John Sciacca

For every job, there is the "right" tool. Just as you wouldn't grab a hammer to open a bottle of champagne, you wouldn't install a front projection system in a sunny room. DirecTV subscribers, unfortunately, have always needed an extra, often unwanted, "tool" in the form of a standalone satellite receiver.

A receiver is your home theater's brain as well as its brawn. It doesn't just power your speakers; it's also the switching center for your gear and decodes the various surround sound formats. After connecting your speakers and components, here are the steps to take to ensure your receiver produces all the sound you paid for.

Audio distribution is the custom-installation industry's bread and butter. Sure, home theaters are sexier, but with only five or seven speakers, they can't compete with the ten, 20, 30, or more that need installing for a housewide music system.

Having lived on both coasts, I've personally sampled from the buffet of natural disasters each has to offer. I lived through the 1989 World Series earthquake, standing in a doorway trying to decide whether to be more worried about myself or my large tube TV, which was doing the Hippy Hippy Shake on its stand.