The meteoric rise in flat-panel television sales and the increasing affordability of projection television have brought big-screen HDTV to millions of homes. But many of those households are missing out on the other half of the home theater experience. To complete your home theater systems, you need to complement your investment in video with an investment in audio. Why?

Surround for Movies: Today's movies have surround sound encoded into their soundtracks. The purpose of surround sound is similar to that of a big picture. By dominating the senses, it suspends disbelief and pulls you more deeply into a cinematic story. This can make movies scarier, funnier, or more moving.

Surround for Television: Like movies, high-def TV programs often have surround sound encoded into their soundtracks. With primetime dramas, surround works the same way as in movies, pulling you into the story. With sporting events, it puts you in the heart of the crowd. With late-night talk shows and Saturday Night Live, it gives you the same immersive feel as being in the studio audience.

Surround for Music: High-resolution audio formats such as Super Audio CD (SACD) and DVD-Audio (DVD-A) require a high-quality audio system to sound their best. Concert videos delivered via Blu-ray, DVD, or HDTV broadcasting may have high-quality soundtracks encoded in Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Digital, or other formats that would benefit from a good system.

---

What Kind of Audio-for-Video System Do You Need?

To decide what kind of audio-for-video system you need, let's start with a few basic decisions:

TV Speakers vs. Add-On Audio Components: TV speakers are only for watching the news and other talking-heads material. To get the best out of movies and primetime programming, you’ll want the option to switch to a higher-quality audio system.

Multi-Purpose vs. Dedicated Room: Most people will want to fit their audio and video gear into a room that can also be used for other purposes—for example, children at play, entertaining guests, just relaxing. The room must be optimized for social purposes, though the scale of the home theater system may vary according to room size and taste. Those who want a true movie-theater experience will go for a dedicated screening room with dark walls, fixed seating, and cutting-edge gear.

HTiB vs. Receiver vs. Separates: Home-theater-in-a-box (HTiB) systems are suitable only for small rooms and relatively undiscriminating tastes. They always include speaker packages plus amplification and sometimes include a built-in disc player. For a medium-sized room, build your system around an audio/video receiver with surround capability. For a large and/or dedicated room and the ultimate in performance, split the receiver's functions into an outboard power amp and surround preamp-processor to obtain the maximum in power, dynamics, and realism.

Real-World vs. High-End Systems: Whether your system is based on an HTiB, receiver, or separates, you'll be able to choose from products that vary in price, performance, cosmetics, and marketing mystique. Sometimes the best values are in "real-world products," or the "low end of the high end"—designed by people who care, with a favorable performance-to-price ratio. But consumers who want the ultimate in performance will not hesitate to hold their home theater systems to the same high-end standards that they set for their limited-edition cars, their custom-tailored clothes, and their wine cellars. Check out CEA's Audio-Consumer Buying Guide to see what type of system you can design to fit your lifestyle.

---

How Can Audio Complement Different Types of Video Displays?

If you're not sure what kind of audio-for-video system you want, maybe the nature of your video choice will lead to the correct audio choice:

For flat-panel TVs, the most appropriate match is a stealth speaker system. Look at in-wall, on-wall, and the more compact stand-mounted satellite/subwoofer speaker sets.

For rear-projection or direct-view TVs, satellite/subwoofer and larger stand-mounted speakers work well. You'll want a center channel speaker that sits atop or below the screen—look for a design that angles the speaker downward or upward toward the listening position. Floorstanding speakers are an option for the front left and right channels.

For front-projection systems with fixed screens, such as you'd have in a dedicated home theater, speakers of just about any size can be placed behind a perforated, acoustically transparent screen. This puts them completely out of sight, so they can be of any size, and you needn’t worry about their appearance.

For front-projection systems with retractable screens, such as you'd have in a multi-purpose room, speakers can be of any size or type. A performance-oriented audio/videophile might prefer a larger and more powerful kind of system.

For any kind of video display, regardless of what decisions you make for the front speakers, don't decide against having surround sound just because you're worried about the side- and back-surround speakers intruding into the room. Wall-mounted and in-wall speakers can cover the seating area with surround sound without intruding a single inch into it.

---

How Many Channels Does Your System Need?

An audio-for-video system should have at least two channels and can have as many as seven plus a subwoofer channel. Which configuration is right for you?

