Advanced home theater checklist

By Ed Tittel

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The primary elements in any good home theater system are:
•    An audio/video (A/V) receiver to handle the routing of audio and video signals from playback equipment such as DVD players, CD players, various tape players, and set-top boxes for TV, to output equipment including loudspeakers (for sound) and TV sets or video projectors (for picture).
•    Various pieces of playback equipment from which to obtain data for sound and images. That can include multimedia devices such as videotape players, camcorders, DVD players, and so forth, as well as music/sound devices such as CD players, various types of audio tape players (DAT, cassette, reel-to-reel, and so forth), music players (MP3 and other digital formats, including computer-based formats), and so on. Digital cameras or memory card readers will often be hooked up to obtain still images for viewing in an entertainment center. Some audiophiles may even include a turntable for playback of vinyl disks.
•    One or more image output devices, which usually means a television set or video projector, which may or may not also have audio outputs (which, again, may or may not be used, depending on your setup). For an HD home theater, this means some kind of television set or video projector that can output high definition video and audio, if not at today’s maximum 1080p (1920x1080, non-interlaced) resolution, then perhaps at 1080i (1920x1080 interlaced) or 720p (1280x720, non-interlaced) resolutions, along with support for 5.1 multi-channel surround sound schemes such as Dolby Digital or DTS, if not more powerful and demanding formats (such as Dolby True HD or DTS Master Audio).
•    At least two loudspeakers for stereo sound, if not sufficient speakers to handle various multi-channel surround sound schemes (6 speakers for 5.1, 7 speakers for 6.1, and 8 speakers for 7.1, as examples we’ll discuss later in this checklist).
•    One or more remote control devices to operate the various items of equipment involved, including (at a minimum) the A/V receiver and the television set. Normally, each piece of modern A/V gear comes with its own remote control, but the best technical solution is a single universal remote that can be programmed to handle all of your A/V needs.
•    An increasingly popular optional element in home theater setups is a multimedia PC, also known as a home theater PC, which can become the repository of large still and moving image collections (digital photos, movies, and TV recordings) as well as equally large music collections (in any of a variety of digital formats).
•    Most experts (and many equipment junkies) strongly recommend power conditioning and protection for expensive A/V gear. Various types of equipment are available to provide surge suppression and lightning arrest, as well as to clean up and condition the power that not only feeds your A/V gear, but that can also cause it hum, click, or pop if not properly groomed for A/V use.
•    An entertainment center functions simultaneously as a piece of furniture and an equipment rack for many of the elements in the aforementioned collection, to house them in a setting suitable for living and family rooms at home.

Any basic checklist for an HDTV home theater would specify certain minimum handling characteristics for the various items of equipment just described. Here it is, following the original order of appearance above:

A/V Receiver:

•    Must support 5.1 sound outputs or better (in today’s market, that means 5.1 or 7.1). This involves right, center and left front channels, right- and left-surround channels, and a low-frequency effects (LFE) channel for a sub-woofer at a minimum for 5.1. For 7.1, this adds right and left rear surround to the 5.1 set-up. It also requires decodes for the surround sound schemes that you plan to listen to in your home theater, and ideally also includes the ability to synthesize multi-channel surround sound from stereo or monaural inputs (which lets you put all your speakers to work even when watching conventional TV or listening to stereo sound devices).
•    Must support sufficient inputs to handle desired input devices. For most households, that means a DVD player at a minimum, where the video side is best served in tandem with audio using an HDMI input. Older A/V receivers may instead offer (in decreasing order of preference) component video, S-Video and composite video for the video portion of DVD playback, and digital audio via optical or coaxial cable (the only way to get multi-channel surround sound), or perhaps stereo audio connections for each such device. You need as many such sets of inputs as you have players, and additional audio-only inputs for audio devices that might include MP3 players, tape players, phonographs and so forth (all of which typically provide only stereo inputs).
•    Must support digital outputs to drive your television set or video projector. Ideally, this too is HDMI, which enables you to handle multi-channel surround sound digital audio and digital video through a single compact cable. Otherwise, you’ll want to drive your TV set using (in decreasing order of preference) component video, S-Video or composite video cables and connections.

Playback equipment

•    The DVD player is the crown jewel in most home entertainment systems. You want at least a single disk player with video upscaling and up-conversion capabilities to match the resolution of your TV set or video projector. That way, you’ll be able to scale and size the images from your DVDs to best match the capabilities of your display. The best connection is HDMI from the player into the A/V receiver, though you can work your way down through the standard video hierarchy (component video, S-Video, and composite video if you must).
Two newer high-definition DVD formats have been released since 2005: HD-DVD and Blu-ray. Today, both support resolutions up to 1080p and high-definition, high-bandwidth, uncompressed 7.1 multi-channel surround sound schemes such as Dolby True HD and DTS Master Audio. HD-DVD players start at approximately $300 and Blu-ray players at roughly $500, and they require matching DVD media to use their advanced features, but they do provide the best viewing and sound experience available in home theaters today. For best audio results, your DVD player should also be able to handle Super Audio CDs (SACD) and Audio DVDs as well.
•    One or more tape players for legacy audio recordings will enable you to continue to enjoy your recordings for years to come. Be sure that your A/V receiver includes sufficient inputs to accommodate what you wish to connect, and purchase high-quality shielded audio cables to make sure the best possible sound signals get to the receiver for playback.
•    One or more personal digital audio players, such as flash-based MP3 players and similar devices, may be connected to your A/V receiver for playback through your home theater. You can either purchase special cables to convert the mini jacks with which such players are routinely equipped, or look for an A/V receiver that can handle USB connections for an alternate hookup.
•    Camera and camcorder inputs will let you grab still and moving images from your own equipment and play them back on your home theater. Make sure you’ve got the cables necessary to hook up to your A/V receiver, and test your set-up to get all the pieces working together.

