Guru Tips and Tricks

By Caleb Denison
Home Theater Guru

While doing research on home theater you’ve no doubt run into these numbers. This isn’t secret code designed to confuse you. It’s actually pretty simple stuff – but it’s important for you to know what they mean and, equally important, which configuration best suits your needs. In this course, we’ll discuss the differences between these speaker systems and surround options, the role of the speakers in the system and how the surround channels are configured.

What is 5.1?

Let’s begin with the basics. 5.1 refers to five speaker channels and one subwoofer channel (.1) Depending on the size of the speakers in your system, the subwoofer may handle only the extremely low frequency effects (A.K.A. LFE) It may also handle bass that might otherwise be sent to the front and center speakers.

The rest of your 5.1 speaker system is comprised of front left and right speakers, a dedicated center channel and two side surround speakers. Both the terms and physical location of your surround speakers are important — more on that in a moment.

In both Dolby Digital and DTS surround modes, the speaker that does all of the heavy lifting in your home theater is your center channel. The center channel reproduces the on-screen dialogue and many sound effects. In fact, the majority of the sound on your DVDs comes right out of the center channel! Since it reproduces the dialogue for what you see on your screen, it is typically placed above or below the video display.

Your front left and right speakers tend to handle the musical score and a great deal of effects. You want them to be symmetrically placed to the left and right of your video display.

The side surround speakers are the main set of surround speakers and fill out your standard 5.1 system. These speakers should be placed to the sides of the listening position or just slightly behind. It is a common misconception that your surround speakers should be behind you.

6.1 and 7.1 Systems

6.1 and 7.1 systems add some more speakers into the mix. These are one or two rear surround speakers, and should be placed behind the listener. These speakers add spatial depth to movie soundtracks. Often, audio mixers at the film studios will use these channels to convey the sensation that something is heading at you from behind or disappearing well behind you. The flying arrows in the opening battle scene of “Gladiator” are a good example of this.

You might be surprised to learn, and what most salespeople at “Best Guys City” won’t tell you, is that though you may have or be interested in a 7.1 receiver, you may not necessarily need a 7.1 speaker system. Imagine that!

5.1 is still considered the surround sound standard (say that five times fast.) If you raid your DVD collection and look on the back of the cases, you’ll notice that 90% of your DVDs say “Dolby Digital 5.1”. That means that there is specific (or discrete) information for each speaker in your 5.1 system. This is where we start to notice a disconnect between the surround information on a DVD and how many speakers you need in a 6.1 or 7.1 system. If you have a 5.1 DVD but a full 7.1 system, what are your rear surrounds going to do? Don’t worry, they won’t be taking any naps. Typically they re-use the surround information from the side surrounds. With a smaller, properly set up home theater, you may not be able to hear the difference. However, if you have a large room, this effect can be impressive.

There are some bigger budget movies (e.g. Star Wars, The Lord of the Rings) that offer 6.1 surround when they make it to DVD. In these cases, there is information on the disc for one rear surround speaker. If you have two rear surround speakers (a 7.1 system) they both play the same soundtrack.

If you’d like to look for movies with 6.1 surround sound, it’s typically called Dolby Digital Surround EX or DTS ES and is found on the backs of DVD cases.

Don’t count 7.1 out

As this article is being written, 7.1 source material is brand spankin’ new. 7.1 surround sound requires more space than a standard DVD can accommodate. For this reason, we will only see 7.1 surround sound on HD-DVD and Blu-Ray discs (or whichever one “wins” the annoying format war.) There are no 7.1 DVDs, but the capability is there with new DVD formats and one ought to keep this in mind when “future proofing” their Home Theater.

