HDTV & Home Theatre Setup Guide
Connecting up your home theatre equipment is really a fairly simple task, but there are a few different ways of doing it depending on what components you have and what image and sound quality you want to achieve. This guide will help you get the best quality from the audio, video and hi-fi equipment you have.
One thing that's worth warning about is cable pricing. Do not spend more than 10% of a device's price on cables. The differences in quality between cables are marginal at most, and in the case of digital cables absolutely non-existent. The cheapest HDMI cable is as good as the most expensive one, no matter what the salesman says to you. The only time you need to worry about HDMI cables is if they're longer than five metres, at which point you will probably need a repeater.
Players & TVs Only - Starting Out
If you're on a budget or don't have the space, you probably don't have or won't be buying a surround sound receiver. These articles will help you get the most from your basic DVD player and TV setup.
The most basic setup, but read our guide to be sure you're connecting your DVD player to the television using the best cable for the job.
You've gone and got yourself an HDTV, and you're wondering why your picture quality doesn't look as good as it used to on your old television. We've got the answers on improving DVD picture quality on an HDTV.
At this point, you don't need to be convinced that high definition is worth the money, but are you getting all the quality from your Blu-ray discs and games? We'll help you get the best quality sound and picture from Blu-ray.
Players, Receivers, Amplifiers & Speakers - Adding Surround Sound
While you can certainly enjoy a movie without spending extra money on a surround sound system, there's nothing that involves you in the action like being in the middle of the soundfield. It's a sad truth that sound is generally an afterthought for most home theatres, where it really should be on equal priority with the picture. However, budgets are a realistic concern, so you can always buy the best possible HDTV now and get the surround sound later. You'll never regret a better television, but you'll always regret a middling compromise between picture and sound. You've likely already got a perfectly decent stereo hi-fi at home, so we'll include a simple guide to help you set it up as a home theatre sound system. You might be shocked at how good it can sound.
Although you can be quite content with plain stereo, in many ways a surround sound receiver is the hub of your home cinema. Everything ideally should connect into the receiver, which acts as a decoder to create surround sound, a source switch for all your media players and consoles (and even your PC, if you want) and an amplifier to power all the speakers. The only problem now is that in the last few years, the advent of high-definition has made nearly everything but the amplifier section of older receivers almost completely obsolete, but there are workarounds, so keep reading if you're worried that buying a Blu-ray player will require a new receiver.
You've blown all your cash on the flash TV, and you want better sound. You don't need to rush into surround sound if you've got a stereo hi-fi. Here's how to save money on great sound.
You've already got a perfectly decent DVD player and surround system, but you're wondering why your movies look worse on your nice new big high-definition television. Hint: use the right cables.
You're sold on Blu-ray and HDTV, but your old surround receiver has served you well and you feel you shouldn't need to upgrade it. You're right, you can get high-definition sound through an older receiver.
You've got everything you need for an experience as good as a cinema. Now let's make sure you're setting up your high definition home theatre correctly.
Positioning your speakers and subwoofers correctly is crucial to convincing sound. Here's how to set up your speakers.
Which Cables?
Confused about the names of cables? Here's a quick visual guide to help you figure out which connectors we're talking about. If you're not familiar with the technical terms, either click the words the difficult words for a definition or visit our HDTV Glossary.