24 OPERATION
Operation
sound being recorded from left rear side will be
heard from that side only, for more details see
chart on page 22).
When no rear speakers are in use, the Dolby 3
Stereo mode should be selected with all surround
recordings.
Note that when Dolby Digital 2.0 signals (e.g.
"D.D. 2.0" tracks from DVD), that are encoded
with Dolby Pro Logic information, are received
via any digital input, the Dolby Pro Logic II Movie
mode will be selected automatically (in addition
to the Dolby Digital mode) and will decode a full
range 5.1 channel surround sound even from
those recordings (see also "Dolby Digital" on
page 25).
To create wide, enveloping sound field
environments and defined pans and flyovers with
all analog stereo recordings select the Dolby Pro
Logic II Music mode or Harman Kardon’s
exclusive Logic 7 Music mode for a dramatic
improvement in comparison to the Dolby Pro
Logic (I) mode of former times.
NOTE: Once a program has been encoded with
matrix surround information, it retains the
surround information as long as the program is
broadcast in stereo. Thus, movies with surround
sound may be decoded via any of the analog sur-
round modes such as Dolby Pro Logic II or Logic 7,
when they are broadcast via conventional TV
stations, cable, pay TV and satellite transmission.
In addition, a growing number of made-for-televi-
sion programs, sports broadcasts, radio dramas
and music CDs are also recorded in surround
sound. You may view a list of these programs at
the Dolby Laboratories Web site at
www.dolby.com.
Even when a program is not listed as carrying
intentional surround information, you may find
that the Dolby Pro Logic II, Dolby 3 Stereo or
Logic 7 modes often deliver enveloping surround
presentations through the use of the natural
surround information present in all stereo
recordings.
However, for stereo programs without any
surround information the Theater, Hall and 5CH
Stereo modes should be tried (effective particularly
with old ”extreme” stereo recordings) and for
mono programs, we suggest that you try the
Theater or Hall modes.
Surround modes are selected using either the
front panel controls or the remote. To select a
surround mode from the front panel, press the
Surround Mode Group Selector Button
6
to scroll through the list of available surround
groups (for example, any Dolby mode or Logic 7
mode). Next press the Surround Mode
Selector Button
C
to choose the specific
mode within the desired group (for example,
within the Dolby mode group the options are
Dolby Pro Logic, Dolby Pro Logic II Music, Dolby
Pro Logic II Movies and Dolby 3 Stereo). To select
a surround mode using the remote, any of the
surround mode selector buttons
9Za
bcd
until the desired mode appears. As
you press the buttons, the Surround mode name
will appear in the Main Information Display
F
. As the surround mode changes, a blue LED
will light next to the current mode in the
Surround Mode Indicators list
D
on the
front panel. Regard that any time a surround
mode is changed it remains associated with the
input just selected until another choice is made.
NOTE: The name of each Surround Mode will
scroll through the Main Information Display
F
while the modes are being selected. To avoid
exiting from the surround mode selection
process, be certain to push the
K
/
L
buttons
C
while a mode name is still visible.
Note that the Dolby Digital or DTS modes may
only be selected when a digital input is in use. In
addition, when a digital source is present, the
AVR will automatically select and switch to the
correct mode (Dolby Digital or DTS), regardless of
the mode that has been previously selected. For
more information on selecting digital sources, see
the following section of this manual.
To listen to a program in traditional two channel
stereo, using the front left and front right
speakers only (plus the subwoofer if installed and
configured), follow the instructions shown above
for using the remote until
SURR OFF appears
in the Main Information Display
F
.
Digital Audio Playback
Digital audio is a major advancement over older
analog matrix surround systems. It delivers five
discrete channels: left front, center, right front, left
surround and right surround. Each channel
reproduces full frequency range (20Hz to 20kHz)
and offers dramatically improved dynamic range
and significant improvements to signal-to-noise
ratios. In addition, digital systems have the
capability to deliver an additional channel that is
specifically devoted to low frequency information.
This is the “.1” channel referred to when you see
these systems descibed as “5.1”. The bass channel
is separate from the other channels, but since it is
intentionally bandwidth limited, sound designers
have given it that unique designation.
Dolby Digital
Dolby Digital (originally known as AC-3
®
) is a
standard part of DVD, and is available on
specially encoded LD discs and satellite
broadcasts and it is a part of the new high-
definition television (HDTV) system.
Note that an optional, external RF demodulator
is required to use the AVR to listen to the Dolby
Digital sound tracks available on laser discs.
Connect the RF output of the LD player to the
demodulator and then connect the digital output
of the demodulator to the Optical or Coaxial
inputs
9L4G
of the AVR. No demodulator
is required for use with DVD players or DTS-
encoded laser discs.
DTS
DTS is another digital audio system that is
capable of delivering 5.1 audio. Although both
DTS and Dolby Digital are digital, they use
different methods of encoding the signals, and
thus they require different decoding circuits to
convert the digital signals back to analog.
DTS-encoded sound tracks are available on select
DVD and LD discs, as well as on special audio-
only DTS CDs. You may use any LD, DVD or CD
player equipped with a digital output to play
DTS-encoded special audio-only CDs with the
AVR, but DTS-LDs can be played on LD players
and DTS-DVDs on DVD players only. All that is
required is to connect the player’s output to
either the Optical or Coaxial input on the rear
panel
L9
or front panel
4G
.
In order to listen to DVDs encoded with DTS
sound tracks, the DVD player must be compatible
with the DTS signal as indicated by a DTS logo
on the player’s front panel. Note that early DVD
players may not be able to play DTS- encoded
DVDs. This does not indicate a problem with the
AVR, 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 DVDs, consult the player’s owner’s manual.
Please note that some DVD players are shipped
with their output set for Dolby Digital only. To
insure that DTS data is being sent to the AVR,
please check the setup menu system on your
DVD player to make certain that DTS data output
is enabled.
PCM Audio Playback
PCM (Pulse Code Modulation) is the non-
compressed digital audio system used for com-
pact discs, Non-Dolby Digital/DTS Laserdiscs and
some special PCM encoded DVDs. The digital
circuits in the AVR are capable of high quality
digital-to-analog decoding, and they may be
connected directly to the digital audio output of
your CD/DVD or LD player (LD only for PCM or
DTS programs, for Dolby Digital laser discs an RF
adapter is needed, see ”Dolby Digital” above).
