Surround sound is becoming a standard in home entertainment. Although not all television channels and programs are broadcast in the surround sound format, the use of surround sound formats like Dolby 5.1 is becoming more common. To experience the depth and imaging of surround sound, you need to hook your Toshiba television up to a surround sound system. This connection will vary depending on your TV and audio equipment, but it shouldn't take you long.

Determine the necessary connection. Hopefully, your Toshiba television has audio outputs that allow you to route the television audio to your surround sound system. Depending on the model of your TV, you should have either RCA (i.e., red and white) outputs or a digital output (i.e., orange coaxial or optical). For true surround sound, connect with a digital output.

  • Surround sound is becoming a standard in home entertainment.
  • Hopefully, your Toshiba television has audio outputs that allow you to route the television audio to your surround sound system.

There's no effective way to connect home theatre speakers directly to your television. The television has neither the amplification to drive quality surround speakers nor the proper connections. Your home theatre receiver should allow you to connect your television and other components, thus offering the amplification needed to drive the speakers.

  • There's no effective way to connect home theatre speakers directly to your television.
  • Your home theatre receiver should allow you to connect your television and other components, thus offering the amplification needed to drive the speakers.

Using a coaxial or optical cable, connect the audio output on your Toshiba television to the input on your receiver marked "TV."

Connect using a peripheral. If you are using an older television that doesn't have audio outputs, you'll need to connect using a cable box or VCR. A cable box would be the best option because it is likely to have a digital audio output, whereas a VCR won't. You can connect the cable box audio directly to the home theatre receiver. For a VCR, run the coaxial cable from your home cable jack into the VCR, and then output the audio to the home theatre receiver using the RCA cables and the video to the TV using yellow composite cable.

Connect each surround speaker to the appropriately labelled connection, such as "Center" and "Front Right". Connect one side of your speaker cable to the receiver's positive output terminal for the given speaker and the other to the negative terminal. Connect the corresponding ends to the appropriate terminals on the speaker.

Turn on both the television and home receiver, as well as the cable box or VCR if you're using those. Switch the receiver to the input for "TV" or whichever one you used to connect and enjoy your TV programming in surround sound.

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Check with your local provider to see which channels and programs are offered in surround sound.