For many, the once lofty dream of owning a home theatre system is finally becoming a reality. Prices have dropped and the market has become flooded with affordable options. It is now possible to become the proud owner of a home theatre system without having to take out a second mortgage on the house.

Basic Components

The home theatre system we will be discussing is fairly basic. It consists of:

• A Big Screen LCD or Plasma TV (42″ as a common example)
• A DVD player with 5.1 surround sound capabilities
• 5 surround sound speakers and a sub woofer
• A digital cable or satellite box
• A gaming console (XBox 360, Playstation 3, or Wii)

You may have more components or less, but this is a basic system. Most TVs these days come with the DVD player and surround system. I highly recommend buying this way as it makes life much easier. It looks better too because everything will be the same brand name!

Set Up

I’m going to make an assumption to make things easier on all of us. I will assume that you have an entertainment unit with the TV on the topmost shelf and the DVD players etc underneath. If you have another set up it shouldn’t be too difficult to adapt these instructions.

First, set up all of the smaller units like the DVD player, the cable box, and the gaming console. Put the units themselves on the shelves you want them on. Insert all power cords into the back of the units if not attached. Run the power cords to a surge protected power bar, but do not plug in yet. Once you have that done it is on to the next step.

You need to decide if you will be running your smaller units on standard definition or high definition. Standard looks fine, but high definition looks and sounds much better. If you are running standard definition you will need an RCA cable for each unit. RCA cables are easily identifiable because they have three wires at the end with yellow, red, and white sockets.

If you are running high definition you will need an HDMI cable for each unit. These can be identified by the cord itself, which is usually at least 1/4 inch thick, and the ends, which are rectangular (about 1 inch by 1/8 inch if you were looking straight on at the end) have a small notch outwards on the bottom.

Once the smaller units are set up, connect the RCA or HDMI cables to the back of each unit.

For RCA cables, connect the colored sockets on one end to the corresponding colored jacks on the back of the unit. Yellow is for video, and white and red are audio. On the back of the unit itself (DVD player or cable box) there will be a section with jacks labeled ‘Out’. This signifies that anything going OUT from the unit is connected here, i.e. video and audio OUT from your DVD player. The exception to this is gaming systems. Most have a special adapter for the RCA cables. For this simply attach the special adapter at the back of the unit.

For HMDI cables, connection is much easier. Simply make sure the notch on the tip is pointing in the right direction (usually down) and plug into the HDMI out jack on the back of the unit.

Now you should have all your smaller units ready to go. They should have power cables run to a surge protected power bar, but not plugged in, and have RCA or HDMI cables coming out of the back of each one.

The last step before installing the TV is to install all of the surround sound speakers. In most 5.1 surround systems there will be 5 satellite speakers (hence 5.1) and one sub woofer. If your system doesn’t come with a sub woofer, don’t worry, it’s not essential. Those 5 speakers are intended for 5 different locations. You have center, front left, front right, rear left, and rear right speakers.

The center speaker is intended to be placed directly in the front center of your entertainment system. The best place for this speaker is on a shelf directly above or below where the TV will be. The front left and front right speakers will be placed on the left and right of the center speaker. A good rule of thumb is to place the left speaker a couple of feet further left from the farthest seat to the left. The opposite is also true for the right side. For optimal sound, keep the front left and right speakers approximately the same distance from the center speaker.

The rear left and rear right speakers should be placed almost exactly across from the front left and front right. This will create a square with your speakers. If you can’t do this, don’t worry. Unless you’re a real audiophile, you won’t notice the difference. All that’s left to do is aim the speakers. Pick a point in the room, roughly in the center of your entire entertainment setup, but closer to the audience, and aim the speakers towards that point.

I’ve done a rough little hand drawing to help demonstrate.

Run all of the speaker wires from the speakers to the back of the DVD player unit. Most 5.1 DVD systems come with special jacks for their speaker wires which are usually color coded to help make sure the system is set up properly. Match the speaker designation (C, FL, FR, RL, RR, SW) to the location on the diagram above. Match the color on the end of the wire to the socket on the back of the DVD player. Make all the connections and the sound will be done.

So let’s recap what we’ve seen so far. We’ve installed all the smaller units associated with our system and run power cords to a power bar. We’ve connected RCA or HDMI cables to all of the smaller units. We’ve also placed our surround sound speakers and run the wires to the DVD player.

All that’s left to do now is install the centerpiece of the entire setup, the big screen LCD or Plasma TV. The first task is obvious. Place the TV in the desired location. Make sure the area is free of wires, and get someone to help you lift the TV into place. Make sure to leave some space on one side or the top because you will need access to the back of the TV. Run the power cord to the power bar.

Now it’s time to make all the connections. Take the cable (RCA or HDMI) for the unit you use the most (probably cable or satelite box) and connect it to the input on the back of the TV labeled ‘AV 1′ or ‘HDMI 1′, depending on the cable you’re using. Connect the next unit, usually the DVD player to ‘AV 2′ or ‘HDMI 2′. Lastly, connect the final unit, usually the gaming console, to ‘AV 3′ or ‘HDMI 3′.

Once this is done, you’re pretty much ready to go. Plug in all the units into the power bar and turn it on. If this is the first time turning anything on, including the TV, make sure to follow the instruction manual. There should be a section on ‘Initial Setup’ or ‘First Time Use’. Make sure to follow step by step to get the most use out of your equipment.

Once everything is set up, it’s time to enjoy all your hard work. Turn on the TV and follow the instruction manual to change the TV input to the desired unit. The selection corresponds with where you plugged the cable into the back of the TV. If you connected your cable box to ‘HDMI 1′, selecting this from the list on your TV’s menu and turning on the cable box will allow you to watch that. Switching to ‘HDMI 2′ from the list and turning on the DVD player will allow you to watch movies.

That’s really all there is to setting up your own home theatre system. It can seem a daunting task at first, but finishing the job will give you a great sense of satisfaction, as well as years of entertainment.

If you have any questions, feel free to comment and I will answer them as best I can!