Your Media Center PC allows you to connect it to a home theatre system with speakers and use it as an entertainment arrangement. Make sure that the sound card is present in your PC. With the kind of sound card selected, you will be able to connect it to a single digital or multi-channel outputs. Multi-channel outputs allow you to have a surround sound effect and work perfectly for a home theatre system.
Instructions
1. Ensure that your Media Center PC has a sound card installed. If the sound card is not present, then you can buy it separately and install in your Media Center PC. The process is simple and usually explained in the guidebook.
2. Examine if your sound card supports a single digital connection or will enable you to connect to a multi-channel speaker system.
3. Check the type of output. If the PC has an output for coaxial audio or an optical cable, then it will most likely support a single speaker connection. If the sound card has a provision for min-jack inputs, then it will most likely support the multi-channel analog series.
4. Replace your sound card with a new 5.1 multi-channel analog to enjoy surround sound effect using your home theatre speakers.
5. Understand the channels while connecting the speakers using the traditional Red and White RCA cables. C (center), FR (front right), FL (front left), SL (surround left), SR (surround right) and SW (subwoofer). Speaker configurations in the 7.1 setup will have one additional pair-SLB (surround left back) and SRB (surround right back).
6. Run a test. Connect your receiver. Pull out the three stereo RCA cables for 5.1 speaker configuration and four RCA cables for the 7.1 speaker. The number of cables depends on your sound card type (i.e. 3 for 5.1 and 4 for 7.1). Next, configure the decoder software on your Media Center PC and connect with the speaker.
7. Test the volume and output. Run a TV program and see if all speakers have audio output. You can play with decibel levels with alternate volume control to check sound from each connected speaker.
Tags: sound card, Media Center, home theatre, your sound, your sound card, cables speaker, card present