Home Theater Receivers - Are 7 Channels Always Better Than 5?

The home theater receiver is considered the heart of the home theater system, making things so real it feels as if were actually there. Kind of a central command base, the receiver is a crucial part that does many jobs - powering our speakers, tuning the AM and FM radio stations, switches back and forth between the audio and video sources, and provides the decoding for movie enjoyment, along with TV and music in surround sound. With less than adequate of a receiver, it simply will not be able to get the job done adequately. If you are in the market for home theater receivers, you should consider your options wisely.

There are many various options when it comes to theater systems but the two most important ones are the home theater receiver or stereo receiver. Surround sound of the home theater system as compared to a musical receiver depends a lot on how many speakers needed or wanted. The stereo receiver is for those who do not have a lot of room and don't watch a lot of movies. There are two new formats of spectacular multi-channel music coming out, SACD and DVD-Audio, with high-resolution music in 5.1 surround sound that require the home theater receiver and a multi-channel speaker system.

How do you select the right receiver for your needs depends on a lot of things - such as the power of the receiver needs to be adequate enough for the speakers and the room size. The sensitivity of the speakers shows how much power the receiver needs to be; the more sensitivity requires more power. And generally, the larger the listening room, the more power the receiver needs to have. Obviously, the most important element in the purchase of a receiver for your new home theater system is the quality of it. While price does matter for many people, the receiver needs to work well and last a long time in order for it to be a good investment. You can find reviews of the various brands of receivers that are offered to you right here on the web. Compare your receivers to find the best possible solution for you through these reviews. You can often find out which is the best solution by listening to what others have had to say before purchasing one.

If the stereo receiver has been chosen instead of the home theater, it needs to be recognized that it only has two channels of amplification. The home theater system offers anywhere from five to seven channels. This is closely connected to the surround decoding formats offered. Any model of today's home theater receivers can do the job; most models offer decoding for soundtracks found on DVDs. They also can decode selected satellite and digital cable TV programs. All home theater receivers offer a minimum of five channels of amplification that is necessary to reproduce the 5.1 surround sound, which has been the standard surround sound since the late 1990s.

Check out http://www.hometheaterreviews.net/ for more articles on home theater recliner and yamaha home theater systems.

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Look Out For Cheap Home Theater Receivers in April

Cheap home cinema receivers are catching up fast among consumers and they are getting more intricate in technicalities and are loaded with several features as well. The receiver is like the brain or the CPU of the computer and budget home theater receivers are available these days both online and offline at land based stores. It is a combination of several different types of units that makes it so exciting.

Amazing performance

If you want to ramp up the quality of the audio and video in your home, the budget home theater receivers like the latest addition from Pioneer has loads of features like the new 7 channel theater system for your home.

The VSX-520-K for $229 and the VSX-820-K for $299 are among the latest models to hit the market with never before features. It can deliver amazing performance at never before prices and make your viewing zoom off to another level.

Low price receivers like the range from Pioneer can deliver great theater performance in a totally surprising package at affordable values. You can avail of great connectivity options as well with the range of cheap home theater receivers and get high definition audio formats.

It will support all audio formats through a front panel mini jacket input and be compatible with Bluetooth with the help of an adaptor that is sold as an extra feature.

Cheap home cinema receivers can also offer very high quality stereophonic performance with great integration facilities. To get the original experience, there is nothing like the low price receivers that are becoming popular coast to coast.

They also support high definition formats like Dolby True HD and DTS-HD Audio to provide you with soundtracks for movies you have never experienced before. You can literally drown in the experience that is mind boggling to say the least.

Onboard upscaling facilities

After Pioneer announced the two budget features, they would naturally fly off the shelves as consumers want power packed performances sitting at home. The Pinoeer VSX-820 for $299 comes with MCACC automatic speaker setups, the Sirius/XM radio access via an antenna or an optional tuner, connectivity with iPod and control, and a USB port for audio content access that is stored on flash drives.

Both the latest models from Pioneer are cheap home cinema receivers and have onboard upscaling facilities. Both the receivers can decode and access the audio contained in HDMU signal stream.

You can expect both of them to hit the market anytime in April this year and the user manuals of both the models will give you an idea of the extraordinary stuff they are made of for being popular and cheap home cinema receivers.

