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What is a Receiver?

A receiver is that big, heavy thing that you plug your speakers and other elements 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 elements to a receiver is the conception of audio/video switching, permitting you to switch to dissimilar video origins (like TV, DVD, camcorder) on your TV

and thence altering the audio source consequently – all without touching anything but the receiver.

Of course, the main intention 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), various video inputs, and even HDMI inputs. You could plug your Xbox, Plasma, and DVD player into the receiver and use one remote to switch amongst all the dissimilar video roots (games, TV, DVD video) and have your speakers pump out surround-sound. Let’s commence 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.

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

So what the heck is all this ‘stuff’ on the back of your receiver?

I’m going to go over just regarding anything that you would find on the back of your receiver. The one I’m basing this guide off of is a Harman Kardon AVR-247 I’m going to commence from the top left of the unit and work my way to the right, then I’ll start out at the left of the next row and so on.

The original three inputs are for antennas. An FM antenna cable would slide on to the original 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 in front and do that. These are standard connections, so if you lose one of your antennas, just go buy another for a few bucks.

You’ve in all probability heard of composite video. Its a very basic video connection used by most any factor (TV, DVD, VCR especially). Its mutual and it is cheap. As such, it is 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 firstborn source. Its utile when you need the extra input or the device you’re connecting only has composite video. Otherwise, use something else, like element video. Sounds similar; very different.

S-Video is next in line after composite. It uses a dissimilar type of connector (five pins in a circle) and gives you marginally better video quality. It is likewise a video-only cable, so you’ll need to plug in audio separately. In this case, you’ll in all likelihood use a pair of red and white RCA cables for your audio inputs.

Next up: a ton of composite audio inputs. These inputs use left channel and right channel RCA cables, specifically 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 system 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 perfective 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 capable to use anything but composite audio. Note that there is a composite audio input beneath each composite video input so that it is easy to match them up. Plug them in the defective inputs and you won’t get sound when you’re on that queer video input.

Here we have one of the least-used features of a progressed receiver: 6 (or channel direct input. This is only employed for two purposes: SACD or DVD Audio. SACD is an acronym for Super Audio CD. It is a proprietary audio format produced 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 aid (as in the picture), and of course Super Audio CD’s. DVD Audio is the same idea, dissimilar brand, dissimilar media (its a DVD, not a CD!).

DVD Audio discs are particular DVDs that are recorded in 5.1 surround sound and may only be played by gadgets 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 take pleasure in 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.

You could skip this next little item because it is distinctive to this brand of receiver (Harman Kardon). The Bridge” is a proprietary connection they devised for you to connect

an iPod. You need to buy a discerned element that includes a docking station and particular cables to connect the iPod. It wholly integrates with the receiver, displaying

menus and songs on the front LCD screen of the receiver. This allows you to without apparent effort 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 may 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.

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 may get unfeigned 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 may get enjoyment from 5.1 surround sound on high definition channels. Choosing among the two, there’s genuinely no dissimilar in audio quality, so feel free to use

what you’d like (or what you’re forced to).

I don’t think I need an effigy for the next plug. Its a pair of power inputs. One is for powering the receiver, the other for whatsoever 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 inevitably commend this unless it specifically suits

your needs. It is utile if you’re running low on outlets, of course.

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, it is 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 all over 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. An alternate use for this may be a bit more common: if your receiver’s front panel is blocked (like inside a cabinet), you could get an infrared transmitter to latch on to the front of it. This transmitter would hook up to another device someplace in your room that will receive signals from your remote control. The receiving device then transmits the remote’s commands to your receiver (via the transmitter you’ve attached to the front over the regular infrared transmitter).

Pre-outs , located right under the Remote in/out. Pre-outs are applied when you’d like to add an amplifier to your scheme to boost the power (and consequently 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 attempting to fill a room the size of a little house with sufficient sound, but you’re not, right?

Here we ultimately 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 under the caps and tighten them back up by turning clockwise. This’ll

give your speaker wire a nice tug fit that in all likelihood 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 competent 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 someplace in amid your front and rear speakers (“side surround”, or 7.1). If you have enough

speakers, you may go in front 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 a lot of larger rooms, that’s an

advantage.

Our final set of connectors for this receiver: element video . The best video you may get next to composite or s-video. You’ll observe it is 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 distinguished color channels. In the past, component

did it in fact represent R, G, B (splitting the crucial colors in transmit and recombining them at the destination device), but that is not used in current element video

connections. Component video may 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 is the newest, fastest, sharpest video and audio connection available today. Its the only cable that may 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 it is features. Not all DVD players, cable boxes, or receivers support both

audio and video in HDMI. Its getting more and more of a usual now to support both. The vantage is clear: less cable clutter, higher quality audio and video. You may 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 pricey receivers

support the full capability of HDMI. Its the best you may get as all-digital goes.

