There are many different kinds of home theater receivers; so many that picking the right one can be a little overwhelming. First, there is not such thing as a complete home theater system. Some basic components are just not included. One of the major items is the television. While your home theater does have video capabilities, unless you are buying a package deal, your monitor or television is extra. Many of these products also don’t include the DVD player or Blu-Ray system, however some of the more high end products do.

When you are buying home theater receivers, you should know that they include speakers and a digital tuner for listening to the radio, such as the Onkyo HT-RC180 Home Theater Receiver. If you already have speakers and want to purchase just the receiver, make sure that your existing speakers are compatible with the receiver you’re buying. You should know which channels the receiver offers, what they are used for and how to use them. If you buy a five channel receiver, but have six speakers in the system, you won’t get the effect you want. On the other hand, if you use a five speaker system with a six or seven channel receiver, you won’t hear the sounds that are supposed to come out of the extra speakers.

When you are looking at the different home theater receivers, you should have an understanding of Dolby Digital which offers support for 5.1 channels for audio play back. A good example would be the HT-RC180. The sound can be further enhanced with THX. To have a better understanding of these features so you can choose a system that’s right for you, a little Surround Sound 101 is necessary. In the past, we had the mono speaker system, where all sound was channeled to one speaker. This had so obvious flaws so as technology advanced the development of stereo speaker systems emerged. Stereo speakers provided a better sound balance. Stereo was actually the first baby step taken toward true surround sound. However, if you wanted to enjoy full stereo sound, you needed a receiver that could break up the sound layers and have tracking.

Dolby Digital was among the first systems that could effectively decode each of the different sound waves and channel them into the appropriate speaker, providing optimal clarity. For instance, when you are watching a movie and hear a train going by, digital decoding makes it possible to hear the sound of the train coming from a single speaker. As the train grows closer, the sound will adjust from one speaker to another, making the sound seem louder as the train approaches and as it passes by, the sound disappears into the distance on the other side. This technology also makes up for ambient sounds, rain, wind, and ocean waves, just to name a few.

At the bare minimum for the highest quality sound amplification you need home theater systems that include Dolby Surround Sound or Digital with a 5.1 channel standard, like that of HT-RC180. Although there are newer, 6 and 7 channel systems, movie technology still hasn’t gotten this far. Many movies incorporate the new THX, so your receiver should have this capability as well. It should also have ample plugs in the back for all of your external audio/video and multimedia equipment. It should be relatively easy to use, and have clear instructions.

Tags: home theater, home theater installers, cheap home theater systems