An AV or an audio/video receiver is the difference between a monotonous, dull sound coming from your TV and the feel of a home theatre with real surround sound.
If you have multiple audio and video inputs and outputs at your home and you’re looking for that perfect home theatre system, then you should definitely consider getting a good AV receiver.
And an AV receiver connects different audio and video sources, amplifies audio for more than one speaker. It also tunes radio programs and performs many other functions to get you that ultimate cinema experience.
Moreover, if you’re still asking yourself do I need an AV receiver, then read on, and we’ll tell you all you need to know about AV receivers and why you should get one.
What Does an AV Receiver Do?
You might be asking yourself, what will I do with an appropriate AV receiver. What does it do? Well, it does a lot of things. If you have the right pieces of equipment, it’ll be an essential component of your home theatre system.
Let’s find out some of the main functions of an AV receiver.
Connect and Switch among Audio Sources
All of the audio sources in your home like the DVD/CD player, microphone, turntables, any digital audio player, online audio streaming websites like Spotify can be connected to the receiver. There is a section on the receiver known as a preamplifier, which will let you switch and select your desired audio output easily.
This way, you won’t have to connect and disconnect the different audio source wires manually every time. All you have to do is press a few buttons and select or switch between the different audio sources in your home.
Connect and Switch among Video Sources
You can also connect all the video sources to display devices like TV, projector as easily as you connected the audio sources.
Whether you want to play DVD or Blu-ray, or want to connect your gaming devices like the PlayStation or Xbox, or even when you want to stream online videos from Hulu or Netflix, an AV receiver and its remote control will take care of it with the press of a button.
This device will not only decode, process, and convert video signals but will improve the quality of the picture that’s sent to your TV.
Surround Sound
An AV receiver is the only device that’s able to decode popular sound technologies that are used in many movies and games. These include THX, DTS, Atmos, and Dolby. With this receiver, you’ll be able to decode both analog and digital surround sound formats.
This is the technology that gives you the cinematic feel in the theatre. And you can bring home that theatre quality surround sound with an AV receiver.
Multiple Channels for Audio Amplification
The more channels you have, the more speakers you can connect, and the more you’ll be surrounded. AV receivers will have at least 5 channels. It amplifies the signal and makes sure the right speaker is reached by the right signal.
When shopping for an AV receiver, look for the ones that are able to support the channel configuration of 7.1 and 9.1.
Radio
Another interesting feature of an AV receiver is that you can tune the radio with it. You’ll be able to play FM and AM in local radio stations.
And if you want satellite radio, you’ll have to pay a subscription fee for that. But, it’s nice to know that with an AV receiver, you can access Sirius or XM if you want.
User Interface
To make it even easier for you to control everything from the comfort of your sofa or bed, AV receivers have an excellent user interface.
It includes a remote control, front panel display on the receiver, and on your TV, you’ll get an on-screen display.
Extras
Based on the brand, model, and price of the AV receiver, you’ll also get many additional connectivity options.
You can connect to the internet through Ethernet ports or WiFi. Also, you can use Bluetooth through which you can play music from your smartphone, cast wireless video. Moreover, you can do screen mirroring using Airplay or Miracast.
With that, you can utilize many other features that you’ll find out as you delve into the fascinating world of AV receivers.
Do You Really Need an AV Receiver?
To answer that question, you need to consider the following things.
Purpose
What do you plan to do with an AV receiver? Do you just want to make your TV or PC sound better? Or, are you really invested in creating a home theatre?
If you want better sound out of the TV, then opt for a couple of speakers and connect them with the TV. But if you want to watch Blu-ray movies with full Dolby digital surround sound or play virtual reality on your console, then you need that AV receiver.
Cost
Creating a home theatre requires quite a few devices that you can buy separately. But they’ll increase your cost by many folds than the price you would pay if you were to get a receiver.
When you get an AV receiver for your home theatre, you’ll be saving a lot of money as you won’t have to buy decoders, amplifiers, an input switch, a DSP, or many other various devices that you’ll need.
Conclusion
An AV receiver not only connects all your audio and video sources in one device. But it also greatly improves the quality of the sound and picture you’ll get.
It has the amazing quality of bringing together all your components together to give you an unrivaled home theatre experience that you can’t get over.
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