it to see a much-enlarged picture!

Identifying Inputs and Outputs on a Receiver

If you don't know what any of that 'stuff is, let me break it down from left-to-right, top-to-bottom:

ANTENNA INPUTS: The first three inputs are for antennas. An FM antenna cable would slide on to the first jack while two speaker wires would plug into the remaining slots for AM. Of course you don't have to plug your antennas in, but if you'd like AM/FM reception through your speakers, you'll want to go ahead and do that. These are standard connections, so if you lose one of your antennas, just go buy another for a few bucks.


COMPOSITE VIDEO: You've probably heard of composite video. Its a very basic video connection used by most any component (TV, DVD, VCR especially). Its common and its cheap. As such, its very low quality. Composite uses an RCA cable for video (yellow) and two more RCA cables for audio (red and white, stereo). The problem is that a composite video cable combines luminance and chrominance in the same cable, reducing the quality of the picture. You lose a lot of sharpness, and the color begins to degrade from the original source. Its useful when you need the extra input or the device you're connecting only has composite video. Otherwise, use something else, like component video. Sounds similar; very different.


S-VIDEO: S-Video is next in line after composite. It uses a different type of connector (five pins in a circle) and gives you marginally better video quality. It is also a video- only cable, so you'll need to plug in audio separately. In this case, you'll probably use a pair of red and white RCA cables for your audio inputs. More on that when next.



COMPOSITE AUDIO: Here we have a ton of composite audio inputs. These inputs use left channel and right channel RCA cables, typically red and white. They look just like the yellow composite video cable, and you could even use them for video and the yellow for audio, but let's keep the color scheme how it is ;) Composite audio is the bottom-of-the-barrel in audio. Its perfectly fine for most use, but if you're looking for high quality surround sound, you don't want composite. Game systems, like the Wii or Xbox, and very basic DVD players are a perfect match for composite audio. The same goes to VCRs, CD players, and anything that only has a composite audio output. Plus, if you don't have surround sound, or your receiver is only two channels (2.1, stereo sound), you won't be able to use anything but composite audio. Note that there is a composite audio input under each composite video input so that it is easy to match them up. Plug them in the wrong inputs and you won't get sound when you're on that particular video input.


SACD: Here we have one of the least-used features of a modern receiver: 6 channel direct input. This is only used for two purposes: SACD or DVD Audio. SACD is an acronym for Super Audio CD. It is a proprietary audio format developed by Sony for special CDs that are recorded in 5.1 surround sound. That means you need a CD or DVD/CD player that supports SACDs, a receiver with SACD support (as in the picture), and of course Super Audio CD's. DVD Audio is the same idea, different brand, different media (its a DVD, not a CD!). DVD Audio discs are special DVDs that are recorded in 5.1 surround sound and can only be played by devices with support for them. These CDs go all the way up to 7.1 surround sound, meaning you would need to have two front, two rear, two side speakers and a subwoofer to enjoy full 7.1 surround sound. Most receivers support up to 7.1 now but you won't find DVDs with that kind of capability for movies. 5.1 surround is still the defacto standard, so don't run out and buy more speakers any time soon.

DMP BRIDGE: You could skip this little item because it is unique to this brand of receiver (Harman Kardon). "The Bridge" is a proprietary connection they developed for you to connect an iPod. You need to buy a separate component that includes a docking station and special cables to connect the iPod. It fully integrates with the receiver, displaying menus and songs on the front LCD screen of the receiver. This allows you to easily pump your tunes through your speakers, whether it be stereo sound or full surround sound. Of course, the music on your iPod is stereo sound, so the best you can get is simulated surround sound or stereo surround; the same music playing in the front two channels is put through the rear and center channels. Some receivers do this more intelligently than others, but more on that later.

FIBER OPTIC and DIGITAL COAX: Here we have our high-end sound inputs/outputs. Basically the same performance wise, you have fiber optic connections (with the square shape) and digital coaxial (just like an RCA cable). Both of these are 100% digital, whereas composite is analog. The only way you can get true surround sound from any source is by using one of these connections (or the SACD/DVD Audio option). Almost all DVD players these days have either optical or digital coaxial outputs (sometimes, both). Many high definition cable and satellite boxes also come with these connections so you can enjoy 5.1 surround sound on high definition channels. Choosing between the two, there's really no different in audio quality, so feel free to use what you'd like (or what you're forced to).

