Surround sound transforms your listening experience giving you an immersed sound experience where you hear the sound coming from all around you. Whether you want to watch a movie on TV and get the full cinema experience, listen to music as if played live around you or play video games with the ultimate feeling of immersion, then surround sound is the answer for you.
If you want surround sound you have three ways to deliver it:
A DVD player with a built in surround sound decoder
A separate surround sound receiver and speakers. Sits between your DVD player, TV receiver or games console and your TV. A surround sound speaker system with built in decoder. Sits between your DVD player, TV receiver or games console and your TV.
The second of these is the best solution allowing you to get “true” surround sound and will typically cost upwards $300 for the price of a good Home Theater System (a combined DVD and speaker system).
If you are buying a complete Home Theater Surround Sound system (a combined DVD and speaker system) your option is typically between the first and second options. A Home Theater System with a separate receiver will typically have higher fidelity sound than a home theater system with a decoder built into the DVD player, so for “true” surround sound buy a system with a separate receiver (also known as an A/V reciever). Note that most standard DVD players and TVs nominally “support” surround sound, but do not have a built in surround sound decoder (those that do will have separate output connections for each speaker).
If you just want to add surround sound speakers you are typically dealing with the second or third options. To get the most out of your surround sound you should buy a receiver and speakers as separates (from about $350), but if you are on a tight budget you may choose a speaker systems with built in decoder (from around $200). These speaker systems with built in decoder will still give you good surround sound, but you will typically lose some fidelity as they are typically not able to process the newest formats and give “true” surround sound. Note that if your DVD player (or TV) already has a built in decoder (it will have separate output connections for each surround sound speaker) you can just buy speakers. It’s worth noting that the 5.1 surround sound speaker systems for under $100 produce “fake” surround sound from stereo and are aimed at PCs that generally have stereo output, they can’t play the surround sound encoded on DVDs.
The two most common surround sound formats are 5.1 surround sound and 7.1 surround sound. 5.1 surround sound has five speakers (front left, right and center, and rear left and right) and a subwoofer. 7.1 surround adds another pair of speakers (left and right side) to the system. The majority of people choose 5.1 as the cheaper more practical option for normal homes, but for “true” surround sound you will want a 7.1 system.