I've got a question for you all relating to a possibly useful home theater setup tool. First, some background...

As I mentioned here the other day, I did some work last summer and fall (before work got a little too in the way) on a document that attempted to serve as a general-purpose home theater user's manual. It started as an attempt to deal with inevitable gaps between manuals (even good manuals like those provided by Outlaw) by developing a straightforward "connect this here and that there" sort of tutorial. It took only a little tinkering with layout to highlight a simple truth: there's too much variation in systems for that sort of turn-key, step-by-step instructions. You could cover a lot of the common situations, but the resulting document would be so unwieldy that it would intimidate the very people it was intended to help - and it would still be substantially incomplete. I realized that it would be better to actually try to help folks gain at least a basic understanding of their equipment anyway. (Cue long-winded anecdote about college roommate taking Engineering Mechanics before taking Physics and the friend who tried to get him through it by showing him dozens of "trick" solutions.) As a result, I decided that the best approach would be to present the basic principals in such a way that someone could get a general explanation of each piece that he intended to use in his home theater. The explanations would also offer some tips on what settings to worry about as well as some idea of how to physically connect everything. The document's working name is "Home Theater Fundamentals" although I'm not entirely sold on it yet. Here's the table of contents to my latest draft:

• Introduction
  
  • The Past: Just Watching TV
  • The Past: Two-Channel Music
  • The Present: Home Theater and HDTV
  • More Than You Wanted To Know: Technical Sidebars
  
  
  [*]Components
  
  • Surround Sound Receiver or Processor (Receiver)
  • DVD Player
  • High Definition Television (HDTV)
  • Cable or Satellite Receiver
  • Speakers
  • Other Equipment
  
  

[*]Cables

• Analog Audio
• Digital Audio
• Speaker Cables
• Analog Video
• Digital Video


[*]Audio Connections

• From the DVD Player to the Receiver
• From the Cable/Satellite Box to the Receiver
• From the Receiver to the Speakers/Subwoofer


[*]Video Connections

• A Brief Inventory
• From the Receiver to the TV
• From the DVD Player to the Receiver
• From the Cable/Satellite Box to the Receiver


[*]Menus - Receiver

• Inputs: Audio and Video
• Speakers: How Many, How Big, How Far Away, and How Loud
• Surround Sound Modes


[*]Menus - DVD Player

• Audio Setup: Streams of Bits
• Video Setup: Resolutions and Aspect Ratios
• Disc Menus: Be Kind, Forget Rewind


[*]Menus - Television

• Inputs: Bet You Can't Connect Just One
• Audio Settings: The End of an Era
• Video Settings: The Midnight Test Pattern


[*]Watch and Listen - Using Your System

• The Coffee Table O' Remotes
• Third-Party Universal Remotes


[*]Conclusion

• Local Resources
• Online Resources


[*]Appendix: HDMI FAQ

Most of the sections are pretty well fleshed out (although the TV section could stand some close scrutiny), but it all needs some paring down and cleaning up. Plus I need to revise some of the references to HD-DVD and Blu-ray to better represent the current state of our little format war.

So, to the question: what do you gunslingers think? Should I push on with this document once work slows down a bit and get it to a finished form? Post it as a free PDF on my web site, or maybe set up a secure page on my web site and offer it is a PDF download for a few bucks? Is there a need for something like this?

I have just one question... Where the hell were you seven years ago when I spent weeks researching, trolling the internet, and generally making a nuisance of myself on forums like this one with countless newbie questions?!?!? A document like this could have flattened my learning curve considerably.

Seriously, I think it's a fine idea. I like the TOC you laid out. You may want to consider adding sections on DVR's and Media Server PC's as these become more mainstream.

There are many, many people new to HT who will spend too much of their time poking around forums like AVS searching in vain for the very simple answer to their 'HT 101' question (and then getting flamed when they ask it); they will benefit most from something like this, I think.

Fee or Free? Hmm... I dunno. Depends on how much time you spent developing it, how much effort you plan to spend keeping it up to date and of course, how many people would be willing to pay for it. If you do decide to charge for it, you would probably want to off era free download of the first chapter so potential buyers could get a sample and see if it is what they are looking for.

A compromise might be Free downloads but a PayPal link to make a 'suggested donation', as so many open source developers are doing nowadays. I use EAC to rip CD's and I happily made a donation to the author because the software is truly useful to me.

Nice work, I wish you success with it.

WOW!
Gonk...your wealth of knowledge and your dedication...still amaze me...
I'm sure a lot of people would benefit from such a document...I know a few people I'd recommend it to...even for a few bucks...

gonk, I think this would be a fabulous idea!!! You have a way of explaining this stuff in a simple, straight forward, conciese manner, with patience.

Have you thought about a section on Dedicated Cooling for a HT setup? Jim

Gonk -- I think this looks great and would be welcomed by all. To follow-up on Hullguy's "have you thought"...have you thought about a "Basic Troubleshooting" section that might provide simple helpful hints (such as if there is no sound from one or more speakers, check the cables, etc.), solving a ground loop, etc. You may already have discussed these and similar issues in the main sections, but thought I'd ask!

Wow...That's really impressive looking Gonk. Even though I would feel I'm part of the population that knows something about how to set up a home theater, I'm sure I could learn a few things from a document like that.

My only addition would be a chapter on "Tweaks". I know I can get in trouble around here for saying something like that but I think you possibly address topics such as power conditioning and acoustical treatment. Maybe you could call the chapter instead something like, "The Inevitable Upgradeitis - What comes next."

As for payment, if you've invested this much time in such a document, then a small fee may be applicable. The problem, however, is that you know somebody will eventually post a copy online. It might be better if you instead include the document on a DVD/CD that includes some of the other tests that you've developed. That way you're selling an entire package and not just a document. Just a thought...

Again, WOW!

Awesome Gonk,looks like you covered all the bases,you have helped so many of us here, I'm sure it would be well worth charging a small fee for.

Looks Great Gonk, I would consider putting "make a donation" on the home page, I can't speak for everyone but if I find something useful and it has the option I will almost always donate something.
It is definately a document that will get some use.

Great suggestions, guys.
- Seven years ago I was doing the same research that you were, and wishing that some central resource existed.
The existing layout covers more equipment than just the major items listed in the TOC - things like DVR's, VCR's, media servers, game consoles, and universal remotes are mentioned under "Other Equipment" and also appear later. There is merit to giving some of these devices more attention, though, especially with new technology like Windows Vista and the AppleTV.
Your thoughts closely match mine...
While much of this is covered in places, there's not a single summary similar to those usually seen in user's manuals. There are certainly a few common issues that would be well served by this sort of thing.
One thing that I've already done with the document is create a "technical sidebar" format - places where the document pauses and goes into extra detail on some technical issue of some sort, which a casual reader could safely skip without missing anything vital but still provides useful additional background on a particular subject. Both power conditioning and acoustical treatment deserve some mention, but rather than a separate chapter it may end up being as sidebars. On the other hand, a chapter dedicated to upgradeitis is sort of fun.
Now that is a fun idea: a DVD in a nice slim keepcase with the PDF file on it (accessible via a PC) and something like my DTD that could be played on your DVD player...

Wonderful idea, gonk!

I don't know how you feel about this idea but what do you think about maintaining it as a wiki? or some other form of content management where the information could be maintained up-to-date.