A home theater system will bring magic and excitement to all your video entertainment. Our guide will help you plan the right system for your room, with tips on choosing the type of system you want, speakers, audio electronics, and a TV. We’ll also cover the many entertainment sources and what you can expect from each.

To create an immersive home theater environment, you’ll want, at a minimum:

• A surround sound system
• The biggest HDTV or UHDTV you can manage
• A broadband Internet connection

Discover the many options for your home theater audio system.

Types of Home Theater Audio Systems

You can choose from four basic types of home theater audio systems:

Home-theater-in-a-box system: Usually five surround sound speakers, a subwoofer, and a disc player/amplifier. Sold as a unit in one box (hence the name). Includes all wiring.

Sound bar: A long, thin bar containing several loudspeaker drivers. Many models include a separate, usually wireless, subwoofer.

Component system: An audio/video receiver, speakers, and any source components (such as a disc player).

Component separates Component systems that replace the receiver with a separate preamplifier/processor and power amplifiers.