Getting your receiver setup properly can have a huge impact on the performance of your system. (Denon AVR-3312CI shown)

Receivers are the jacks-of-all-trades in the audio/video world. They power your speakers, tune in radio stations, provide convenient switching for all of your audio and video components, and let you tailor the sound of your system to suit your room and personal preferences. Home theater receivers also provide the decoding that lets you enjoy movies, TV shows, music, and video games in enveloping surround sound. Some receivers can even access Internet radio stations and the music stored on the computers connected to your home network. Simply put, your receiver supplies both the brains and the muscle for your system. That's why it's so important to get it hooked up right.

With so many options, features, and functions, setting up your receiver may seem intimidating at first. There are a lot of different approaches to take — and a lot of connectors on the back panel, period. But by choosing the right connections, along with the proper settings, you can get a great picture and superb sound quality — all the audio/video performance you paid for. This article will help you find the best path to take to optimize your audio/video system.

To make things easier, we're going to break the process down into five parts: speaker connections, audio connections, network connection, video connections, and receiver settings. Then we'll talk briefly about the care and cleaning of your receiver, as well as products designed to protect it and enhance its performance.

Here are a few other important tips that will help make your receiver setup go more smoothly:

• Have all of the materials you'll be using (cables, tools, owner's manuals for all of your gear, etc.) assembled together before you begin.
• Make sure your room is well-lit, and keep a flashlight handy so you can clearly see all of the markings on your receiver's input and output jacks.
• Make a plan beforehand. It helps to draw a diagram of your system before you start to ensure you have all of your connection bases covered. Labeling your audio/video and speaker cables at both ends also helps to keep things more organized when your installation is underway. Crutchfield offers some handy pre-printed labels for this very purpose. For more info on keeping your cables under control, check out Amanda's helpful techniques for cable management.
• Unless your receiver's manual specifically recommends otherwise, don't connect the AC power to your gear until all of your other connections are complete.

A quick word about cables

There are two basic kinds of cables you'll need to connect your system: audio/video patch cords designed to handle the low-level analog or digital music and picture signals, and speaker wire to carry the amplified sound from the receiver to your speakers. The first step is to identify the types of connections your receiver and the other components in your system offer, then determine which connections and cables to use to get the best possible performance. If you're not already familiar with the various types of A/V cables that you'll need to get your gear hooked up, check out Kristen's in depth cable article for more info on choosing the different connection types, as well as tips on choosing high-quality cables. You can also check out our connections glossary and photo gallery.

Keep in mind, there's usually more than one way to connect A/V gear to your receiver. If you're connecting a great many components, you may not be able to use the most recommended connection for all of them. We'll provide suggestions to help you choose a different connection type if you run into this situation.

So let's get started!

Speakers: the voice of your system

Most folks begin setting up their system by hooking up their speakers. Before you connect your speakers, you'll need to determine where you'd like to place them. This will help you find good routes for your speaker wire, and ensure that you've got enough wire to connect all your speakers. Keep in mind, where you position your speakers will impact sound quality a great deal. See our speaker placement video and Julie's home theater speaker placement article for more info on this important subject.

Take a little extra time to set up your speakers properly, and your ears will thank you.

Choosing speaker wire
The type of speaker wire you use can also make a difference. The right thickness, or gauge, of wire and the type of connectors attached to the ends will help ensure optimum sound quality and easier connections. If you have to use long runs of wire, choosing a heavier gauge will allow more power to reach your speakers for better sound. You may also want to consider using speaker wire terminated with banana plugs or pin connectors for simpler hookups. See our article on speaker wire and connections for more info.

Bi-amping your speakers
One other factor to consider when setting up your speakers is bi-amplification. If you've got a seven-channel receiver but you're only using five speakers and a powered subwoofer, you might be able to put those extra two channels to work. Most newer seven-channel receivers let you redirect their rear surround amp channels to send the power to a pair of bi-amp compatible front speakers (these are speakers that have two sets of binding post inputs instead of the usual single pair). You'll enjoy more dynamic, higher quality sound from your bi-amped front speakers — a great feature for anyone who listens to a lot of stereo music. For a better idea of what to expect, read our blog about bi-amping your speakers.

Dual sets of binding posts permit biamping or biwiring. These speakers come with jumpers that connect the two sets of binding posts for regular use (left photo). For biamping or biwiring, simply remove the jumpers (right photo).

Connecting your audio components

You've got four main options when making audio connections — HDMI (which actually carries both audio and video), optical digital, coaxial digital, and analog stereo RCA.

