Harman Kardon AVR235 Service Manual page 19

AVR235
OPERATION
with the AVR 235, as some players cannot pass the
DTS signal through to the digital outputs. If you are 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 235, change the
player's settings in the "Audio" or "Bitstream"" configu-
ration 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 235. Connect
the digital outputs from DVD players, HDTV receivers,
satellite systems or CD players to the Optical or
Coaxial Inputs *(ad. In order to provide a
backup signal and a source for analog stereo recording,
the analog outputs provided on digital source equipment
should also be connected to their appropriate inputs on
the AVR 235 rear panel (e.g., connect the analog stereo
audio output from a DVD to the DVD Audio Inputs k
on the rear panel when you connect the source's
digital outputs).
If you have not already configured an input for a digital
source using the on-screen menus as shown on
pages 17–18, first select the input using the remote
or front-panel controls, as outlined in this manual.
Next, select the digital source by pressing the
Digital Select Button q# and then using the
Buttons n on the remote or the
/
⁄ ¤
Selector Buttons ) on the front panel to choose
any of the OPTICAL or COAXIAL inputs, as
they appear in the Upper Display Line ˜ or on-
screen display. When the digital source is playing, the
AVR 235 will automatically detect which type of digital
data stream is being decoded and display that infor-
mation in the Upper Display Line ˜.
Digital Bitstream Indications
When a digital source is playing, the AVR 235 senses
the type of bitstream data that is present. Using this
information, the correct surround mode will automati-
cally 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 235 uses a variety
28 OPERATION
of indicators to let you know what type of signal is
present. This will help you to understand the choice
of modes.
When a digital source is playing, the AVR 235 will dis-
play a variety of messages to indicate the type of bit-
stream being received. These messages will appear
shortly after an input or surround mode is changed,
and they will remain in the Lower Display Line ¯
for about five seconds before that portion of the dis-
play returns to the normal surround mode indication.
Surround Mode Types
For Dolby Digital and DTS sources, a three-digit
indication 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 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 indicates how many discrete sur-
round channel signals are present.
• 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 mode. This will be shown as EX-ON
or EX-OFF for Dolby Digital bitstreams, and
ES-ON or ES-OFF for DTS bitstreams.
An UNLOCK message may appear in the Lower
Display Line ¯. This is your indication that the digi-
tal audio data stream has been interrupted or is no
longer present. When that occurs, the unit's digital sig-
nal processor has no signal to lock onto, and is thus
"unlocked." You may see this message when a DVD is
first started until the stream is playing and the proces-
sor determines which mode to apply; or any time the
data stream is stopped or paused, such as when the
menus of some discs are displayed or when the player
is switching between the different sections of a disc.
You may also see the message when a satellite
receiver, cable set-top or HDTV tuner is in use if the
digital audio is temporarily interrupted when channels
are changed or when a cable box switches from a
channel with a digital data stream to a channel with
analog audio only. The UNLOCK message is nor-
mal, and does not indicate any problem with your
receiver. Rather, it tells you that the incoming data has
simply been paused or is not present for a variety of
possible reasons.
When Dolby Digital 3/2/.1 or DTS 3/2/.1 signals are
being played, the AVR will automatically switch to the
proper surround mode, and no other processing may
be selected. When a Dolby Digital signal with a 3/1/0
or 2/0/0 signal is detected, you may select any of the
Dolby surround modes.
It is always a good idea to check the readout for the
channel data to make certain that it matches the audio
logo information shown on the back of a DVD pack-
age. In some cases, you will see an indication for
"2/0/0" even when the disc contains a full 5.1, or
3/2/.1, signal. When this happens, check the audio
output settings for your DVD player or the audio menu
selections for the specific disc being played to make
certain that the player is sending the correct signal
to the AVR.
PCM Playback Indications
PCM is the abbreviation for Pulse Code Modulation,
which is the type of digital signal used for standard CD
playback, and other non-Dolby Digital and non-DTS
digital sources such as Mini-Disc. When a PCM signal
is detected, the Lower Display Line ¯ will briefly
show a message with the letters PCM, in addition to a
readout of the sampling frequency of the digital signal.
In most cases, this will be 48kHz, though in the
case of specially mastered, high-resolution audio
discs, you will see a 96kHz indication.
19
harman/kardon