How to connect a home theater to a computer and laptop: instructions

The functionality of modern computers has no limits. And one of its possible options, in combination with a
home theater , is the creation of a full-fledged multimedia center. In the review, we will talk about how to connect a home theater to a personal computer or laptop, give step-by-step instructions and analyze possible problems when pairing.

Why is a home theater connected to a computer / laptop

As a rule, pairing a home theater and a computer solves one of the following tasks:

• significantly improve the soundtrack of a computer game;
• replace a failed TV by displaying the image on a PC monitor (without loss of sound quality);
• compensate for the absence of the “SMART” option on the TV, and view the content of online cinemas or other servers / websites with surround sound;
• turn on karaoke .

What you need to connect a PC and a home theater

There are several ways to connect a home theater to a PC or laptop. We select the appropriate option based on the technical characteristics of the devices, their configuration; and also taking into account the purpose of using the computer (for example, to display an image or as a signal source). So, somewhat outdated DC models can be used as sound amplifiers. In this case, to pair the equipment, you will need an aux cable (2 tulips, mini-jack connector – 3.5 mm).

The connection sequence is as follows:

• We connect tulips to the speakers (jack “INPUT”).
• Connect the mini-jack plug to the computer (sound card socket).

Next, the settings menu will be displayed on the PC screen, where we determine the cable and complete the configuration of devices. If we are talking about a more modern system, for example, 5.1, consisting of a subwoofer, front, center and rear speakers, then for direct connection you will also need a sound card and 4 mini-jack adapters (since the DC speaker connectors do not match the standard audio connectors). PC or laptop cards). The outputs of the computer and speakers are connected with white-red cables.
The sequence of connection to the sound card is as follows:

• We connect the wires coming from the front speakers to the green sound card input.
• We insert the rear speaker cables into the black sockets.
• The tulips from the subwoofer and center speaker fit into the orange sockets.

How to connect speakers from a home theater to a laptop: https://youtu.be/H2xJhFQnuyE

Important! For the correct connection of wires, use the instruction manual for the equipment.

Note! To connect the system to amplify the stereo input is not used. There is also an option to connect a 5.1 system via DVD. Let’s consider it below. In turn, synchronization of the image on the screens of the computer and TV will require pairing of devices. For this purpose, we will use a cable, the choice of which is determined by the connectors on the TV and PC or laptop: HDMI, DisplayPort, COMPONENT VIDEO, SCART, S-VIDEO, DVI, BBK, VGA. If the connectors of the devices do not match, you can use an adapter.

Step-by-step instructions for connecting a home theater to a personal computer

Connecting a home theater to a computer is not difficult. We will analyze the main connection options in a step-by-step instruction.

Connecting with an AUX cable

This type of connection is quite common, since almost all modern stereo devices are equipped with aux connectors, including home theaters and computers. The connection can be made either directly (see instructions above) or with the help of a so-called intermediary.

The last one will be the DVD player. The cable is standard for this type of connection – on the one hand it is equipped with tulips, on the other – a mini-jack. The connection sequence is as follows:

• We insert the mini-jack connector into the PC audio card input for speakers, which is standardly colored green or has the corresponding “out” inscription.
• The reverse side of the aux wires – red and white tulips, we connect to the DVD player, focusing on the color scheme (white tulip – white connector, red tulip – red connector).
• Let’s go to the configurations, and open the PC / laptop sound card settings tab. The section is called “Sound inputs/outputs”. Select the option with the appropriate number of columns. For system 5.1 – this value is equal to 6.
• Next, on the DVD player, select the appropriate audio input channel.
• Checking the sound.

As you can see, this type of connection is one of the simplest, and does not require additional investments to purchase the missing components. How to connect an old home theater to a computer: https://youtu.be/KKsgbSVDbVI

Connecting a home theater to a computer via HDMI

Connecting via the HDMI connector, which is sometimes labeled as ARC, is also one of the most common ways to pair devices. Provides high quality data transfer. Used like this:

• We connect one end of the cable to the home theater receiver using the HDMI in jack.
• We connect the second end to the computer – the “HDMI out” connector.
• Next, turn on all the equipment and go to the settings.

