(Audio/Video receiver) A combination audio amplifier and audio/video switching device for a home theater. It contains inputs for all the audio and video sources and outputs to one or more sets of speakers and one or more monitors (without a tuner) or TVs. It may also include an AM/FM tuner as well as inputs for external video and audio sources such as a camcorder or digital music player.
Receivers Have Amplifiers
Although an A/V receiver has its own amplifiers for powering the speakers, it generally provides optional outputs to external audio amplifiers if more power is required. See home theater, stereo receiver, digital media hub and digital media server.
Home Theater Components
The A/V receiver (red arrow) switches between all the audio and video sources in this home theater. It also powers the speakers in the living room and provides outputs to an amplifier for another room. Many A/V receivers can power two zones without the need of a separate amplifier.
Receivers Have Amplifiers
Although an A/V receiver has its own amplifiers for powering the speakers, it generally provides optional outputs to external audio amplifiers if more power is required. See home theater, stereo receiver, digital media hub and digital media server.
Home Theater Components
The A/V receiver (red arrow) switches between all the audio and video sources in this home theater. It also powers the speakers in the living room and provides outputs to an amplifier for another room. Many A/V receivers can power two zones without the need of a separate amplifier.
 | Reproduced with permission from Computer Desktop Encyclopedia. Copyright (c) 1981-2009 The Computer Language Company Inc. All rights reserved. |
Additional Resources
- Onkyo SKS-HT870
- Onkyo is known for having speaker expertise, even though it's not primarily a speaker company. That's because of Onkyo's success selling home-theater-in-a-box systems HTIBs, which combine a speaker system and an AV receiver in a single box, taking some of the confusion out of putting together your own system. The...
- Product reviews 2009-10-30
- Onkyo HT-S7200
- Photo gallery:Onkyo HT-S7200"True" home theater fans may look down on home-theater-in-a-box systems, but sometimes that elitist attitude is unwarranted. The Onkyo HT-S7200 may technically be an HTIB, but that's just because it comes in a giant box; the system is composed of two separate components, the SKS-HT870 7.1 speaker package...
- Product reviews 2009-10-27
- Sennheiser HD 800
- Model changes at the upper end of Sennheiser's headphone line don't happen very often. The previous flagship--the still available HD 650s--were introduced in 2003, and remain in the line. Their predecessor, the HD 600s, came out more than a decade ago, and are still popular with audiophiles. I've reviewed both,...
- Product reviews 2009-10-15
- Grado PS1000
- Grado is one of America's oldest hi-fi companies. In the 1950s it manufactured phono cartridges, turntables, and speakers. While Grado still makes a full line of highly regarded cartridges (budget-priced all the way up to high-end models), it's perhaps better known today for its headphones, which spring from the professional...
- Product reviews 2009-10-15
- Pioneer AVIC-Z110BT
- At the top of Pioneer's AVIC line of navigation receivers, and indeed its entire line of car audio receivers, sits the AVIC-Z110BT. This grandest of car stereos features just about every bell, whistle, and whizbang that Pioneer has to throw at mobile audio and video. From GPS navigation that can...
- Product reviews 2009-10-13
- Onkyo HT-RC160
- Photo gallery:Onkyo HT-RC160Comparing the features of competing AV receivers is already a difficult chore, but many manufacturers, such as Denon and Yamaha, invite more complexity by offering two lines of nearly identical AV receivers: a custom-install-friendly line and a more-consumer-based line. For better or worse, Onkyo has followed suit with...
- Product reviews 2009-09-30
- Onkyo HT-RC160 photos
- The Onkyo HT-RC160 has nearly all the same functionality as the similar TX-SR607, for about $100 less, making it one of the best AV receiver values of the year. by CNET News.com
- Image galleries 2009-09-30
- Denon AVR-790
- Editors' note: This review is nearly identical to the Denon AVR-1910, as the two products are extremely similar. The only differences are slightly different cosmetics and the AVR-790 lacks IR inputs/outputs and the ability to drive "B" front speakers.The capability to upconvert analog video sources has become standard on midrange...
