Installing a Home Theater

Getting the Most You Can Out of Your Movie Viewing

Experience

To

Dr. Alfred BoysenProfessor of English

English 279 – Technical Communications I

By

Greg ZimmermanFebruary 20, 2008

Introduction

A working definition of a home theater could be stated as a television and video equipment designed to reproduce in the home the experience of being in a movie theater. The purpose of these instructions is to inform you how to build and assemble an entire home theater system, or at the very least help you understand and contract the process to a qualified builder. These instructions will provide categorized information pertaining to each component of a home theater along with photographs the help you along the way. In most all of higher end homes built today, there is a dedicated entertainment room or theater in the home plans. This will help you increase the value of your home should you ever decide to sell, and provide enjoyment for your entire family for many years. These instructions will assume that the reader has some basic knowledge of stereo equipment and will research on their own for specific components to purchase for their home theater.

1.1 Background

The instructions will be separated into 3 parts consisting of Components, Installation/Placement of Those Components, and Mistakes to Avoid. Building a home theater does require a good amount of reading and research in the part selection process. These instructions will not cover the home theater component selection, but will go over all the basic theater components needed for a theater to be operational and how these components are installed. Being familiar with basic home theater components will provide you with more than enough knowledge base to perform these steps with whatever home theater brands you choose.

As with any other type of electronic device, there are different manufacturers and different qualities of components. However, the basic concepts are followed by all manufacturers, so this set of instructions will apply to all manufacturers, no matter your brand choice. Figure 1 below is a picture of a typical base model home theater. Be sure to read through this entire instruction manual before proceeding to install any components.

Figure 1: Typical Home Theater Setup

1.2 Equipment and Tools

Building and installing a home theater requires the use of a large amount of equipment and tools. Most importantly, there are all of the basic components in home theater systems that are needed in order to have a complete theater. These components will be described in greater detail later on, but will be listed here for reference. Below you will find a list for the tools/equipment you will need and a list of all home theater components that will be needed for this project.

Tools PurposeWire Stripper/Cutter Strip speaker wiresCoaxial Cable Stripper/Crimper Strip/crimp coaxial cableCat-5 Cable Stripper/Crimper Strip/crimp Cat-5 cableBattery Drill (Prefer DeWalt 7.2V) Mount brackets, etc. to wallPhillips & Flathead Screwdrivers Mounting/adjustment workStud Finder Locating studs behind walls to mount brackets toLabeler Label outlet boxes for organizationOptional Tools (for Pre-construction) Purpose16 oz. Claw Hammer Mounting wire boxes to studsCorded Drill Boring holes in 2x4’s to run cables through1 ½” Auger Drill Bit Boring holes in 2x4’s to run cables throughWire Cutter Cut wires in wallsCable Tester Test cables for continuity after installationPVC Conduit Heater Bend conduit to fit around cornersElectrical Tape Bundle wires togetherPermanent Marker Mark and identify cables

Components NeededTV or projector w/ screenReceiverDVD Player/Blu-Ray Disc PlayerCable Box/Satellite ReceiverSpeakers

Left, Center, RightRears (Satellites)Subwoofer(s)Left and Right Back Speakers (Optional)

Universal RemoteAll Required Cables & EndsSurge/Power ProtectorSeatingOptional (for Pre-construction)Single/Double/Triple-gang data outlet boxes to be mounted on studs in pre-determined spotsAssociated wall plates and inserts to go with outlet boxesCable staples used to secure cables to studs1 ¼” PVC ConduitPVC Cleaner and PVC Glue

1.3 Preparation

There are certain precautions that need to be taken before beginning to install and build a home theater.

Research all of the necessary parts that are listed above so that you have a basic understanding of their use and operation

Follow all instructions and safety precautions that are packaged with the parts you purchase Verify that all work you do is done neatly and correctly

Procedure

2.1 Planning

Proper placement of the speakers in your home theater room is essential. It is much easier to install your audio/video cables in the correct areas during the construction phase of your home theater room. It is much easier to make any changes you would like to while your project is still be conceived on paper than while you are painting the walls. This is why it is important to have a specific plan ready to go before you start building.

