Night Mode; Tape Recording; Output Level Adjustment With Source Signals - Harman Kardon AVR 135 Owner's Manual

Operation
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.
With all other recordings the icons for the sur-
round 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 letters
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 $ also flash to indicate when a bit-
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
a DVD is put into a Pause mode. 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. 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 Dolby Digital input sources
to be played back with full digital intelligibilty
while reducing the maximum peak level and
lifting the low levels by / to / . This prevents
1 4 1 3
abruptly loud transitions from disturbing others
without reducing the impact of the digital source.
The Night mode is available only when the Dolby
Digital mode is selected.
The Night mode may be engaged when a Dolby
Digital DVD is playing by pressing the Night
Button on the remote. Next, press the
buttons to select either the middle range or
full compression versions of the Night mode. To
turn the Night mode off, press the
until the message in the lower third of the
video display and the Main Information
Display ˜ reads
The Night mode may also be selected to always
be on as soon as the Dolby Digital mode is
activated at either level of compression using the
options in the 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 Indicators $ will flash. This is normal
and does not indicate a problem with either the
AVR or the source machine. The AVR 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 will decode virtually all DVD
movies, CDs and HDTV sources, it is possible that
some future digital sources may not be compatible
with the AVR.
• Note that not all digitally encoded programs
and not all audio tracks on a DVD 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 will automatically sense the
type of digital surround encoding used, indicate it
in the Channel Input Indicators $ and adjust
to accommodate it.
• When a Dolby Digital or DTS source is playing,
you normally may not be able to select some of
the analog surround modes such as Dolby Pro
Logic II, Dolby 3 Stereo, Hall, Theater, 5CH/7CH
Stereo or Logic 7, except with specific Dolby
Digital 2.0 recordings that can be played with the
Pro Logic II modes too (see page 27).
• When a digital source is playing, it is NOT pos-
sible to make an analog recording using the
Tape or Video 1 or Video 2 or
outputs, even if the source is connected to any
digital input of the AVR only, as long as
"Surround Off" mode is selected (possible with a
PCM source only). But the analog two channel
signal, even of a Dolby Digital (not DTS) source,
the "Downmix" to Stereo or Dolby Surround, can
be recorded by connecting its analog audio out-
puts to the appropriate analog inputs (e.g. DVD)
of the AVR. Additionally, the digital signals will be
passed through to the Digital Audio Outputs
.

Tape Recording

⁄ / ¤
In normal operation, the audio or video source
selected for listening through the AVR is sent to
the record outputs. This means that any program
buttons
⁄ / ¤
you are watching or listening to may be recorded
simply by placing machines connected to the out-
puts for Tape Outputs
.
Outputs
When a digital audio recorder is connected to
any of the Digital Audio Outputs
able to record the digital signal using a CD-R,
MiniDisc or other digital recording system.
Note that all digital signals will be passed
through to both, coaxial and optical, digital
outputs simultanously, no matter which kind of
digital input was selected.
NOTES:
• The digital outputs are active only when a digital
signal is present, and they do not convert an ana-
log input to a digital signal, or change the format
of the digital signal (e.g. Dolby Digital to PCM or
vice versa, but coaxial digital signals are converted
to optical signals and vice versa). In additon, the
digital recorder must be compatible with the
output signal. For example, the PCM digital output
from a CD player may be recorded on a CD-R or
MiniDisc, but Dolby Digital or DTS signals may not.
• To make an analog recording from a digital
source is possible, but only from a PCM source
(not Dolby Digital or DTS) and correctly only with
"Surround Off" mode (with any Surround mode
only the L/R front signals will be fed to the record
outputs).
Output Level Adjustment
With Source Signals
Normal output level adjustment for the AVR is
established using the test tone, as outlined on
page 23. In some cases, however, it may be desir-
able to adjust the output levels using program
material such as a test disc, or a selection you are
familiar with. Additionally, the output level for the
subwoofer and those for the Stereo and VMAx
modes can only be adjusted using this procedure.
To adjust the output levels using program materi-
al, first select the surround mode for which you
want to trim the speakers (see NOTE below), start
record
your program material source and set the
reference volume for the front left and front right
channels using the Volume Control
Once the reference level has been set, press the
Channel Select button
Information Display ˜. To change the level,
first press the Set button
the Selector buttons 7 or the
volume control, as this will alter the reference
setting.
Once the change has been made, press the Set
button
tons 7 or the
next output channel location that you wish to
adjust. To adjust the subwoofer level, press the
Selector buttons 7 or the
until
or Video 1 or 2
Information Display ˜ or on-screen display
in the record mode.
(only available if the subwoofer is turned on).
Press the Set button
, you are
the desired channel appears in the Main
Information Display ˜ and on-screen
display, and follow the instructions shown above
to adjust the level.
Ù and note that
will appear in the Main
@, and then use
⁄ / ¤
to raise or lower the level. DO NOT use the
@ and then press the Selector but-
buttons to select the
⁄ / ¤
buttons
⁄ / ¤
appears in the Main
@ when the name of
OPERATION 29
.
buttons