The home theater receiver is considered the heart of the home theater system, making things so real it feels as if were actually there. Kind of a central command base, the receiver is a crucial part that does many jobs - powering our speakers, tuning the AM and FM radio stations, switches back and forth between the audio and video sources, and provides the decoding for movie enjoyment, along with TV and music in surround sound. With less than adequate of a receiver, it simply will not be able to get the job done adequately. If you are in the market for home theater receivers, you should consider your options wisely.

There are many various options when it comes to theater systems but the two most important ones are the home theater receiver or stereo receiver. Surround sound of the home theater system as compared to a musical receiver depends a lot on how many speakers needed or wanted. The stereo receiver is for those who do not have a lot of room and don’t watch a lot of movies. There are two new formats of spectacular multi-channel music coming out, SACD and DVD-Audio, with high-resolution music in 5.1 surround sound that require the home theater receiver and a multi-channel speaker system.

How do you select the right receiver for your needs depends on a lot of things - such as the power of the receiver needs to be adequate enough for the speakers and the room size. The sensitivity of the speakers shows how much power the receiver needs to be; the more sensitivity requires more power. And generally, the larger the listening room, the more power the receiver needs to have. Obviously, the most important element in the purchase of a receiver for your new home theater system is the quality of it. While price does matter for many people, the receiver needs to work well and last a long time in order for it to be a good investment. You can find reviews of the various brands of receivers that are offered to you right here on the web. Compare your receivers to find the best possible solution for you through these reviews. You can often find out which is the best solution by listening to what others have had to say before purchasing one.

If the stereo receiver has been chosen instead of the home theater, it needs to be recognized that it only has two channels of amplification. The home theater system offers anywhere from five to seven channels. This is closely connected to the surround decoding formats offered. Any model of today’s home theater receivers can do the job; most models offer decoding for soundtracks found on DVDs. They also can decode selected satellite and digital cable TV programs. All home theater receivers offer a minimum of five channels of amplification that is necessary to reproduce the 5.1 surround sound, which has been the standard surround sound since the late 1990s.

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The home theater receiver (also referred to as an AV Receiver) not only provides power to the speakers, but serves as an integrated control center for all of your components, often times providing both audio and video switching.The receiver is both the “smarts” and the “power” behind a home theater system. It takes the audio signals from all of your source components, performs any needed decoding and post-processing, amplifies the signal to power your home theater’s array of loudspeakers, and controls the playback volume. For video signal, the receiver performs the necessary switching and outputs it to your TV. With all this functionality, a receiver is one of the more complex and expensive components in a home theater or home audio system.* The most important factor in connecting theater components today is using the newest interfaces available. High-definition televisions use an interface called High-Definition Multimedia Interface. HDMI combines digital audio and video together. If your HDTV does not have the HDMI interface, your receiver will be ready when you upgrade the HDTV in the future.* Digital Versatile Disc and compact disc (CD) players, computer graphics cards, liquid crystal display (LCD) monitors and portable electronic devices like digicams and cell phones are all migrating to a new audiovisual standard called Unified Digital Interface (UDI). UDI is compatible with the HDMI used on HDTVs. With UDI input and output ports on your receiver, you will be able to take advantage of the latest interfaces for Dvd/Cd players and portable devices. A receiver with a UDI-out port can also connect to a UDI-enabled computer graphics card to stream television to the computer.* The receiver should also able to accommodate optical or digital audio interfaces, as well as older style analog left/right cabling. In other words, it should be backwards compatible with older technology so that you can upgrade existing components at will.* While stereo receivers only support two speakers, home theater receivers support surround sound, or multiple speaker systems. The most basic configuration is 5-1 surround sound, which includes five speakers and a subwoofer to deliver bass. Newer configurations include 6-1 and 7-1 surround sound, or seven and eight speaker systems respectively, with a subwoofer included in each case.* A receiver might also support a second set of remote surround sound speakers. These speakers might be located in a bedroom or on a sundeck. Remote surround sound speakers can be activated separately from the main speaker system.* To easily set up a surround system, look for a receiver that offers automatic calibration. These receivers come with a small microphone and front microphone port. The microphone is placed in the area where you would like the sound to be optimum, such as on a facing couch at ear-level. By engaging the calibration program, the receiver emits a series of signals and sound effects, electronically measuring when each speaker’s output reaches the microphone. The receiver’s speaker channels self-adjust so that, regardless of speaker distance, sounds reach the microphone at the same time. This creates a perfect “sweet spot.”Find more about Home Theater Receiver at http://www.ShoppingSoLow.com.

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Vinay Choubey
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