Harman Kardon AVR 135 Owner's Manual

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OPERATIONOPERATION 23grams bearing the logo of one of the major surround-encoding processes, such as Dolby Surround or DTSStereo, may be played in either the Dolby Digital, DolbyPro Logic II Cinema, DTS Neo:6 Cinema, or Logic 7Cinema surround modes depending on the sourcematerial.NOTE: Once a program has been encoded with matrixsurround information, it retains the surround informationas long as the program is broadcast in stereo. Thus,movies with surround sound may be decoded via any ofthe analog surround modes such as Dolby Pro Logic IICinema, Logic 7 Cinema or DTS Neo:6 Cinema, whenthey are broadcast via conventional TV stations, cable,pay-TV and satellite transmission. In addition, a growingnumber of made-for-television programs, sports broad-casts, radio dramas and music CDs are also recorded insurround sound.Even when a program is not listed as carrying inten-tional surround information, you may find that the DolbyPro Logic II, Logic 7 Enhanced or DTS Neo:6, VMAxand the Hall or Theater modes often deliver envelopingsurround presentations through the use of the naturalinformation present in all stereo recordings.Surround modes may be changed at any time byusing either the front panel or remote control. Anychanges made to the surround mode will be retainedin the AVR’s menu, even after the AVR is placed inStandby mode. To select a new surround mode fromthe front panel, first press the Surround Mode GroupSelector Button 7 until a mode from the desiredmajor surround mode group such as Dolby, DTS orLogic 7 is selected. Next, press the Surround ModeSelector Button 8 to choose the specific individualsurround mode.To select a surround mode using the remote, pressthe button for the major surround mode group thatincludes the mode you wish to choose from: Dolbyw, DTS Surround x, DTS Neo:6 ,Logic 7 y, Stereo or DSP Surround k.The first press of the button will show the currentmode from that group. To cycle through the availablemodes in that group, press the button again until thedesired mode appears in the Lower Display Line¯, the on-screen display and in the SurroundMode Indicators ˘.As the surround modes change, the choice will bedisplayed in the on-screen display, in the LowerDisplay Line ¯ and in the Surround ModeIndicators ˘.The Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital EX and DTS 5.1,DTS-ES Matrix and DTS-ES Discrete modes may onlybe selected when a digital input is in use. In addition,when a digital source is present, the AVR 135 willautomatically select and switch to the correct mode,regardless of the mode that has been previouslyselected. For more information on selecting digitalsources, see the Digital Audio Playback section below.When the 6-channel/8-channel direct inputs are inuse there is no surround processing, as these inputstake the analog output signals from an optional, exter-nal DVD-Audio or SACD player, or another sourcedevice and carry them straight through to the volumecontrol without any further digital processing.To listen to a program in traditional two-channel stereo,using the front left and front right speakers only (plusthe subwoofer, if installed and configured), press theStereo Button until SURR OFF appears in theLower Display Line ¯, or press the Surround ModeGroup Selector 7 until the Stereo modes appear inthe on-screen display and Lower Display Line ¯.Next, press the Surround Mode Select Button 8until SURROUND OFF appears in the on-screendisplay and Lower Display Line ¯.Digital Audio PlaybackDigital audio is a major advancement over older analogsurround processing systems such as Dolby Pro Logic.It delivers five discrete channels: left front, center, rightfront, left surround and right surround. Each channelreproduces full frequency range (20Hz to 20kHz) andoffers dramatically improved dynamic range and signifi-cant improvements to signal-to-noise ratios. In addition,digital systems have the capability to deliver an additionalchannel that is specifically devoted to low-frequencyinformation. This is the “.1” channel referred to when yousee these systems described as “5.1,” “6.1” or “7.1”.The bass channel is separate from the other channels,but since it is intentionally bandwidth-limited, sounddesigners have given it that unique designation.Dolby DigitalDolby Digital is a standard part of DVD, and is availableon specially encoded LD discs and satellite broadcastsand it is a part of the high-definition television (HDTV)system.An optional, external RF demodulator is required touse the AVR 135 to listen to the Dolby Digital sound-tracks available on laser discs. Connect the RF outputof the LD player to the demodulator and then connectthe digital output of the demodulator to the Optical orCoaxial Inputs *(·c of the AVR 135. Nodemodulator is required for use with DVD players orDTS-encoded laser discs.DTSDTS is another digital audio system that is capable ofdelivering 5.1 or 6.1 discrete or matrix sound fieldreproduction. Although both DTS and Dolby Digital aredigital, they use different methods of encoding the sig-nals, and thus they require different decoding circuitsto convert the digital signals back to analog.DTS-encoded soundtracks are available on select DVDand LD discs, as well as on special audio-only DTSdiscs. You may use any LD or CD player equippedwith a digital output to play DTS-encoded discs withthe AVR 135. All that is required is to connect theplayer’s output to either an Optical or Coaxial Inputon the rear panel ·c or front panel *(.In order to listen to DVDs encoded with DTS sound-tracks, the DVD player must be compatible with theDTS signal as indicated by a DTS logo on the player’sfront panel. Early DVD players may not be able to playDTS-encoded DVDs. This does not indicate a problemwith the AVR 135, as some players cannot pass theDTS signal through to the digital outputs. If you are indoubt as to the capability of your DVD player to handleDTS discs, consult the player’s owner’s manual.IMPORTANT NOTE: Many DVD players have a defaultsetting that does not pass through the DTS data, eventhough the machine is capable of doing so. If yourDVD player has the “DTS Digital Out” logo but doesnot trigger DTS playback in the AVR 135, change theplayer's settings in the “Audio” or “Bitstream” configu-ration menu so that DTS playback is enabled. Themethod for doing this will vary with each player. Insome cases, the proper menu choice will be “Original,”while in others it will be “DTS.” Consult the owner'smanual for your player to find the specific informationto find the proper setting.Selecting a Digital SourceTo utilize either digital mode, you must have properlyconnected a digital source to the AVR 135. Connectthe digital outputs from DVD players, HDTV receivers,satellite systems or CD players to the Optical orCoaxial Inputs *(·c. In order to provide abackup signal and a source for analog stereo recording,the analog outputs provided on digital source equipmentshould also be connected to their appropriate inputs onthe AVR 135 rear panel (e.g., connect the analog stereoaudio output from a DVD to the DVD Audio Inputs hon the rear panel when you connect the source’sdigital outputs).If you have not already configured an input for a digitalsource using the on-screen menus as shown on page16, first select the input using the remote or front-panel controls as outlined in this manual. 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