AC POWER: I don't think I need an image for the next plug. Its a pair of power inputs. One is for powering the receiver, the other for whatever you'd like. This way, when you turn on the receiver, you give power to the other device (be it a DVD player, CD player, cable box, whatever). I don't necessarily recommend this unless it specifically suits your needs. It is useful if you're running low on outlets, of course.

REMOTE: Something else you'll never use: D-bus RC-5 input/output. This is used for infrared remote controls to take over your home theater system. Honestly, its not something any of us will ever use. Some of the real high-end junkies might be using something for it, but I've never even come across a device that uses this technology. Stick to the remote that came with your unit, or buy a quality universal remote control. There's no need for this option.


PRE-OUTS: Pre-outs, right under the Remote in/out. Pre-outs are used when you'd like to add an amplifier to your system to boost the power (and hence volume/audio quality). Average users will not use this for anything but the subwoofer preout. You'll want to run a subwoofer cable from your subwoofer to the subwoofer pre-out to provide it with the right frequencies. This is the proper way to connect your subwoofer to your surround sound system. The other inputs won't be used unless you plan on adding an amplifier. This is highly unnecessary for home use. You might add an amp if you're trying to fill a room the size of a small house with enough sound, but you're not, right?




SPEAKER INPUTS: Here we finally get to the meat of the system: the speaker inputs! Harman Kardon receivers use bind posts for connecting speakers, as seen in the picture. They work by being loosened up as your turn them counter-clockwise, then you sneak the speaker wire in underneath the caps and tighten them back up by turning clockwise. This'll give your speaker wire a nice tug fit that probably won't loosen up on itself over time. Other brands may use other types of connectors, but bind posts are very common. You might have been able to tell this is a 7.1 channel receiver because of the speaker inputs. You've got room for 2 front left and right speakers, 2 rear left and right speakers, a center channel, and two left and right "surround" channels which are placed somewhere in between your front and rear speakers ("side surround", or 7.1). If you have enough speakers, you can go ahead and plug in those extra 2 side ones, but they won't play any sound at all on a 5.1 DVD. You would need a DVD that supports 7.1 surround sound, and at this time, there just isn't a market for it. CDs will gladly blast stereo surround through all 7 speakers, though, so for some larger rooms, that's an advantage.



COMPONENT VIDEO: Our final set of connectors for this receiver: component video . The best video you can get next to composite or s-video. You'll notice its a set of three cables (all for video), usually Red, Green and Blue. Don't think that's what the cable does, though - it separates the video signal by luminance and two separate color channels. In the past, component did it in fact represent R, G, B (splitting the primary colors in transmit and recombining them at the destination device), but that is not used in current component video connections. Component video can carry high definition signals, all the way up to 1080p, so it is the most cost effective and readily available high definition input. Not seen on this receiver are DVI and HDMI, the two all-digital video connections.





HDMI: HDMI is the newest, fastest, sharpest video and audio connection available today. Its the only cable that can carry audio and video in one - not to mention, in high definition. HDMI must be supported by the source and the display you're connecting it to to use all of its features. Not all DVD players, cable boxes, or receivers support both audio and video in HDMI. Its becoming more and more of a standard now to support both. The advantage is clear: less cable clutter, higher quality audio and video. You can get up to 1080p high definition video and 7.1 surround sound through an HDMI cable. Newer cable and satellite boxes, DVD players, high definition DVD players, and more expensive receivers support the full capability of HDMI. Its the best you can get as all-digital goes.


DVI: The last connection for this article is DVI. DVI is also all digital like HDMI, but it cannot process audio signals. HDMI may provide a technically superior image, but I don't think anyone could tell the difference. DVI supports high definition video all the way up to 1080p, just like HDMI. Its being used less frequently now, but if you've bought a new computer or video card for your PC recently, it probably has a DVI (or two) port on it. Most computer monitors use DVI now and video cards have followed suit. HDMI is edging its way into the PC market, but its dominance is seen in the home theater arena.