- Product reviews 2009-09-29
- Denon AVR-1910 photos
- The Denon AVR-1910 is a fully featured midrange AV receiver with standout upconverted video quality, although it's held back by some subpar design issues and average sound quality. by CNET News.com
- Image galleries 2009-09-22
- Sony STR-DN1000
- Photo gallery:Sony STR-DN1000Last year, Sony's STR-DG920 was our top midrange AV receiver pick. Its graphical user interface was a step above the text-based displays of competitors and its analog video upconversion featured solid image quality--a rarity among AV receivers. The STR-DN1000 is the STR-DG920's successor, featuring a new sleek design...
- Product reviews 2009-09-18
- Sony STR-DN1000 photos
- The Sony STR-DN1000 offers solid sound and basic AV receiver features at a bargain price, but it's not nearly as good as last year's STR-DG920. by CNET News.com
- Image galleries 2009-09-18
- Sony PlayStation 3 Slim - 120GB
- Photo gallery:Sony PlayStation 3 SlimBack in 2004, four years after first launching the PlayStation 2, Sony brought out a new, much more compact PS2. Timed to come out just as Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was hitting stores, the redesigned console helped breath new life into the PS2 franchise. It...
- Product reviews 2009-08-19
- LG LHB953
- Photo gallery:LG LHB953When Blu-ray HTIBs first hit the market, they really didn't make sense as a product type. They were slow, and the value just wasn't there, as it was easy to put together superior systems from separate components. One year later, everything has changed; there are several excellent HTIBs...
- Product reviews 2009-08-14
- Sound Blaster Wireless System for iTunes and Receiver
- A while back we were asked about an easy solution to stream audio from a laptop to a receiver. It seemed simple enough, but we soon found out that there weren't too many practical or inexpensive ways to accomplish such a task. Creative has offered a solution to the...
- Product reviews 2009-08-14
- Logitech Harmony 900
- When we reviewed the Harmony One last year, we gave it an enthusiastic Editors' Choice and lamented only the fact that there was no RF option for people who had components hidden in cabinets or in closets. Well, over a year later, Logitech has given us what we asked...
- Product reviews 2009-08-11
- Oregon Scientific ATC5K Waterproof Action Camera
- Usually extreme sports helmet cameras are ruggedly simple affairs that have to forgo complications such as LCD viewfinders in favor of compact and durable designs. The Oregon Scientific ATC5K Action Camera avoids that compromise by squeezing a small full-color LCD screen onto its smallish body, while still preserving its waterproof...
- Product reviews 2009-08-07
- Panasonic SC-BT200
- Photo gallery:Panasonic SC-BT200Although the technology debuted in 2006, for many consumers Blu-ray still feels like brand-new tech. That's why a home-theater-in-a-box HTIB system like the Panasonic SC-BT200 feels like such an incredible deal--with a street price as low as $450, you get a 7.1 speaker system plus a slimline AV...
- Product reviews 2009-07-31
- El Kameleon JVC EXAD KD-AVX77 media player
- When we last saw JVC's El Kameleon car audio receiver, we awarded it our Editors' Choice award for its innovative interface and expandability. However, we wished that the unit featured a touch screen instead of a touch pad. With the new El Kameleon KD-AVX77, we get our wish. The new...
- Product reviews 2009-07-31
- Insignia NS-PDVD8
- Last year, we took a look at the Insignia NS-PDVD10. While it didn't blow us away, we found it to be a decent bare-bones portable DVD player for the price. Now we're taking a look at another model in the series, the PDVD8. Apart from its remote control, the...
- Product reviews 2009-07-31
- Sonos Bundle BU250
- Photo gallery:Sonos Bundle BU250Sonos is back for 2009 with a new version of its signature Digital Audio System. Like earlier iterations of the Sonos product, the new "Bundle 250" allows you to wirelessly access your computer's digital music collection as well as a wide range of Internet radio and streaming-audio...
- Product reviews 2009-07-28
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