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VCR— Although the video output from a VCR is considered to be too low quality for the modern home theater, it is still a must if you have a lot of VHS tapes around. Once you see the quality picture from a DVD player, you will never watch VHS tapes again! If you must use a VCR, one with "Hi-Fi" sound is a must. The number of heads (2 or 4) is usually only important for effects (slow motion, or freeze-frame), and more is better. Super VHS (S-VHS) is a worthwhile feature which gives you better resolution, but only if the tape is recorded in S-VHS. S-VHS units have an "S-Video" output which gives you better resolution if you use an S-Video cable between your VCR and TV. Of course, your TV must have S-Video input capability.

Laser Disk— Laser disk players, which play disks about the size of a record album, give you higher quality audio and video than VCRs. The video output is S-Video, which gives you medium quality video, and the audio is recorded in stereo or Dolby surround. But the disks are hard to find nowadays since everyone is using DVD.

DVD Player— A Digital Versatile Disk (DVD) is a standard which stores audio and video in digital format on a disk that is the same size as a music CD. A DVD player uses an S-Video, Component Video, HDMI or DVI output for medium quality video (480i), and the sound is encoded in Dolby Surround AND a newer formats called Dolby Digital and DTS (see below). Dolby Digital and DTS connect to your processor through a digital (Coax or Fiber Optics) connection. Movies in the DVD format are now widely available to buy or rent. There are now thousands of titles available and the price is just slightly more than VHS tapes. Single Disk DVD players can be purchased for as little as $29.00! But there are many options that are available on a DVD player as follows:

Progressive Scan— Progressive scanning takes the standard interlaced signal and turns it into a progressive signal (480p). This gives you better video quality, but your TV must support progressive signals.

Number of disks— You can get a single disk player, a 5 disk player, or even 300 or 400 disks! On the 300 or 400 disk players, you will have a menu that comes up on your TV so that you can browse the titles and pick the movie you want to watch.

Super Audio or DVD audio— There are two competing standards for the next generation of CDs. Super Audio CD and DVD Audio. There are definite opinions on which one is better, but it doesn't really matter anymore. Many manufactures are now shipping DVD players that will play DVD, DVD audio, CD and Super Audio CDs all in one player! But it will cost you more money...

High Definition DVD— Here we go again.. There are two competing standards for the next generation of DVDs, HD DVD and Blu-ray. These devices are not compatible with each other and they both have video outputs that are 1080p. There are some companies starting to come out with players that will play both formats, and there is starting to be many movies available in both formats. As of February 2008, HD DVD is dead and Blu-ray has won the format war.

Cable Box— Cable TV Receivers can also serve as an input device in your home theater. Most cable boxes have good quality video using an S-Video connection and the audio can be in stereo or Dolby Surround. Cable system HDTV receivers are also now available and will have Component, DVI or HDMI outputs and digital audio outputs.

Satellite Box— Satellite receivers can also serve as input devices in your home theater. Satellite receivers usually have a medium quality S-Video or Component video output and allow Stereo or Dolby Surround audio. The newer HDTV models support Dolby Digital and typically have a digital output (coax or Fiber Optics) and support Component, DVI or HDMI Video outputs. They also have models with DVR capability so you can record your favorite programs and watch them when YOU want to. 

Gaming Consoles— Gaming consoles like the X-Box 360 and Playstation3 are becoming very popular options for gaming and they will also play either Blu-ray or HD DVD disks.

Processor and Amplifier Separates— This is the high-end way to do it. With this option, you have a processor in one unit, and you have to provide 5 or 7 channels of amplification separately. This method is analogous to having a separate pre-amp and amplifier. You get better sound quality, but the cost is much higher.

Processor with Amplifier— In this case, you get the processor AND 5 or 7 channels of amplification in the same unit. This method gives you an "all in one" type of system. One thing is missing though, and that is a tuner for listening to AM/FM radio stations.

Receiver/Processor with Amplifier— This is the most popular option. Here we have all of the functions of a receiver (tuner, inputs for CD, Tape, etc.) plus a processor and 5 or 7 channels of amplification.

The processor you purchase should support all of the following methods for decoding the audio:

Dolby Surround— Dolby Surround encodes 4 channels of audio onto a normal two channel stereo signal. So the audio on the VHS tape is encoded in stereo, and the processor decodes it into 4 channels. The 4 channels are front left, center, front, right and surround (rear). The surround channel uses two speakers (right rear and left rear), but the same sound comes out of both speakers (the rear is a single channel).

