Harman Kardon AVR 130 Owners Manual - Page 24

OPERATION Digital bitstreams will enable Dolby Digital decoding. When the unit senses PCM data from CDs or LDs, you may select any of the standard surround modes, including Dolby Pro Logic II or Logic 7. Since the range of available surround modes is dependent on the type of digital data that is present, the AVR 130 uses a variety of indicators to let you know what type of signal is present. These messages will appear shortly after an input or surround mode is changed, and they will remain in the Lower Display Line ¯ for about five seconds before that portion of the display returns to the normal surround mode indication. Surround Mode Types For Dolby Digital and DTS sources, a three-digit indication will appear, showing the number of channels present in the data. An example of this type of display is 3/2/.1. The first number indicates how many discrete frontchannel signals are present. • A "3" tells you that separate front-left, center and front-right signals are available. This will be displayed for Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1 programs. • A "2" tells you that separate front-left and -right signals are available, but there is no discrete center channel signal. This will be displayed for Dolby Digital bitstreams that have stereo program material. • A "1" tells you that there is only a mono channel available in the Dolby Digital bitstream. The middle number indicates how many discrete surround channel signals are present. • A "2" tells you that separate surround-left and -right signals are available. This will be displayed for Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1 programs. • A "1" tells you that there is only a single surroundencoded surround channel. This will appear for Dolby Digital bitstreams that have matrix encoding. • A "0" indicates that there is no surround channel information. This will be displayed for two-channel stereo programs. The last number indicates if there is a discrete LowFrequency Effects (LFE) channel. This is the ".1" in the common abbreviation of "5.1" sound; it is a special channel that contains only bass frequencies. • A ".1" tells you that an LFE channel is present. This will be displayed for Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1 programs, as available. • A "0" indicates that there is no LFE channel information available. However, even when there is no dedicated LFE channel, low-frequency sound will be present at the subwoofer output when the speaker configuration is set to show the presence of subwoofer. When Dolby Digital 3/2/.1 or DTS 3/2/.1 signals are being played, the AVR will automatically switch to the proper surround mode, and no other processing may be selected. When a Dolby Digital signal with a 3/1/0 or 2/0/0 signal is detected, you may select any of the Dolby surround modes. It is always a good idea to check the readout for the channel data to make certain that it matches the audio logo information shown on the back of a DVD package. In some cases you will see an indication for "2/0/0" even when the disc contains a full 5.1, or 3/2/.1, signal. When this happens, check the audio output settings for your DVD player or the audio menu selections for the specific disc being played to make certain that the player is sending the correct signal to the AVR. PCM Playback Indications PCM is the abbreviation for Pulse Code Modulation, which is the type of digital signal used for standard CD playback, and other non-Dolby Digital and non-DTS digital sources such as Mini-Disc. When a PCM signal is detected, the Lower Display Line ¯ will briefly show a message with the letters PCM, in addition to a readout of the sampling frequency of the digital signal. In most cases this will be 48kHz, though in the case of specially mastered, high-resolution audio discs you will see a 96kHz indication. The AVR 130 also features channel-input indicators that tell you how many channels of digital information are being received and/or whether the digital signal is interrupted. These indicators are the L/C/R/SL/SR/LFE letters that are inside the center boxes of the Speaker/Channel Input Indicators ˆ on the front panel. When a standard analog signal is in use, only the "L" and "R" indicators will light, as analog signals have only left and right channels, respectively. Digital signals, however, may have two, five or six separate channels, depending on the program material, the method of transmission and the way in which it was encoded. When a digital signal is playing, the letters in these indicators will light in response to the specific signal being received. It is important to note that although Dolby Digital, for example, is referred to as a "5.1" system, not all Dolby Digital DVDs or programs are encoded with 5.1 channels. Thus, it is sometimes normal for a DVD with a Dolby Digital soundtrack to trigger only the "L" and "R" indicators. Again, remember that some DVD discs are recorded with both "5.1" and "2.0" versions of the same soundtrack. When playing a DVD, always be certain to check the type of material on the disc. Most discs show this information in the form of a listing or icon on the back of the disc jacket. When a disc does offer multiple soundtrack choices, you may have to make some adjustments to your DVD player (usually with the "Audio Select" button or in a menu screen on the disc) to send a full 5.1 feed to the AVR 130. It is also possible for the type of signal feed to change during the course of a DVD playback. In some cases, the previews of special material will only be recorded in 2.0 audio, while the main feature is available in 5.1 audio. As long as your DVD player is set for 6-channel output, the AVR 130 will automatically sense changes to the bitstream and channel count and reflect them in these indicators. The letters used by the Speaker/Channel Input Indicators ˆ also flash to indicate when a bitstream has been interrupted. This will happen when a digital input source is selected before the playback starts, or when a digital source such as a DVD is paused. The flashing indicators remind you that the playback has stopped due to the absence of a digital signal and not through any fault of the AVR 130. This is normal, and the digital playback will resume once the playback is started again. Night Mode A special feature of Dolby Digital is the Night mode, which enables Dolby Digital input sources to be played back with full dialogue intelligibility while reducing the minimum peak level by 1/4 to 1/3. This prevents abruptly loud transitions from disturbing others, without reducing the impact of the digital source. The Night mode is available only when Dolby Digital signals with special data are being played. The Night Mode may be engaged when a properly encoded Dolby Digital DVD is in use by pressing the Night Mode Button l. When the button is first pressed, a D-RANGE OFF message will appear in the Lower Display Line ¯ to show the current status of the mode. To change the Night Mode setting, press the Night Mode Button l or the ⁄/¤ Buttons n to scroll through the choices of MID or MAX compression. Choose the setting that provides the best dynamic range, which is to say, the one that retains the best difference between the loudest and softest sounds without compromising either intelligibility at a given low volume level. 24 OPERATION