The last connection for this article is DVI. DVI is likewise all digital like HDMI, but it cannot procedure audio signals. HDMI may provide a technically superior image,

but I don’t think anybody could tell the difference. DVI supports high definition video all the way up to 1080p, just like HDMI. Its being used less often times now,

but if you’ve purchased 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 it is way into the PC market, but it is dominance is seen in the home theater arena.

Now that you’ve familiarized yourself with mutual connections, let’s plug it all together.

This percentage of the receiver How-To is going to guide you through hooking a 5.1 surround sound system(5 speakers and a subwoofer) with a high-definition TV, a high-definition cable or satellite box, a DVD player, and a 5.1 receiver.

Your TV & Components

Where you put your TV is dependent on how big it is, how big your room is, and where you will be sitting. If it is 50 inches, don’t sit more than 10-15 feet away; but no less, either.

A 60″ set is perfective for 12-20 feet. If you have a 32 inch set, try to sit no further than 8-12 feet away. Your receiver, DVD player, cable box, and other parts will have to plainly be close together, but don’t place them physically on top of each other. They all get hot, exceptionally your receiver. If you have no other choice, slide a thin piece of plywood amidst the parts to support dispense the heat.

Lay Out of Speakers

The firstborn step is to lay out your setup. Different rooms call for dissimilar locatings for your speakers and subwoofer. If your room is a typical rectangle, go in front and place your two front left and right speakers someplace flush with the television on that side of the room. Your left speaker goes toward the left corner, right speaker toward the right corner. Don’t bother with speaker wire yet (unless your speakers come with speaker wire attached already; in that case, just let them dangle for now). Note that which speaker is left or right is solely dependent on how you connect them to your receiver. Your speakers aren’t in truth indicated “left” or “right”.

Depending on how you acquired your speakers, your front speakers could be larger than your rear speakers. That’s how you know they’re for the front. Otherwise, all your speakers are the same shape and size, and you may use each for any purpose.

One exception: the center channel. Usually, a center channel is much shorter and wider than your other speakers. It will have to only be employed for the center channel. Sometimes, all 5 of your speakers could be the same, commonly on a very inexpensive setup. You may use any of these speakers for any purpose.

Your center channel must always go either directly on top or beneath your television set. However you have to do this, get it done! It’s not called the center channel for nothing, you know. Any movie will pump out closely 90% of the voices you listen and a majority of the rest of the sounds through the center channel. It is a vitally essential element to your surround sound setup.

Your subwoofer will have to always be on the floor. If it is totally unlikely to place it on the floor, get it as close to the floor as possible. Placing it behind objections or in closets will diminish it is effects. In a perfective setup, the subwoofer would be on the floor close to the TV (perhaps off to the left or right) in your line of sight. Nothing ought to block the side of the subwoofer that air will come out of (usually covered by a grill protecting the subwoofer speaker itself).

When it comes to finding a good spot for your speakers, you might want to mount them. You may ordinarily buy compatible speaker mounts online or in stores. You may also

use existent shelving, buy a heap of shelving, or place them on tables or other objects. No matter how you do it, try to keep the speakers as close to ear level as possible. A speaker mounted at the ceiling of your room isn’t going to give you the optimal aural experience.

The last thing to keep in mind with regards to layout is speaker wire. You’ll probably need at least 100ft of speaker wire, but you’ll often times find yourself using much more if you

try running wire through your ceiling, beneath carpeting, up through the basement, or around objects to conceal it. Take measurements and buy at least 10% more wire than

you think you need. You’ll probably use it!

Cabling

You need to recognise the dissimilar kind of speaker wire available to you before setting up your home theatre. If you purchased an HTIB (home theater in a box), it in all likelihood came with 100ft of horribly cheap speaker wire. You don’t want that! Do yourself a favor: buy a great deal of high-quality, 14-guage speaker wire. Anything higher than 14-guage is just to thin and will be susceptible to interence, quality loss, and poor quality over longer distances. Fourteen guage is a good thickness and suitable for most home theatres. Make sure it is likewise not too thick – galore speaker wire merely will not fit in to the speaker wire jacks on a heap of receivers.

Some receivers use proprietary speaker inputs. Sony is one example. Many Sony receivers have particular connectors for speaker wire and will not receive a ordinary speaker wire. You’ll need to use either the Sony-provided speaker wire, take the ends off of Sony speaker wire and put it on your own, or buy galore of these special connectors from Sony directly to place on your speaker wire. My recommendation? Avoid any receivers with non-standard speaker wire posts/jacks/connectors. Look for bind posts or other jacks that grant you to slide in and clamp down on a typical speaker wire.