Image Output (TV Set or Video Projector)

•    If you plan to purchase a new HDTV set or video projector, you may want to think about matching its resolution to the types of video you wish to view. If your plans include either a Blu-ray or HD-DVD player and media, this means you’ll get the best results if you purchase a device that’s 1080p capable; you can view either format on lower-resolution HDTVs (for example, the 1366 x 768 resolutions typical on many older LCD HDTVs and most plasma HDTVs). If you don’t plan to watch 1080p formats, you can get great results from any HD-capable display.
•    For set-ups where high-definition DVD formats are in the picture, HDMI provides the best way to route video from the player into the A/V receiver, and from the A/V receiver into the TV set.
•    In most home theater set-ups, you’ll use a set of speakers attached to the A/V receiver to play audio. Some buyers purchase HDTV monitors that lack speakers completely; others choose HDTVs with built-in speakers because of other features in the sets. If you do plan to use in-set speakers for sound, you’ll want to listen carefully to their capabilities in the showroom before taking any set home for keeps (take a familiar movie with you to the store and listen to it on multiple sets to help you make your selection; this technique works well for evaluating picture, too).

Loudspeakers

•    The A/V receiver you use will dictate the number of speakers you’ll connect; the size of your listening room will dictate the size and power-handling capability of the speakers themselves. We recommend spending as much as you can comfortably afford to get good sound. Recognizing that some speaker rigs go into five figures, we also recommend that you spend no more on your speakers than on the rest of your equipment combined at the top end, and no less than the cost of your HDTV set on the bottom end of the scale.
•    Routing cables to rear surround and surround channel speakers can be both interesting and challenging. Because most people don’t have the luxury of pre-wiring their media rooms for multi-channel surround sound, we recommend hiring professional audio installers to provide under-carpet installation. This will let you position your speakers where they’ll provide the best listening, and help keep costs under control. Be sure to purchase the highest quality speaker cable you can afford, because long cable runs will otherwise cause signals to degrade.

Remote Control

•    A dish or basket for multiple remotes on the coffee table, or otherwise close at hand, is a must for setups where you don’t purchase a good universal remote.
•    At the low end, good universal remotes cost between $100 and $200. At $130 or thereabouts, for example, the Logitech Harmony 550 Advanced Universal Remote is a great value, and can control up to 15 devices.
•    At the high end, you can spend $500 to $2,000 on a color LCD touch-screen based universal remote. At around $500, the Logitech Harmony 1000 is an outstanding value that can drive all of your A/V gear (both Logitech models mentioned can grab information about your devices from the Internet through a USB connection to a PC, but can also learn directly from the devices you wish them to control, as long as they respond to infrared signals).

Home Theater PC

•  You’ll do best with HDMI or component video outputs to the A/V receiver, and discrete multi-channel surround sound outputs (one analog cable for each surround channel, including LFE) for audio. See my book, Build the Ultimate Home Theater PC (Wiley, 2006, ISBN: 0471755494) or visit insider Web sites, such as The Missing Remote (www.missingremote.com), The Green Button (www.thegreenbutton.com), or Audioholics (www.audioholics.com) for more information on this enormous subject.

Power Conditioning

•    Add up the wattage ratings for all your A/V equipment (typically, this will be something in the 700-1500 Watt range) and purchase a power conditioning unit that at least matches this sum (ideally, you’d want to exceed that total by 10 to 25 percent to leave some room to add new gear in the future, or to replace older gear with new). You’ll need one outlet in the power conditioning unit for each device you wish to plug in (this will be a minimum of 4 outlets: A/V receiver, DVD player, TV set, and LFE amplifier for your sub-woofer; most units offer 8-10 outlets). Expect to pay from $150 to $1,000 for a quality power conditioner for all of your A/V gear. Well-known vendors in this market include Monster Cable, Belkin, APC, Tripplite and Furman, among many others.

The Entertainment Center

•    In some ways, this is the piece of home theater equipment that’s all too often overlooked when putting home theater systems together. It needs sufficient space to accommodate all your equipment, and it requires sufficient ventilation to keep that gear from overheating, and sufficient access to run all the many cables necessary to match outputs to inputs on players, receivers, TV sets and more. But it also needs to fit your room’s décor, and provide additional storage space for photos, keepsakes, and other items you wish to display in an important, frequently used family space.

All in all, composing a home theater system involves a fair amount of thought and research, as well as some fairly hefty outlays. Do your homework and make sure that not only do all your pieces and parts fit together, but that you provide them with ample, clean power and a nice place to live. Doing so will save lots of headache during installation, and provide many hours of enjoyment for everybody in the months and years ahead.