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Operation
To select a digital source such as DVD, first select
its input using the remote or front panel Input
Selector
as outlined in this manual in
order to feed its video signal (if any) to the TV
monitor and to provide its analog audio signal for
recording. When the digital input associated with
the input selected (e.g. "DVD") is not selected
automatically (due to the input settings made
earlier during the system configuration, see page
21), select the digital source by pressing the
Digital Input Selector button
then using the
buttons
on the remote
/
or the Selector buttons
on the front panel
to choose any of the
inputs, as they appear in the
Main Information Display
, Source
Indicator
or on-screen display.
When the digital source is playing, the AVR 5500
will automatically detect whether it is a multi-
channel Dolby Digital or DTS source or a HDCD,
MP3 or conventional PCM signal, which is the
standard output from CD players. A Bitstream
Indicator
will light in the Main Infor-
mation Display
to confirm that the digital
signal is Dolby Digital, DTS, MP3, PCM or HDCD.
Note that a digital input (e.g. coaxial) remains
associated with any analog input (e.g. DVD) as
soon as it is selected, thus the digital input need
not be re-selected each time the appropriate
input choice (e.g. DVD) is made.
Digital Status Indicators
When a digital source is playing, the AVR 5500
senses the type of bitstream data that is present.
Using this information, 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 and LDs and some music
DVDs or certain tracks on normal DVDs, it will
allow the appropriate surround mode to be select-
ed manually. Since the range of available surround
modes depends on the type of digital data that is
present, the AVR 5500 uses a variety of indicators
to let you know what type of signal is present.
This will help you to understand the choice of
modes and the input channels recorded on the
disc.
When a digital source is playing, a Bitstream
Indicator
will light to show which type of
signal is playing:
: When the DOLBY D indicator
lights, a Dolby Digital bitstream is being received.
Depending on the audio track selected on the
source player and number of channels on the
disc, different surround modes are possible. Note
that 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
34 OPERATION
(see NOTE below). With all those tracks, except
"2.0" audio, only the Dolby Digital and VMAx
modes 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 surround
informations.
With those tracks the AVR 5500 automatically
switches to the Dolby Pro Logic II Movie mode (in
addition to the Dolby Digital mode), but you may
also select the Vmax mode. When the D.D. 2.0
and
signal contains no Pro Logic information, the
pure Dolby Digital mode will be selected auto-
matically, but you may also select any Pro Logic II
or
mode (only Music or Emulation should be used
then) or any Vmax mode.
: When the DTS indicator lights, a DTS bit-
stream is being received. When the unit senses this
type of data, only the DTS mode may be used.
: When the PCM indicator lights, a standard
Pulse Code Modulation, or PCM, signal is being
received. This is the type of digital audio used by
conventional compact disc and laser disc record-
ings. When a PCM bitstream is present, all modes
except Dolby Digital and DTS are available.
®
: When this indicator lights the CD
that is playing is encoded using the special High
Definition Compatible Digital
discs use 20-bit encoding and other proprietary
processing to provide the ultimate in CD listen-
ing. Note that HDCD processing is only available
in the Stereo (Surround Off) mode.
: When the MP3 indicator lights, a compat-
ible MPEG 1/Layer 3 digital signal is being
received. This is the popular audio format used by
many computer programs for recording com-
pressed audio files. When an MP3 bitstream is
present, the sound will automatically be played in
the stereo (Surround Off) mode. The surround
modes are not available during MP3 playback.
In addition to the Bitstream Indicators
AVR 5500 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
front panel Main Information Display
When a standard analog stereo or matrix sur-
round signal is in use, only the "L" and "R" indi-
cators will light, as analog signals have only left
and right channels.
Dolby Digital signals, however, may have one,
two, five, six or seven separate channels, depend-
ing on the program material, the method of
transmission and the way in which it was encod-
ed. When a digital signal is playing, the letters in
these indicators will light in response to the spe-
cific 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 audio tracks selected on DVD or
other Dolby Digital 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 sound-
track. 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
®
process. HDCD
®
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 5500 or to select the appropriate
audio track and thus language. It is also possible
for the type of signal feed to change during the
course of a DVD playback. In some cases the pre-
views of special material will only be recorded in
2.0 audio, while the main feature is available in
5.1 audio. As long as your DVD player is set for
6-channel output, the AVR 5500 will automatical-
ly sense changes to the bitstream and channel
, the
count and reflect them in these indicators.
Important Note: When a digital surround
source (Dolby Digital, DTS) is played, the letters
SBL/SBR for the Surround Back channels will
appear only when a DTS ES DISCRETE 6.1 source
is played. Then this surround mode will be indi-
cated in the front display and on-screen display
after the DTS Surr. button
pressed. With all other recordings the icons for
the surround back speakers may light (when
those speakers have been configured) to indicate
that a signal will be fed to them (Matrix decoded
with NEO:6, LOGIC 7 or 7 CH Stereo), but no let-
ters inside will light as the unit will not receive an
input signal for the surround back channels.
The letters used by the Speaker/Channel Input
Indicators
stream has been interrupted. This will happen
when a digital input source is selected before the
playback starts, or when a digital source such as
in the
.
has been
also flash to indicate when a bit-
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