Harman Kardon AVR 140 Owners Manual - Page 31
Operation 31
View all Harman Kardon AVR 140 manuals
Add to My Manuals
Save this manual to your list of manuals |
Page 31 highlights
OPERATION 6.1 or 7.1 mode. This will be shown as EX-ON or EX-OFF for Dolby Digital bitstreams and ES-ON or ES-OFF for DTS bitstreams. If the EX flag is off, and your receiver has been configured for 6.1/7.1 operation, you may manually turn on EX processing as appropriate by simply selecting the Dolby Digital EX surround mode as described on pages 18 and 27. When the ES flag is not present in a DTS bitstream, you may benefit from a 6.1-channel presentation by selecting the DTS Neo:6 post-processing surround mode using the procedure described on pages 18 and 27. In that mode, the DTS Neo:6 algorithms will be used to derive the surround back channel from the DTS bitstream information. Surround Mode Post-Processing Thanks to the power of the AVR 140's DSP processor, a variety of surround mode options are available for most digital signals either to deliver the native information or to produce an enhanced sound field to match the number of speakers in your system. The modes available and the number of channels available for each mode will vary depending on the incoming bitstream, and the configuration of your system, and are listed in the tables on page 32. The modes may be selected in the usual manner by selecting the major Surround Mode Group first, and then scrolling through the options (see pages 18 and 27). The incoming bitstreams are indicated in the Lower Display Line ı as described above. After you have selected a surround mode, after about 5 seconds, the bitstream will be displayed briefly before the unit returns to normal operation. Therefore, you may ascertain the current bitstream by pressing the button for the major Surround Mode Group and waiting for a few moments for the bitstream to appear in the Lower Display Line ı. The bitstream information will also be displayed after the source input has been changed. To use the tables on page 32, match the indication in the display to the Incoming Bitstream listed in the left column. The available surround modes are shown to the right. See page 37 for information on setting the system to use a surround mode that you select by referring to these tables, rather than the default digital mode. 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 the 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. See the tables on page 32. PCM Audio Playback 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. The digital circuits in the AVR 140 are capable of high-quality digital-toanalog decoding, and they may be connected directly to the digital audio output of your CD player. Connections may be made to either the rear-panel Optical or Coaxial Inputs ·d or the front-panel Digital Inputs *(. To listen to a PCM digital source, first select the input for the desired source (e.g., CD). Next press the Digital Select Button #q and then use the ⁄/¤ Buttons n on the remote, or the ‹/› Selector Buttons ) on the front panel, until the desired choice appears in the Upper Display Line P. During PCM playback, you may select any Surround mode except Dolby Digital or DTS, as shown in the table on page 32. Note that for convenience, we have included the modes available for analog sources (including the tuner) in this chart. When a PCM signal is detected, the Lower Display Line ı 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 44.1kHz or 48kHz, though in the case of specially mastered, high-resolution audio discs you will see a 96kHz indication. Speaker/Channel Indicators In addition to the bitstream indicators, the AVR 140 features a set of unique channel-input indicators that tell you how many channels of digital information are being received and/or whether the digital signal is interrupted. (See Figure 9.) Figure 9 The letters inside the boxes tell you which channels are receiving an input signal. Since conventional analog audio is only two channels, the "L" and "R" letters will light with any analog source. When a digital source is in use you will see letters displayed that correspond to the number of channels in the incoming data stream, which may be just the L and R for 2-channel PCM or 2.0 Dolby Digital material. When a 5.1 signal is being received, the L/C/R/SL/SR indicators will light, with the LFE indication also being shown when an LFE signal is present. All seven indicators (including the SBL/SBR letters) will light for a 7.1 signal, and a horizontal line is shown to connect the SBL/SBR indicators when a 6.1 source is in use. 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 for 5.1. Thus, it is sometimes normal for a DVD with a Dolby Digital soundtrack to trigger only the "L" and "R" indicators. NOTE: Many 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 140. It is also possible for the type of signal feed to change during the course of a DVD playback. In some cases, the menu screens and previews of special material will only be recorded in 2.0 audio, while the main feature is available in 5.1 audio. The AVR 140 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 O 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 140. This is normal, and the digital playback will resume once the playback is started again. The boxes around the channel indication letters are used to show which speakers are configured in your system. A small box around the letter indicates that a "Small" speaker has been assigned to that position, while a larger, double box indicates a "Large" speaker assignment. Note that in some cases, such as an analog stereo or 2.0 digital source, you will see empty speaker position boxes, which indicates that the speaker is active and will receive sound, but that there is no discrete signal for that channel. In other cases, you may see letters with no speaker boxes. This indicates that there is a discrete signal for that channel, but due to the mode in use there is no signal being sent to the channel. Night Mode A special feature of Dolby Digital is the Night mode, which enables specially encoded Dolby Digital input sources to be played back with full digital intelligibility while reducing the minimum peak level by 1/4 to 1/3. This prevents abruptly loud transitions from disturbing (Continued on page 33) OPERATION 31