How to connect two home theaters together
For most families nowadays, a single home theater is not sufficient enough. More and more multi-screen home theaters are installed since more families have special needs. Plenty of these families are more than willing to add more screens to their setups.
As a result, most of the modern home theaters come with more than one HDMI input, especially for switching between DVD/Blu-ray and satellite/cable. I've learned that sometimes, you need to switch between the primary input on your projector and the one on your TV – not as happenstance as that. Connecting two home theaters together may be easier than you think with the right equipment.
There are two methods I use to connect two home theaters together: HDMI-in, and AV Receiver. My favorite is HDMI-in. As you may have guessed, we are adding the secondary input to the output of the primary one. This is a sweet solution for many reasons. For one, you don't have to run a new cable from the output of one display to the input of the other. You can make use of the HDMI cable you're already using and switch between the two with a single remote. The great thing is you don't have to go drilling into the wall to add another cable. Simply add the second input into the output of the first one with an HDMI-in port splitter, and you're good to go.
Connecting two home theaters together for video
Building a theater room may be part of your dream house project or you might have just started your home theater room, but how do you display the two video sources in a theater room?
A simple way to connect two home theaters together is by using a S-Video to HDMI converter. In order to display the content on a wall, you can use a 4K HDMI splitter with a 4K S-video splitter.
Using a splitter with two sets of S-video output gives the flexibility to display the videos in two different home theaters or areas with S-video inputs like the main home theater and the guest room home theater.
Bonus tip: if you have a 3D Blu-Ray player with HDMI out, consider adding a 3D HDMI splitter with 3D-compatible S-Video splitter so you can display the 3D content on the wall. This will also play the S-video content. Some 3D products require an S-video cable and not an S-video to HDMI converter for 3D.
All you’ll need to do is the following:
1 > Get the connections right. 2 > Get a passcode and set-up wireless network.
3 > Select the best streaming format. 4 > Create a network. 5 > Press play and enjoy.
Setting up a home theater has gotten a lot easier thanks to wireless and Internet-ready TVs. But streaming content is still not as simple as it has to be. You need to make sure that the right devices are running the right apps, and then combine them in the right way.
Gone are the days when you need to buy a separate DVD player, a stereo receiver, a set of speakers, a projector, and a screen. You now need receivers, phono, and a series of remote controls with special abilities. When streaming video from your Smartphone or Smart TV, you also need to use apps such as Netflix, YouTube, or Plex.
Most home theater setups use Wi-Fi, but you can get HD audio if you connect devices using Ethernet cables. The best audio and video quality is often found in Blu-Ray players. A Blu-Ray player also plays CDs and DVDs, meaning that you won’t have to dedicate a slot on your entertainment center for a converter box. And it will also do a lot more than streaming.
Tips for multi-room video
Today more people are deciding to connect two or more TVs together in an attempt to save on the costly costs of having to purchase separate systems and subsystems. When it comes to such an endeavor the question inevitably arises: How can we connect multiple systems together in order to transmit video from the source to all the televisions?
You will now find there are basically two ways to recieve video from a single source, wired or wireless. Both present an option for the home owner, wired setups are the most simple and reliable but many times are not the most practical. After all the time and effort and cost of running wires and the cables it can be a royal pain. Wireless connections are gaining in favor but present another host of issues such as interference and signal drop out.
Assuming you are not getting a distance extender system (wireless) for your home theater and are running a wired system you will need to consider several factors. Among these issues are the number of TVs or sets you want to be fed by the system, the location and the number of other sets in use, how many connections in total need to be supported and the number of wires you are ready to run.
Connecting two home theaters together for audio
Here are the basic steps for connecting your home theaters together for surround sound. These steps will work on any audio stand alone receiver or A/V receiver.
Check the SPEAKER and/or SURROUND, LR, and REAR SPEAKER terminals.
Make sure you've checked the speaker terminals before you attempt to do anything else. There should be output wires coming from your DVD player, cable box, satellite receiver, or Blu-ray player. Make sure those wires are connected to the speaker output terminals on the back of your home theater receiver or A/V receiver.