Dolby Digital— Dolby Digital is the newest standard, and is available on DVD players. It is also the sound standard for use on HDTV. Formerly called AC3, Dolby Digital encodes 5 separate high-quality channels plus a sub-woofer channel (5.1). So now the right rear and left rear are capable of playing different sounds. There is also a separate sub-woofer output. The Dolby Digital inputs are digital, and are usually either Coax or Fiber Optics. Most processors will have both types of inputs.

Digital Theater System (DTS)— DTS is the standard that has been around for quite awhile in the theater, but is fairly new to the home market. It uses less compression than Dolby Digital, and most people agree that it sounds better than Dolby Digital. Currently, all of the processors on the market support DTS, and some of the CD's and DVD's that you can buy are recorded in DTS. DTS uses the digital input that will be either Coax or Fiber Optics.

Video Switching— Another thing to consider is video switching. Rather than connecting all of your video devices straight to your TV, you could connect them to the Surround Processor instead. That way, you don't have to change inputs on the TV as you go from DVD to Satellite for example. Newer models will actually up-convert the video signal. So if you have a mixture of Composite, S-Video and Component devices, the processor can up-convert them to Component, HDMI or DVI. This is a great feature and makes life much easier!!

Speakers

You will need 5 or 7 speakers for your home theater, with 7 being preferable. In the front, you will have left, center and right and two speakers in the rear (right rear and left rear). If you are using a 7-channel processor, you will add right and left side speakers. For best results, all speakers should have matched drivers. In reality, as long as they have the same sound characteristics, good results can be achieved. The fronts and center are the most important and should be matched. Speakers should be arranged as follows:

Center Channel— Since the center channel speaker reproduces sounds that are localized to the screen, it should ideally be mounted behind the screen. This is the way it is done at the movie theater. In the home theater, This is usually not possible, so above or below the TV screen works best. Whichever position is closest to ear level when seated is the best choice. Since this speaker is close to the TV, it should be magnetically shielded. Otherwise, the magnetic field generated by the speaker will cause the TV picture to look distorted.

Front Speakers— The front left and right speakers should be equally spaced on either side of the TV. You may have to experiment with the placement of these speakers to get the best results. In general they should be evenly spaced, about 3 or 4 feet on either side of the TV, but not directly against a sidewall. These can either be floor standing speakers, small bookshelf-type speakers, or in-wall speakers. A sub-woofer should be used (see below) in all cases but especially if you are using small speakers.

Surround Speakers— The surround speakers should be positioned behind you, high and outside the normal listening area. They can be mounted on the wall behind you, on the sidewalls behind you, or ceiling behind you. Either way, they should NOT be pointed at your normal listening area. This is because the rear channel is for fill behind you, and should not be able to be localized. These speakers can be small bookshelf-type speakers, or in-wall speakers.

Side Speakers for use in a 7.1 system— If you are using a 7-channel processor from Denon or others, you will need two more speakers positioned one on either side of your listening area.

Sub-Woofer— A sub-woofer is a speaker system designed to recreate the lowest frequencies of the audio spectrum. A sub-woofer will make the movie come alive by making explosions sound more realistic and the music sound better. Sub-woofers tend to be rather large boxes, so at ADI we specialize in building them into floors or walls so that you can't even see them! There are basically two ways to do a subwoofer, Powered and Non-powered. 

12 inch sub-woofer built into a wall, made to look like a cold air return

Powered Sub-woofer— Powered subwoofers are the easiest option because the connection to the subwoofer is easy.  You simply run a low-level (RCA patch cord) from your Surround processor to your sub-woofer, and plug the subwoofer into an AC outlet. We recommend at least a 10-inch woofer, and at least 75 watts of power. The system should be rated down to at least 30 hertz. For the serious Home Theater, multiple 12-inch drivers and 200 watts of power is required.

Non-powered Sub-woofer— A non-powered sub-woofer is just a box with a woofer in it. Some may have a passive crossover, which lets only the low frequencies reach the woofer. We recommend staying away from a passive crossover because you can’t adjust them easily and you usually lose too much power in the crossover. The best way is to run the sub-woofer output of the processor to a separate power amplifier, which drives the sub-woofer. We recommend at least a 10-inch woofer, and at least 75 watts of power. The system should be rated down to at least 30 hertz. For the serious Home Theater, multiple 12-inch drivers and 200 watts of power is required.

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