Peter Zaby is an Home Theater Enthusiast. Visit his blog for the latest information about budget and cheap home theater Receivers. http://cheaphometheaterreceivers.net

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Cheap Home Theater Receivers - What to Decide Before to Buy

Home theater systems today are becoming more complicated and special. Many had been added to stack of other remedies for that surround sound effect. What was not told is that a receiver is the most critical equipment in any system configuration. Consider this as your home CPU or its brain. This is a medium for you to inject other materials such as your speakers, television and even computer unit, and combining them completely.

With such a highly weighted role, the question is should you buy cheap home theater receivers or go to the more expensive? Is the price an indicator of the performance of the receiver itself? Or are there some alternatives that can still do something good for a fraction of the price? Currently there are thousands of receivers on the market. But before you consider buying the high end or even the cheapest you can find, consider these tips to come up with the suitable and the best even at a very small price.

o Set-up decision. Even before seeking for that most coveted receiver you have to take a decision as to which part of the house should you keep and mount it. There are some rooms that are quite small where speakers can not be inserted thus a stereo receiver would be better. But if you have some space where you can possible house the receivers and other equipments, then a home theater receiver would be the best solution.

o Consider the purpose. This is another important decision which must be taken into consideration before you buy an expensive or inexpensive home theater receiver. If you are just simply into music and sound, maybe putting up speakers would do well with your receiver. But if it is a total home entertainment then a massive receiver that can be attached to all necessary equipment with digital modes and even surround sound is the proposed selection.

o Performance. There are some receivers which have a tendency to distort when you turn it to high volume levels thus becoming unlistenable. Thus a 50 WPC (Watts per channel) with low distortion is better in comparison with more powerful amplifiers with high distortion possibilities. Be sure to get receivers with 0.01% distortion level given a full scale volume. You must also assess the signal to noise ratio or S / N. This criteria is perfect for separating sound effects and background noise. Thus a 70 decibel of the S / N ratio will be proposed if you are into acoustic than the usual 50 decibels.

o Ease of use. This phrase is consistent with the different things that are also necessary even for a cheap receiver. Check the connections and make sure even if they are of low cost, the quality is not substandard. You can also try to check the number of input and output jacks, so as to estimate how many devices you can attach it with. Never buy a receiver, unless you tried it first, and you listen to it.

Receivers are essential in any home theater systems. Whether they are sold cheap or quite expensive so long as they comply with your needs, quality and money, then they are absolutely the best choice. Actually, this is a worthy device to begin with and must be invested upon. After all, the value of the entertainment you can get would be dependent on the quality of the receiver that you have.

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Blu-ray Players - Movies and Home Theater - All You Need to Know

Blu-ray players and Blu-ray movies are generating a lot of excitement. Now that the "format war" is over with Blu-ray crowned the victor, consumers are getting ready to embrace high-definition on a disc, namely, Blu-ray Discs! This guide will make sure you understand Blu-ray and get the most out of your experience.

What do you get with Blu-ray?

There are four primary advantages Blu-ray Disc movies have over their DVD equivalents:

o Improved capacity and durability. Blu-ray Discs have up to 50GB of disc capacity for a dual-layer disc, which is over 5x more than a double-layer DVD. Blu-ray discs carry the data close to the surface of the disc, so a hard coat is applied to protect the fragile data. This hard coat is extremely durable and resists scratches and fingerprints.

o Improved video quality. Blu-ray Disc movies have up to 6x the picture detail of a standard DVD. Numbers are not the way to describe the difference, though! Suffice it to say the sharpness, depth, color and detail is far greater than anything you have ever experienced before. No matter what they say about upconverting DVD players providing "near high-def quality," after you experience Blu-ray it is more of a country mile than "near." The bigger the screen size, the bigger the difference.

o Improved audio quality. Most Blu-ray Discs have lossless audio, which, obviously, means no loss of sound quality. In short the sound quality from Blu-ray Discs is capable of matching the master tapes from the studio. If you have a sound system capable of using the lossless audio formats, the difference in sound quality is just as apparent as the difference in video quality. In fact, when doing demonstrations in my own home theater before I even get to explain that the sound as well as the video is high-definition the viewers make comments such as "Wow, the sound!" or "I've never heard sound like that anywhere." You need a relatively recent surround sound setup to experience the lossless sound; more on that later.

o Improved interactivity. Blu-ray Discs and players use BD-Java, a version of Sun Microsystems's Java programming that is ubiquitous on the Internet. Using Java allows the studios to put games and other interactive features on the discs, as well as menus that can be accessed while the movie is playing. (Once you have experienced the latter, it's even harder to go back to DVD!) The downside to the BD-Java is that it requires a lot of processing power and early Blu-ray players may take several minutes to load the discs once they are placed in the player. Compatibility problems may exists as well and the player may need a firmware update to function properly. Blu-ray will soon be introducing Profile 2.0, or "BD-Live" which will bring Web interactivity to Blu-ray and allow you to download bonus materials, play games, and much more.

