Harman Kardon AVR 7300 Owner's Manual page 37

dynamic range and significant improvements to signal-
to-noise ratios. In addition, digital systems have the capa-
bility to deliver an additional channel that is specifically
devoted to low-frequency information. This is the ".1"
channel referred to when you see these systems
described as "5.1, " "6.1" or "7.1." The bass channel is
separate from the other channels, but since it is inten-
tionally bandwidth-limited, sound designers have given it
that unique designation.
Dolby Digital
Dolby Digital is a standard part of DVD, and high-defini-
tion (HDTV) broadcasts and is available on specially
encoded LD discs and satellite broadcasts.
An optional, external RF demodulator is required
to use the AVR 7300 to listen to the Dolby Digital
soundtracks available on laser discs. Connect the RF
output of the LD player to the demodulator and then
connect the digital output of the demodulator to the
Optical or Coaxial Inputs ®†
10
AVR 7300. No demodulator is required for use with
DVD players or DTS-encoded laser discs.
DTS
DTS is a digital audio system capable of delivering 5.1
or 6.1 discrete or matrix sound field reproduction.
Although both DTS and Dolby Digital are digital, they
use different methods of encoding the signals, and
thus they require different decoding circuits to convert
the digital signals back to analog.
DTS-encoded soundtracks are available on select
DVD and LD discs, as well as on audio-only DTS
discs. You may use any LD or CD player equipped
with a digital output to play DTS-encoded discs with
the AVR 7300. All that is required is to connect the
player's output to either an Optical or Coaxial Input
on the rear panel ®† or front panel
In order to listen to DVDs encoded with DTS sound-
tracks, the DVD player must be compatible with the
DTS signal, which is indicated by the "DTS Digital Out"
logo on the player's front panel. Some early DVD play-
ers were not able to play DTS-encoded DVDs. This
does not indicate a problem with the AVR 7300, as
those players cannot pass through the DTS signal. If
you're in doubt as to the capability of your DVD player
to handle DTS discs, consult the player's owner's
manual.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Many DVD players have a default
setting that does not pass through the DTS data, even
though the machine is capable of doing so. If your
DVD player has the "DTS Digital Out" logo but does
not trigger DTS playback in the AVR 7300, change
the player's settings in the "Audio" or "Bitstream" con-
figuration menu so that DTS playback is enabled. The
method for doing this will vary with each player. In
some cases, the proper menu choice will be "Original, "
while in others it will be "DTS. " Consult the owner's
manual for your player to find the specific information
to find the proper setting.
Selecting a Digital Source
To utilize either digital mode, you must have properly
connected a digital source to the AVR 7300. Connect
the digital outputs from DVD players, HDTV receivers,
satellite systems or CD players to the Optical or
Coaxial Inputs ®†
a backup signal and a source for analog stereo record-
ing, the analog outputs provided on digital source
equipment should also be connected to their appropri-
ate inputs on the AVR 7300 rear panel (e.g., connect
the analog stereo audio output from a DVD to the DVD
Audio Inputs © on the rear panel when you connect
the source's digital outputs).
If you have not already configured an input for a digital
of the
12
source using the on-screen menus as shown on
page 23, first select the desired input using the
remote or front-panel controls, as outlined in this man-
ual. Next, press the Digital Select Button p
and then using the
on the remote or the
panel, choose any OPTICAL or COAXIAL
inputs, as they appear in the Upper Display Line #
or on-screen display. When the digital source is playing,
the AVR 7300 will automatically detect which type of
digital data stream is being decoded and display that
information in the Upper Display Line #.
When both a digital and an analog connection are
made between a source device and the AVR, the digi-
tal input is the default. If the digital stream is not pres-
ent or is interrupted, the unit will automatically switch
over to the analog inputs for the selected source.
10 .
12
Digital Bitstream and Surround Mode Indications
When a digital source is playing, the DPR senses the
type of bitstream data that is present. Using this infor-
mation, the correct surround mode will automatically
be selected. For example, DTS bitstreams will cause
the unit to switch to DTS decoding, and Dolby Digital
bitstreams will enable Dolby Digital decoding. When
the unit senses PCM data from CDs or LDs, you may
select any of the standard surround modes, such as
Dolby Pro Logic II or Logic 7. Since the range of
available surround modes is dependent on the type
of digital data that is present, the AVR 7300 shows
you what type of signal is present. This will help you
to understand the choice of modes.
When a digital source is first detected, the AVR 7300
will display a message to indicate the type of bitstream
being received. This message will appear shortly after
an input or surround mode is changed, and will remain
in the Lower Display Line $ for about five seconds
. In order to provide
10 12
6
Navigation Button o
/
⁄ ¤
‹ / › Buttons on the front
8
OPERATION
before that portion of the display returns to the normal
surround mode indication.
For Dolby Digital and DTS sources, a three-digit indica-
tion will appear, showing the number of channels present
in the data. An example of this type of display is 3/2/.1.
The first number in the display message indicates how
many discrete front-channel signals are present.
• A "3" tells you that separate front left, center and
front right signals are available. This will be displayed
for Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1 programs.
• A "2" tells you that separate front left and right sig-
nals are available, but there is no discrete center
channel signal. This will be displayed for Dolby
Digital bitstreams that have stereo program material.
• A "1" tells you that there is only a mono channel
available in the Dolby Digital bitstream.
The middle number in the display message indicates
how many discrete surround channel signals are present.
• A "3" tells you that separate, discrete left surround,
center back surround and right surround signals are
present. This is available only on discs with DTS-ES
digital audio.
• A "2" tells you that separate surround left and right
signals are available. This will be displayed for Dolby
Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1 programs.
• A "1" tells you that there is only a single, surround-
encoded surround channel. This will appear for
Dolby Digital bitstreams that have matrix encoding.
• A "0" indicates that there is no surround channel
information. This will be displayed for two-channel
stereo programs.
The last number indicates whether there is a discrete
low-frequency effects (LFE) channel. This is the ".1" in
the common abbreviation of "5.1" sound and it is a
special channel that contains only bass frequencies.
• A ".1" tells you that an LFE channel is present. This
will be displayed for Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1
programs, as available.
• A "0" indicates that there is no LFE channel infor-
mation available. However, even when there is no
dedicated LFE channel, low-frequency sound will be
present at the subwoofer output when the speaker
configuration is set to show the presence of a
subwoofer.
• The information in the right side of the display will
tell you if the digital audio data contains a special
flag signal that will automatically activate the appro-
priate 6.1 or 7.1 mode. This will be shown as
EX-ON or EX-OFF for Dolby Digital bitstreams and
ES-ON or ES-OFF for DTS bitstreams.
OPERATION OPERATION 37 37