Harman Kardon AVR 347 Owner's Manual

Also see for AVR 347: Brochure & specs Catalog Software upgrade instructions Worksheet Owner's manual

Harman Kardon AVR 347 Owner's Manual Manual pdf 44 page image

44 OPERATIONOperationIn most cases this will be 4 8 KHZ, though inthe case of specially mastered, high-resolutionaudio discs you will see a 9 6 KHZ indication.The PCM 4 8 KHZ indication will also appearwhen modes or inputs are changed for analogsources. In those cases the system is telling youthe sampling frequency used internally at theoutput of the analog-to-digital converters thatchange the incoming signal from a VCR, tapedeck, the tuner, or other ana-log source to digital.Speaker/Channel IndicatorsIn addition to the Bitstream Indicators, theAVR features a set of unique channel-inputindicators that tell you how many channels ofdigital information are being received and/orwhether the digital signal is interrupted.(See Figure).These indicators are theL/C/R/LFE/SL/SR/SBL/SBR letters that are insidethe center boxes of the Speaker/ChannelInput Indicators $ in the front panel MainInformation Display Ò.When a standard analog stereo or matrixsurround signal is in use, only the “L” and “R”indicators will light, as analog signals have onlyleft and right channels.Digital signals, however, may have one, two, five,six or seven separate channels, depending onthe program material, the method of transmis-sion and the way in which it was encoded. Whena digital signal is playing, the letters in theseindicators will light in response to the specificsignal being received. It is important to note thatalthough Dolby Digital, for example, is referredto as a “5.1” system, not all Dolby Digital DVDsor audio tracks selected on DVD or other DolbyDigital programs are encoded for 5.1. Thus, it issometimes normal for a DVD with a DolbyDigital 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 sound-track. When playing a DVD, always be certain tocheck the type of material on the disc. Mostdiscs show this information in the form of alisting or icon on the back of the disc jacket.When a disc does offer multiple soundtrackchoices, you may have to make some adjust-ments to your DVD player (usually with the“Audio Select” button or in a menu screen onthe disc) to send a full 5.1 feed to the AVR or toselect the appropriate audio track and thus lan-guage. It is also possible for the type of signalfeed to change during the course of a DVD play-back. In some cases the previews of specialmaterial will only be recorded in 2.0 audio, whilethe main feature is available in 5.1 audio. Aslong as your DVD player is set for 6-channel out-put, the AVR will automatically sense changes tothe bitstream and channel count and reflectthem in these indicators.Important Note: When a digital surroundsource (Dolby Digital, DTS) is played, the lettersSBL/SBR for the Surround Back channels willappear only when a DTS ES DISCRETE 6.1source is played. Then this surround mode willbe indicated in the front display and on-screendisplay. With all other recordings the icons forthe surround back speakers may light (whenthose speakers have been configured) to indi-cate that a signal will be fed to them (Matrixdecoded with NEO:6, LOGIC 7 or 7 CH Stereo),but no letters inside will light as the unit will notreceive an input signal for the surround backchannels.The letters used by the Speaker/ChannelInput Indicators $ also flash to indicatewhen a bitstream has been interrupted. This willhappen when a digital input source is selectedbefore the playback starts, or when a digitalsource such as a DVD is put into a Pause mode.The flashing indicators remind you that the play-back has stopped due to the absence of a digitalsignal and not through any fault of the AVR. Thisis normal, and the digital playback will resumeonce the playback is started again.Night ModeA special feature of Dolby Digital is the Nightmode, which enables Dolby Digital input sourcesto be played back with full digital intelligibiltywhile reducing the maximum peak level andlifting the low levels by 1/4 to 1/3. This preventsabruptly loud transitions from disturbing otherswithout reducing the impact of the digitalsource. The Night mode is available only whenthe Dolby Digital mode is selected.The Night mode may be engaged when a DolbyDigital DVD is playing by pressing the NightButton B on the remote. Next, press the⁄/¤ buttons D to select either the middlerange or full compression versions of the Nightmode. To turn the Night mode off, press the⁄/¤ buttons D until the message in thelower third of the video display and the MainInformation Display Ò reads D-RANGEOFF.The Night mode may also be selected to alwaysbe on as soon as the Dolby Digital mode is acti-vated at either level of compression using theoptions in the DOLBY menu. See page 27 forinformation on using the menus to set thisoption.IMPORTANT NOTES ON DIGITALPLAYBACK:• When the digital playback source is stopped,or in a pause, fast forward or chapter searchmode, the digital audio data will momentarilystop, and the channel position letters inside theSpeaker/Channel Indicators $ will flash.This is normal and does not indicate a problemwith either the AVR or the source machine. TheAVR will return to digital playback as soon asthe data is available and when the machine is ina standard play mode.• Although the AVR will decode virtually all DVDmovies, CDs and HDTV sources, it is possible thatsome future digital sources may not be compatiblewith the AVR.• Note that not all digitally encoded programsand not all audio tracks on a DVD contain full5.1 or 6.1 channel audio. Consult the programguide that accompanies the DVD or laser disc todetermine which type of audio has been record-ed on the disc. The AVR will automatically sensethe type of digital surround encoding used,indicate it in the Channel Input Indicators$ and adjust to accommodate it.• When a Dolby Digital or DTS source is playing,you normally may not be able to select some ofthe analog surround modes such as Dolby ProLogic II, Dolby 3 Stereo, Hall, Theater, 5CH/7CHStereo or Logic 7, except with specific DolbyDigital 2.0 recordings that can be played withthe Pro Logic II modes too (see page 38).• When a digital source is playing, it is NOT pos-sible to make an analog recording using theTape or Video 1 record outputs, even ifthe source is connected to any digital input ofthe AVR only, as long as "Surround Off" mode isselected (possible with a PCM source only). Butthe analog two channel signal, even of a DolbyDigital (not DTS) source, the ”Downmix” toStereo or Dolby Surround, can be recorded by