What do I need to experience Blu-ray's spectacular video quality?

This is an easy answer! You need a high-definition TV, a Blu-ray player, and a connection cable or cables. If you have an HDMI input on your TV, you should use an HDMI cable from your Blu-ray player to the TV. Do not overpay for your HDMI cable. Most big box stores only sell overpriced brands such as Monster Cable and charge from $90 to $150 or more for a single HDMI cable. You can get a perfectly good, well-made HDMI cable for under $5.00 from monoprice.com.

If you have an older HDTV with component video connections, you need a set of component cables and a set of stereo audio RCA cables.

What do I need to experience Blu-ray's lossless sound?

This is a lot trickier! First of all, if you are just running the sound through your TV speakers there isn't going to be much difference. You need a separate sound system to really appreciate Blu-ray's fine sound.

There are several lossless sound formats available and older receivers, and even many current ones do not support these new sound formats. Not all of the players support them, either. I'll start with the different surround formats, and then explain what equipment you need to experience them at home.

PCM, LPCM: These are the same thing. Some studios call it PCM, for Pulse Code Modulation, a lossless method of digital recording. LPCM stands for Linear PCM. Sometimes you will see "20 bit LPCM" or "24-bit LPCM" on the disc cases. The more bits, the higher the resolution and the better the sound. To experience lossless PCM sound you need a receiver with an HDMI input capable of receiving multichannel PCM, or a Blu-ray player with multichannel analog outputs and a receiver with multichannel inputs. If your receiver has an HDMI input the player will send the audio over the HDMI cable and the receiver will amplify the sound and send it to the speakers.

If you are using the analog outputs, the player will convert the PCM sound to analog and send the high-resolution sound from its analog connections to the receiver's analog inputs. In this case the surround settings are set on the player and the receiver is just a volume control and an amplifier.

Dolby TrueHD: This format uses lossless compression so the audio information takes up less space on the disc than a PCM file, but no sound quality is lost in the compression process. There are several ways to experience lossless sound from Dolby TrueHD. The first is with a receiver with an HDMI input capable of receiving multichannel PCM, and a Blu-ray player that can decode Dolby TrueHD and convert it to PCM. The player will decode the Dolby TrueHD, convert it to PCM and send it via HDMI to the receiver for playback. The PlayStation 3 is an example of player that uses internal TrueHD decoding and an LPCM output via HDMI.

The second way is with Blu-ray player with TrueHD decoding through multichannel analog outputs and a receiver with multichannel inputs. If you are using the analog outputs, the player will decode the TrueHD, convert it to analog, then send the high-resolution sound from its analog connections to the receiver's analog inputs. In this case the surround settings are set on the player and receiver is just a volume control and an amplifier.

The third way is via "bitstreaming." Bitstreaming takes the digital data from the disc and transfers it via HDMI to a receiver with a built-in Dolby TrueHD decoder. The receiver decodes the TrueHD and powers the speakers. According to many who have tried all three methods, bitstreaming is the best possible way to reproduce TrueHD.

DTS-HD: DTS-HD consists of two streams: a "core" with a high-resolution (but lossy) DTS track and a DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) track. The MA track is a lossless track capable of duplicating the studio master tape. At the time of publication no players with internal DTS-HD decoding exist so the only way to reproduce the lossless DTS-HD MA track is with a player capable of bitstreaming the information and a receiver with DTS-HD decoding. The major studios currently using DTS-HD are 20th Century Fox and New Line Cinema.

Dolby Digital Plus: Improved Lossy Sound

Many Blu-ray Discs have Dolby Digital Plus, an improved version of Dolby Digital. While it isn't lossless, the sound quality is noticeably better than standard Dolby Digital soundtracks.

Blu-ray Profiles

Blu-ray players conform to one of three profiles, each having different capabilities.

