Location of the DVD player

There is one main thing to stress on this..... MAKE SURE YOU CAN CONTROL THE DVD PLAYER! Putting the DVD player in a cupboard in another room means you will not be able to navigate the presentation because you will require use of the remote control. Unless specifically authored for use without a remote control, DVDs wont allow you past the opening page. I see this problem in almost every professional installation I see. I have even had a client in Florida call me in so she could haul my ass over the coals because the DVD presentation is "broken". It turns out she couldn't actually start the presentation because she had no way to access it with a remote control. The expensive, professionally designed and installed presentation system was useless because of one very simple oversight.

For those that must absolutely hide the DVD player from view there is a solution. You can now get remote control repeating devices. These allow you to have small infra-red receivers nearby your screen that allow the signal from your remote control to be transmitted to another location. My experience shows you can get a good 30' away from the actual DVD player and you can get around corners. You could mount your DVD player behind the wall that the presentation screen is mounted on, which keeps the player close to the screen and speakers, meaning less cables and signal degradation.

Location of speakers

Surround sound is great, and even though it isn't utilized completely in the DVD presentation you can set your player to downmix the audio to create virtual surround sound. It's a far superior depth of sound than just two speakers.

For most DVD presentations it's important that the two main speakers - the front left and right - are directed correctly with relation to the screen. These speakers are usually larger and carry the most sound output. If you can only get some speakers installed correctly then at least get these ones right.

Mounting the speakers high gets them away from curious and bored children. If you have kids then you can understand that they are not going to hold their interest long in a sales suit for the parents new investment property so anything within reach is fair game as a distraction. Keep the wires concealed is possible, or at least have them firmly secured into the corners of the walls/floors/ceilings. You can get removable cable clamps and holders from your hardware store that will keep the cables secure and almost invisible if you can find some clever routes between the DVD player and the speakers.

Part 1: Intro, locations of screen

Part 2: Type and configuration of screen, type of DVD player

Part 3: Locations of DVD player, location of speakers