Now, you won't necessarily find all these connection types on every component you own, or on the back of your receiver. (For example, many stereo receivers only offer stereo RCA inputs, since they can't reproduce the surround sound that digital audio connections are often used to deliver.) But in cases where you do have options, choose the highest quality connections you can. Whenever possible, we recommend using a digital connection.

A high-quality HDMI cable will let you enjoy high-resolution audio from your Blu-ray discs.

When to use HDMI

HDMI should be your top choice. It can carry both high-def video and digital multichannel audio — so you get both picture and sound through a convenient single-cable connection.

Components that may offer HDMI connections include:

• HD cable and satellite TV receivers
• Blu-ray Disc™ and DVD players
• some gaming systems, such as Xbox 360™ and PS3

Optical cables transmit audio signals as pulses of light.

Coaxial digital cables are also surround-sound-capable, delivering up to 5.1-channels of audio.

When to use optical or coaxial digital audio

Not only can optical and coaxial digital audio connections carry multichannel audio for surround sound, they can also provide crisper, more detailed stereo sound than an analog connection. These are especially good options when connecting video components that don't support HDMI but do offer digital surround sound.

If you're a careful listener, you may want to experiment with different cables. Some audiophiles report getting better sound quality for two-channel music playback via a coaxial digital cable, even when the source component they're using offers the option of an optical digital or HDMI connection.

Components that may offer digital audio connections include:

• DVD players
• cable and satellite TV receivers
• some HD Radio tuners
• some satellite radio tuners
• gaming systems (usually via a proprietary adapter cable)

When to use stereo RCA

Stereo RCA connectors are some of the most recognized types of connectors, although there are many different kinds.

Stereo RCA connections can be found on just about every audio component. With older gear, this may be your only audio connection option. However, as discussed above, we recommend making a digital audio connection if you can.

Components that may offer only stereo RCA audio include:

• cassette decks
• some CD players
• some HD Radio tuners
• older gaming systems (usually via a proprietary adapter cable)

Connecting a turntable
If your receiver has a phono input, connecting your turntable is simple. (If you don't have a phono input, you'll need a separate phono preamp, or a turntable with a built-in phono preamp.) Just connect your turntable to your receiver's phono stereo RCA inputs on your receiver, as well as the adjacent ground wire terminal to help prevent potential hum.

Wadia's 171iTransport iPod dock lets you bypass the digital-to-analog converter in your player altogether, using your receiver's DAC instead for better sound.

Connecting iPods® and MP3 players
A lot of receivers these days include jacks that allow you to hook up a portable music player. Some simply offer a front-panel mini-jack for connecting to your portable player's headphone output. Other models include a USB port to connect a flash drive or an MP3 player via a USB cable. Most receivers now also feature a proprietary connection for a brand-specific iPod dock. These docks let you integrate an iPod into your home system to enjoy its music, and maybe even video through your best speakers and TV. Of course, you can also connect your MP3 player or iPod to just about any receiver using either a mini-to-stereo RCA cable, or regular stereo RCA cable (depending on the outputs on the player or dock). Check out our article on choosing iPod docks for more info.

Getting the best sound from your TV's tuner
If you'll be receiving over-the-air TV broadcasts, you'll likely want some way to hear the audio from those broadcasts through your receiver and speakers, rather than just through your TV's speakers. This is especially important with high-def broadcasts, which generally include surround sound. Most HDTVs these days include an optical digital output that can pass those surround signals to your receiver. You can also use a stereo analog connection, although you won't get surround sound. New receivers with latest version of HDMI (1.4a) include support for an ARC (Audio Return Channel). When you use an HDMI cable connection to your compatible television, it will send the audio channel back through your receiver to provide digital-quality surround sound, if it's present in the signal.

Ethernet: your key to the world beyond

More and more receivers provide you with an Ethernet connection. Some receivers offer Internet radio via this port and may also have DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) certification. A DLNA-certified receiver connected to your home network can access content (such as digital photos, videos and music files) from other DLNA-certified products (including many computers) that are also connected to your network. For more on this subject, check out our great article.

Getting the picture

In addition to handling all your audio signals, many receivers these days are designed to process and route your video signals too. This can be especially helpful if, for example, your TV doesn't have enough of a certain kind of video input to accommodate all your gear. And as you'll see in our descriptions below, it may also help reduce the total number of cables you have to run to your TV, depending on your receiver's capabilities.

Basic video switching
Virtually all home theater receivers, as well as some stereo models, offer some form of basic video switching. These models allow you to switch easily between sources, but can only pass along a video signal to your TV via the same type of connection that it came in on. For example, if you connected two components via component video, one via HDMI, and one by S-video, you'd need to run another one of each of those types of cables between your receiver and TV.

