TV or video display? Check. Speakers? Check. Numerous components to flash lights at you while you revel in surround sound?  Maybe not so check. Actually, you should get these systems before you settle on speakers, because they’ll have to match. Don’t worry, you don’t need much: a surround-sound receiver, DVD player and cable or satellite box will do the trick. But you might want to add a TiVo-like DVR (digital video recorder) and DVD recorder. Or you might power up with some separate amplifiers. Or you might decide to go all out with a satellite radio tuner, a media server and a whole-house audio system. Here’s what’s what. Get what you want.

The Essentials
A surround-sound receiver—also known as a home theater receiver, audio/video receiver, surround preamplifer or audio/video preamplifier—is the brains of the system. It takes in the audio signals and processes them before they reach the speakers. A receiver or preamplifier contains the amplifiers for all your speakers, so you won’t need to purchase separate amplifiers. Be sure a receiver or preamp is capable of playing in Dolby Digital or DTS Digital 5.1-channel surround sound (meaning five speakers and a subwoofer), or whatever you want to hear.

DVD/CD players are a must for any home theater. DVD players can also play CDs, and many “universal” players can play multichannel DVD-Audio (DVD-A), Super Audio CD (SACD) and any other kind of CD- and DVD-R/RW/ROM you can find. Also be sure to get a progressive-scan DVD player if you have an HDTV. New Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD players play high-definition DVDs, as well as standard DVDs and CDs.

Surround-sound processors, also called home theater or audio/video preamplifiers or preamps, are used when you want to have a separate processor and amplifiers. These are primarily employed in high-end systems. If you’re getting a receiver, you won’t need this.

Amplifiers are used with surround-sound processors in what are called “separates” systems. One multichannel amp can support several speakers, or separate “monoblock” amps can be used for each channel. Again, if you’re going the receiver route, you won’t need one of these.

A satellite or cable receiver allows you to get programming from a cable or satellite TV provider. In either case, we recommend getting a high-definition receiver, because you’ll need it to watch HDTV. And DVRs are built into some receivers, saving you from having to buy another box.

Great Add-ons
Digital video recorders (DVRs) allow you to record programs to a hard drive and pause the program you are watching. TiVo players are popular DVRs. Their extensive on-screen electronic program guides make recording and pausing simple. Today’s models can hold hundreds of hours of standard-definition programming. Price is based on the size of the hard drive, and high-definition recorders cost significantly more. Some DVRs are being built into DVD recorders and satellite and cable boxes. But keep in mind that you may get more features in a stand-alone box.

Satellite radio tuners let you receive commercial-free radio from XM or Sirius satellite radio systems. These subscription-based services offer hundreds of channels for nearly every taste. Tuners come in a variety of configurations, from single-box systems to portable devices to dual and triple tuners for multiperson, multiroom use. First check out each service to determine the content you’re most interested in. You can listen to everything from bluegrass to Howard Stern. The tuners can be used as part of a single-room system or whole-house audio system.

Digital media servers allow you to store, organize and instantly access your personal music collection. The internal hard drive stores CDs and digital music files. Virtually all media servers feature built-in hard drives ranging in size from 10 to hundreds of gigabytes. Most models also include a CD drive that can save the recordings directly to the hard drive at high speeds. They also play back CD-R and CD-RW discs. Some more expensive systems even play and store DVDs. Many now allow you to access music from the Internet directly, including tuning in Internet radio. In addition, artist information and album covers can be downloaded from the Internet. This makes it easy to search for songs and albums and to create customized playlists. Some service providers allow you to purchase music online and download it directly into the server. Most servers can also be used with iPod docks to transfer tracks to the mobile device.

Whole-house audio systems enable you to route music to various rooms in your home. Multisource, multizone systems allow you to play different music in different rooms simultaneously. These systems are typically located in a central place in your house or as part of a home entertainment system. They are great to use with media servers and satellite radio systems, and some have optional iPod docks.

DVD recorders save your content to DVDs. Some have DVRs (like TiVo) built in, so you can record a show to the DVR’s hard drive for temporary storage, then move it to a DVD to retain in your permanent collection. We’re still waiting for recordable high-definition Blu-ray and HD DVD players.

Streaming devices can take the audio or video content on your computer and stream it wirelessly to your home entertainment system. Some are relatively inexpensive audio routers that use the wireless WiFi computer-networking standards. Look for more of these to appear.