Profile 1.0 players simply play the movie. This is called the "grace period profile."

Profile 1.1 players play the movie and have picture-in-picture capabilities via secondary picture and audio decoders. The picture-in-picture feature is called "Bonus View" and the profile is called "Final Standard Profile." All Blu-ray players announced from the present onwards must conform to at least profile 1.1.

Profile 2.0 players play the movie, support Bonus View and provide an Internet connection for Web interactivity.

Will I need a Blu-ray player and a DVD player if I have DVDs?

All Blu-ray players will play DVDs and upconvert them to high-definition resolutions, if not high-definition quality. Upconverting quality varies widely by Blu-ray player so if you have an upconverting DVD player, use the same DVD in both your Blu-ray player and your DVD player and compare the picture quality. You may want to keep both hooked up, or simply use the Blu-ray player for all your playback needs.

Firmware Updates

Firmware updates are software updates for your player's operating system. Firmware is updated either by web (Samsung BD-P1400 and Sony PlayStation 3) or via CD (all others.) To update via CD you must visit the manufacturer's website, download the firmware file and burn it to a disc. Be sure to follow all instructions when burning firmware discs! As Blu-ray is a new and evolving format, using the most recent firmware is critical for best performance so be sure to register your purchase so you are notified when updates are available and check the manufacturer's website frequently for new releases.

Recommended Blu-ray Players

There has been a lot of info provided thus far. Now it's time to put it together, starting with a player! This list will be edited and updated as new players are introduced and tested.

Sony PlayStation 3 (40GB) $399: I am listing the Playstation 3 (PS3) separately because not only is it the best Blu-ray player currently available, it is truly a breed apart.

What makes the PS3 the best Blu-ray player? It has extremely powerful processors that make loading times fast and BD-Java compatibility a breeze, it is extremely responsive, and firmware is easily updated automatically and wirelessly. It can also surf the web with a built-in web browser and works as a multimedia center and can display digital pictures and play music from its internal hard drive. It supports profile 1.1 now and will support profile 2.0 with an announced firmware update, so it is future-proof.

Oh, yeah, and it plays games too! It is easy to forget that, sometimes!

A Blu-ray Disc remote is available for $24.99, making a complete PS3 Blu-ray outfit a mere $425... a bargain for a future-proof profile 2.0 player that is rock-solid reliable. If you don't like the idea of using a "game machine" (which the PS3 admittedly is) in your home theater, try to think of it as a multimedia entertainment system instead.

The big downside to the PS3 is it doesn't support bitstreaming of Dolby TrueHD or DTS-MA (and never will due to hardware limitations) so you can't currently use it to experience all of the lossless sound formats. Because it will never bitstream in its current form if you have a receiver that supports TrueHD or DTS-MA you can't use it in the superior bitstream mode- only PCM. A firmware update to allow the PS3 to decode DTS-HD MA and output LPCM has been rumored, but not yet announced.

In short- at $399, the PS3 is not only the best Blu-ray player you can buy but one of the least expensive, as well.

Profile 1.0

A profile 1.0 player may get the movie on your screen but if you can get a PS3 for only $100 more, you are much better off getting a PS3. Unless it is being sold at a super-bargain price (under $300) or included for free with purchase of an HDTV, I recommend you avoid profile 1.0 players and look to the PS3 or a profile 1.1 model. The following players could be a good buy if the price is right but unless it is well under $300 you are really better off looking elsewhere. Because of this I have not listed suggested retail prices for these players- if it isn't under $300, stay away.

Samsung BD-P1400: A word of warning: with this player you really need to watch the firmware updates as there have been problems playing certain discs (mostly Fox titles) on Samsung players. The BD-P1400 has an Ethernet port for firmware update via web, which makes it much easier than burning a disc. Audio support is excellent. The BD-P1400 can decode Dolby TrueHD to LPCM, bitstream Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD MA, and the analog outputs can provide lossless sound from PCM and Dolby TrueHD. No DTS-HD MA from the analog outputs, though.

Sony BDP-S300: Load times are slow but playback is reliable. Lack of Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD support make this player best suited to setups without a sound system... in other words, just a TV and the player.

Sharp BD-HP20U: This player has reliable playback of Blu-ray movies but performance with DVDs is subpar, as is audio format support. Like the BDP-S300, this player is best used in systems comprised of a TV and a player.