1. Obtain a copy of the blueprint that illustrates the room to be used as your home theater from your contractor or builder.

a. Be sure to include on the blueprint anything inside the walls that could obstruct or make difficult pulling cables by or through. Things to include could be heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) ducts, water pipes, etc.

b. Also include all electrical outlet locations. This way you will know where your television and receiver could possibly be placed when planning your theater room.

2. Place all speaker hookup locations as close as possible to the measurements in Figure 2.a. To use this method, first you have to decide where to place your television and receiver,

then your seating area accordingly. This is because all of the angles used are in reference to your seating area.

i. Using the blueprints you obtained, place your television and receiver within a few feet of an electrical outlet location. This is so that the surge protector that protects all of your components will be able to reach the outlet. In addition, if you use an entertainment center, you will be able to run the power cords behind it and they will not be seen.

ii. Ideally, your seating should be as close as possible to 2 times the height of the television away. This provides the proper viewing distance for all viewers. For example, a 48” television should be viewed from 8 feet away.

iii. After you have chosen your seating location, use Figure 2 to mark on the bare studs of the wall where you will place your speaker cable outlet locations. All angles use the center of the television as the 0° point. An exception to this is the subwoofer. These can be placed in many locations and be functional. A popular location is to place it in the corner of the room facing the wall, so the sound will reflect around the entire room. If this is not possible, the location in Figure 2 is a very suitable location for this component.

b. This method of placing the speaker outlets around the room using reference angles ensures that while viewing the television, the volumes of the speakers will not overpower one another but will compliment each other.

c. Allow for upgrading. Place outlets for multiple subwoofers and also for the Left and Right Back Speakers (Lb and Rb in Figure 2). This way, even if you start with a 5.1 surround sound system, you can always upgrade to a 7.1 or 7.2 surround sound system without much work. A second subwoofer outlet could easily be placed on the opposite side of the television at the same angle as the first subwoofer.

Figure 2: Speaker Layout and Measurements

2.2 Pre-Construction

This is easily the most laborious part of the entire project. If you feel that this task is too difficult for you, or that you don’t have the technical expertise to perform the following tasks, this can be performed by most contractors or by home theater specialists. If you choose to perform these tasks on your own, the tools listed above in Section 1.2 will be sufficient to complete all jobs. All that is needed is to follow the subsequent steps.

1. Using a 16 oz Claw Hammer, mount a single-gang outlet box at every speaker outlet location and television/projector location that you have marked on the studs. At the location you have determined to have the receiver, mount two triple gang boxes in the same manner that you have mounted all the other boxes.

a. Mount these boxes at the same height above the floor as the electrical outlet boxes have been or will be mounted. This is to give the wall plates a look of uniformity when finished. When wall plates are at different heights on the same wall, it is easy to see and looks very unprofessional. The easiest way to prevent this is to mark a mounting point for all outlet boxes on the studs they are to be mounted with a cut piece of 2x4 to ensure they are all mounted at the same height.

2. With a corded drill and a 1 ½” auger bit, drill a hole through the center of the studs in a path from the outlet box at the receiver location to all speaker outlet and television outlet locations.

a. These holes should be drilled at approximately 8-12” above the top of the speaker outlet boxes. Under no circumstance can your speaker and data cables run any closer than 12 inches away parallel to any power cables running to electrical outlets. This can cause buzzing, static, and other interference to come through the sound in your speaker setup. Your speaker and data cables can cross power cables perpendicular without any problems, however. If running your speaker cables at the distance of 12” above the speaker outlets brings them within 1 foot of any power cables in the wall, you can run them below the speaker outlets instead, or any other spot that keeps them away from the power cables.

3. An optional, albeit expensive option is to install conduit running from every speaker outlet box back to the receiver outlet box. This is to make it easier to upgrade your cables should it ever become necessary for you to do so.

a. This is performed easiest by using plastic, or PVC conduit. Using your conduit heater, heat the pipe so that you can fit it inside the studs and bend it to attach it to each speaker box running to the receiver outlet box. This will allow you to easily install and upgrade cables if needed.

i. Be sure that you are in a well ventilated area while performing the conduit bending and fitting procedures. Fumes from heated PVC, as well as from PVC glue and cleaner can be toxic and detrimental to your health. Take all precautions necessary to prevent any harm to yourself or others.

