Harman-Kardon HA160-0004-A manual Surround Mode Change, DVDVol Dolb y D i g ital

Signature 2.0

Operation

Surround Mode Change

The Signature Series 2.0 offers a number of options for changing the surround mode. The flexibility of the unit enables you to use the surround modes programmed at the factory, to select a mode you prefer for each input source, or to change the mode at any time during a listening session.

Factory mode settings are listed in the “Sources” chart in Appendix A. If you wish to change the mode that is put into effect any time an input is selected, follow the instructions on page 28.

When selecting modes it is important to note that the Movie and Music modes created by the 2.0 processor, as well as the Stereo and Mono + modes are available when an analog source is selected. Some modes are only available when a digital audio input source is connected to one of the rear panel Optical or Coax Digital Audio Inputs à ¡ and AC-3 data is present. Thus, Dolby Digital or DTS modes are NOT available and will not appear in the menus when an analog input is selected. This is intentional, as these modes will not function from analog input material.

It is also worth mentioning that different types of digital data streams that may be used with the 2.0. The con- ventional PCM digital output from a CD or laser disc player may be decoded to Mono, Stereo, or Matrix style surround data. PCM data may also be used for DTS audio from audio-only discs or specially encoded laser disc programs. Dolby Digital data may be played back from a DVD, HDTV, computer sound card, external RF demodulator, or other source. Most PCM signals are stereo, limiting their use to the music or movie modes, as well as Dolby Pro Logic and, of course, Mono +, stereo or mono.

If a digital input and one of the Dolby Digital or DTS modes is selected when there is no Dolby Digital or DTS data present, a warning message will appear. The mode indication in the front panel Information Display will flash (Figure FPD-12), indicating an input to mode mis- match. This will also occur if an analog-only mode (e.g. any Movie or Music mode, or Dolby Pro Logic) is selected

when a digital datastream is present. An alternate mode will be selected by the 2.0’s processing system and the unit will automatically switch to it. The alternate mode name will be displayed in the on-screen message, or it may be seen by pressing the Display button x for a full status report (Figure OSD-18).

DVDVol

Dolby Digital	10
Figure FPD-12

V i d e o	1		V o l
D o l b y	D i g i t a l		1 0
N O A C - 3		I n f o

A l t M o d e : D o l b y P r o L o g i c

Figure OSD-18

To remove the warning messages when they appear simply press the Surround Selectors 4y until the suggested mode is in place.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The 2.0’s automatic processing circuits are constantly examining the digital input signals, and will cause the front panel display’s mode indication to flash as a “No Data” indication when no digital data is present. You may notice this during pause, scan and skip modes in most DVD players even though there is a picture on the screen. This situation is normal and does not indicate a problem with the disc, player or the 2.0. It occurs due to the fact that digital data is only available when the player is running at normal speed.

Depending on the input type (analog, digital AC-3, DTS or PCM) in use and the mode selected, the mode shown in the front panel Information Display may flash when the 2.0 detects other “illegal” input/mode combina- tions. When this occurs, press the Display button x to view the suggested alternate mode.

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