Dolby Surround Settings, Night Mode | Harman-Kardon AVR 254 guide

ADVANCED FUNCTIONS

When in doubt, check the jacket of your DVD for more information on which surround modes are available on the disc. Usually, nonessential sections of the disc, such as trailers, extra materials or the disc menu, are only available in Dolby Digital 2.0 (2-channel) or PCM 2-channel mode. If the main title is playing and the letters in the Speaker/Channel Input Indicators are not lit for all speaker locations, look for an audio or language setup section in the disc’s menu. Also, make sure your DVD player’s audio output is set to the original bitstream rather than just PCM. Check the DVD player’s output setting by stopping play of the disc and checking the DVD player’s menu system.

As indicated in Table A12, different surround modes may only be available with certain input signals or bitstream formats. For any incom- ing signal, only a limited number of surround modes are available. Although there is never a time when all of the AVR 254’s surround modes are available, there is usually a wide variety of modes available for a given input.

To select a surround mode, press the Surround Modes Button (front panel or remote) repeatedly until the desired option appears:

SURR: AUTO SELECT, SURR: VIRTUAL, SURR: STEREO, SURR: MOVIE,

SURR: MUSIC or SURR: GAME. The option will be displayed in the Lower Line of the Message Display, and the Surround Modes menu will appear on screen (see Figure 57). Press the OK Button, and the menu option will move to the Upper Line, while the Lower Line indicates the current mode. Use the ⁄ /¤ Buttons to select a new mode and press the OK Button, then press the Back/Exit Button to return to the previous menu.

Dolby Surround Settings

Some additional settings are available for Dolby modes. Three settings are active only when the Dolby Pro Logic II or IIx Music modes have been selected. See Figure 59.

Panorama: With the Panorama mode turned ON, some of the sound from the front speakers is moved to the surround speakers, creating an enveloping “wraparound” type of effect. Each press of the OK Button toggles the setting on or off.

Night Mode

Night mode is available with some Dolby Digital programs, if it has been encoded in the material. It compresses the peak sound levels, maintain- ing the intelligibility of the dialogue and quieter passages, while reducing the loudness of special effects and louder passages to avoid disturbing others. Night Mode is accessed from the Audio Effects menu. Press the Audio Effects Button and scroll down to the Night Mode line. Three levels of compression are available:

Off: At this setting, there is no compression, as the Night mode is deactivated.

Half: A mild compression is applied.

Full: More compression is applied.

Table A12 provides descriptions of all surround modes available on the AVR 254, along with the incoming bitstreams or signals that the particular mode may be used with. Feel free to experiment and simply cycle through all of the available modes at any time; you cannot cause any problems for the AVR 254 by doing so.

NOTE: To access 6.1- and 7.1-channel modes, such as Dolby Digital EX, DTS-ES, Logic 7 (7.1 modes), DTS Neo:6 (6.1 modes), and 7-channel Stereo, you must enable the surround back channels as explained in the Manual Setup section. You should not enable these channels if you don’t have surround back speakers in your system.

Figure 59 – Dolby Pro Logic II/IIx Music Mode Settings

Center Width: This setting affects how vocals sound through the three front speakers. A higher number (up to 7) focuses the vocal information tightly on the center channel. Lower numbers broaden the vocal sound- stage across the three speakers. Use the ‹ / › Buttons to change the setting.

Dimension: This setting affects the depth of the surround presentation, allowing you to “move” the sound toward the front or rear of the room. The setting of “0” is a neutral default. Setting “F-3” moves the sound mostly toward the front of the room, while setting “R-3” moves the sound mostly toward the rear. Use the ‹ / › Buttons to change the setting.