Use Your TV as a PC Monitor
The easiest way to integrate your PC with a home theater is by connecting it to your TV. You can even connect a Surface tablet to your television. With today’s HD and 4K Ultra HD TVs, the display resolution and overall image quality may be just as good as many PC monitors. To do this, check your TV for a VGA (PC monitor) input connection. If not, you can purchase a VGA-to-HDMI or USB-to-HDMI converter. If your PC has a DVI output, you can use a DVI-to-HDMI adapter to connect your PC to the TV as well. If your PC has an HDMI output (most newer ones do), this eliminates the need for an additional adapter. You can connect the HDMI output of your PC directly to an HDMI input on the TV. With a PC connected to your TV, you have a large screen area to work with. This is not only great for viewing still photos and videos, but web browsing, working on documents, video creation, and image editing takes on a new perspective. For gamers, some HD and Ultra HD TVs support 1080p 120Hz frame rate input signals. If you are considering using your TV as part of your PC gaming experience, check both your PC and prospective TV for this capability.
Accessing Audio From Your PC on Your Home Theater System
In addition to seeing your PC’s screen on a TV, you also need to get the audio from your PC to either your TV or home theater audio system. If your PC provides HDMI, connect it to one of the HDMI inputs on your TV or Home Theater Receiver. If you are using the HDMI connection, it should also transfer audio, as HDMI can pass both video and audio signals. Whether you have the HDMI output connected directly to your TV or routed through your home theater receiver, your PC screen should display on your TV, and you should hear the audio from your TV or home theater receiver. If your home theater receiver detects an incoming Dolby Digital bitstream (from services such as Netflix or Vudu, or if you play a DVD on your PC), it will decode the signal for a full surround sound listening experience. If your PC doesn’t have HDMI but has DVI or VGA, some workarounds will still enable you to access audio. One workaround is to see if one of the HDMI inputs on the TV has a set of analog audio inputs paired with it. If so, connect your PC to that HDMI input (via VGA or DVI to HDMI adapter) to access video and then connect the audio output(s) of your PC to the analog audio input paired with that HDMI input. If using a home theater receiver, see if your PC has multi-channel outputs typically used for a powered PC surround sound speaker system. If so, you can use those same outputs (using adapters) to connect to a home theater receiver that provides a set of analog multi-channel preamp inputs. If your PC has a digital optical audio output, you can connect it to a digital optical input on a home theater receiver. When using a multi-channel analog or digital optical audio solution with a home theater receiver, you need to connect the HDMI or VGA output of your PC directly to the TV and make your audio connections separately to your home theater receiver.
Combine Your PC and Home Theater Components Into a Network
The options for integrating your PC into your home theater setup so far require the PC to be close to your TV and home theater receiver. However, you can integrate your PC into your home theater even in another room via a network. In addition to your PC, you can connect a smart TV, media streamer, Blu-ray Disc player, and even many home theater receivers to your internet router (either via Ethernet or Wi-Fi), creating a simple home network. Depending on the capabilities of your connected devices, you might be able to access and stream audio, video, and still image content stored on your PC to your TV through a compatible Blu-ray Disc player or media streamer. The way this works is that your TV, Blu-ray Disc player, or media streamer may have a built-in app, or one, or more, downloadable apps that allow it to recognize and communicate with your PC, which appears as a media server (additional software might be required). Once identified, you can use your TV or another device to search your PC for playable media files. The only downside is that depending on your device, or the app used, not all media files may be compatible, but it does provide you a way to enjoy PC-stored media content without having to sit in front of your PC.
Home Theater Room Correction
Another way a PC can become a part of a home theater is as a tool for setting up and controlling your system. Almost all home theater receivers have a speaker setup (aka Room Correction) system. These go by various names, depending on the brand. Examples include Anthem Room Correction (Anthem AV), MCACC (Pioneer), YPAO (Yamaha), Accu EQ (Onkyo), Audyssey (Denon/Marantz). Although some of the details vary, the systems all work by using an included microphone placed in the primary listening position. The receiver emits test tones that the receiver analyzes. The analysis enables the receiver to set the proper speaker levels and crossover points between the speakers and the subwoofer so that your system sounds its best. On some home theater receivers, you can use a PC to start and monitor the process or the speaker setup results. The results may consist of numerical tables and frequency graphs that can be exported and displayed or printed out using a PC. For room correction systems that take advantage of PC start and monitor, the PC needs to be connected directly to the home theater receiver. Still, if the receiver performs all the tasks internally and merely exports the results to a USB flash drive, the PC can be anywhere.
Home Theater Control
Another way that a PC can be a useful tool is by using it as the control hub for your home theater system. If your key components (such as your TV and Home Theater Receiver) and your PC has RS232, Ethernet ports, and, in some cases, Wi-Fi, using Internet Protocol, you can link them so the PC can control functions and settings. Also, in some cases, your PC can control the room lighting, temperature or ventilation, and for video projection systems, control motorized screens.
The Bottom Line
There are several ways you can use a PC (or Mac) as part of your home theater system. Although you can integrate just about any PC into a home theater setup on some level, you might consider buying or building your own Home Theater PC (HTPC). Doing so ensures total compatibility with your TV, home theater audio system, gaming, and streaming needs. TVs are also becoming more sophisticated and are encroaching on some PC functions, including built-in web browsing, streaming, and essential home automation control, such as lights, environmental, and security systems. Combine that with the capabilities of smartphones and tablets, which can also stream content to PC and home theater components directly or through a network, as well as perform home theater control functions via compatible apps. It becomes evident that there is no Home theater-only, PC-only, or mobile world anymore – it all blends together as one all-encompassing Digital Lifestyle.