Profile 1.1

Panasonic DMP-BD30 ($499): Panasonic's Blu-ray players have proven to be extremely reliable and the BD30 offers loading times second only to the PS3. The BD30 has multichannel audio outputs for lossless sound from Dolby TrueHD and PCM/LPCM.

If Web interactivity isn't important to you but sound quality is, the bitstream-capable BD30 and a receiver capable of decoding Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD is currently your best option and one of the only ways to experience both TrueHD and DTS-HD MA.

Profile 2.0:

Panasonic DMP-BD50: Panasonic's DMP-BD50 is essentially a BD30 with the addition of BD-Live capability. It will be available in the second quarter of 2008. Though it has yet to be tested the fine performance of Panasonic's BD30 makes it a safe recommendation.

Recommended Blu-ray Movie Retailers

Blu-ray movies are much more expensive than their DVD equivalents if you buy them in stores. I strongly recommend you purchase your movies online from Amazon, where they typically cost $10-$15 less per movie. There's a big difference between $21.95 and $34.95, both financially and perceptually! Keep your eyes open for online sales, too.

Recommended Blu-ray Movies

This list is by no means comprehensive- just some great titles to get your started with Blu-ray and show you what it can do.

20th Century Fox: Some of the earlier Fox titles use MPEG2, an older video encoding process. Recent titles use the more modern AVC encoding and top-notch jobs of film transfer, leading to stunning picture quality. Fox uses DTS-HD for lossless audio. Fox promises to release a great many new titles in 2008, including Patton, one of the best war movies ever made.

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer: Dramatic action sequences both on Earth and in deep space show what a difference Blu-ray can make in your system. This disc features a near-perfect film transfer with tremendous detail and bright yet realistic color. Be sure to check out the great documentary features, including interviews with comic book artists and writers.

The Simpsons Movie: A must-have for Simpsons fans!

Disney: Many believe Disney to be the finest studio in the high-definition disc business, consistently producing top-quality audio and video and some of the neatest menus and interactive features available. Disney movies should be in your hand when you are in the checkout line with your Blu-ray player. Disney uses 24-bit LPCM on almost all of their titles.

Cars: On a good system this movie looks almost 3-dimensional as the cars race around the track- it's like there are models racing around inside your TV and you are watching through a clear window. Features interactive Car Finder game.

Pirates of the Caribbean 1, 2, and 3: Reference-quality audio and video and a blend of action, reality and fantasy make the Pirates series some of the best films available on Blu-ray.

New Line Cinema

Hairspray: Hairspray has a great story and quirky, interesting and likeable characters throughout. The film bursts with energy, featuring great choreography and music.

Sony Pictures: As a primary creator of the Blu-ray Disc format, Sony's support has been strong. LPCM is the most commonly used lossless audio format and is featured on almost every Sony Pictures title.

Casino Royale: Spectacular film transfer with deep, rich color and detail that makes you feel like you are there in the middle of the action. Tons of shameless Sony product placement in this one- look for the Sony phone and Sony Blu-ray Disc player!

The Life of Brian: Monty Python's classic looks great in HD. You may find the falling-blocks menu neat or annoying, depending on how you like gimmicks. This title has great-looking menus, too. Features both Dolby TrueHD and LPCM lossless audio.

Warner Bros.: The most prolific studio in high definition, Warner produces more titles on Blu-ray than anyone else. LPCM and Dolby TrueHD are both used.

300: Though liberties are taken with historical accuracy regarding the Spartans and the battle of Thermopylae, this film is a triumphant merging of CGI and live action and will keep you on the edge of your seat. Make sure you have the stomach for lots of gore. Features both TrueHD and LPCM soundtracks.

2001: A Space Odyssey: Kubrick's sci-fi classic is a perfect example of how good classic movies can look in high definition. With a good TV you can read the writing on the instructions for the zero-gravity toilet! 24-bit LPCM sound.

Blade Runner: Beautifully restored print of this sci-fi classic looks almost 3-dimensional with a tremendous sense of depth. Director's cut features an ending different than the happier original. Dolby TrueHD sound.

Harry Potter (all titles): Harry Potter's fantasy world is perfect for HD. What more needs to be said? LPCM sound.

Planet Earth: This BBC documentary series is probably the best nature series ever made and an absolute must-have. Iimagery is powerful, magnificent, featuring vistas that are almost, well, unworldly as you see sights you never knew existed on our planet.

