If your home theater has surround sound, you will hear sound coming from all directions, just like you do at the movies.
To get it, you need several speakers placed around the front, back and sides of the room. Those speakers will split the audio signal into several channels so different sounds come out of each speaker.
For example, if you place three speakers in the front of the room, and the movie includes a noise coming from the left side of the screen, the front-left speaker delivers that noise. If the action is on the right side of the screen, the front-right speaker brings it out. The center speaker, which might sit right underneath or over top of the screen, plays the dialogue.
And the speakers behind you take care of background noises like traffic, distant voices and doors slamming.
The sounds are parceled out to the appropriate speaker by an AV receiver (for audio/video).