Some Helpful Hints

• If your room is 15X20 or larger and you have room for two speakers in the back of the room, a 7.1 system makes the surround effect much more impressive, even if most of your DVDs are 5.1.
• If you have less than 3 feet behind your sitting position before hitting a wall, then you might be throwing money into the void on 6.1 or 7.1 rear surround speakers. It helps to have some actual depth to the room in order to take advantage of 6.1 and 7.1 soundtracks.
• If you have a narrow room, you may not need two rear surround speakers. Rooms that are 15 feet wide or less can be served well by one rear surround speaker (a 6.1 system.) A word to the wise, though — with the growing popularity of HD-DVD and Blu-Ray, you may want to have both rear surround speakers in place to take advantage of 7.1 down the road.
• If you use dipolar surround speakers in the side surround position, you may not need rear surround speakers right away. Dipolar surround speakers reflect enough sound off of the back wall that adding rear surround speakers may not add much to your experience until 7.1 movies are more readily available. Consider this an upgrade project for the future if you like.

In Conclusion

You’ve been endowed and empowered with the information you need to make a ‘sound’ decision (yeah… I went there.) I hope this course sheds some light on an oft misunderstood subject. The great news here is, no matter what your choice, your new system will sound fantastic.

Know Your Room

The whole point of a good home theater system is that it caters to your room just as it is. Hence, that word “home”. Whether your room is cavernous, middling or peewee, rest assured there is a home theater solution ideal for you. Let’s begin with an examination of your space with the following tips in mind:

1. Limit the amount of incoming light that might cause glare on your TV

2. Treat any hard surfaces that might reflect the audio signal in unwanted directions. These surfaces can include bare windows and walls as well as uncarpeted floors. Drapes, carpet and other sound absorbing materials are simple room treatments that can make a big difference in sound quality.  Sound scattering materials like bookcases and furniture are also very helpful.
Homework:

Art skills be damned, it’s time to put pencil to paper. First, sketch the outline of the room you have chosen for your home theater. Now measure your room and write the dimensions down next to your sketch. Draw some of the possible placements of your entertainment center, speakers, couch and retractable wet bar. Erase, rearrange, erase and rearrange again.

Another fun exercise is to draw all your components, cut them out, and re-arrange them on the sketch of your room.  This method protects you from the effects of Writer’s Cramp and you won’t use up nearly as many erasers.

You’ll get some very clear ideas about seating, configuration and possible room limitations. Keep this map handy. You’ll be referring to it later on.

Inputs Are for “Play”

If it’s got a “play” button on it, it’s an input. DVD players, CD players, VCRs, any source of audio or video material are kindly known as inputs. That includes cable TV and satellite receivers, turntable, radio tuners & cassette tape players.

Homework:

Using the artful doodle of your room, add two columns to the right or left of your drawing, then write down:

Column 1. A list of all the inputs you currently have and will continue to use

Column 2. A list of all the inputs you intend to add to your new home theater system

You’ll find this list to be quite useful when it comes time to scrutinizing and choosing receivers and interconnects.

Outputs Are for Sights and Sounds

Outputs in a home theater refer to your speakers and TV. That’s it. Let’s hear it for brevity.

Receivers—Think Mission Control

The short lesson on receivers goes something like this: receivers select an input, reads its signals, than shoots the signals off to their corresponding outputs. Those would be your speakers and TV.

The good news for today’s consumer is that most receivers on the market support the most current surround sound formats. There are some nuances you will want to pay attention to.

Multi-channels Keep You Surrounded

Aaah, the brilliance of surround sound. Without it, you’re just watching plain old TV. But with it you get the rich texturing of sound effects, the sensation of dialogue being spoken right at you, and a profound detailing of music, all seamlessly integrated to vibrate and resonate into your room, your furniture, your head, heart and bones.

Now, how the heck does it work? In short: multi-channel formats.

“Multi-channel” refers to the way specific qualities of sound are isolated and then piped to different speakers. For example, dialogue goes to the front center speaker, while the bone-rattling lows shoot to the subwoofer. The word “Formats” refers to the many ways this surround technology can be achieved. For example, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital-EX and DTS-ES.

The 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound system when all compiled looks like this:

• 1 – center channel speaker for dialogue and other audio that should sound like it is coming from the TV
• 2 – front speakers (left and right) for stereo sound and the front surround sound
• 2 – back speakers (left and right) for surround sound
• 1 – subwoofer for low frequency effects

So, what’s a 6.1? The addition of a surround speaker to the rear (3 in front, 3 in back). And a 7.1? Two additional surround speakers added to the rear (3 front, 2 side, 2 in the rear).

