Tuner Operation - Harman Kardon AVR 235 Owner's Manual

Speaker/Channel Indicators
In addition to the bitstream indicators, the AVR 235
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
These indicators are the L/C/R/LFE/SL/SR/SBL/SBR
letters that are inside the center boxes of the Speaker/
Channel Input Indicators ˆ on the front panel.
When a standard analog signal is in use, only the "L"
and "R" indicators will light, as analog signals have only
left and right channels.
Digital signals, however, may have two, five, six or
seven channels, depending on the program material,
the method of transmission and the way in which it
was encoded. When a digital signal is playing, the let-
ters in these indicators will light in response to the
specific signal being received. 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 235. It is also possible for the type of
signal feed to change during the course of a DVD
playback. In some cases, the previews of special
material will only be recorded in 2.0 audio, while the
main feature is available in 5.1 audio. The AVR 235
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 ˆ 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
UNLOCK message will also appear on-screen and
in the Lower Display Line ¯. The UNLOCK
message will also appear on screen and in the Lower
Display Line ¯. 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 235. This is normal, and the digital playback will
resume once the playback is started again.
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
others, without reducing the impact of the digital
source. The Night mode is available only when Dolby
Digital signals with special data are being played.
The Night mode may be engaged when a Dolby
Digital DVD is playing by pressing the Night Mode
Button l on the remote. Next, press the
Buttons n to select either the middle range or
full-compression versions of the Night mode. To turn
Buttons n
the Night mode off, press the /
⁄ ¤
until the message in the lower third of the video dis-
play and in the Lower Display Line ¯ reads
D-RANGE OFF.
The Night mode may also be selected to always be on
at either level of compression using the options in the
DOLBY menu. See page 19 for information on
using the menus to set this option.
IMPORTANT NOTES ON DIGITAL PLAYBACK:
• When the digital playback source is stopped, or
in a pause, fast forward or chapter search mode,
the digital audio data will momentarily stop, and
the channel position letters inside the Speaker/
Channel Input Indicators ˆ will flash. The
UNLOCK message will also appear on-screen
and in the Lower Display Line ¯. This is normal
and does not indicate a problem with either the
AVR 235 or the source machine. The AVR 235
will return to digital playback as soon as the data
is available and when the machine is in a standard
play mode.
• Although the AVR 235 will decode virtually all current
DVD movies, CDs and HDTV sources, it is possible
that some future digital sources may not be compati-
ble with the AVR 235.
• Not all digitally encoded programs contain full 5.1-
or 6.1-channel audio. Consult the program guide
that accompanies the DVD or laser disc to deter-
mine which type of audio has been recorded on the
disc. The AVR 235 will automatically sense the type
of digital surround encoding used and adjust to
accommodate it.
• When a digital source is playing, you may not be
able to select some of the analog surround modes
such as Dolby Pro Logic II, Dolby 3, Stereo, Hall,
Theater or Logic 7.
• When a Dolby Digital or DTS source is playing,
it is not possible to make an analog recording using
the Tape Outputs ™ and Video 1 or Video 2
Audio Outputs 32
will be passed through to the Digital Audio
Outputs ‡°.
PCM Audio Playback
PCM (Pulse Code Modulation) is the noncompressed
digital audio system used for compact discs and laser
discs. The digital circuits in the AVR 235 are capable of
high-quality digital-to-analog decoding, and they may
be connected directly to the digital audio output of your
CD or LD player.
/
⁄ ¤
Connections may be made to either the rear-panel
Optical or Coaxial Inputs ad 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
Buttons ) on the front panel, until the desired choice
appears in the Upper Display Line ˜.
During PCM playback, you may select any Surround
mode except Dolby Digital or DTS.

Tuner Operation

The AVR 235's tuner is capable of tuning AM, FM and
FM Stereo broadcast stations. Stations may be tuned
manually, or they may be stored as favorite station pre-
sets and recalled from a 30-position memory.
Station Selection
1. Press the AM/FM Tuner Select Button g on
the remote to select the tuner as an input. The
tuner may be selected from the front panel by
either pressing the Input Source Selector ^
until the tuner is active or by pressing the AM/FM
Band Selector !.
2. Press the AM/FM Tuner Select Button g or
AM/FM Band Selector ! again to switch
between AM and FM so that the desired frequency
band is selected.
3. Press the Tuner Mode Button & s to select
manual or automatic tuning.
When the button is pressed so that AUTO
appears in the Lower Display Line ¯ each
press of the Tuning Selectors 9u will put the
tuner in a scan mode that seeks the next higher or
OPERATION
. However, the digital signals
34
/
⁄ ¤
‹ ›
/ Selector
OPERATION OPERATION 29 29