Video conversion — more convenient switching
Some home theater receivers offer "video conversion" — the ability to accept a variety of incoming video connections from the components in your system and pass them all to your TV through a different type of video connection. For example, if your Wii™ is hooked up to your receiver via S-video, but your receiver has a higher-quality output like HDMI, and offers HDMI video conversion, you'll be able to send that video signal (plus all your other video sources) to your TV via a single HDMI connection. Now, you'll still be seeing the lower-quality S-video picture, but it means you won't have to switch inputs on your TV every time you want to watch a different source — the main benefit here is convenience.

Video upconversion — get the best signal possible
Along with video conversion, some receivers offer video upconversion, or "scaling." These receivers can upgrade any video source to a superior high-resolution video signal that more closely matches the capabilities of your HDTV. Your DVDs and older video sources will look cleaner and more detailed. However, there are limits — don't expect your VHS tapes to look high-def.

(It's worth noting that some manufacturers may use the term "video upconversion" to describe video conversion. But unless your receiver's manual includes instructions on setting the resolution you'd like to upconvert your signals to, it's not video upconversion.)

What we recommend
As you can see in the descriptions above, you get the biggest advantage when your receiver offers video conversion or upconversion. Both offer a streamlined, one-cable connection to your TV, plus upconversion gives you the added benefit of improved video performance. In fact, we generally don't recommend routing video signals through a receiver with basic video switching. For more info, watch our short video on conversion and upconversion.

Connecting video components

Below, we've made suggestions and offered illustrations to help you get the best video performance. You can see that whenever possible, we recommend a high-definition-capable connection.

A high-quality HDMI cable are able to carry high-def digital video signals up to 1080p.

When to use HDMI
HDMI should generally be your top video connection choice. It can carry detailed high-definition signals, including 1080p — the highest resolution currently available. It's also the only A/V cable that can carry 3D video signals (see below for more details on home theater receivers and 3D TV). Plus, it can carry high-resolution, multichannel audio signals like Dolby® TrueHD and DTS-HD™ Master Audio.

Components that may offer HDMI connections include:

• HD cable and satellite TV receivers
• Blu-ray Disc™ and DVD players
• some gaming systems, such as Xbox 360™ and PS3

Component video cables are the only analog video cables capable of carrying a high-def signal, making it a good backup if HDMI isn't available.

When to use component video
Like HDMI, component video can carry a high-definition signal. In most cases, you won't be able to get top-quality 1080p video signals via component video, but you'll still enjoy a great-looking, high-resolution picture. That makes component video an excellent alternative to HDMI. Keep in mind that, unlike HDMI, component video can't carry audio signals, so you'll need to make a separate audio connection.

Components that may offer component video include:

• some cable and satellite TV receivers
• DVD players
• some gaming systems (usually via a proprietary adapter cable)

S-video cables are useful when hooking up older gear, like S-VHS players.

Composite video cables should be one of the last types of connections that you consider using, when no higher-quality connection is available.

When to use non-HD video connections
S-video and composite video connections can be found on just about every A/V component, and in the case of older gear, they might be your only option.

Components that may only offer S-video or composite video connections include:

• older DVD players
• older cable and satellite TV receivers
• older gaming systems (usually via a proprietary adapter cable)
• many iPod docks
• VCRs

Connecting your cable TV or satellite service
If you have a cable or satellite receiver, you'll usually make a connection between the wall jack and the tuner box via a single coaxial RF cable. However, when you connect that box to your receiver (or TV), that's your chance to get the best possible picture. We recommend using the best video connection your cable or satellite box will permit, starting with HDMI or component video for an HD-capable box.

3D TV and home theater receivers

If you want to watch 3D TV at home, there are a few must-have pieces. You'll need a TV capable of displaying 3D video, and special 3D glasses for everyone watching. You'll also need a 3D video source, like a 3D Blu-ray player and 3D Blu-ray movie, as well as an HDMI cable to connect it to your system.

So where does a home theater receiver fit in? Well, if you plan on switching your 3D video sources through your receiver, you'll need one capable of passing those 3D video signals on to your TV.

Now, if you don't have a 3D-capable receiver, you could run 3D video signals directly to your TV via HDMI, and run an optical or coaxial digital audio cable to your receiver for surround sound. That's a less-than-ideal solution though.

Having a 3D-capable receiver in your 3D TV system gives you a couple of key benefits. First, you'll still be able to enjoy the convenience of running a single HDMI cable to your TV (as opposed to one from your receiver and one from your Blu-ray player). Second, you'll still be able to get the ultra-high-resolution soundtracks available on Blu-ray discs, like Dolby® TrueHD and DTS-HD™. (Those formats generally require an HDMI connection, so optical or coaxial digital won't cut it.)