Now what’s the deal with the fraction known as .1? This fraction refers to the LFE (low frequency response). LFE is often confused with the subwoofer. However, they are different. A subwoofer is a speaker that is designed to reproduce very low frequency information, the kind of rattle-your-windows oomph that your main audio channel speakers aren’t really good at reproducing.

LFE is a channel on a Dolby Digital soundtrack that is available for specific low-frequency information should the director decide to put some in there. Some movie soundtracks have LFE information, some don’t. For those movies that have specific LFE information, the sub gets it and goes to work. If the LFE track is blank, the receiver can send the lower frequency information from the front left and right channel speakers of the Dolby Digital soundtrack to the sub, relieving the main speakers of the low-end work.

Homework:

Reach for the map of your room you scribbled. Now, as you review your room size and the amount of available wall space for rear surround speakers, you should get some idea of which multi-channel format best suits your needs. 5.1, 6.1 or 7.1? The basic assumption of the multi-channel wizards is that more is better. The more speakers you have surrounding you, the more seamless the surround sound experience will be. Choosing the multi-channel format that best suits you will be determined as much by your budget and room size, as by your personal preference.

Speakers—Without ‘Em You Ain’t Got Much

Speakers are the purveyors of goose bumps. If the receiver is the brain of the system, the speakers are the voice. They are the components that flesh out the visceral emotionality of the surround sound experience. Properly chosen, your speakers should disappear from your consciousness, allowing you to immerse yourself in your favorite music or movie. Conversely, skimping on your speakers will only provide a nagging distraction from the audio experience you so richly deserve.

The good news is it’s absolutely possible for price and performance to blissfully marry.

A Clearer Picture on Types of TVs

Balance is the name of the game in choosing the right TV for your home theater. Ideally, it’s when the right size for your room meets the right format capabilities for your system meets the right budget for your wallet. If you’re looking for a home theater TV, consider that they come in a variety of flavors:

• CRT stands for Cathode Ray Tube. Also known as direct view TV, these are the sets we’ve all grown up with
• Projection TVs include front projector units and big screen rear projection televisions
• LCD stands for Liquid Crystal Display. These are flat, computer like screens
• Plasma is a large, flat screen that seems to be the best of the four at getting a lot of attention

Connecting wires to your receiver

Positives (+) always plug into positives (+), the negatives (-) always plug into negatives (-). Likewise, reds always plug into reds and blacks always plug into blacks (or whatever color wheel a manufacturer is using). Remedial as these reminders might be, if your wires are not plugged in properly, they will be out of phase. This results in funky sound localization that makes you feel like your ears suddenly stopped working. Make sure your speaker wires are clearly marked as to which wire is which.

When it comes to making the connections, strip and tightly twist each speaker wire separately. Make sure there are no flyaway strands that can touch anything other than the terminal the wire is intended for.

Wire and cable is something some retailers advise you to skimp on. Don’t. There is a direct relationship between the quality of the home theater experience and the quality of the cables, particularly for long cable runs. Keep value at the top of your priority list. There are few other retail items that will lead you down the road to diminishing returns faster than wire and cable. Find high gauge, heavily shielded cables with solid connectors that don’t cost a fortune. If in doubt, ask your Aperion guru, or read our article on wire and cable.

Analog and Digital: There are two ways to get audio from your DVD player or Sat/Cable box to your receiver. You’re probably familiar with analog audio cables-they are typically red and white in color and you see them all over your TV, VCR, DVR, Satellite and/or Cable box. However, this connection is NOT going to give you the best surround sound. It is imperative that you make a digital connection from your digital sources to your receiver. We’ll use a DVD player as an example, but this can apply to your Satellite box, cable box and DVR/TIVO too.

There are usually two different types of digital outputs on the back of a DVD player. Likewise, there are two different digital input types on your receiver. You may use either one, Optical or Coaxial. Optical cables (also known as ‘toslink’ cables) are a long skinny cord with an unusual connector on each end.  When plugged in properly to the source, you should see a red light coming out of the other end.  Coaxial digital cables are typically a thicker cable with RCA connectors on either end.  Whichever one you use, a single cable does it all! You’ll get all 6 channels of information from your player to you receiver with this simple cable. For detailed hook-up help, contact an Aperion Guru.

