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 @ on the front- panel. When a standard analog signal is in use, only the “L” and “R” indicators will light, as analog signals have only left and right channels.
Digital signals, however, may have two, five, six or seven channels; this depends on the program material, its method of transmission and the way in which it was encoded. When a digital signal is playing, the letters in these indicators will light in response to the specific 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 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 soundtrack. 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 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 430. It is also possible for the type of signal feed to change during the course of a DVD’s playback. In some cases, the previews of special material will only be recorded in 2.0 audio, while the main feature is available in 5.1 audio. The AVR 430 will automatically sense changes to the bitstream and channel count and reflect them in these indicators.
The letters used by the Speaker/Channel Input Indicators @ also flash to indicate when a bitstream 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 paused. 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 430. 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 specially encoded Dolby Digital input sources to be played back with full digital intelligibility while reducing the minimum peak level by 1/4 to 1/3. This prevents abruptly loud transitions from disturbing others, without reducing the impact of the digital source. The Night mode is available only when Dolby Digital signals with special data are being played.
The Night mode may be engaged when a Dolby Digital DVD is playing by pressing the Night Mode
Button on the remote. Next, press the ⁄/¤ Navigation Button o to select either the middle range or full compression versions of the Night mode. To turn the Night mode off, press the ⁄/¤ Navigation Button o until the message in the lower third of the video display and in the Lower Display Line $ reads D-RANGE OFF.
The Night mode may also be selected to always be on at either level of compression using the options in the DOLBY SURR menu. (See page 22 for informa- tion on using the menus to set this option.)
MP3 Audio Playback
The AVR 430 is one of the few receivers equipped for onboard decoding for the MP3 audio format used by computers and portable audio devices. By offering MP3 decoding, the AVR 430 is able to deliver precise conversion of the digital signals to an analog output, along with the benefits of listening to the MP3 audio through the AVR 430’s high-current amplifier and the speakers from your surround system, rather than the smaller speakers and low-powered amplifiers typically used with computers.
To take advantage of the AVR 430’s MP3 capabilities, simply connect the S/P-DIF output of a computer’s sound card or the S/P-DIF output of a portable digital audio device to either the rear panel Digital Inputs
3336 or the front-panel Digital Inputs JK. When the digital signal is available, the Lower Display Line $ will indicate that an MP3 bitstream is present, and the audio will begin playing.
NOTES:
•The AVR 430 is only capable of playing signals in the MP3 (MPEG 1/Layer 3) format. It is not com- patible with other computer audio codecs.
•The digital audio input signal may be either optical or coaxial, but the signal must be in the S/P-DIF format. Direct connection of USB or serial data outputs is not possible, even though the signals are in the MP3 format. If you have any questions about the data output format from your computer or a sound card, check with the device’s owner’s manual or contact the manufacturer’s technical support area.
•If your computer or sound card’s digital output is not capable of direct connection to the AVR 430, you may use an optional, external transcoder to convert the USB output of a computer to a format compati- ble with the AVR.
•Due to the wide variation in MP3 formats and encoding speeds, it is possible that the AVR 430 may not be compatible with all MP3 input signals.
Some may produce unacceptable results and some may not be decoded. This is not a fault of either the computer or the AVR 430, but rather a by-product of the unpredictable nature of MP3 playback.
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 Input Indicators @ will flash. This is normal and does not indicate a problem with either the AVR 430 or the source machine. The AVR 430 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 430 will decode virtually all current DVD movies, CDs and HDTV sources, it is possible that some future digital sources may not be compati- ble with the AVR 430.
•Not all digitally encoded programs 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 430 will automatically sense the type of digital surround encoding used and adjust to accommodate it.
•When a digital source is playing, you may not be able to select some of the analog surround modes such as Dolby Pro Logic II, Dolby 3, Stereo, Hall, Theater or Logic 7.
•When a Dolby Digital or DTS source is playing,
it is not possible to make an analog recording using the Tape Outputs 35 and Video 1 or Video 2 Audio Outputs 38 41 . However, the digital signals will be passed through to the Digital Audio Outputs ikK.
Tuner Operation
The AVR 430’s tuner is capable of tuning AM, FM and FM Stereo broadcast stations. Stations may be tuned manually, or they may be stored as favorite station pre- sets and recalled from a 30-position memory.
Station Selection
1.Press the AM/FM Tuner Selector Button 34 on the remote to select the tuner as an input. The tuner may be selected from the front panel by either pressing the Input Source Selector 7 until the tuner is active or by pressing the Tuner Band Selector 5.
2.Press the AM/FM Tuner Select Button 34 or Tuner Band Selector 5 again to switch between
