Home theatre systems provide the bulk of our home audio entertainment needs. With televisions, they provide surround sound for a truly immersive audio experience. In today’s smart homes, these systems can also connect to the Internet, providing endless content options on a variety of devices.
If you already have a home theatre system and you’d like to better utilize it to play audio, this guide will help. We’ll begin by explaining the different ways you can connect existing systems to the Internet. Then we’ll discuss some of the new systems that allow for greater connectivity. By the end, you should know all the different ways you can connect your stereo to your home network.
Media streamers to your home stereo
Most people already have their televisions connected to their home theatre system. The audio output signal is sent from the TV to a receiver. Adding a media streamer to this setup is a quick and easy way to connect it to the Internet. The media streamer connects to your television via HDMI. The signal is then routed to your home theatre system. This provides access to music subscription apps such as Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube Music.
Media streamers come in a variety of different platforms such as Google, Apple, Roku, and Amazon. If you have existing smart speakers, it’s always a good idea to stick to that platform with your media streamer. This makes it easy to create speaker groups and connect multiple speakers together. Staying inside one ecosystem has a lot of advantages, especially within your home network.
Video game consoles to your home stereo
In reality, modern-day video game consoles are entertainment hubs for the home. They do more than just play video games. Users can play music, videos, and other content directly from the Internet.
Like media streamers, they connect directly to your television through HDMI. The audio output is routed to a home theatre system and content is accessed from the gaming controller.
The most popular video game platforms are PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo. All three offer platforms that access Internet content and play it on your TV. It’s a great way to watch music videos and have the music play through your home theatre system. Gaming controllers provide a quick and easy way to access and play audio content.
Outside of console gaming, PC gaming is another way to connect your stereo to your home network. Gaming Desktop Computers connect to home theatre systems through a television. Basically, the TV becomes the gaming monitor.
This opens up a whole new world of home audio experiences. Your home theatre system becomes the computer speaker. Combined with joysticks, steering wheels, and flight controllers, your living room turns into an arcade.
Buying a new home stereo
New home audio products offer endless connectivity options. If you want to upgrade your home audio, there are a variety of solutions to connect your audio system to Wi-Fi.
Wireless multi-room audio
Wireless multi-room audio provides a new home audio experience. Like Bluetooth speakers and smart speakers, users can connect from their device or using their voice. However, they can play the same music to multiple speakers throughout the house.
The home theatre is no longer limited to the living room. The same music or podcast can simultaneously play in multiple rooms in a home. This is great during parties and other social gatherings.
Sonos, Devialet, and Bose are some of the leading brands for multi-room speakers. All of these brands offer modular home audio solutions. That means you can start with one or two speakers and add to them later. For example, start in your living room and later add a speaker in the kitchen. Soon enough, you’ll have speakers in the bathrooms too.
With multi-room audio, you have the flexibility and peace of mind knowing that your home audio can grow over time.
Home audio with built-in voice assistants
Home audio with built-in voice assistants is the perfect hands-free solution for finding and playing music. There are a wide variety of soundbars and home speakers with built-in voice assistants.
Imagine cooking and selecting music to play with just your voice. Or maybe you decide to listen to a podcast while you tidy up. Whatever the case, having a home theatre system that works with voice is life-changing.
Receivers with built-in Wi-Fi
The matrix of any home theatre system is the receiver. It’s the hub where the speakers and other devices like TVs connect together.
New receivers with built-in voice assistants turn traditional receivers into a network AV receiver. They come with integrated Wi-Fi, making it easy to stream from music services like Spotify.
These receivers also support popular voice assistants like Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. Users can connect any set of wired speakers to the receiver for voice access. It’s a great way to use your existing speakers, but make it smart at the receiver level.
Connecting your existing home stereo to your network
As we’ve seen, there are many ways to connect your stereo system to the Internet. If your audio system is already connected to your TV, media streamers are a great first choice. It gives you easy access to apps like Spotify, YouTube, and Apple Music.
Video game consoles can also be used to find and play content. With these solutions, users can cast content from their phone to a TV. It provides a quick and easy way to play audio content on your home stereo.
Upgrading your home audio
If you’re looking to upgrade your home audio, there are many connected audio solutions. Wireless multi-room speakers are great because they’re modular. You can set a system up in your living room and slowly expand it to different rooms or you can purchase a soundbar or home speakers that support voice assistants. This is a good choice if you already have smart speakers. Be sure to stay inside one ecosystem to build your home audio network.
Finally, you can connect old speakers to a receiver with built-in voice assistants. If you already have a home theatre setup, making this one upgrade can connect your system to the Internet. Best of all, it also responds to voice commands.
No matter which solution you choose, Best Buy can help you connect your stereo to your home network.