2.3 Cable Installation

It is very important that all cables are properly installed. Follow all subsequent instructions carefully to ensure that all components are installed and work correctly. Figure 3 shows a professional wiring technician performing a cable installation.

1. Each speaker outlet box should have one Category-5e data cable, one optical fiber cable, and at least one 4-wire speaker cable at its location. From the receiver outlet box, thread the cables through all of the holes in the studs to each speaker outlet box until you have done this for each speaker outlet box. For your television/projector location, run three coaxial cables, one HDMI cable, one Category-5e data cable and one optical fiber cable from the receiver outlet box to the television/projector outlet box. Because the length of cable will differ depending on the size of the room, do not cut the cables until you have fed them the entire way to each speaker outlet box. This will ensure that all cables will be long enough to be connected to the wall plates.

a. As you are performing this task, bundle all cables going to each outlet box together at the receiver outlet box location and mark them. This will make it much easier in the end to identify all of your cables and determine where they’re going.

b. You must be careful while pulling the cables through the walls to not nick or tear the insulation of the cables. For Cat-5e, coaxial, HDMI and speaker cables, this can seriously diminish their signal transmitting capability. A fiber optic cable’s signal transmitting capability will be completely ruined if its insulation is nicked, or if the cable is kinked severely enough.

c. Optional (for installations with conduit) – For each speaker, feed the cables mentioned above in Step 1 into each conduit routed to the speakers. Be sure to bundle them and identify them before moving on to the next step.

Figure 3: Technician performing a cable installation

2.4 Cable Connections

Connections that are made at the end of the cables are an extremely important part of the installation process. If done incorrectly, bad cable connections can cause static and clipping in the speakers and imprecise pictures on your television or projector. The first component of this process is to strip the audio/video wires and cables accordingly. This will take the insulation off of the copper conductor underneath so that it can transfer its signal to the connectors.

1. Depending on the size and type of cable or wire, you will use a certain type of wire/cable stripper. Before you start stripping any cables or wires, be absolutely sure that nothing is accidentally connected to any power sources.

a. In the case of speaker cables, you will use a standard wire stripper to remove the sheathing that encases the wires first. Then, use the stripper once again to remove the insulation from the wires. Speaker cable will vary in size, but will normally be a #14 Stranded AWG (American Wire Gauge). To strip this size wire, use either a #14 Stranded or #12 Solid AWG strippers. To strip the insulation off, take the stripper, and place the wire in the correct Figure 4: Stripped Speaker Cable size stripping hole approximately ¼” away from the end. Clamp down on the insulation, and pull it off of the wire. Figure 4 at the right shows approximately what a stripped speaker wire will look like.

b. At the audio/video outlet box located where your television or projector will go there will be 3 coaxial cables, 1 HDMI cable with ends already attached, one Category-5e data cable and one optical fiber cable. Depending on which medium you are using, you will make use of either the HDMI cable or the 3 coaxial cables as component video cables. If you are employing the component cables, you will start

by stripping the coaxial cables with a coaxial stripper. In Figure 5 you can see what coaxial cable will look like when stripped. Figure 5: Stripped Coaxial Cable

c. If you are going to use the HDMI cable, the ends will be on the cable when you buy it, and all that will be necessary is to plug the cable into the back of the HDMI wall plate, shown below in Figure 8. A typical HDMI cable is shown in Figure 6 to the right.

2. The next phase is to install connectors on the ends of your cables after they have been stripped. If you are using the HDMI cables, you can disregard this step and move on to the next. However, if you are using the three coaxial cables for your component cables, pay attention to this step carefully. A bad connection can cause static and interference on your television set. All that is needed for this step is the coaxial stripping and Figure 6: Typical HDMI Cable Ends crimping tool and the connector for the end of the cable, called an “F-connector”. Simply take the F-connector and slide it over the end of the coaxial cable. Using the crimping tool, crimp down the connector until the handle is pressed down the entire way. Repeat with the next two coaxial cables so that all three are done in this manner. Figure 7 shows a stripped length of coaxial cable on top and an F-connector fitted to the cable on the bottom.

