Harman Kardon AVR 147 Owner's Manual

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Harman Kardon AVR 147 Owner's Manual Manual pdf 34 page image

34 OPERATIONOperationIn order to listen to DVDs encoded with DTSsound tracks, the DVD player must be compatiblewith the DTS signal as indicated by a DTS logo onthe player’s front panel. Note that early DVDplayers may not be able to play DTS- encodedDVDs. This does not indicate a problem with theAVR, as some players cannot pass the DTS signalthrough to the digital outputs. If you are in doubtas to the capability of your DVD player to handleDTS DVDs, consult the player’s owner’s manual.Please note that some DVD players are shippedwith their output set for Dolby Digital only. Toinsure that DTS data is being sent to the AVR,please check the setup menu system on yourDVD player to make certain that DTS data outputis enabled.PCM Audio PlaybackPCM (Pulse Code Modulation) is the non- com-pressed digital audio system used for compactdiscs, Non-Dolby Digital/DTS Laserdiscs and somespecial PCM encoded DVDs. The digital circuits inthe AVR are capable of high quality digital-to-ana-log decoding, and they may be connected directlyto the digital audio output of your CD/DVD or LDplayer (LD only for PCM or DTS programs, forDolby Digital laser discs an RF adapter is needed,see ”Dolby Digital” above).Connections may be made to either the Opticalor Coaxial inputs on the rear panel or thefront panel Digital Inputs *Ó.To listen to a PCM digital source, first select theinput for the desired source (e.g., CD) to feed itsvideo signal (if any) to the TV monitor and to pro-vide its analog audio signal for recording. Nextpress the Digital Select button Û G and thenuse the ⁄/ ¤ buttons D on the remote, or theSelector buttons 7 on the front panel, until thedesired choice appears in the Main InformationDisplay Ò, then press the Set button @ Fto confirm the choice.During PCM playback the unit automatically willturn to the default surround mode or to theLOGIC 7 mode but you also may select anysurround mode except Dolby Digital or DTS.Selecting a Digital SourceTo utilize either digital mode you must have prop-erly connected a digital source to the AVR.Connect the digital outputs from DVD players,HDTV receivers, satellite systems or CD players tothe Optical or Coaxial inputs on the rear orfront panel *Ó. In order to provide abackup signal and a source for analog stereorecording, the analog outputs provided on digitalsource equipment should also be connected totheir appropriate inputs on the AVR rear panel(e.g., connect the analog stereo audio outputfrom a DVD to the DVD Audio inputs onthe rear panel when you connect the source’sdigital outputs).To select a digital source such as DVD, first selectits input using the remote or front panel InputSelector 4% as outlined in this manual inorder to feed its video signal (if any) to the TVmonitor and to provide its analog audio signal forrecording. When the digital input associated withthe input selected (e.g. “DVD”) is not selectedautomatically (due to the input settings madeearlier during the system configuration, see page18), select the digital source by pressing theDigital Input Selector button G Û andthen using the ⁄/¤ buttons D on the remoteor the Selector buttons 7 on the front panel tochoose any of the OPTICAL or COAXIALinputs, as they appear in the Main InformationDisplay Ò or on-screen display.When the digital source is playing, the AVR willautomatically detect whether it is a multichannelDolby Digital or DTS source or a conventionalPCM signal, which is the standard output fromCD players.Note that a digital input (e.g. coaxial) remainsassociated with any analog input (e.g. DVD) assoon as it is selected, thus the digital input neednot be re-selected each time the appropriateinput choice (e.g. DVD) is made.Digital Bitstream IndicatorsWhen a digital source is playing, the AVR sensesthe type of bitstream data that is present. Usingthis information, the correct surround mode willautomatically be selected. For example, DTS bit-streams will cause the unit to switch to DTSdecoding, and Dolby Digital bitstreams willenable Dolby Digital decoding. When the unitsenses PCM data, from CDs and LDs and somemusic DVDs or certain tracks on normal DVDs, itwill allow the appropriate surround mode to beselected manually. Since the range of availablesurround modes depends on the type of digitaldata that is present, the AVR uses a variety ofindicators to let you know what type of signal ispresent. This will help you to understand thechoice of modes and the input channels recordedon the disc.When a digital source is playing, the AVR willdisplay a variety of messages to indicate the typeof bitstream received. These messages will appearshortly after an input or surround mode ischanged, and will remain in the Main Informa-tion Display Ò for about five seconds beforethe display returns to the normal surround modeindication.Surround Mode TypesFor Dolby Digital and DTS sources, a three digitindication will appear, showing the number ofchannels present in the data. An example of thistype of display is 3/2/.1.The first number indicates how many discretefront channel signals are present.• A 3 tells you that separate front left, center andfront right signals are available. This will bedisplayed for Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1programs.• A 2 tells you that separate front left and rightsignals are available, but there is no discretecenter channel signal. This will be displayed forDolby Digital bit streams that have stereoprogram material.• A 1 tells you that there is only a mono channelavailable in the Dolby Digital bitstream.The middle number indicates how many discretesurround channel signals are present.• A 2 tells you that separate surround left andright signals are available. This will be displayedfor 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 forDolby Digital bit streams that have matrixencoding.• A 0 indicates that there is no surround channelinformation. 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” inthe common abbreviation of “5.1” sound and it isa special channel that contains only bassfrequencies.• A .1 tells you that an LFE channel is present.This will be displayed for Dolby Digital 5.1 andDTS 5.1 programs, as available.• A 0 indicates that there is no LFE channel infor-mation available. However, even when there isno dedicated LFE channel, low frequency soundwill be present at the subwoofer output whenthe speaker configuration is set to show thepresence of subwoofer.An UNLOCK message may appear in theLower Display Line Ò. This is your indicationthat the digital audio data stream has been inter-rupted or is no longer present. When that occurs,the unit’s digital signal processor has no signal tolock onto, and is thus “unlocked.” You may seethis message when a DVD is first started until thestream is playing and the processor determineswhich mode to apply; or any time the datastream is stopped or paused, such as when themenus of some discs are displayed or when theplayer is switching between the different sectionsof a disc. You may also see the message when a