Harman Kardon AVR 110 Owner's Manual page 24

Operation
playing,the AVR110will automaticallydetect
whether it is a multichannetDoIbyDigital, DTS
source,MP3 or a conventionalPCMsignal,
which is the standardoutput from CDplayers.
A Bitstream Indicator [] wilt light in the
Main Information Display [] to confirm
that the digital signal is DotbyDigital, DTS
or PCM.
Digital Status Indicators
When a digital sourceisplaying,the AVR110
sensesthe type of bitstreamdata that is pres-
ent. Usingthis information,the correctsur-
round modewilt automaticallybe selected.For
example,DTSbitstreamswill causethe unit to
switchto DTS decoding,and DolbyDigitalbib
streamswill enableDotbyDigitaldecoding.
Whenthe unit sensesPCMdata from CDsand
LDs,it will allow the appropriatesurround
sourcesto be selectedmanually.Sincethe
rangeof availablesurroundmodesis depend-
ent on the type of digital data that is present,
the AVR110 usesa varietyof indicatorsto
let you know what type of signal is present.
Thiswill help you to understand the choice
of modes.
When a digital sourceis playing,a Bitstream
Indicator [] will light to show whichtype of
signal is playing:
DOLBY
D: Whenthe DOLBY D indicator
lights, a DotbyDigital bitstreamis being
received. D ependingon the settingson the
sourceplayerandspecificsurroundinformation
and numberof channelson the disc,a number
of surroundmodesare possible. F or discswith
full 5.1 audio,only the DolbyDigitaland VMAx
modesare available. W henthe DolbyDigital
signal is only two-channel,you may alsoselect
from the Logic7 Cinema/Music, H all, Theater,
DolbyProLogic or Dolby3 Stereomodes.
DTS: When the DTSindicatorlights,a DTS
bitstreamis beingreceived. W henthe unit
sensesthis type of data, only the DTSmode
may be used.
PCM: When the PCMindicatorlights,a stan-
dard PulseCodeModulation,or PCM,signal is
being received. T hisis the type of digital audio
usedby conventional c ompactdiscand laser
discrecordings. W hen a PCMbitstream is pres-
ent, all modesexceptDotbyDigital and DTSare
available.
MP3: When the MP3indicatorlights, a com-
patible MPEGl/Layer 3 digital signal is being
received. T hisis the popularaudio format used
by manycomputerprograms for recordingcom-
pressedaudiofiles.When an MP3bitstreamis
present,the soundwilt automaticallybe played
in the stereo(surroundoff} mode.Thesurround
modesare not availableduring MP3playback.
In addition to the bitstreamindicators, t he
AVR110 featuresa set of uniquechannel-input
indicatorsthat tell you how manychannelsof
digital informationare beingreceivedand/or
whetherthe digital signal is interrupted.
Theseindicatorsare the L/C/R/LS/RS/LFE letters
that are insidethe center boxesof the
Speaker/Channel Input Indicators [] in
the front panelMain Information Display
[]. Whena standardanalogsignal is in use,
only the "L" and "R" indicatorswill light, as
analog signalshaveonly left and right chan-
nels,respectively.
Digitalsignals,howevel,may havetwo, five or
six separatechannels,dependingon the pro-
grammaterial,the method of transmission and
the way in which it wasencoded.Whena digi-
tal signal is playing,the letters in theseindica-
tors will light in response to the specificsignal
being received. I t is importantto notethat
although DolbyDigital,for example,is referred
to as a "5.1" system,not all DolbyDigital DVDs
or programs are encodedfor 5.1.Thus,it is
sometimesnormalfor a DVDwith a Dotby
Digitalsoundtrackto trigger only the "L" and
"R" indicators.
NOTE:ManyDVDdiscsare recordedwith both
"5.1" and "2.0" versionsof the samesound-
track.When playinga DVD,alwaysbe certainto
checkthe type of materialon the disc.Most
discsshow this informationin the form of a
listing or icon on the backof the discjacket.
When a discdoesoffer multiple soundtrack
choicesyou mayhaveto makesomeadjust-
mentsto your DVDplayer(usuallywith the
"AudioSelect" button or in a menuscreen
on the disc)to senda full 5.1 feedto the
AVR110. It is also possiblefor the type of sig-
nal feed to changeduringthe courseof a DVD
playback.In somecasesthe previewsof special
materialwill only be recordedin 2.0 audio,
while the mainfeature is availablein 5.1 audio.
As long asyour DVDplayeris set for 6-channel
output, the AVR110 will automaticallysense
changesto the bitstreamand channelcount
and reflectthem in theseindicators.
Theletters usedbythe Speaker/Channel
Input Indicators [] alsoflash to indicate
when a bitstreamhas beeninterrupted.This
will happenwhen a digital inputsourceis
selectedbeforethe playbackstarts,or when a
digital sourcesuch asa DVDis paused. T he
flashingindicatorsremindyou that the play-
back has stoppeddueto the absenceof a
digital signal andnot through anyfault of the
AVR110. Thisis normal,and the digital play-
back will resumeoncethe playbackis started
again.
Night Mode
A specialfeature of DotbyDigitalis the Night
mode,which enablesAC-3input sourcesto be
playedbackwith full digital inteltigibiltywhile
reducingthe minimumpeaklevelby 1/4to 1/3.
Thispreventsabruptlyloud transitionsfrom dis-
turbing others,without reducingthe impactof
the digital source. T he Night modeis available
only when DolbyDigitalsignalswith special
data are being played.
The Night modemay be engagedwhen a Dolby
DigitalDVDis playingby pressingthe Night
Mode button _ on the remote.Next,press
the A/v buttons ti_l_l to selecteither the
middle rangeor full compression versionsof the
Night mode.Toturn the Night mode off, press
the A/v buttons ti_l until the message
in the lower third of the video displayand the
Main Information Display [] reads
D - Ra n g e O f f. Whenthe Night mode is
active,the Night Mode Indicator [] will
also light.
IMPORTANTNOTESON
DIGITALPLAYBACK:
1.When the digital playbacksourceis stopped,
or in a Pause, F astForwardor ChapterSearch
mode,the digital audio data wilt momentarily
stop,and the channelpositionletters insidethe
Speaker/Channel Input Indicators [] will
flash.This is normaland doesnot indicatea
problemwith either the AVR110 or the source
machine. T heAVR110 wilt returnto digital
playbackas soonasthe data is availableand
when the machineis in a standardplaymode.
2. Althoughthe AVR110wilt decode virtuallyall
DVDmovies, C Dsand HDTV sources, i t is possible
that somefuturedigital sources may not becom-
patiblewith the AVR110.
24 OPERATION I