Dialing in Your System

Dialing in your system refers to setting up your receiver to address each speaker with the proper volume and delay. Most surround sound receivers require you to tell them how far each speaker is from where you sit. This allows the receiver to program the proper signal delay to create sound effects like a bullet ricochet.

The receiver will then allow you to set each speaker’s baseline volume. Once set, this tells the receiver how much volume to send to each speaker in order to create a balanced sound stage. When done properly, the end result is amazing. Once complete, these settings usually don’t change. If you have an SPL Meter, you can take our course on using an SPL meter to calibrate your system. Refer to your receiver’s manual to guide you through the process.

In Case You Didn’t Know: If, at times, you notice the surround speakers playing much lower than the front speakers, don’t be alarmed. They are likely doing their job of supplying subtle atmospherics and ambience.

Stereo, Party of Two

What if you’re listening to a CD or watching TV in stereo without surround sound? This is tricky. Experts quarrel on what you should do.

Some diehard audiophiles insist you shouldn’t tinker with the original sound format. For example, if the material was recorded in stereo, by gosh it should be heard in stereo. They point out that some Dolby Digital receivers revert to the processed and synthesized Dolby ProLogic II or some other DSP mode (multi-channel) when the original source is a stereo signal. However, most receivers allow you to choose whether you listen to the music in stereo or surround with the push of a button.

Others, who are equally as knowledgeable, think two-channel stereo is a directionally and spatially deprived medium. Therefore, leaving your receiver in surround mode is usually a good idea, even with stereo sources.

The final say? You. Listen to your system both ways and trust those two things hanging on the side of your head.  They’re right, no matter what anyone else says!

By: Oliver Amnuayphol
Home Theater Guru

If you’ve recently spent any time checking out HDTVs or other high-resolution home theater components, chances are you’ve heard some buzz about HDMI, and for good reason: Since its introduction in late 2003, HDMI has practically become the universal standard for bringing together today’s high-definition home theater components. Thanks to its one-connector solution for both audio and video signals, consumers now have a more simplified way of enjoying hi-res music and movies in the home. But like computers and software programs that evolve and grow, so too does the HDMI spec and its capabilities—meaning HDMI 1.3, the latest one-cable specification standard, allows you to extract more picture and sound quality from your home theater components than ever before. To understand how it does this, a little HDMI primer is in order.

The HDMI Standard—General Capabilities

The High Definition Multimedia interface, or HDMI, is the first all-digital interface standard that carries both audio and video in one cable. It features a bandwidth of 4Gbps and a native rate of 165 HZ, can pass most uncompressed audio and video (Dolby Digital, DTS, 1080p, etc.) and is capable of supporting color spaces for both HD and SD (standard definition, non-hi-def) formats. It also features “link intelligence,” so connected components will actively recognize one another for the best resolutions possible. So then: if standard HDMI is already the wonder connector, what makes version 1.3 so special? In absolute terms, not a bunch. But the few areas where it does offer an improvement are highly critical if you’re serious about home theater performance, especially for the long-haul. Read on to find out how HDMI 1.3 maximizes audio and video performance for today and tomorrow.

Support for Deep Color and 3D Televisions

An exiting development of HDMI 1.4 is the ability to carry Deep Color which, as its name implies, allows for more displayable colors than ever before. Now video can be displayed with 30-bit, 36-bit and 48-bit (RGB or YCbCr) color depths (up from 24 bit depths in previous versions), thereby increasing the range of viewable colors from millions to billions. Furthermore, HDMI 1.4 also allows for xvYCC” color space, which basically maximizes the range of reproducible colors to include all that are viewable by the human eye. Say goodbye to color-banding: the smoothest, most life-like picture you’ve ever seen awaits your viewing pleasure!  And if your TV and Blu-Ray player support it, HDMI 1.4 carries along a 3D signal, so put your glasses on and enjoy.

