Home Theater

Making the Right Connections

Here's how to make sense of all those jacks on your receiver's back panel.

The rear panel is the interface between the receiver and the rest of your components. As a result, understanding the rear panel is the key to understanding how to hook up your A/V receiver and system. You might feel intimidated by all of those input and output jacks, but the layout is really quite logical, with audio and video inputs and outputs grouped by function.

Although there are a lot of jacks, most of them are equivalent. That's because most components use the same types of audio and video connections, and the same connections are repeated many times on the back panel to accommodate all the different source components you might want to connect. (See, it's getting simpler already.)

Incoming

Let's look at audio and video outputs from source components first. These go to corresponding inputs on the A/V receiver.

Most components have the same types of analog connections: left- and right-channel audio outputs for audio components such as CD players and cassette decks, plus a video output (or outputs) for video components such as VCRs and DVD players.

The most common type of A/V jack is the coaxial RCA, or "phono," connector--the familiar round, protruding jack that accepts the equally familiar RCA plug. These connections are usually coded white or black for left-channel audio, red for right-channel audio (think "red means right"), and yellow for video.

Many DVD players and satellite receivers have S-video outputs (using special multipin plugs and jacks) and component-video outputs (three RCA connectors, usually color coded red, green, and blue) in addition to the standard video output, known as composite-video (one RCA connector). S-video and component-video connections can improve picture quality and should be used whenever possible. Of the two, a component-video connection delivers slightly higher quality.

Most DVD players, digital TV/HDTV set-top boxes, satellite receivers, CD players, and CD recorders have both analog and digital audio connections. Digital connections deliver Dolby Digital or DTS signals from digital video components, such as DVD players, and PCM digital stereo from digital audio components, such as CD players. With DVD players, satellite receivers, and DTV set-top boxes, you must use the digital connections to get multichannel digital surround sound. (The exception: DVD players with a separate set of 5.1-channel Dolby Digital analog outputs--more on these later.) Audio components with both kinds of outputs can be connected via the receiver's digital or analog inputs, or both--some receivers allow you to switch between the two.

You can make digital connections using either coaxial (RCA) jacks or optical jacks, which usually use what is called a Toslink connector. Coaxial digital connections are usually color-coded yellow or orange.

Receivers also often have connectors for AM and FM antennas, jacks for outboard signal processors such as equalizers, and phono inputs. ( If you're planning on listening to LPs, make sure the receiver has an input labeled "phono" or your turntable has a built-in phono preamp that will let you plug it into any line-level audio input. Note that a phono input is meant to be used only with a turntable; do not plug anything else into it.)

Many A/V receivers have six-channel inputs (six RCA jacks) that accommodate the multichannel analog outputs found on some DVD players (those with built-in 5.1-channel Dolby Digital or DTS decoders), on outboard multichannel processors, and on other multichannel source components, such as DVD-Audio and Super Audio CD (SACD) players. If your receiver has its own Dolby Digital decoder (most do), make a digital connection from the player and let the receiver do the job. Use the multichannel analog input only when there's no other way to get surround sound (as is the case with DVD-Audio and SACD players).

Let's turn to the front panel for a moment. Many receivers also have a set of front-panel A/V inputs (stereo audio and composite- or S-video) that make it convenient to hook up a camcorder or game console without having to reach around to the rear panel.

Outgoing

Whew. The situation with rear-panel outputs is much simpler. Every A/V receiver has RCA analog audio and videotape recording outputs so you can connect a VCR, a cassette deck, and a CD or MiniDisc recorder. They also have composite-video, probably S-video, and sometimes, in the case of high-end receivers, component-video outputs that go to your TV (or multiple TVs). There will also be a subwoofer output for connection to a powered subwoofer. More and more receivers also include digital audio outputs for connection to a CD recorder or other digital device.

A large portion of the rear panel's real estate is taken up by speaker connections. These include terminals for left, center, and right front speakers and left and right surround speakers (which are usually placed to the sides of the listening position). Some models also have an extra set of stereo speaker connections for use with an audio system in another room. And a few even have two sets of surround-channel outputs, allowing you to switch between two sets of speakers, such as dipoles for movies and direct-radiating (regular) speakers for multichannel music. The latest twist is the addition of a "back surround" output for playing the 6.1-channel soundtracks on Dolby Surround EX or DTS-ES DVDs.

Finally, you'll usually find one or more AC convenience outlets to plug in additional components. Some receivers also have preamp outputs for feeding line-level (unamplified) audio to a secondary system (in some cases along with a video signal) or to a really high-power amplifier. And your receiver might also have connections for a multiroom remote-control system.

Totally Wired

Now that you know what all those jacks are for, it doesn't look so confusing back there, does it? With that information under your belt, you can move on to actually making connections. First, make sure the receiver is turned off. Never make connections to a receiver when it's turned on. You risk all sorts of mischief if you do.

Now, let's connect a component as an example--in this case, a VCR. First, locate the white and red jacks on the back of the receiver labeled VCR (or VCR 1 if your receiver accommodates more than one). Use RCA cables to connect the VCR's left and right (or L and R) audio outputs to the corresponding inputs on the receiver. Next connect the VCR's video output to the receiver's VCR video input using a 75-ohm coaxial cable labeled for video use. (Some VCRs also supply an S-video output, which you should use instead if you can, but only if your TV has an S-video input.) Then connect the receiver's audio and video recording output (REC OUT) jacks to the corresponding input jacks on the VCR (these are necessary if you plan on recording from any source other than the VCR's internal TV tuner).

The principles are the same for all other analog components, except that audio-only gear obviously doesn't need any video connections and playback-only components don't need to be connected to any rear-panel record outputs. Remember: Source-component outputs go to receiver inputs.

Components with digital audio outputs aren't much more difficult to hook up. For example, with a DVD player, in addition to connecting the video output, you'll need to connect either the coaxial or optical digital audio output to a corresponding digital input on the receiver. The only potentially tricky part: remember (or write down) which digital input you connected the DVD player to, because these inputs usually aren't next to the corresponding analog inputs. There is a good reason for this: Digital inputs are usually assigned to source components via the receiver's on-screen setup menus instead of being "hard-wired" to any one source. Also, if you make a coaxial digital connection, use a 75-ohm coaxial cable designated for digital audio (or video--it's the same type of cable electrically); cables designed for analog audio, though similar in appearance, are usually somewhat different in their electrical characteristics and may cause problems here.

A word about DVD players, DTV set-top boxes, and satellite TV receivers with component-video outputs. If your TV has component video-inputs and your A/V receiver does not, you must run the component-video outputs directly from the source component into your TV and lose the convenience of switching video from the receiver.

Speaker connections are pretty straightforward. Just remember to keep them in phase--that is, connect the red (+) terminal on the receiver to the red terminal on the corresponding speaker, and do the same with the black (-) connections. If you don't do this, bass and stereo imaging will suffer. A tip: Label each speaker wire ("left front," "center front," and so on) about a foot away from where it's connected to the receiver (a "flag" of adhesive tape will do). Do this for all the interconnects, too. If you don't, it will be next to impossible to remember what goes where if you ever need to change a wire! And don't forget to connect the subwoofer output.

A note about cables: Most garden-variety interconnects supplied with components are adequate to the task. But with speaker cable, use at least 18-gauge (preferably heavier) copper wire, especially if the cable runs are longer than, say, 10 feet. (Remember that the lower the gauge number, the thicker the wire.)