3. Connecting the cables to the wall plates is a very simple process. If you are using HDMI cables for your home theater, all that is needed is to plug the HDMI plug Figure 7: Stripped Coax(top) & F-connector(bottom) into a wall plate shown as in Figure 8. For your speaker cables, you will just push the stripped portion of the speaker wire into the back of the wall plate, where it will be crimped down. For your video connections, the F-connectors have threads on the inside of them, which when tightened down will pull the copper conductor tight to connect with the metal in the coaxial wall plate insert. After all of the cables have been connected to their respective wall plates, all that is left of this step is to screw the wall plates to the outlet boxes securely. Figure 8 shows the screws on the wall plates as being a Phillips head screw, however they are normally a flat head screw so that they are in line with more other wall Figure 8: HDMI wall plate plate manufacturers.

2.5 Component Selection

1. The first and most important component in any home theater is the viewing system, which will be referred to from now on as a television or projector. The sizing of the television is a very important part of the selection process. If a television is too large for the theater room, the pixels will be visible to the viewer, and negate the idea of owning a high definition television. As stated earlier in 2.1 Planning section 2.a.ii, your seating area should be as close as possible to 2 times the size of the television or viewing surface away. This needs to be taken into consideration when choosing a TV, for the reason that if too large a television is chosen, it will ruin the viewing experience. With the rapid advancement of today’s home theater and entertainment technology,

buying high definition, or HD, capable components is a must. A high definition television is a system that has twice the standard number of scanning lines per frame and therefore produces pictures with greater detail than the older standard definition televisions. HD televisions and projectors are commonly referred to as having “1080p” definition by most people.

a. A flat screen television is the most common choice made by most all consumers lately. One reason is that these TVs can be mounted on a wall, taking more clutter out of a theater room. They can also be mounted in a shallow recess built into a wall so that the front of the television sits flush with the wall. A flat screen television has two distinct types, known as plasma screen and liquid crystal display or LCD televisions.

i. Plasma screen televisions have a display in which plasma gas pixels glow when excited by electrodes. They are the more expensive option of the two television choices, but have great benefits to come along with the price. This new technology utilizes a unique display panel that alleviates the need for a cathode ray type picture tube. A major benefit of the plasma display is that it has been sized to accommodate new HDTV 16:9 aspect ratios. They also tend to have much deeper blacks and better contrast ratios than LCD televisions.

ii. LCD or Liquid Crystal Displays are designed for front or rear projection in conjunction with a screen similar to those required for slide or movie presentations. These devices include a projection lamp, an adjustable focal-length lens, and a special solid state panel that allow the video image to pass through the lens and illuminate the screen. LCD units are bright enough to allow for screen sizes in the 80" to 100" diagonal ranges. When making the choice to Figure 9: Philips Flat Screen Television utilize any front projection device, it's important to note that a dark room must be maintained to achieve a proper black level, or the black hues will appear more gray-like. The screen to projector relationship is variable within ranges specified by the manufacturer, thus allowing for flexibility in placement.

b. Projectors can project high definition just as well and television sets anymore. The only real difference is that projectors are mounted on the ceiling or high up on the wall at the back of the room, so that it can project a large image onto a projection screen at the front of the theater room. One caveat is to Figure 10: Typical Home Theater Projector make sure that you purchase a projector that is bright enough to put a quality image in front of the audience. There are two quantities to measure brightness, those being Candlepower and Lumens. It is hard to compare the two, and different manufacturers use one or the other, making it hard to compare projectors, so the best way is to see a particular model perform in person.

2. A home theater receiver can be considered the control center of a home theater system. Figure 11 to the right shows a Harmon/Kardon AVR-146 home theater receiver, which is a very good choice for an entry level component. This model has a retail value of approximately of $700, but you can easily pay up to $5000 for a top model from Harmon/Kardon. Figure 11: Harmon-Kardon AVR-146 This German company is known for having attractive, capable and well thought out designs that perform with the best at a fraction of the price. Receivers generally consist of a tuner for regular and/or satellite radio, a preamp and an amplifier. Today’s home entertainment systems are likely

to include a variety of sources and formats, and to make the most of them they need to work together. A receiver can make this cooperation between components much easier.

