How to Hookup DVD Home Theater System

So you've decided to take the plunge and hook up a kickin' home DVD theater. Your floor is littered with components: the DVD player, TV, surround sound and maybe a subwoofer -- now what? The key to setting up your home theater is having the proper tools, calibrating your video settings, and getting the sound system just right. After reading this article, you should be able to set up your home theater with confidence and aplomb.

One of the most critical tools in setting up your home theater is the Setup DVD. Unfortunately, 90% of people simply rely on the manufacturer defaults to provide them with picture quality. This is unfortunate because the manufacturer's defaults are set for the bright showroom floor -- they're designed to sell the TV, not for you to watch it in the comfort of your home. As a result, most people suffer in front of a TV picture that is too bright, harsh, or has over-saturated colors. They're not getting the most out of their DVD viewing experience. That's where the setup DVD comes in.

Setup DVDs, normally referred to as "home theater set-up DVDs," provide a reference source upon which to calibrate your equipment. Your basic Setup DVD has two parts: a how-to guide to home theater systems and equipment setup optimization, as well as a plethora of video test patterns, reference footage, and audio test signals.  All of these will allow the setup DVD to seamlessly calibrate your system's components. These setup DVDs are divided into basic and advanced depending on your comfort and familiarity with home theater set up.

When calibrating the image is important not only to use the settings on the setup DVD to calibrate the system, but also to make sure to decrease ambient light in the room and have no light shining directly on the television screen. This will allow you to adjust the level of brightness to get as sharp and detailed image as possible. Also pay attention to the contrast, image hue and saturation. This will make your image look a lot more realistic.

Another useful tip is to make sure that your screen is at least 25 inches in length. You will most likely want to go with a large hi-def display. It comes with a very large HDTV display with many options which include a video projector, rear-projection television setup, an LCD or liquid crystal display or a traditional setup of a CRT TV.

Now that you have your image just right, it's time to take a look at your sound system. For most of us, surround sound is what turns a movie into an adventure. Sound systems consist of at least two speakers, though they can have up to 10, and usually a subwoofer as well. You need to achieve a good balance between the subwoofer speakers and the surround, center, also taking into account the main right and left if you have a multi-channel audio setup.

You'll know your speaker system has been correctly balanced if the sound seems to detach itself from the source. And be careful not to set up the subwoofer level to high -- adding more power does not mean improved sound.

Hooking up your home DVD Theater requires the right tools and a focus on image and sound. With the help of a Setup DVD and careful attention to the environment of your home theater, you'll have everything you want to make your home viewing experience unforgettable.