7.1 Channels: This is the configuration for maximum surround sound coverage and is best for large rooms. It has three speakers in front, two side-surround speakers alongside the seating area, and two back-surround speakers behind the seating area. The center speaker is mainly for dialogue, while the others generate a soundfield that immerses the listener. There is also a subwoofer to handle low bass—the ".1." This allows the other speakers to be smaller if desired.

5.1 Channels: This configuration is the minimum for cinematic surround sound, the standard for high-resolution multi-channel music, and works in any kind of room. It eliminates the back-surrounds, leaving three speakers in front, two side-surrounds, and a subwoofer.

2.1 Channels: This configuration is stereo enhanced with a subwoofer. It is suitable for small rooms and any other spaces where surround speakers would seem intrusive. You'll miss out on the surround soundtracks encoded into movies, TV, and music, but in lieu of a front-to-back soundfield, you can still have a side-to-side soundstage with lateral panning. And the presence of a sub will still provide powerful bass effects and a meaty drum sound.

2.0 Channels: Better known as stereo, this configuration uses large speakers with extended bass response and suitably powerful amplification. With high-end components, the system can offer a combination of realism and power. It is more suitable for music than movies but can handle both.

---

What Are the Types of Surround Sound?

All surround formats encode and decode multi-channel sound. But they take many forms and can be quite confusing. Let's make sense of them by grouping them into categories:

Next-Generation Digital Lossless Surround: These formats precisely reconstruct the original signal, providing the ultimate in resolution and realism. Examples include Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio. You'll find these soundtracks in Blu-ray Disc releases.

Next-Generation Digital Lossy Surround: These formats omit some of the data in the original signal. However, they use psychoacoustic principles to keep most of the data audible to the human ear. And to accomplish that, they use the latest technology. Examples include Dolby Digital Plus and DTS-HD High Resolution Audio. You'll also find these soundtracks in Blu-ray Disc releases.

Older Generations of Digital Lossy Surround: These formats also use psychoacoustics to omit some data, though they use older technology, and don't sound as good as the formats above. Examples include Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1. The 6.1- and 7.1-channel versions are Dolby Digital EX and DTS-ES. You'll find these soundtracks in DVDs and HDTV programming.

Analog Surround: The earliest form of surround sound in movies and television is Dolby Surround, which embeds center and surround channels into stereo soundtracks. You'll find Dolby Surround soundtracks in videotapes and analog TV programming. Dolby Surround is decoded by Dolby Pro Logic II. DPLII has both movie and music modes—the music mode can be helpful in adapting stereo CDs, LPs, or cassettes to a 5.1-channel system. The 7.1-channel version is Dolby Pro Logic IIx. As an alternative, there is also DTS Neo:6.

High-Resolution Digital Surround for Music: Surround sound can be more than an accompaniment to video. It can also stand on its own, lending an immersive realism to music. The high-res music formats are Super Audio CD and DVD-Audio. They support both high-res surround and high-res stereo. There are universal disc players that handle both formats along with DVD and CD.

---

How Can You Improve Your System?

Sometimes an investment in high-quality audio equipment needs a little nudge to sound its best. Here are three basic ways to accomplish that:

Room Treatment: A room with lots of bare, hard surfaces may have too many reflections, muddying the sound that comes directly from the speakers. To provide a more favorable ratio of direct to reflected sound, put a thickly padded rug on the floor, and add absorptive or diffusive elements at the sides, such as curtains. There are many room-treatment devices available for these purposes but you may be able to accomplish a great deal with furnishings such as music or video shelving along the side walls. A custom installer with a solid background in acoustics may offer suggestions on the best ways to tune your room. To find an installer in your area, visit TechHome.com.

Room Correction: An increasing number of surround receivers and preamp-processors include room-correction circuits. Plug a supplied microphone into the product and it will emit test tones to gauge the room’s acoustic problems. Then it will equalize itself to offset some of the problems. As an added benefit, these auto-setup circuits will also sense speaker distance and other parameters, making it easier for a neophyte to set up a surround system.

Premium Cables: These are the most popular audio/video accessories, and in some cases they can have audible and visible benefits by preventing signal degradation. High-end cables earn their price premium with superior shielding, insulation, and overall quality of construction.

---

More Audio Articles to Explore:

• The Great Audio Experience: Hear What You've Been Missing
• Why Buy Better Audio?
• Home Theater Surround Sound Hierarchy: Why TV Speakers May Not Be Enough
• Surround Sound 101: Create the Ultimate Home Theater Experience

---

A good home theater system doesn’t have to cost a fortune. Check out these home theater systems with receivers and these budget home theater systems on Retrevo.