Understanding the Technology

A/V Receiver Basics
A digital surround receiver is the heart of your home theater. Besides delivering power to all your speakers (except the subwoofer), it lets you switch between your DVD player and other source components, sends the video signal to your TV, and does the surround sound processing that turns your family room into a theater.

Today’s receivers offer far more features and even better performance than those of just a few years ago. Things like processing for surround sound playback of stereo programs and switching for high-definition video sources are available even in inexpensive models.

All home theater receivers decode the Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtracks found on virtually all DVDs, and most also decode DTS and a variety of other surround sound formats. Most now also offer 6.1- and 7.1-channel decoding and amplification as well.

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