Other Studios

Universal Studios and Paramount Pictures have recently announced Blu-ray support and are expected to release titles by mid-2008.

Appendix: Upgrading your sound system

As a final note, now that you are ready to embrace Blu-ray you may want to upgrade your sound system to make the most of it. Below are some of the best values available in speakers and receivers. All of them feature class-leading performance in their price range and are sure to satisfy anyone looking for great sound for TV, movies and music. Add your Blu-ray player and you're all set for fantastic home theater!

Speakers

Great speakers are the key to a great sounding audio system. Truly good ones will sound great no matter what you play through them... classical or rock music, action movies, sports on TV, vinyl records or CDs. This is by far the most important part of your sound system and worthy of serious investment, if you have the means. Listed here are some easily affordable options sure to make you smile.

Insignia NS-B2111 $87.98/pair

Sold exclusively at Best Buy, these speakers have crisp, clean sound that is also warm and full-sounding. I never thought I would recommend a speaker selling for under $100 per pair as suitable for use in a quality sound system... yet here I am doing exactly that. Two pairs of these and an entry-level Onkyo receiver make for an excellent-sounding four channel surround system that will blow the doors off of most any home-theater in-a-box system. They are not magnetically shielded so you can't put them too close to a tube-type TV. Listing for $87.98, they are often on sale for $75 or less.

Acculine $249/pair and up

What makes Acculine speakers special is their leaf tweeters, typically found only in very expensive, exotic speakers. These tweeters must be heard to be appreciated, as they render sound so transparently and with so much detail that I liken it to a sonic version of the visual difference between HDTV and analog TV-they are really that good! I imagine a lot of new owners will turn their heads in disbelief as they hear sounds in their recordings they never knew existed. They speakers are very well made, with solid cabinets with high quality aluminum woofers.

To show Acculine's extreme value equation, we will build two Acculine 5.1 channel systems. The Acculine A1s are $249 per pair with two pairs required, one for mains and one for surrounds. This comes to $498. The A-2 Center Channel is $179 and the Acculine ASub is $289. This gets you a top performing home theater speaker system using exotic technology for only $966. That's pretty incredible!

The second Acculine system mimics the one above, but uses Acculine A3 towers as main speakers. The A3s are $499 per pair, a $250 difference which brings the total to $1216. This is equally incredible for a high quality system using tower speakers.

You can substitute the $125 Parts Express Dayton subwoofer for the Acculine sub, saving $114 and you still have an amazing speaker system without compromise. I can't overstate how good the Acculines sound- given the price it is quite amazing. You can see the Acculine speakers at www.theaudioinsider.com and the Dayton subwoofer at www.partsexpress.com

Axiom Audio $296/pair and up

I am especially fond of Axiom Audio's M2 and M22 bookshelf speakers and their complete home theater systems, which use some of the best surround speakers I have encountered. Axiom's QS4 and QS8 surround speakers have very wide radiation that combines spaciousness with effective imaging- great stuff! All Axiom speakers have a full and natural sound that is very detailed, some say is a bit bright. I have found the Onkyo receivers to be a great match with them. Axiom's Custom Design Shop allows you to design speakers to match your decor. See Axiom's speakers at www.axiomaudio.com

Receivers

I recommend the Onkyo TX-SR605 and the TX-SR805 as they are the best values going. They feature clean, strong amplifiers and decoding for PCM/LPCM, Dolby TrueHD, and DTS-HD MA. The 90 watts-per-channel TX-SR605 is available for $400 street price and the 130 watts-per-channel TX-SR805 for $750 street price. Opt for the 705 if you have a large room needing more power than the 605 or if you want its automatic setup features.

Want to learn more?

Don Lindich's weekly Q&A newspaper column Sound Advice is distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Servies and appears in major newspapers nationwide. Visit Don's website at www.soundadviceblog.com for more information on audio, video and digital photography including reviews, Q&A, his past newspaper columns and Don's Dealfinder. Don also maintains www.avglossary.com, the world's largest glossary of audio, video and photography terminology.

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Buying a Home Theater Receiver

Buying a receiver is one of the most important decisions you're going to have to

make when building your home theater. The receiver has a number of functions

including; connecting and switching audio sources; connecting and switching video

sources; decoding surround sound formats; amplifying an audio signal and sending

it to your speakers; tuning in to radio stations; and acting as the interface between

you and your home theater.