Depending on the brands and models of equipment, the process may be slightly different. The main task is to select the HDMI socket in the corresponding settings menu, and specify it as the signal source. The command may sound like “playing audio / voice for acoustic system”, which means playing sound through the speaker system. We remove the checkbox from the command for sounding through the speakers.

How to connect a home theater to a computer for 5.1 sound, how to output sound and video in good quality: https:// youtube.be/PPh99i55BrI

How to connect a home theater to a computer via an optical cable

The option with optics is suitable for those who did not find the HDMI input on the computer, but found the “OPTICAL OUT” or “DIGITAL AUDIO OUT” connectors. In this case, using an optical cable, we connect this connector on the computer to the corresponding output on the home theater. Further, by tradition, we correct the appropriate settings on the computer, and we get surround sound.

Note! The fiber optic wire is not affected by electromagnetic radiation, so you can not be afraid of interruptions in sound.

How to connect a home theater to a computer via an optical cable – video instruction: https://youtu.be/ypdsGYOK5gg

WiFi

If the home theater is equipped with a Wi-Fi option, then you can connect the system to a computer through it. In this case, in the settings, select the appropriate network for connection (the same for both the DC and the computer). We enter the password. In the PC settings, specify the appropriate type of connection. And check the sound. This type of connection will also allow you to create your own mini-server, which will store home multimedia content. Access to the server can be opened, so that your favorite audio and video files will remain available for viewing on any other device – TV, smartphone, tablet, etc. How to connect cinema speakers 5 1 via RCA cable to a computer: https://youtu.be/fT64ctP5CaA

Connection setup

After pairing all the devices, for the correct connection of the home theater to the computer, we proceed to work with the software. This utility comes with the audio driver. Insert the disc into the drive. And follow the instructions/tips on the screen. Next, it is important to set up and test the sound of the system. We also do this using a computer using standard Windows OS programs:

• We expand “Start”.
• Go to the “Control Panel” section.
• Open the tab “Hardware and Sound”, “Sound”.

  

• In the dialog box, expand “Playback”, select “Speakers” (their name will be indicated here).
• Click “Setup” and set the surround sound.

Finishing the settings. If the home theater is connected via a local network, then you should open “Sharing”:

1. We are looking for the right folder with music, movies and other things.
2. Click on it with the right mouse button.
3. Next, “Sharing”, and select the desired mode.

In the case of a Wi-Fi connection, the setup will be somewhat more complicated – you will need to configure the home theater adapter to receive a signal from the router. Further, if the Wi-Fi network is protected, enter the password and check the connection.

Possible problems and solutions

Now let’s look at common problems when connecting, and suggest ways to solve them.

No sound or images are played after connecting the home theater to a computer

If you encounter a similar problem, we recommend the following:

1. Check the integrity of the involved equipment and cables.
2. Check if the wires are connected correctly.
3. If this does not solve the problem, dig into the computer settings. We go into the settings of the sound card of the PC / laptop, and check the correctness of the configurations. As a rule, one of the proposed actions always helps to solve the problem that has arisen.

We connect equipment via Wi-Fi, but the computer does not see the home theater

To solve the problem, we recommend checking the correct operation of the router. Also note that they must connect to the same wireless network. Recheck the connection and, if necessary, reconnect.

Both a computer and a TV are connected to the home theater, but the sound or image is not reproduced: what is the reason and how to solve the problem?

The cause of this malfunction is most often a device conflict. But do not despair, it can be resolved painlessly. To restore sound, we connect equipment (TV and home theater) using an optical cable; and for a high-quality image, connect a computer and a TV with an HDMI cable. As a rule, devices are equipped with an appropriate connector. Connecting according to this scheme will allow you to separate video and audio signals. After that, the devices will no longer conflict. As a result, we get high-quality image transmission from a computer to a TV, and surround sound from 5.1 acoustics.
Connecting a 5.1 system to a PC [/ caption] As you can see, the process of connecting a home theater to a computer is not too complicated. The main task is to decide on “Dano”, that is, with the technical characteristics of the devices, and the availability of appropriate connectors. Otherwise, the process of wired connection and settings is quite similar.