a. Most home theater receivers will include a tuner for AM/FM radio, and in some cases, HD (High Definition Radio), XM or Sirius Satellite Radio, and/or Internet Radio. This is mostly an add-on feature just for the sake of add-on features to sell more components, but still worth mentioning. With the future of radio going more towards satellite radio or internet radio, it is advisable to purchase a model with one of these features if you do listen to a large amount of radio.

b. An essential function of every receiver is a preamp that controls which audio and/or video source is selected, such as your DVD player, VCR, CD player, iPod, etc. The preamp processes the incoming stereo/surround sound signals, and distributes audio to the channels and subwoofer output circuits. Video from your components (such as a DVD player) are routed to a video output. Any receiver you purchase should have at least two HDMI inputs, and one, if not two HDMI outputs, in case you want to send a signal to more than one television. Figure 12 below shows that the Harmon/Kardon AVR-146 has 2 HDMI inputs and 1 HDMI output.

c. Another major part of every receiver is the amplifier. Most all home theater receivers have a built in multi channel amplifier that is 5.1, 6.1, or 7.1 channels which sends the surround sound signals and power to the speakers. When a receiver has a 5.1 multi channel amplifier that means that it has 5 speaker outlets and one subwoofer outlet. All receivers that have a multi channel amp should at least have a 5.1 surround sound channel output, but most all will now have a 7.1 or 7.2 channel output. Figure 12 below shows the back panel of the Harmon/Kardon AVR-146 Muli-Channel Home Theater Receiver. You can see there are connecting points for a 5.1 surround sound system on this receiver.

Figure 12: Back Panel of Harmon/Kardon AVR-146 Home Theater Receiver3. A very nice, albeit optional component is a central media storage device. A central media storage

device is essentially a large hard drive that you can store all your media on and retrieve from anywhere in the house if your home is wired for it. If a Category-5e Ethernet cable is run from your home network router and your receiver has this capability, you can now watch any movie that you store on the central network media storage device that you purchase. These are marketed by most all computer manufacturers such as Dell and Hewlett Packard.

4. One of the most basic components of a home theater is a DVD player. A DVD player is an electronic device that decodes and plays DVD-Video media stored on an optical disc. The disc is similar in shape and size to an audio Compact Disc and contains a vast amount of information on a single disc. Figure 13: Front & Back Panels of Harmon/Kardon DVD-48

When used for motion pictures, the disc often contains an entire movie in several languages and several screen aspect ratios. DVDs contain digitally encoded information that requires a special player to decode. Major benefits of DVDs include superior audio/video performance, instant access to "chapters" within the movie, and an increasingly vast library of titles. Now, the market is starting to move away from DVD players toward new technology called Blu-Ray discs and Blu-Ray players. Whether you choose to purchase a DVD or Blu-Ray player, it will be connected to your receiver as an input. To connect these components together, you will need to use either an HDMI cable or components cables with an optical cable. Figure 13 above shows the front and back of the Harmon/Kardon model DVD-48. Looking at the back panel, you can see the HDMI, optical cable and component cable outputs.

5. The most obvious parts of a surround sound home theater system are the speakers. In a surround sound system setup, you will have at least a 5.1 speaker setup. The first number in 5.1 refers to the number of mid and high range speakers, and the second number after the decimal refers to the number of low range speakers, or subwoofers.

a. Every home theater system requires a left, center, and right loudspeaker. These are sometimes referred to as LCRs. The left and right speakers shown colored red in Figure 14 are situated at the far left and right of the projection screen (or beside the TV or rear projection set), while the center channel speaker shown colored red in Figure 15 is situated in the center of the screen (or on top of the TV or rear Figure 14: Left and Right Channel Speakers projection set). Although it is now possible for movie producers to pan audio effects, music, and dialogue to any of the speakers independently, the left and right speakers normally play back effects and music, while the center channel's purpose is primarily dialogue. With Dolby Digital playback systems it is also important that each of the three front speakers are identical models or share the same tonal response so the tones coming from the speakers sound lifelike. Figure 15: Center Channel Speaker

b. Rear speakers in a home theater surround system are normally located behind the listener and are designed to create the illusion that you are acoustically in the middle of the action that is present on your video screen. The placement of these speakers is critical for achieving proper balance and seamless transitions between front and back "panning" of sounds. In most systems only two speakers are required, shown in red in Figure 16; however, Figure 16: Left & Right Satellite Rear Speakers with Dolby Digital surround sound formats the frequency response and tonal quality of the rear speakers should match that of the LCR speakers in your system. You can add another set of rear speakers to your system, labeled SBL and SBR on the far right side of Figure 16. These are not necessary, but will give you more sound quality and 2 more speakers making it a 7.1 or 7.2 surround sound system.

