Harman Kardon AVR 7000 Owner's Manual

Also see for AVR 7000: Owner's manual Brochure Test report Specifications Service manual

30 OPERATIONOperationNon-HDCD-compatible players are used (only adigital output is needed).When a CD with the HDCD logo is played, theAVR 7000 is able to take advantage of the spe-cial recording process that is used in the creationof HDCD disc. The special circuitry enables audiowith extraordinary fidelity, stunning resolutionand the highest possible overall quality.The AVR 7000 will automatically sense that it isan HDCD recording and the HDCD indicator Awill illuminate on the front panel to remind youthat an HDCD disc is playing.It is important to note that the HDCD process iscompletely compatible with standard recordings.Indeed, the high-quality digital-to-analogcircuitry, that is part of HDCD and the HDCDdecoder chip, replacing the monolithic digitalfilters used in conventional DACs, will enableenhanced performance also with normal,Non-HDCD encoded program material.Selecting a Digital SourceTo utilize either digital mode you must haveproperly connected a digital source to theAVR 7000. Connect the digital outputs from DVDplayers, HDTV receivers, satellite systems or CDplayers to the Optical or Coaxial inputs on therear panel °·. In order to provide a backupsignal and a source for analog stereo recording,the analog outputs provided on digital sourceequipment should also be connected to theirappropriate inputs on the AVR 7000 rear panel(e.g., connect the analog stereo audio outputfrom a DVD to the DVD inputs j on the rearpanel when you connect the source’s digital out-puts).When playing a digital source such as DVD, firstselect its analog input (DVD) using the remote orfront-panel controls to feed its video signal tothe TV monitor and to provide its analog audiosignal for recording. Next, select the digital inputconnected with the DVD player by pressing theDigital Input Selector button A  andthen using the ⁄/¤ buttons 6 on the remoteor the Selector buttons 5 on the front panel tochoose either of the OPTICAL or COAXI-AL inputs, as they appear in the MainInformation Display W or on screen display.Press the Set button 8 ( to enter thedesired choice. Note, that a digital input (e.g.coaxial) remains associated with any analoginput (e.g. DVD) as soon as it was selected, thusthe digital input needs not to be re-selected eachtime the appropriate input choice (e.g. DVD) ismade.Digital Status IndicatorsWhen a digital source is playing, the AVR 7000senses the type of bitstream data that is present.Using this information, the correct surroundmode will automatically be selected. For exam-ple, DTS bitstreams will cause the unit to switchto DTS decoding, and Dolby Digital bitstreamswill enable Dolby Digital decoding. When the unitsenses PCM data, as is present from CDs and LDsand some music DVDs, the unit will allow theappropriate surround sources to be selectedmanually. Since the range of available surroundmodes depends on the type of digital data that ispresent, the AVR 7000 uses a variety of indica-tors to let you know what type of signal is pres-ent. This will help you to understand the choiceof modes and the input channels recorded on thedisc.When a digital source is playing, a BitstreamIndicator A will light to show which type ofsignal is playing:A C - 3: When the AC-3* indicator lights, aDolby Digital bitstream is being received.Depending on the audio track selected on thesource player and number of channels on thedisc, different surround modes are possible. Notethat only one channel without subwoofer, called”1.0” audio, or all five channels with subwoofer(”5.1” audio) or all steps between can be record-ed on digitally surround encoded audio tracks(see NOTE below). With all those tracks, except”2.0” audio, only the Dolby Digital and VMAxmodes are available. When the Dolby Digital sig-nal is only two channel (”2.0”) these two chan-nels (l and r) often contain Pro Logic surroundinformations. With those tracks the AVR7000automatically switches to the Pro Logic mode,but you may turn Pro Logic off manually or youmay also select the Vmax mode.D T S: When the DTS indicator lights, a DTS bit-stream is being received. When the unit sensesthis type of data, only the DTS mode may beused.P C M: When the PCM indicator lights, a stan-dard Pulse Code Modulation, or PCM, signal isbeing received. This is the type of digital audioused by conventional compact disc and laser discrecordings. When a PCM bitstream is present, allmodes except Dolby Digital and DTS are avail-able. Note that the PCM signal format can beselected on the DVD player with any audio track,even with Dolby Digital tracks. So, if selected,even ”2.0” D.D. audio tracks can be played withall surround modes, also with the most effectiveLogic 7.H D C D: When the HDCD® indicator lights inconjunction with the PCM indicator, the CD thatis playing is encoded through the special HighDefinition Compatible Digital® process. HDCDdiscs use 20-bit encoding and other proprietaryprocessing to provide the ultimate in CD listening(see page 29). Note that HDCD processing is onlyavailable in the Stereo or Surround Off mode.In addition to the bitstream indicators, the AVR7000 features a set of unique channel input indi-cators that tell you how many channels of digitalinformation are being received and if the digitalsignal is interrupted.These indicators are the L/C/R/LS/RS/LFE lettersthat are inside the center boxes of theSpeaker/Channel Input Indicators P in the frontpanel Information Display Ò. When a stan-dard analog stereo or matrix surround signal is inuse, only the “L” and “R” indicators will light, asanalog signals have only left and right channels,respectively, even surround recordings, carryingsurround information on the left and right chan-nels only.Digital signals, however, may have one to six sep-arate channels, depending on the program mate-rial, the method of transmission and the way inwhich it was encoded. When a digital signal isplaying, the letters in these indicators will light inresponse to the specific signal being received. Itis important to note that although Dolby Digital,for example, is referred to as a “5.1” system, notall Dolby Digital DVD or audio tracks selected onDVD or other Dolby Digital programs are encod-ed for 5.1. Thus, it is sometimes normal for aDVD with a Dolby Digital soundtrack to triggeronly the “L” and “R” indicators.NOTE: Many DVD discs are recorded with both“5.1” and “2.0” versions of the same sound-track, the ”2.0” version often is used with otherlanguages. When playing a DVD, always be cer-tain to check the type of material on the disc.Most discs 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 adjustmentsto your DVD player (usually with the “AudioSelect” button or in a menu screen on the disc)to send a full 5.1 feed to the AVR 7000 or toselect the appropriate audio track and thus lan-guage (”2.0” audio tracks can be played with allsurround modes, even with Logic 7, see indicator”PCM” left on that page). It is also possible forthe type of signal feed to change during thecourse of a DVD playback. In some cases the pre-views of special material will only be recorded in2.0 audio, while the main feature is available in5.1 audio. As long as your DVD player is set for