Home theaters provide much more fun and functionality when watching movies than Hi-Fi stereo systems, and you do not need to be a sound engineer to install them. All you need to do is follow a few simple steps and you will soon be able to enjoy music and movies with great sound quality.
Assume that the sound system and the projector for the cinema have already been purchased, and many large boxes and cables have been delivered. The installation process will not depend on whether they are purchased as a whole or as separate components.
Connecting home theater systems requires three steps.
Step 1: Choosing the Right Placement
Every room is different, and a good home theater connection depends on where you place your speakers and other components.
Ideally, all speakers should be the same distance from the listener. This is rarely achievable in practice, but it is already good if this condition is met, at least for the front left and right speakers. If possible, they should be placed approximately at head level, 2-3 meters fromaudience seat.
Connecting an LG home theater, for example, requires front left, top left, right, top right, center, surround left, top left, right, top right and subwoofer.
The center speaker should point directly at the seated listener at approximately head height. It would be a big mistake to put it on the floor well below the screen or somewhere above the TV, as this will give the impression that the voices are coming from the sky or from underground.
The rear speakers can be closer or further away from the listener, but it's best to try placing them a little higher and behind the listener's head. Again, you should try to keep the distances as equal as possible. Do not point the speakers directly at the listener, but rather point them slightly towards the front of the room.
Subwoofers make good plant stands or coffee tables. It is advisable to install them at least a few centimeters from the walls, and not push them into a corner - this will make the low frequencies distorted and overstated. The best place for a subwoofer is near the front speakers.
Cables and wires
Connecting cables and wires is the second most difficult part of a home theater setup after placing the speakers. They can be an aesthetic nightmare and a dangerous foot trap, but they are indispensable, unless, of course, the speakers are used only asjewelry.
Wireless rear speakers will eliminate the need for wires running from one end of the room to the other, but they still need power, so wires running from the control box to the speakers at the back of the room cannot be avoided.
Connect your home theater to your computer via the LAN port on the rear panel or the built-in wireless module. In addition, access to the home network will allow you to change the device software, access online content, and more.
Home theatres, Blu-ray/CD/DVD players, video recorders and other consumer audio and video equipment can all go anywhere as long as the cables are long enough. It's better to use HDMI wherever possible to get rid of the tangled wires that make finding the right connection a nightmare.
Connecting a home theater to a TV or monitor is done through just such a cable. In this case, on the device itself, you must select the appropriate image source. The cinema projector is connected in the same way.
Best option when the home theater cable is under the floor or hidden by carpet. Otherwise, it will not be out of place to purchase a mount for laying along the baseboards at the bottom of the wall, where they will not interfere so much.
Be sure to connect audio outputs and inputs of the same color. Some systems come with colored wires for each speaker, in which case the wiring diagram must be followed.speakers specified in the manufacturer's instructions.
Where to put the equipment?
The AV receiver is the main unit of the home theater and contains all the amplifiers that drive the speaker system. It will get hot, so don't hide it in an airtight cabinet. In addition, you must have access to the back of the receiver to connect the wires. And you need to place it within the line of sight of the remote control.
The TV should be close enough to give a sense of being involved in what is happening (same as if the viewer was in a real cinema, but not so close that he feels overwhelmed or can distinguish individual pixels on the screen).
The general rule for HDTV screens is to maintain a minimum distance between the viewer and the TV, equal to one and a half times the length of the diagonal of the screen. For example, for a 106 cm TV display, the shortest allowable distance would be about 160 cm, which is still too close. Most people prefer a distance of 2-3 meters.
Step 2: adjust the sound
Home theater connection continues with system sound setup. Although it may be great without additional intervention, it is unlikely.
Most newer systems have an auto-adjustment where you just need to place the included microphone in the listening position andpress a button to let the theater figure it out on its own. It's okay to start with, but don't expect too much.
If there is no automated setup, you will have to delve into the receiver's menu.
