The short was partially produced using a new "paperless" production pipeline for Disney, the first major change in production technique for hand-drawn animation at Disney since the introduction of CAPS, and was also an attempt to see if the new digital animation tools could be used to produce a short with the same graphic look as that of a late 1940s, early 1950s cartoon.

[3] The short was released with Disney's National Treasure: Book of Secrets on December 21, 2007.

The short was shown early at the "Animate with the Greats" class taking place at Facet's Theatre.

How to Hook Up Your Home Theater was released on the DVD Have a Laugh, Volume 1 on October 26, 2010.

It was subsequently released on the Walt Disney Animation Studios Short Films Collection Blu-ray and DVD set on August 18, 2015.