c. Sub-woofers are special loudspeakers that reproduce audio frequencies that are usually below 120 Hertz. Approximately 80% of the power required to reproduce sounds like explosions are in the frequency bands below 120 Hz. By utilizing a dedicated sub-woofer you are able to increase the performance of your audio system in several ways. Since many sub-woofers include an integral power amplifier, and allow you to remove the low frequency content from the left and right speakers, the A/V receiver or amplification system will now have more power available for the left and right speakers. Sub-woofers are available in many sizes and power ranges so they should be Figure 17: Possible Subwoofer Locations selected according to your room size and sound pressure level (SPL) requirements. Figure 17 above shows a few possible locations for your subwoofer(s). Other possible locations include placing your subwoofer pointed into the corner of your room so that the sound can reflect around the entire room.

d. Not all speakers need to be an unappealing black box sitting on the floor either. Companies such as SpeakerCraft make many custom style speakers that can be “hidden” around your room so they are inconspicuous, yet perform just as well as all other speakers. Many homes are moving toward this choice, as they do not want the speakers in their theater room or anywhere else in the house to take up room or be noticeable. SpeakerCraft produces an entire line of speakers that will mount into the wall so their face is flush when completed. The also produce a line of motorized speakers that come out of the wall in use. Figure 18 shows one of the Figure 18: TIME Speaker speakers, named TIME speakers, or “Theater In Motion Experience”. When your sound system is turned on, these speakers will come out of the wall, and when not in use, will retract back into the wall or ceiling, where you can paint or cover the bottom of the speaker in any way you please so that it will blend into the surroundings.

6. Seating for your home theater is one of the most overlooked areas when people construct a theater. If you and your family or guests are not comfortable while using this room, no one is having any fun. A fail safe option is to opt for large, overstuffed leather furniture. Most people will generally be comfortable while sitting on this furniture. However, the larger more custom home theater jobs are moving more towards custom movie theater chair or movie style seating now. These chairs give you Figure 19: Custom Movie Theater Seating Setup the experience of being in the movie theater with more comfortable seats, better cup holders, somewhere to put your bag of popcorn, and no annoying woman talking behind you for the entire film. Figure 19 above shows a basic custom setup of home movie theater seating.

7. Although not necessary whatsoever, so homeowners are taking home theaters to the extreme. To a lesser extent, some homeowners today have installed a system described by many installers and technicians as “distributed audio”. Basically what they’re describing is a central music server that

distributes audio and video if desired to all rooms in your home. One installer friendly version is the MODE system by SpeakerCraft. Shown in Figure 20, it is an attractive system, but it is still suggested that the system be installed by a qualified professional. The wiring for this type of project can become quite confusing if the installer does not have any previous experience with the system. These types of systems can distribute all types of media through an entire home, as long as the central distribution unit is connected to the source you want to send. These sources can be anything from a radio tuner to your central media server so you can send movies to every room of your house. Figure 20 shows the MODE, or Music On Demand Experience, control panel in black. These are priced around approximately $500 per panel, not including any hardware to connect all the components, so it is advisable to have a professional do the installation so Figure 20: MODE Control Panel damage to all components is minimized.

2.6 Component Connection

1. To connect your television, all you will need is an HDMI cable or set of component cables, depending on which conductor you have decided to use. If you have installed your system to use the HDMI cables, the outlet box behind the television will have a plate that resembles Figure 8, which you will plug one end of the cable into. The other end will be plugged into the back of the television.