Digital Transmission of High-Quality, Lossless Multi-Channel Sound

Want to see what those fancy digital chipsets in you’re A/V receiver can really do? Give ‘em some love in the form of a bitstream Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD Master Audio signal from your HDMI 1.4 spec’d Blu-ray or HD-DVD player; then sit back, listen, and be amazed. For the first time, HDMI 1.4 allows for a bitstream signal transfer of two previously unavailable, multi-channel, lossless surround formats: DTS-HD Master Audio and Dolby TrueHD—neither of which use any lossy compression algorithms or perceptual coding—a first for movie surround sound. Being the quality sound-oriented folks that we are here at Aperion, it should come as no surprise that we’re over the moon about this fantabulous bit of the 1.3 spec: now you can really hear your 7.1 set of Aperion speakers work their home theater magic in their entire splendor! Added bonus: No longer do you have to run 5.1 or 7.1 channels of analog interconnects from your hi-res disc player to get high resolution sound—be gone with ye, o’ tangled web of wires!

Future-Ready, Wide-Bandwidth Capabilities

By virtue of its 340 MHz, 10.2 Gbps bandwidth—more than twice the speed of first-generation HDMI—version 1.4 is ready to handle nearly every hi-res development for the immediate future. With some HD display sources already capable of 120-180 Hz refresh rates, having the extra bandwidth can only be a good thing. HDMI 1.4 could also support future integrated home entertainment and computing solutions which are sure to become an eventual reality. In short, HDMI 1.3 will be the best way to ensure your home theater rig has the capability of always delivering breathtaking pictures and lifelike sound.

Spotting HDMI 1.4

Now that you know what HDMI 1.4 is, how can you tell whether a specific component has it? If you’re out shopping for gear, chances are you won’t find an HDMI 1.4 emblem anywhere on the unit. Instead, focus on certain features that will clue you in, such as the aforementioned Deep Color, receivers with internal decoding of Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio, and the manufacturer’s product information. Once you’ve got that covered, arm yourself with the necessary cables, plug-in and rock out!

Further Reading

While we’ve covered the most important aspects of HDMI 1.4 here, this is by no means a comprehensive course. For all the ins and outs of HDMI from folks who drop some serious knowledge, expand your mind with some additional smarts and technical info from the following sources:

-Official HDMI website – Nothing better than getting the info straight from the source.

-Audioholic’s Display Formats and Technology Guide: “Understanding HDMI 1.3” – Great technical info and an HDMI development timeline.

-Wikipedia’s HDMI page – Lengthy but accurate page chock-full of info.

By Alex Pasco
Aperion Audio Creative Manager

This article was originally posted in 2008, we’ve updated it to reflect pricing changes. 

Studies have shown that this is going to be the biggest year yet for the video game industry – an industry that has seen record growth for the past ten years and no signs of slowing.  With this many systems, thousands of games, hundreds of accessory options and now the inclusion of things like downloadable games and content, how is the casual person supposed to decide which game system to purchase?  Even though each one of these systems is stuffed from the floor to the rafters with great games, we’ll break down the pros and cons of each of the systems so you can decide which one is right for you and your family.

Playstation 3

Price: $299

After a rocky launch and many rather confusing product configuration options, the Sony Playstation 3 is looking like it’s finally hitting its stride.  It’s finally got a critical mass of great multiplatform titles, as well as enough exclusive games to make it a viable choice.  The Playstation Network store has undergone a complete redesign and now features classic PS1 games available for download, as well as a complete catalog of downloadable PS3 games and video toys that range from under $5 to about $15.

Being the most expensive console on the market, it brings along with it the most bells and whistles – such as a Blu-Ray drive, high definition audio decoding, Bluetooth device compatibility, and more.  Seeing as how most standalone Blu-Ray players cost nearly as much or more than the PS3, it’s worth it for that alone.  The picture and sound quality out of the PS3 are nothing short of astounding.

Pros:

One of the most affordable Blu-Ray players on the market

Great selection of very unique downloadable games

Free multiplayer gaming

Easy to use

Extremely quiet

Motion control

Oddly enough, you can install alternate operating systems on it.  Want to install Linux on your gaming console?  Have at it.