Once you’ve got your speaker wire sorted out, you’ll have to do a lot of cutting and stripping if you opted to buy your own. This is way requiring little effort than it sounds, so don’t worry!

Measure out each length one at a time, cutting the speaker wire with either genuinely outstanding scissors or a sharp blade. Now you need to strip the ends of the wire. Use either a stripping tool or plain old scissors. You may place the scissors on the cable and gently apply a great deal of pressure as you twist the scissors around the cable, conservatively slicing into the plastic coating. Eventually, it’ll get weak sufficient that you may just slide it off by tugging on it with your fingers. You need at least 1/4″ of exposed wire.

Now you may connect your speakers. Note on your speaker wire the divergence amid the two ends. You’ll need to use one as your positive and one as your negative. Sometimes the coating is a dissimilar color amid the two or there is text on one and not on the other. Keep track of this – whichever side you use for positive on your speaker, use it for positive on your receiver. Crossing the two may cause damage, either without delay or sometime in the future. It might work this way but you don’t want it to!

Connecting the speakers is easy enough. Front left to front left on your receiver, center speaker to center on your receiver, etc… Your rear speakers may be referred to as “Surround” or “Rear Surround” rather of just “Rear”, but keep in mind, if you have a 7.1 or 8.1 channel receiver, “Surround” may indicate side surround speakers, not rear speakers.

Subwoofers

Your subwoofer is going to be a little more complicated. There are a few dissimilar ways to do it and galore variations of inputs/ouputs on the back side of subwoofers. I’m going to go with the most usual and effective method first.

You will need a subwoofer cable for connecting your sub. If you don’t have one or don’t want to buy one, you may substitute it for a standard red or white RCA cable (or a pair, since they are ordinarily connected; just let the other cable dangle). It will work, but it is in truth not the best way to do it. You’ll likewise need what is called a Y adapter. On the back of your sub, there must be a left/right input (red and white). You plug the Y adapter in to these connections and then your subwoofer cable (or RCA cable) in the other end of the Y (note: if you don’t have a Y adapter, just choose the left or right input to plug into).

Now, take the other end of your cable and plug it into your receiver’s

subwoofer preout. Hopefully you have a powered sub, meaning it gets plugged into an AC power outlet. All you need to do now is plug that in and your subwoofer is good to.

If you don’t have RCA jacks on your subwoofer, or it only has speaker wire jacks (and it is most likely not powered), you’ll need to connect it the old fashioned way. Your front left and right speakers will plug into your subwoofer’s ouput jacks rather of your receiver. You’ll then run speaker wire from the left and right inputs on the subwoofer to your left and right speaker outputs on your receiver. This way, the subwoofer is powered by the receiver and will not work as well as a powered sub. You likewise take a heap of power away from your front speakers with this method. A good idea is to buy a new, powered subwoofer with line in RCA jacks.

Connecting the Dots

You’ve got the hard stuff out of the way. Now finish it up by connecting your TV, DVD, and cable/satellite box. Always try using the best choices first. If your DVD

has HDMI and so does your receiver, use it. If your DVD only has composite, s-video, and component, use factor video cable. When it comes to audio, you utterly need

to use digital coaxial (jacks are normally orange) or fiber optic (usually the jack is recessed into the unit and has a door on it; when the door is open, a red light is visible). If you do not use either of these two, you won’t get unfeigned surround sound! When all else fails, resort to composite (red and white) audio connectors.

Note: Look almost at the connections on your receiver. Everything is labeled, like the introductory set of red, green, and blue factor video inputs might be labeled “Comp 1″. If you’re using composite audio cablesfor your sound, you’ll need to plug them into the jacks that coordinate with “Comp 1″. This might not be clear by looking at the receiver, so refer to your receiver’s manual to figure out which video inputs use which audio inputs. Most often, you’ll be capable to configure them from the receiver’s internal menu using the remote control.

On a lot of receivers, all the factor video inputs, for example, are linked to a single composite audio input (usually “DVD”), so if you connect more than one of the element inputs, you will be competing for sound when more than one device is active. This is why you’d want to configure the element inputs to use dissimilar audio inputs.

Your manual is the only way to figure out how to go in regards to it. Composite video will commonly match up to composite audio inputs with naming conventions like Video 1 -> Video 1, Video 2 -> Video 2, etc., but cables like factor and DVI may not. You must likewise configure digital audio inputs to match up with the video inputs you’re planning on using. For example, if you’re using a digital coaxial input (possibly “Digital 1″), and you use element video, you’ll want to match “Digital 1″ with “Comp 1″. Again, refer to your users manual for how to do this.

Sanyo 48285 Universal Single Plug 2 Way

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