2. Connecting the receiver can be a time consuming process if the cables were not labeled when connected to the wall plate and if the wall plate was not labeled when installed according to the Pre-construction instructions previously. If the wall plate was labeled correctly, this will be a pain free process.

a. To connect the television to the receiver, again using the HDMI cable or set of component cables and connect the receiver to the correct connection on the wall plate behind the receiver.

b. Since the DVD player is in the same location at the receiver, this connect will be quick and easy. An 18 inch cable will be the longest you should need here, and you may even be able to use a 12 inch cable.

i. If you are using the HDMI cables, just connect the cable to the HDMI output as shown in Figure 13 to an HDMI input on the back panel of the receiver such as those shown on Figure 12.

ii. To connect these two components using a combination of component cables and an optical sound cable, connect the component cable to the correct outputs and then to a Component Video In input on the back panel of the receiver. You need to make sure that you use the correctly colored end of each conductor with the correct output terminal when connecting these or your Figure 21: Component Ends picture will not look correct. Figure 21 shows a set of component cable ends. Notice that all three ends are different colors, which correspond to the three colored terminals that are on all component cable inputs and outputs. To connect your optical sound cable, just plug one end into the Optical Out terminal such as the one shown in Figure 13 and the other end to one of the Optical In terminals such as those shown on the back of the receiver panel shown in Figure 12.

c. To connect the receiver to all of the speakers, all which is required on the receiver end is to connect with

speaker wire the correct outlets on the back panel of the receiver to the correctly labeled terminals on the Figure 22: Enlarged View of Back Panel of AVR-146 wall plate behind the receiver. Figure 22 is an enlarged view of the speaker terminal connections on the back panel of the Harmon/Kardon AVR-146. As you can see, you connect a positive and a negative conductor to each speaker terminal. In the lower left corner of Figure 22, you can see a different terminal than the rest, which is for the subwoofer. This utilizes an RCA-type connector, which just pushes onto the terminal and connects to the screw terminals just at the others do.

3. Connecting the speakers at all locations is a quite simple process. All that is required is to connect speaker wire from each speaker to its respective wall plate. The one thing to remember is to keep the positive and neutral conductors going to their respective terminals.

Mistakes to Avoid

1. Choose your home theater room wisely. Ideally, choose a room that has no windows for two reasons. First, and the most obvious, is light control. Even with heavy drapes or light-blocking window treatments, it's inevitable that you'll have to deal with some light penetrating your theater sanctuary. Second, it reduces noise. Pick the room with the fewest windows, or consider converting your basement.

2. Sample the speakers before you buy them. This sounds like a no-brainer, but too often customers rush into buying the first set of speakers they see. Without the best sound quality you can afford, your home theater won't be worth much. After spending so much money on all that equipment, you don't want to find yourself watching a program with tinny sound. Take DVDs and CDs with you to the store and take your time listening to all of your options. If you go to more than one store, take the same audio and visual aids with you for a fair comparison.

3. If you are not familiar with these installation techniques, spend the extra money for expert installation. It's not the time to become thrifty and do it yourself. If you don't have experience with electronics, pay the installation team the store recommends so that your new home theater can provide maximum enjoyment.

4. Read the instruction manuals. If you insist on installing your home theater components on your own, take the time to review all the instruction manuals provided. You may think you can put it all together by yourself based on common sense, but you'll undoubtedly miss something. There will also be features you can't take advantage of because you don't know about them.

5. Resist the size temptation. One of the most common mistakes customers make is to buy the biggest television, thinking it will provide the most enjoyment. Not so. Follow guidelines regarding the ratio of the size of the television to the size of the room. You don't want to find yourself sitting on top of a 60" wide-screen TV and not able to see the picture clearly.

Conclusion

These instructions have covered the necessary steps to install a surround sound home theater system. This consisted of the following steps:

1. Introductiona. Backgroundb. Equipment and Toolsc. Preparation

2. Procedurea. Planningb. Pre-constructionc. Cable Installationd. Cable Connectionse. Component Selectionf. Component Connection

3. Mistakes to Avoid

By following these procedures, someone with a basic understanding of home theaters and home wiring can install their own surround sound home theater system. If these instructions are followed closely, the installation process will go very smoothly. Remember that if you are not comfortable working with electrical wiring, it is a good idea to leave this installation to the professionals. When all is done, you will be able to sit back and enjoy your home theater while having the same experience you can have at the movie theaters.