How to get the best picture and sound quality

OK, you just bought a new HDTV and surround sound system, but how do you hook them up to produce the best picture and sound? To get the best picture and sound you need to chose the right cables.

Types of cables:

Coaxial cable: is the worst type of cable available to produce video and sound. Though it will work just fine for antennas or to link a connection from a cable or satellite box to the poll or satellite.


Composite video: Is a little better than a coaxial cable but cannot produce high definition picture. It is usually bundled up with analog audio cables, these are also better than a coaxial cable but are not capable of creating true surround sound, they work well for mono or stereo sound.

S-Video cable: this cable will produce a better picture than composite or coaxial but cannot produce high definition picture.


Component cables: these cables split picture into three cables to produce a high quality picture that can support high definition video.


Digital optical cables
Digital coaxial cables: these cables offer superior quality sound and are capable of producing surround sound.


Analog Multi-Channel sound cables: these cables split the sound into channels using analog audio cables to produce the highest level of surround sound.



 
VGA cables: these are mainly used with computers and are capable of producing high definition video.
DVI cables: these are also found on computers and other devices and can produce high definition video.




HDMI: this cable is the best of the best! It is capable of doing each thing of every cable mentioned above. It produces the highest quality high definition video and the highest quality surround sound including built in multi-channel sound support. The greatest thing about it is that it is only one cable. These types of cables can also support 3d high definition video.

When hooking up your new T.V. try to use HDMI cables the most to get the highest quality picture and sound available.

How to properly set up speakers for a surround sound system

Once you have connected all of the audio and video cables to the surround sound receiver, you will need to run speaker wire to the spots where the speakers are going to go.

The center speaker should go either above or below the television directly in front of you. If you are using a projector I recommend putting the center speaker behind the screen, but make sure you have a screen that does not block sound.

The left and right front speakers should be placed in between 22 and 30 degrees from your listening center (where you will be sitting) on each side.

If you have a 7.1 or 9.1 surround sound system you will need to set up your front height speakers, they should be at the same angle as the front left and right speakers only higher up on your wall, to make the sound seem like it is coming from the ceiling.

The surround sound speakers in the back are placed differently depending on the system you have. If you have a 5.1 channel surround sound system the rear left and right speakers should be placed behind you in between 135 and 150 degrees.
If you have a 7.1 or 9.1 channel system there are four rear speakers to place. The surround right and left speakers should be placed at a 90 degree angle on both sides of you, and the surround back left and right speakers should be placed behind you between 135 and 150 degrees.

The sub-woofer can be place anywhere in the room, if set up properly you should not be able to tell where the sub-woofer is located. The sub-woofer should not produce too much bass to the point where it sounds like there is an earthquake in one corner of your room. For placement ideas here are some things you can try: set it next to the T.V., if it is not giving the sound you want put it up against a wall, if you still need a difference in sound place it in a corner. Each position can give you different levels of bass. Another good idea is to purchase a better sub-woofer cable than the one that came with your system, this will greatly improve the sub-woofers sound.