The first thing to think about is whether you want a receiver at all or would you be

better off buying a separate decoder, amplifier, and tuner?

Despite being a more expensive route - not to mention the extra space needed -

separates do have some advantages. You can pick and choose your own

combination of components, can upgrade each component individually and won't

lose all the functions if one piece develops a fault. On top of that, having each

electronic component in a separate box does improve sound quality when compared

with having them all on one circuit board.

However, the separates route is more expensive, more complicated and needs more

space than buying a receiver. And for most people its uneccessary. Today's receivers

do a very good job in all of their functions.

So what should should you look out for when buying a receiver? The first thing is to

make sure that it has ll the inputs you need for the equipment you need to connect

to it. Sounds obvious, but its very easy to overlook. As a mimimum it should have

digital audio inputs (optical and co-axial) for Dolby Digital and/or DTS. It should

also have analogue audio inputs for CD player, set-top box and possibly DVD-Audio

or Super Audio CD player (the last two currently don't have digital outputs in order

to make it less easy to pirate CDs).

You should also consider whether you want to route all your video sources such as

TV, DVD player, and games console through your receiver. Doing so means you can

switch between sources from one controller, very easily. But if you want to do this

you'll need to make sure the receiver you're interested in has enough video inputs.

These could be S-Video or component inputs are best, or if you're in Europe, Scart.

You should also make sure the video output from the receiver is of high quality, so

again, it should be S-Video, component or Scart.

If you can test a receiver before you buy, its worth comparing the quality of a video

signal from a DVD player when its connected directly to a display and comparing it

with when its connected via the receiver. There shouldn't be any noticeable

difference in quality.

The power rating of the amplifier is also important. The bigger the room you have

for your home theater, the more power you'll need. And makes sure that the power

rating is quoted in Watts per channel - the last thing you want is to get home with

your 100Watt receiver and discover that its power is split between eight speakers in

you 7.1 set-up. It's impossible to specify how powerful your amplifier should be,

but if your home theater is in a reasonable-sized room, as opposed to an aircraft

hanger, 100Watts per channel should be fine.

Finally, don't forget the remote control. It's the key interface between you and the

reciever and you'll spend a lot of time using it. So make sure it's comfortable and

straightforward to use. The last thing you want is to have to spend ages wading

through on-screen menus to get what you want.

Kenny Hemphill is the editor and publisher of The HDTV Tuner [http://www.the-hdtv- tuner.com], a site which aims to cut through the confusion surrounding HDTV and provide surfers with up to date, accurate and easy to read information on HDTV.

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AV Receivers and Their Place In a Home Theater

With so many common components like the LCD flat panel TV and a surround sound home audio system, it can sometimes be confusing when additional equipment such as an A/V receiver is needed to tie home theater equipment together. A good A/V receiver is essential to having a good home theater system since it is literally the piece of equipment that serves as the command center for the entire system and gets all of the audio and video components working together in sync.

The functionality of an A/V receiver relies on everything being connected together properly. Once you've properly set up your receiver, home theater problems will generally vanish. In order to make sure that you can connect your various home theater components to your A/V receiver properly, here is some basic information on how the receivers work and what sort of components can be connected to one.

Function of an A/V Receiver

An A/V receiver is what could be considered the "command center" of your home theater system. This means that it receives input from some of your home theater devices, organizes that input, and sends it as output to other devices that are attached to your home theater system. This allows you to use your home audio system with surround sound in conjunction with your HD-DVD or Blu-Ray player and your LCD flat panel TV, all while controlling only a single home theater component. An A/V receiver sorts through all of the audio and visual signals that are sent by your devices, organizing them so that the appropriate output devices receive only the signals that they need and eliminating the mass of wires that can be required to try and manually connect all of these components without the use of a central receiver.

Perhaps more important is that A/V receivers generally work as a digital amplifier for your audio system. This means that you'll be able to watch movies, play games, and listen to music in digital surround sound. To further improve your listening pleasure, many modern A/V receivers have built-in wireless service or USB ports so that you can stream music wirelessly from your home computer or plug in an external hard drive so that you can enjoy saved music and movies in their digital format without having to burn them to a CD or DVD.

