Do you have a home theater system? Once reserved for the rich, they're more common than ever now that the technology behind them has come down in price. At the very least, you'll need some kind of television or projector, an audio system and something on which you can play some movies.

You could end up forking over quite a bit of money, depending on what you buy. But before you get started, just how much do you know about home video and DVD systems? Today's equipment is far more sophisticated than a simple analog television set hooked up to a coaxial cable connection and an old videocassette recorder. Now you can record shows on your digital video recorder (DVR) -- a TiVo for example -- and watch them on your own schedule. Are you a frequent flier? You can catch up on your favorite TV shows over the Internet with your Slingbox, which lets you control your DVR, your TV tuner and your DVD player.

Our home video and DVD library will teach you about all these technologies, and more. You'll learn how movies are written onto a DVD disc. You can find out about copy protection measures designed to prevent illegal copying and distribution of movies, including Flexplay, a DVD that becomes blank after a certain period of time, keeping you from having to return movies to the video store. If you're less tech-savvy, we'll show you what all those connectors are on your DVD player so you can get it hooked up right. And don't be surprised to see us tackle some of the more cutting-edge home video and DVD topics, such as Blu-ray discs, which have taken movies to the next level of high-definition technology. So catch up on home video and DVD technology on HowStuffWorks.