Make sure you've checked the speaker terminals before you attempt to do anything else. There should be output wires coming from your DVD player, cable box, satellite receiver, or Blu-ray player. Make sure those wires are connected to the speaker output terminals on the back of your home theater receiver or A/V receiver. Check the CABLE/SAT/ANTENNA terminal for the signal.
Make sure that the cables that connect your TV or monitor to your home theater receiver are connected in the CABLE/SAT/ANTENNA terminals.
Make sure that the cables that connect your TV or monitor to your home theater receiver are connected in the CABLE/SAT/ANTENNA terminals. See if you have any other audio connections.
Tips for multi-room audio
Setting up a multi-room audio system with control from afar is useful for several reasons, like listening to the same music or audio through every room in the house, or maybe you’re preparing for a Christmas party and you want your guests to be able to listen to music in various rooms from a single device. The way you connect the audio devices is important to achieve this kind of setup. You’ll need several audio receivers to view different inputs on a single device from anywhere in the house and you’ll also need several pairs of speakers or headphones.
Using a second amplifier for multiple speakers
If you want to connect a second set of speakers to your home theater system, you might be confused about how to do this. This process is complicated if you are connecting directly from your preamp outputs but with the newly released HDMI 1.4 standard and HDCP 2.0, you can split one video stream in the following manner.
The first approach is to connect the onesided end of your HDMI cable to another amplifier, that is part of the same home-theater-system, and the other sides to two additional HDMI-compatible speakers. For that, you need to have an amplifier with an HDMI input. The amplifier sends sound out to the speakers, but you can easily do this synchronization by using a simple RF link.
The next approach is to split the video signal in an HDMI splitter. This splitter takes one incoming HDMI signal and produces two identical ones. One goes to the original monitor, while the other is transmitted to the second set of speakers. The splitter, as the amplifier has its own A/V receiver so it does not have to be part of the same home-theater-system.
Pros of a two amp system
If you have a larger area to fill with sound, or your theater has a lot of reflectivity, you may need more power to enjoy a good listening experience. Many of the most powerful speakers are also very inefficient, so they often need more power to play louder. If most of your viewing will take place in the front plane of your theater, the scatter effect may not be that noticeable. But if you want to enjoy consistent audio throughout the room, a second amp may be exactly what you need.
Adding a second amp can do more than just boost the audio for a home theater. You may find that the second amp makes a wider range of speakers in your main system more viable and enjoyable. By adding a second amp, you can connect different speakers to each amp to get the best possible performance in different seating areas.
Cons of a two amp system
The only drawback I’ve seen of using an amp splitter in this situation is that the amp might turn on and off a couple of times during the video due to the A/V Receiver refocusing the HDMI signal back and forth from the DVD Player to the TV. But that's a very minor drawback, and will only be a problem if you are trying to watch the DVD in HIGH DEF with the TV's highest resolution settings (usually 720p or 1080i).
Some people may say that being able to control one remote to turn on more outlets (like the DVD Player and TV) is a disadvantage to using an amp splitter, but I prefer this method for controlling these switches.
Instead of using an amp splitter, you can also use a simple audio splitter box, like the one shown below, that will allow you to connect the DVD audio to both the DVD and the TV.
Some final thoughts
While this article has gone in-depth into the components of a home theater system, there are thousands of options beyond the ones mentioned and your needs ultimately dictate which one is right for you. The key is to get the speakers, receiver, buying a little bigger than what you think you’ll need, and for the source and display components investing in quality brands will pay off in the years to come.
One piece of advice I always give to customers is to look at what you want to watch when making a purchasing decision. You might not think about it now, but your needs will evolve as the technology and the industry do, and you’ll likely want to upgrade to newer receivers, speakers, TVs, and media streamers. Look at your needs now and pick components that are flexible enough to handle whatever you’re watching today and in the years to come.