TechMyAV

 Part II - Configure and Tweak In Part I we covered many of the items needed to get things connected and installed. Now it’s time to get things configured and tweaked, dialed in to extract the maximum from your new equipment. Hopefully, you’ve experienced some enjoyment along your journey so far. The most fun, of course, takes place once your feet are up, right along with the volume. A little effort now will get you there while pasting a huge smile on your face.  Inputs and Sources Taking on this task piece by piece, step by step, we’ll start with the most important relationship in most setups. The TV and AV Receiver (AVR). Be sure to have the AVR and TV connected via HDMI ARC. This allows the receiver to play the audio the tv is experiencing. Note which inputs these correspond to. In fact, during this stage, a notepad and label maker may go a long way to making things go a lot smoother. If HDMI ARC is not available, there will most likely be a digital output of either digital...

 Part I - The Connections and Installation Understanding how to connect and set up your A/V Receiver for your own home theater is not as daunting as you might expect. Making this task easy is a matter of taking it piece by piece. In that same sense, we'll break this setup down into two articles, Part I - The Connections and Installation and Part II - Configure and Tweak . Congratulations! You've decided that your very own surround sound home theater system to go with your tv or projector is something you just couldn't go without. Deciding to set it up yourself also deserves a quick pat on the back. This will not only save you money, but can help you to better understand your equipment and extract the absolute maximum enjoyment it has to offer.  Looking at the back of a receiver generally causes two reactions. In the smaller camp are those A/V nerds (geeks?) like us here that get all giddy and excited. However, for most people it can cause a bit of apprehension, maybe even ...

The conclusion to our Home Theater 101 Series You mulled over exactly where and how your home theater would all be placed in your room. You picked out the best projector or tv you could afford. The sound system consisted of running a lot of wires but, it's all hooked up and dialed in. You popped an extra buttery bowl of popcorn and settled into your favorite spot on the couch. Now what?, pop in that old worn out VHS tape of a late night B-movie horror recording? We hope not, the horror indeed. Let's work out on how to get the most out of your system. It's not really so much what you are going to watch, stream, or listen to, but how you go about doing that. What, is a matter of preference afterall, and we're not ones to judge....too much. HD (High Definition) Content In Act II of this series we touched a bit on how the resolution of a TV or Projector was not its end-all specification. In that same vein, all HD content is not the same either. Streaming a 4K movie from an ...

A continuation of our Home Theater 101 Series Previously, we covered the Room itself and looked into TVs and Projectors and are now ready to put the A in A/V. Some thoughts you might be hearing go through your mind are;  How do I make sound decisions when there are so many choices? Do I really need all those speakers? Which setup is right for me? How future-proof will all this be? Can I do it in stages or do I have to do it all at once?  Sound System Basics Sound is critical to a movie. Per George Lucas, "The sound and music are 50% of the entertainment in a movie". Despite this, most consumers spend $500-$2,000 on a tv and maybe, maybe $100-$200 on some kind of sound system, usually a cheap soundbar of some sort. To demonstrate how critical sound, both sound effects and the music are, watch some rough behind the scenes bonus material of your favorite films and ask yourself if you could sit through that for 2 hours and still get the same level of enjoyment from the movie. Eve...