Home cinema systems enhance your viewing with movie quality sound - whether it's the latest Hollywood blockbuster, the Last Night of the Proms, or your favourite TV programme.

This Sainsbury's guide will explain the different systems available - and what makes them good - so all you need to do is choose.

Home cinema systems generally include a receiver, a sub woofer and a number of satellite speakers:

Although the sound quality of today's TV is good, a home cinema system will greatly enance your enjoyment, especially when watching movies. 

Virtually all DVDs sold today are programmed with 5.1 multi-channel digital audio with Blu-ray discs having 7.1 multi-channel digital audio.

Playing DVD and Blu-ray discs through a home cinema system puts you in the middle of the action, so you hear the movie as if it’s happening all around you rather than just in front of you.

Not only are the quality and directionality of sound improved, but the detail of sound is enhanced.

Don’t be confused by the three different speaker configurations - they're simple really.

5.1 systems: consist of 5 satellite speakers and a subwoofer, connected wirelessly or by thin cabling. These systems are ideal for watching movies as each channel is assigned its own speaker, so that when you place the speakers around the room, you get the full surround sound experience.

The positioning of the speakers is important as it directly influences the sound quality and realism of audio effects.

2.1 surround sound: is similar to 5.1 but consists of 2 satellite speakers and a subwoofer. These are great if you haven’t room for 5 speakers. Don’t worry that you’ll miss out on anything - the 5.1 sound is down-mixed so you still get every bit of sound coming at you, just from less directions.

All-in-one/Sound bar: this contains the surround sound decoding and speakers in a single unit, which sits beneath your TV. It’s a neat solution without the mess of cables and wires.

The move to DVD has seen many older and classic movies converted cheaply on to disc for the digital home market, with their original stereo or mono soundtracks transferred as they were. For surround sound, make sure you are buying a version with a re-mastered soundtrack. This means the soundtrack will have been recoded into 5.1 multi-channel audio - as well as cleaned up and rendered clearer.

For more information on the models of TV and DVD players on offer, see Sainsbury’s buying guides to TVs and DVD players.