Installing Your New HDTV and Home Theater

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Are you sure you installed your Hi-Def TV and Home Theater correctly?

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Dave Lupberger on Home Theater Installation: Hi, I'm David Lupberger with ServiceMagic.com. You've just brought home that flat screen plasma tv, and the surround sound system to make it better. But before you start connecting the cables yourself, there are some things you need to know. Mainly -- you might need to connect yourself with a professional.

Lupberger: When someone brings home a new wide screen TV, it's probably something they've had their eye on for a while. They've measured the walls, studied the ratings and reviews... and they're ready to plug in and go. But, ask any professional and they'll likely tell you it isn't nearly that simple.

Chris Tritz/Forefront Technologies: Even if it's just set up on a table, a blue-ray player, a DVD player or a cable box hooked up to it, over half of them going out are being hooked up incorrectly.

Lupberger: That means that all the money you've plopped down for the best picture and clearest audio may be going wasted if you took a guess at hooking up your home theater system yourself. Professional installers like Chris Tritz and Forefront Technologies -- a ServiceMagic prescreened company ?- spend at least six months training on the latest equipment and how to install it.

Chris Tritz/Forefront Technologies: It's not coax any more. There's so many different variables, depending on the type of equipment you're hooking up. You've got coax, you could have composite, you could go to component, S-video, HDMI. You know, so many different options. Do you want to hook it up to the internet to make sure it's getting its firmware updates.

Lupberger: Something else most people don't consider -- the quality of the electricity that's powering all this sensitive equipment. That, too, can alter performance.

Chris Tritz/Forefront Technologies: We've had people hook up their $3000 TV investment to a little green surge strip protector they use for their Christmas lights... a little $7 device and that just doesn't cut it.

Lupberger: And it's not just the connections. Make no mistake -- properly mounting a hi-def TV on a wall IS a construction project. Unless you want cables hanging down from your TV, professionals who are knowledgeable about working behind the walls need to re-route them. In this case, installers from Forefront have to pull the cable wire extensions through the walls, going up through the attic and down an opposite wall. They also have to re-route the power that will supply the new television. All that before they even begin installing the bracket that will eventually hold the television. A complicated job like this one can take even professionals several hours to do correctly... but in the end, a new hi-def TV is on the wall with no cords showing and the best possible signal.

Lupberger: Remember-- when it comes to getting the most out of your new home theater systems, co-ax doesn't cut it. If you're looking for a pre-screened professional in your area to help you install your system, or with help on any other home improvement project -- go to ServiceMagic.com -- home improvement, hassle-free.