Check out our article about 3D TV for more info on what you need and how 3D TV works. And for more info on Blu-ray player connections, see our article about hooking up your Blu-ray player.

Receiver settings — dialing it in for top performance

Once you've gotten everything connected, you'll need to go into the receiver's menus to get everything up and running. If you haven't already read it, now is the time to dig into the owner's manual. We've defined some of the most common settings you'll encounter below, so you'll know what to expect. You'll find detailed instructions for these types of settings in your receiver's owners manual.

Assigning inputs
If you look at the back panel of a receiver, you'll notice that a lot of inputs are grouped under labels, like "DVD." Connecting your DVD player to the grouped stereo RCA and S-video inputs means that the DVD video and sound will play together.

But what about inputs that aren't grouped under a common label? Component video, HDMI, and digital audio inputs often fall in this camp. So if you wanted to connect your DVD player to a component video input and an optical digital audio input, you'd have to tell your receiver that the video and audio signals from those two inputs should be played at the same time. That means you'll have to "assign" those inputs, labeling them as the same source.

Speaker setup
For the best performance from your speakers, especially when it comes to surround sound, you'll need to give your receiver some information about the type of speakers you have and how far away they are from your listening position.

Most home theater receivers offer automatic speaker calibration — all you've got to do is plug in the included microphone, position it in your favorite listening seat(s), and start the auto calibration. The receiver uses the sonic information collected by the microphone to adjust the level, delay, and other settings for each individual speaker. (You can also enter this kind of information manually if your receiver doesn't have auto-calibration.) Check out our video on auto-calibration for more info.

Video conversion and resolution
If you're taking advantage of your receiver's video conversion or upconversion, you'll need to tell it which sources it should convert, and which output it should use to send those signals to your TV. For upconversion, you'll also need to tell the receiver what resolution you'd like your video upconverted to.

A quick word about surround settings
When you pop in a DVD, play a video game, or put any audio signal through your receiver, the receiver's front panel will light up with some terms that might not be familiar. Generally, these terms will tell you what kind of sound processing your receiver is using. For full details on common audio formats and terms, check out our surround sound article.

Also, a quick troubleshooting tip: If you find that your receiver isn't playing a surround sound source in surround sound (or not playing it in the format you expected), there are two easy possible fixes. First, check your source component's audio settings to make sure it's outputting a surround signal. Second, try cycling through your receiver's surround settings (often a knob on the front panel) to see if you can select your preferred processing.

Helpful accessories

A universal remote makes it easy to control your entire system. Logitech® Harmony® 700 shown.

Universal remotes for easy control
Although today's receivers all come with their own remotes, a lot of folks opt for a separate universal remote that can control all of their A/V gear. In addition to being much more streamlined (imagine just one remote on the coffee table instead of four), they can also make your system easier to use, offering easy one-button operation. Check out our articles and video on universal remotes for more info.

Separate power cables
You generally won't have to think about replacing the power cords on your gear, but sometimes they can break down after years of wear. You might also consider replacing the power cords in your system if you're a real audio/videophile — high-end power cables provide cleaner, purer power, which can mean subtle picture and sound improvements. As with any cable you're replacing, look for good shielding that'll protect the electrical current from interference. For a better idea of what to expect, read about my experience with new power cords.

Care and cleaning

Ventilation
Since your receiver can get quite warm during operation, it's important that you give it plenty of room to breathe. Don't stack it atop or below other components. Also, make sure it has at least 3-4" of space at the back and top. If you're placing it in a closed cabinet, consider cutting a couple of holes out of the back to let heat escape. Finally, if your receiver seems to feel more hot than warm, you may want to get a special cooling fan designed to work inside A/V cabinets.

A high-quality surge suppressor/line conditioner protects your gear and provides cleaner power for higher performance. Panamax MAX® 5300-PM pictured)

Power protection
While general-purpose power strips can be adequate for some electronic devices, they may not fully protect sensitive A/V gear, like your new receiver, from damaging power spikes and dips. And they seldom filter out electronic interference, which can affect performance. Check out our article about choosing power protection for tips on finding the right power protection for your system.

Cleaning your receiver
Not only will cleaning your receiver keep it looking nicer, it will help prevent dust from building up and getting inside the chassis, which could damage internal circuitry. Check out our article on cleaning your home A/V gear for more info.

Looking for more info?

Look up your questions in our online support center — you'll find plenty of helpful tips, and maybe even some info on your specific model. You can also explore receiver articles and videos in our learning center including:

answers to commonly asked questions in our
• in-depth info on choosing the right audio/video cables for your system.
• the ins and outs of HDMI cables
• our video about automatic speaker calibration.