Most systems will show how the automated setup calculated the room by specifying the distances from the microphone to each speaker. This information may or may not be correct. The calculation data should be checked. And, if they are wrong, correct them using the controls. This will ensure that sound arrives from speakers that are at different distances at the same time.
Automated systems often balance speaker volume well, but this can also be done manually. Usually, this is as simple as pressing a button to start broadcasting white noise to each speaker. The volume of each speaker can be adjusted by ear, using an inexpensive sound level meter available from consumer electronics stores, or a free smartphone app. The manual lists a recommended sound pressure level of 75dB in most cases.
Automation is good, hearing is better
Then you should play some familiar music or watch a movie clip. If the system sounds muffled or lacks something else, it is likely that the automated setup has suppressed some frequencies. To fix this, you need to find an equalizer or dynamic control setting. Sometimes it has its own name, such as Audessey or Dolby, but,whatever the name, just turn it off and it should sound better.
Subwoofers may have their own volume and frequency controls, called crossovers. If they were bought with the system, then all this should be controlled by the on-screen menu. Otherwise, the operation of the subwoofer will have to be adjusted separately.
Home theater connections should always be started with the suggested settings and changed only when you are sure that the problem can be solved by simply moving the speakers. Sometimes even a few centimeters make the difference.
Step 3: connect properly
Many home theater Blu-Ray players plug into the headunit. There is also an audio and video receiver. To connect anything else, one or two additional HDMI ports are usually present, but the number of analog inputs may be limited.
One of the benefits of standalone AV receivers is that they have a staggering number of inputs and outputs. In addition to speaker outputs, the most commonly used are HDMI ports for connecting various players and VCRs, as well as at least one home theater connection to a TV. All connectors must be clearly labeled and a wiring diagram can be found in the manual.
Usually, it is enough to connect the PVR cable to the PVR port and so on, but some systems require the ports to be configured through the OSD menu with the choice of the name of eachconnector controlled by the remote control. This is necessary so that, for example, pressing the button on the Blu-ray player on the remote control does not turn on the video recorder. The good thing is that this procedure only needs to be done during the initial setup.
The main thing to do now is to listen. In addition, you should write down any settings that will be changed so that you can return them if the result is not quite what you expected.
Setting Tips
Buying a home theater can be a big disappointment when the owner, after going through the pain of setting up, realizes that their buying experience is not as good as expected. One possible reason for this is that the room reflects the waves in a very different way than where the system was first heard. Even if the sound is satisfactory, there are some tips to help you get the most out of your system.
What to do when it's booming?
Too harsh bright sound - when high notes rumble and voices are difficult to make out. This is a common problem with inexpensive speakers, but all is not lost. If the room has a hard floor or a lot of windows, not a lot of upholstered furniture, even good speakers can be overly bright. Adding flooring such as carpet or heavy curtains will likely improve things. It is also possible to purchase special sound-absorbing materials that are attached to the wall, but these are usually expensive and,probably won't match the decor of the room.
And if it's too deaf?
Too pale, with the drums sounding like a cardboard box and the bass notes like they are wearing wool sweaters, means that either the room is extremely "deaf" or a very bad system was bought. As a rule, in such rooms there is too much upholstered furniture, carpet on the floor and heavy curtains.
Such rooms are unsuitable for home theater systems, but adding some hard surfaces can solve the problem. Sometimes just hanging a couple of paintings on either side of the room is enough to bounce the sound back to the listener and remove the feeling of lack of volume.
When adding or removing something, balance must be maintained, as the movement of sound vibrations is like the movement of ripples on water - reflection from only one wall will bring a feeling of imbalance.
Debounce
Bass boom is a common problem that can often be solved by simply moving the subwoofer a short distance. You can not install it in the corners and against the walls. If that doesn't work, placing upholstered furniture and even open bookcases in the corners of the room can be helpful.
Nothing makes windows rattle like a subwoofer, but some things vibrate at high volumes at higher frequencies.
Turning on the music to the maximum, you should walk around the room in search of vibrating objects. The sound of the system would be greatly improved if Smaug's terrifying roar was not accompanied by the noise of a forgotten in the roombaby rattle.
