Using The Disc Player - Harman Kardon BDS 400 Owner's Manual

BDS
6. Select the speaker you want to adjust, and use the left and right arrow buttons to
adjust its volume. You can vary the volume from +10dB to –10dB, in 1dB increments.
7. Press the Exit button twice to return to the speaker setup screen (the front left and
front right speakers will still be highlighted). To adjust the volume of a different
speaker, use the cursor buttons to highlight it and press the OK button. Repeat Steps
5 – 6 for that speaker.
8. When you are finished adjusting the volumes of all of your system's speakers, press
the Exit button repeatedly until the harman kardon logo screen appears.
Notes on Setting Speaker Volumes in 5.1-Channel Systems:
While setting your system's individual speaker volume levels is ultimately up to your
personal taste, here are some ideas you may find helpful:
For films and video-music programs, your overall goal should be to create an
enveloping, realistic sound field that draws you into the film or music program
without drawing your attention away from the action on the screen.
For multichannel music recordings, some music producers will create a sound field
that places the musicians all around you; others will create a sound field that places
the musicians in front of you, with more subtle ambience in the surround speakers
(as you would experience in a concert hall).
In most 5.1-channel films, the surround channels are not intended to be as loud or
as active as the front channels. Adjusting the surround speakers so they are always
as loud as the front channels could make dialogue difficult to understand and will
make some sound effects sound unrealistically loud.
Notes on Setting Subwoofer Volume:
Sometimes the ideal subwoofer volume setting for music is too loud for films, while
the ideal setting for films is too quiet for music. When setting the subwoofer volume,
listen to both music and films with strong bass content and find a "middle ground"
volume level that works for both.
If your subwoofer always seems too loud or too quiet, you may want to place it in
a different location. Placing the subwoofer in a corner will always tend to increase
its bass output, while placing it away from any walls or corners will always tend to
lessen its bass output.
IMPORTANT: Do not turn the receiver's volume up to or past the point where the audio
from the speakers becomes distorted. Doing so can damage the speakers.
Surround-Sound Modes
Your BDS receiver can decode and play audio programs in these native audio formats:
Dolby Digital
Dolby Digital Plus
Dolby TrueHD
DTS Digital
DTS-HD High Resolution Audio
™
DTS-HD Master Audio
PCM
WMA (DRM-free version only): WMA9, CBR @192kbps, VBR @ 355kbps
MP3: 32kbps – 320kbps bitrates, including variable bitrate encoding
Using the Receiver and Using the Disc Player
The audio formats available for any particular program depend on the program and on
how you have configured your BDS receiver in the Audio Settings menu:
2.0- and 2.1-
Channel Setup
Configuration
2.1-Channel Dolby Virtual
Programs Speaker Wide
(default)/Dolby
Virtual Speaker
Reference/Stereo
3.1-Channel
Dolby Virtual
Programs Speaker Wide
(default)/Dolby
Virtual Speaker
Reference/Stereo
4.1-/5.1-/6.1-
Dolby Virtual
Channel Speaker Wide
Programs (default)/Dolby
Virtual Speaker
Reference/Stereo
To switch between the available surround-sound modes for the program currently playing,
press the Surround button. Each press of the Surround button will change to the next
available mode in line. A pop-up display will appear on the TV, showing the modes as you
cycle through them.
Listening Through Headphones
Your BDS receiver's headphone connection accepts a standard 3.5mm stereo headphone
plug. When you insert the headphone plug into the connector, the receiver's speaker
outputs will mute; the HDMI audio output will not mute.
When headphones are connected to the receiver's Headphone connector, pressing the
remote's Surround button cycles between these two modes:
HARMAN Headphone, which virtualizes a multichannel surround soundtrack down
to two channels. This mode retains the soundtrack's original directional cues,
allowing you to enjoy an enveloping surround-sound experience on any ordinary
pair of stereo headphones.
Headphone Bypass, which downmixes surround-sound programs into normal
stereo. This mode does not retain any multichannel directional cues that may be in
the original surround-sound program.

Using the Disc Player

Disc Handling Precautions
To keep the disc clean, handle the disc by its edge. Do not touch the surface.
Do not stick paper or tape on the disc. If there is glue (or a similar substance) on the
disc, remove the substance completely before using the disc.
Do not expose the disc to direct sunlight or heat sources such as hot air ducts,
or leave it in a car parked in direct sunlight as there can be a considerable rise in
temperature inside the car.
After playing, store the disc in its case.
Do not write on the label side with a ball-point pen or other sharp writing utensils.
Be careful not to drop or bend the disc.
Available Audio Formats
3.1-Channel Setup 5.1-Channel Setup
Configuration Configuration
Dolby PLII Movie Original (default)/
(default)/Dolby PLII Dolby PLII Movie/
Music/Dolby Virtual Dolby PLII Music/
Speaker Wide/Dolby Dolby Virtual
Virtual Speaker Speaker Wide/Dolby
Reference/Stereo Virtual Speaker
Reference/Stereo
Original (default)/ Original (default)/
Dolby Virtual Dolby PLII Movie/
Speaker Wide/Dolby Dolby PLII Music/
Virtual Speaker Dolby Virtual
Reference Speaker Wide/Dolby
Virtual Speaker
Reference/Stereo
Dolby Virtual Original (default)/
Speaker Wide Dolby Virtual
(default)/Dolby Speaker Wide/
Virtual Speaker Dolby Virtual
Reference/Stereo Speaker Reference
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