- 1). Examine the back of your DVD player. It should have a series of outlets designed to connect it to the remainder of your home theater system. Older "standard" DVD players will have RCA cable outlets: circular jacks clustered in threes and color coded with red (audio), white (audio) and yellow (video) rings. Newer "upgrade" DVD models will also have an HDMI outlet: a thin rectangular outlet designed for HD cables. The latter is preferable because it provides a better picture, but the former works fine if that's all you have.
- 2). Check the back of your home theater receiver. You should see a series of outlets similar to the DVD player. Home theater receivers act as the "central switching yard" for your home theater system, allowing you to switch back and forth between cable TV, the DVD player, a VCR and any other component you may have. Like the DVD player, the receiver will have a trio of RCA "in-jacks" (color coded in yellow, red and white as with Step 1). If it's a newer model, it will also have an HDMI jack.
- 3). Look at the back of the TV. It should also have a set of RCA cable jacks, in the same yellow/red/white configuration. A newer TV will also likely have an HDMI jack as well. If it does, it can receive HD signals.
- 4). If all three components have an HDMI outlet, then link the DVD player to the TV through the receiver with a pair of HDMI cables. Connect the cable from the "Out" jack of the DVD player to the "In" jack of the receiver. Then connect the second cable from the "Out" jack of the receiver to the TV. When you turn on the receiver and push the button corresponding to the "In" jack connected to the DVD player, you should be able to play DVDs.
- 5). If the TV and the DVD player have HDMI outlets, but the receiver doesn't, then hook the DVD video directly to the TV and the audio to the receiver. Connect the "Out" jack on the DVD to the "In" jack on the television using an HDMI cable. Then connect the RCA audio/video jacks (the red and white ones) on the DVD to the corresponding "In" jacks on the receiver using a set of RCA cables (don't worry about the yellow cable in this instance). Push the button on the receiver corresponding to the "In" jack connected to the DVD. Then turn the TV on and set it to receive signals from the HD input jack connected to the DVD. That allows you to play DVDs with the maximum possible video resolution while using the improved sound of your home theater speakers instead of the flatter sound of the television speakers.
- 6). If either your DVD player or your television lacks an HDMI outlet, you cannot view DVDs in HD. Instead, hook the DVD player to the home theater receiver using RCA cables: One end of the cables goes into the "Out" jacks on the DVD player and the other end goes into the "In" jacks on the home theater receiver. The cables should correspond to the color of the jacks: Simply plug the yellow cable into the yellow jacks, the red cable into the red jacks, and the white cable into the white jacks. Then connect a second set of RCA cables from the "Out" jacks on the receiver to the "In" jacks on the TV. Push the button on the receiver corresponding to the jacks connected to the DVD player, and watch your DVDs as normal.
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