Home Theater Components that Attach to an A/V Receiver

A variety of home theater components can be attached to an A/V receiver. In addition to your television, DVD player, and advanced disc formats such as HD-DVD and Blu-Ray players, you can include a stereo CD player, satellite television receivers, a digital video recorder (DVR) or similar device, and in many cases some older components such as an analog record player. Popular gaming systems such as the Nintendo Wii, the Sony PS3, and the X-Box 360 can also be connected to your receiver with ease so that you can enjoy surround sound to enhance your gaming experience. If your computer is nearby to your home audio system then you can attach the sound outputs to the receiver as well so as to take advantage of your existing surround sound system instead of having to rely on smaller computer speakers.

Using Your A/V Receiver

Once you're ready to make use of your A/V receiver, setting it up is relatively easy. Using standard A/V cables, connect the outputs on your DVD player, stereo, satellite decoder, DVR, or similar components to the corresponding inputs on the back of your receiver. From there you simply need to attach your TV and speakers to the receiver's outputs. Once everything has been properly plugged in and set up, you should be able to control many if not all of the functions of your home theater system directly from your A/V receiver.

If you are uncertain about installing your home theater A/V receiver and the corresponding components yourself, consult a professional to make the job simpler. They can get you on your way to enjoying your new home theater system in a hurry.

~ Ben Anton, 2007

Ben Anton lives in Portland, OR and writes for Ronny's 5th St. Audio Vision.
We invite you take a look at new quality home theater receivers and speakers at our custom home theater installation and informational web site.

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The Advantages Of Home Theater Receiver

How does the home theater system works? The soul of the home theater is the home theater receiver. It is probably the best method to centralize your system. They aren't too expensive. They are usually moderately priced. It actually serves many purposes like it powers your speakers; you can also switch DVD players easily with this. It connects all the output and input of your system. They come in various models and the choice will depend on your requirements. The home theater receivers do decoding which allows you to watch your favorite shows and movies. They are also used as radio tuner. The receiver is known by various names like A/V receiver, Dolby Digital receiver, surround receiver etc.

The working of home theater receiver

The receiver performs a number of audio signal processing functions like bass management, digital audio decoding and simulated soundfields. The home theater receiver has three components. These are the tuner, preamp and a multi channel amplifier. These three components work together for the proper functioning of the receiver. Each one serves some specific functions. The function of the tuner is to receive FM/AM, HD and internet radio. It also receives Sirius satellite radio. You can choose the source of your AV. It can be a DVD player or a CD. iPod is also a AV source. So this function of choosing the audio/video source is provided by the preamp. The preamp can also process the incoming signals and send them to various channels. Finally, the surround sound signals are distributed by the amplifier. This multi channels amplifies powers up the speakers. Amplification is a process by which a low signal is converted in to a high one. More amplification results in better and louder sound. Basically, the receiver takes the signals from the source, performs the required information and amplifies it. This is how it works.

Choose your receiver carefully

You have to keep certain things in your mind while buying home theater receiver [http://www.1hometheaterreviews.com/Home_Theater_Wiring/]. A power listing is always given with these receivers. The rating mentions the watts per channel. So always take notice of this rating when you are buying the receiver. A higher rating does not imply that the receiver is good. The watts required will depend on the type of receiver you are opting for. The distortion should also be good. Distortion measures the level of amplification of sound and music.

A good receiver should have low distortion level. A low distortion level means that there will be low noise even when the receiver is used at high volume. So you will have no disturbances while you are watching your favorite shows. The distortion level should be always taken into consideration. Go for a receiver which has low distortion level as well as low watt.

A good receiver is one which can maintain full power output for a long time and that too continuously. Receivers should work for a considerable period of time. Buy a receiver which fulfils this criterion even if it is low in watts. RMS measure is something which tells you about the watt output. This will tell you the level of volume that can be tolerated with a particular output. Do not be interested in the maximum power the receiver can generate. Instead, one should always look out for the continuous power. RMS stands for root mean square and it is a measure of continuous power.

There are several things which you must consider before you finally buy the home theater receiver. As mentioned earlier it should have a low distortion level. It should also have a low power rating. In addition to all this, the receiver should be compatible enough with your home theater. It should be easy to use and easy to connect. You must also not compromise on sound quality which should be excellent. Thus, you can get the best receiver for yourself only when you take into account all these things. You have to choose a model which fulfils all your needs.

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