Home Theatre Basics: Part 2

Whether your TV room is mondo, middling or miniscule, there's a home theatre solution for you. Experts say that the key to a great audio-visual experience is making sure that the components are well matched. There are lots of ways to screw this up. Two things will help. First, buying your equipment from a good, local dealer who'll be available by phone to help you with any problems or questions, and second - beer and/or commonsense, whichever you have more of.

Surround We Go

There are several surround-sound configurations in home theatre. In each case, the DVD player and receiver must be able to recognize each other, so bear this in mind when you're buying new equipment. Here's a truncated summary of the different surround sound options:

• Dolby Digital - The classic audio coding technique that creates five to seven separate channels for speakers. Dolby Digital compresses the digital signal, so it requires a smaller amount of disk space to store sound.
• DTS - DTS is a hopped up version of Dolby Digital. The data storage is less compressed, so you get higher quality sound and your brain doesn't have to fill in the blanks, which is the big trick behind psycho-acoustic masking (the use of less data to convince your brain that something sounds great). You need your receiver (the big giant head that distributes sound and picture to the correct components), DVD player and DVD disc to be compatible in order to play the DTS format.
• THX - THX (engineered by the gearhead gurus at George Lucas's Skywalker Ranch) uses Dolby 5.1 (five speakers and one subwoofer) technology but defines stringent performance standards for both audio-visual components and DVD disks. The THX label ensures that the highest standards have been used, and you'll get outstanding compatibility, quality and bragging rights. There are two versions of THX - "THX Select" is for rooms up to 2000 cubic feet (measured by multiplying depth x width x ceiling height). "THX Ultra" is for rooms up to 3000 cubic feet. Note: Not all DVDs are THX-certified - but your system will seem especially lively with the ones that are (i.e. Titanic, True Lies, The Mask of Zorro, etc.)
• SACD - Developed by Sony for CD audio, SACD is an encoding system that allows more data to be put onto a disc. Sony has been pushing to make SACD the new standard in CD format. In the surplus available space on the CD, SACD adds more tracks and improves quality, so you get unbelievable sound. But you'll need a special SACD player as well as a receiver with multi-channel direct inputs.
• DVD Audio - DVD Audio uses the extra space on a DVD disc to improve audio quality and add extra surround-sound channels, additional video or special features. In order to get the full bang from a DVD-Audio disc, you'll need a DVD player that is compatible with DVD-Audio, plus a receiver with multi-channel direct inputs.

Test in Peace

Once you've bought your components, the next hurdle is setting up and calibrating your system. And if you're a DIY enthusiast, there's no way you're going to pay a knowledgeable professional to have all the fun of installing it. You're going to want to do that yourself.

Here are some things to remember:

• Speaker set-up: Most receivers skimp on space for connecting speaker cables. This can end up being hugely irritating, especially if you've already installed the cables for the other components first. So start with the speaker cable installation, and proceed from there. TIP: Polarity mistakes are the biggest problem with speaker connections. There are usually important visual distinctions between the two wires - sometimes one of the wires will have a white line running along its length, or the name of the manufacturer. Use this distinction to make sure you keep the continuity, hooking up black to black, and red to red. If your speakers sound weird when you check them later, search for a polarity error; the speakers may be out of phase because you hooked up a black to a red somewhere.
• Setting up the receiver: There are several main settings that need to be configured on a new receiver.
  1. All main speakers set to 'small'
  2. Low frequency effects (LFE) and bass sent to 'subwoofer'
  3. Dolby Digital dynamic range set to Maximum, or Dynamic Compression set to 'Off'
  4. DSP modes set to 'Off'
  5. DVD Digital Input set to 'Auto'
  6. Special tip: If you have a variable crossover, set it to 80hz
• DVD set-up: (Tip: Most DVD players can only be set up when the tray is empty!) You do NOT want your DVD player messing with the sound that has been lovingly installed on a DVD. Here are the set-up highlights:
  1. Aspect ratio should be set properly (16:9 or 'widescreen' for widescreen displays)
  2. Dynamic compression 'Off' or dynamic range 'Max'
  3. Black level 'Normal'
  4. Noise reduction or any other filters 'Off'
  5. Progressive video 'On' is you have a progressive DVD and an HDTV
  6. Any audio filtering 'Off'

NOTE: Some audio-visual components come with cables included. These cables are good for tying down a load on your pickup truck. Go out and buy good cables. (Plan on spending about 10% of your budget on cables.) Keep your cable and wiring lengths as short as possible. The shorter the cable, the stronger the audio and video signal.

Sound Reason

The goal of setting up your own home theatre system is owning the knowledge of how your components are connected, and being able to figure out how to troubleshoot any problem. But sometimes you're just going to want to turn on the TV for a quick peek at the news or your favourite Thigh Master infomercial. Therefore, install one direct connection from your satellite receiver or cable box right to your TV, so you can watch something without having to invoke the entire system.

A final word on equipment storage. Audio visual components can be heavy. For example, a classic Sony television with a 34-inch screen weighs 210 pounds. Make sure your shelving isn't lame or your system may 'go down' in a very loud and dramatic way.