Home Theater Term of the Week - Home Theater Receiver

The Home Theater receiver is the heart of a home theater system and provides most, if not all, the inputs and outputs that you connect everything, including your television, into. An AV Receiver provides a way of centralizing your your home theater system.

A Home Theater Receiver usually combines the functions of three components:

1. A radio tuner for AM/FM and, in some cases, HD (High Definition Radio) or XM-Satellite Radio.

2. A Preamplifier that switches and controls which audio and video source is selected (such as a DVD player, VCR, CD player, etc...) and processes the incoming stereo or surround sound signals and distributes them to the correct amplifier channels and the subwoofer output. The preamp in an AV receiver can also route video signals coming from source components (such as a DVD player) and direct the video signal to the television.

3. A built-in Multi-channel amplifier (5.1, 6.1, or 7.1 channels) that sends the surround sound signals and power to the speaker system.

For additional terms and definitions, check out my Home Theater Glossary