Cons:

Price is still hefty, especially in a down economy

Few exclusive must-have games

No cohesive networking platform

Few games for kids

No compatibility with universal remotes

Verdict:

A great system for adult gamers and teens with gorgeous graphics and a great Blu-Ray player – but the price and lack of must-have exclusive games might turn some gamers off.   The high-end features make the PS3 a great choice for home theater enthusiasts who are also casual gamers.

Xbox 360

Price: $199 – $299

The first out of the gate in the next-generation video game war was Microsoft’s Xbox 360.  Learning from their past mistakes, they designed the Xbox 360 to be a sleek, community-based games console with robust graphics capabilities

One of the “Killer Applications” for the Xbox 360 isn’t a game at all; it’s the Xbox Live community platform.  Not satisfied with letting the games developers dictate the server method that had been employed with many multiplayer games in the past, Microsoft designed their Xbox Live tools to incorporate into every game and integrate tightly within the Xbox dashboard itself. The result is a living and active community that feels like something’s always going on and encourages participation from the users.  Jumping in and out of multiplayer games is simple and fun with a unified feel and quick performance.

If you’re a hobbiest programmer, it’s also easy to get the software development tools for the Xbox and start creating your own games.  Once you’ve made a game and it passes through the approval process, you can even sell them on the Xbox Live store.  This of course creates a mishmash of games of questionable quality, but the ability to make games or to play other people’s homebrew games is a great feature.

Pros:

Great price point, especially for the entry-level system

Huge library of next-generation games – both cross-platform and exclusive titles

Xbox Live community

Xbox Live Arcade games for download

Netflix streaming for Netflix subscribers

Full Windows Media Center support for streaming music and movies to your home theater

Cons:

Nearly as noisy as a jet engine

Early failure rates were excessive

No high-def dvd playback since HD-DVD lost the format war

Runs hot

Some aspects of the dashboard are confusing

Few games for kids

Verdict:

Between the PS3 and the Xbox 360, the Xbox is winning hands-down in installed base and game availability. If your friends also have game consoles, chances are they’ve got the 360 – and playing games with your friends is one of the best things about next-gen gaming.  If you’re an adult gamer without kids, this is the system we recommend.

Nintendo Wii

Price: $149

Nintendo released their groundbreaking game system last holiday season to rave reviews and amazing sales.  Over the past year, it’s been the biggest selling next-gen system and retailers have had a major challenge keeping it in stock. Instead of a traditional controller, the Wii utilizes a motion controller that looks very similar to a remote control, which lends a familiarity aspect to the system and is less confusing for casual gamers.  The system knows the position and movement of the controller, as well as the proximity of the screen to the player and what they’re pointing at on the screen.  This makes for some industry-changing game innovation, as well as bringing physical aspects into what has traditionally been a lazy hobby.  There are even physical fitness games that track your weight and exercise using a special accessory!

The extreme popularity of the Wii in nearly every demographic has made for an interesting situation.  On one hand, you have some of the best and most innovative games Nintendo has ever made  – and on the other, a glut of embarrassing gimmicky games churned out to make a quick buck.

Pros:

Very attractive price point

Unique and inventive control scheme

A few absolutely must-have games from Nintendo’s best game designers

Dramatically lower power consumption as compared to the other consoles

Great for every age group, from kids to seniors

Cons:

Tons of gimmicky games that aren’t very good

Multiplayer networking is a real chore

Graphics quality not up to current next-gen standards

Verdict:

If you’ve got kids or are a casual gamer looking for a way to dip your toe into game consoles, you can’t go wrong with the Wii.  It’s amazingly unique, very fun, and contains enough variety for every member of the family.  If you’re not a graphics snob and you don’t play a lot of the harder-core racing games, first person shooters and role-playing games that are prevalent on the other systems, the Wii is your ticket to the fun.

In Conclusion

For those of us who are deep into video games, there’s not much choice – we of course recommend getting all of the above.  But if you’re on the fence in trying to decide which one is right for you, we hope this guide helps you to your destination.  Video games are a great hobby, the cost per hour of gameplay is low compared to other forms of entertainment, and are just plain fun.  Have a great time!