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 E in the front panel Main Information Display ˜. When a standard analog stereo or matrix surround 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 one, two, five, six or seven separate channels, depending on the program material, the 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 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 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 5550 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
2.0audio, while the main feature is available in
5.1audio. As long as your DVD player is set for 6-channel output, the AVR 5550 will automati- cally sense changes to the bitstream and channel 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 indicated in the front display and on-screen display. 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 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 E 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 5550. 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 lift- ing the low levels 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 the Dolby Digital mode is selected.
The Night mode may be engaged when a Dolby Digital DVD is playing by pressing the Night Button Bon the remote. Next, press the ⁄/¤ buttons Dto select either the middle range or full compression versions of the Night mode. To turn the Night mode off, press the ⁄/¤ buttons
Duntil the message in the lower third of the video display and the Lower Display Line B reads D-RANGE OFF.
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 Surround Select menu. See page 25 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 E will flash. This is normal and does not indicate a problem with either the AVR 5550 or the source machine. The AVR 5550 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 5550 will decode virtually all DVD movies, CDs and HDTV sources, it is possible that some future digital sources may not be com- patible with the AVR 5550.
•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 determine which type of audio has been record- ed on the disc. The AVR 5550 will automatically sense the type of digital surround encoding used, indicate it in the Channel Input Indicators E 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 34).
•When a digital source is playing, it is possible to make an analog recording using the Tape
or Video 1 or Video 2 or record outputs, even if the source is connected to any digital input of the AVR 5550 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 outputs to the appropriate analog inputs (e.g. DVD) of the AVR 5550. 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 5550 is sent to the record outputs. This means that any program you are watching or listening to may be recorded simply by placing machines connected
| | |
to the outputs for Tape Outputs | or Video 1 |
or 2 Outputs | in the record mode. |
When a digital audio recorder is connected to any of the Digital Audio Outputs , you are 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.
Front Panel In/Outputs
In addition to the rear panel digital outputs, the AVR 5550 offers Harman Kardon’s exclusive con- figurable front panel output jack feature. For easy connection of portable devices, you may switch the front panel Digital Coax 3 jack Ó or the Video 4 jack Ô from an input to an output by following these steps:
1.Press the OSD button Lto view the MASTER MENU (Figure 1).
2.Press the Set button Fto enter the IN/OUT SETUP menu (Figure 2).
3.Press the ¤ button Dso that the on-screen › cursor is next to VIDEO 4 or COAXIAL 3 depending on which input you wish to change to an output. Either input, or both may be changed at any time.
4. Press either of the ‹/ › buttons E/ so that the word OUT is highlighted.
5.Press the OSD button Lto exit the menus and return to normal operation.
Note that once the setting is made, the appropri- ate Input/Output Status Indicator ( will turn red, indicating that the selected analog or
