How to Connect Your DVD or Blu-ray Player to Your Home Theater

Things You Need:

• Your TV or home theater
• DVD or Blu-ray player
• AV cables

Once you've purchased your new DVD player or Blu-ray player, you'll still need to connect it to your home theater system. If your home theater system includes an AV receiver, then you'll want to connect your DVD or Blu-ray player to that receiver; otherwise, you can simply connect your new player directly to your television.

Connecting a DVD Player to a Home Theater Receiver:

1. Find the input jacks on the AV receiver for your home theater system.

2. Next, find the output jacks on your DVD player.

3. Connect the input jacks on the A/V receiver to the output jacks on the DVD player. Use the best connection supported by both your DVD player and your receiver. For video, this means that you should use component cables (also called YPbPr cables) if possible, S-video if component is not available and an RCA cable if neither component nor S-video is an option. For audio, you will want to use either digital coaxial cables or optical cables if you want to use your receiver as a surround-sound decoder. If you plan to just use stereo audio, then you can use RCA cables.

4. Note that component cables and RCA cables are both color-coded because they use multiple connectors. Make sure that you have the correct color of cable in each plug.

Connecting a Blu-ray Player to an HDMI-enabled HDTV or Receiver:

1. Connect one end of the HDMI cable to the Blu-ray player's HDMI output slot.

2. Connect the other end of the HDMI cable to the HDMI input on the back of your television or to your home theater receiver.

3. Ensure that all of your cables are long enough to allow room to work around them if you need to do some troubleshooting now or in the future.

4. Ensure that all of your equipment is placed in a well ventilated area to keep the components from overheating. Now that you have invested your money and time in the systems, you do not want them to fail due to overheating.

5. Finally, enjoy your home theater system. Whether you're using DVD or Blu-ray, surround sound or just your television's speakers, having everything connected correctly is the first step to a great home theater experience.

Warning:

1. If a cable does not fit, do not force it. Take the time to check to make sure that the pins on the inside of the cables are straight and that there is nothing in the slot where you are trying to place it.