Operation
When the digital source is playing, the AVR will automatically detect whether it is a multichannel Dolby Digital or DTS source or a conventional PCM signal, which is the standard output from CD players.
Note that a digital input (e.g. coaxial) remains associated with any analog input (e.g. DVD) as soon as it is selected, thus the digital input need not be
Digital Bitstream Indicators
When a digital source is playing, the AVR senses the type of bitstream data that is present. Using this information, the correct surround mode will automatically be selected. For example, DTS bit- streams will cause the unit to switch to DTS decoding, and Dolby Digital bitstreams will enable Dolby Digital decoding. When the unit senses PCM data, from CDs and LDs and some music DVDs or certain tracks on normal DVDs, it will allow the appropriate surround mode to be selected manually. Since the range of available surround modes depends on the type of digital data that is present, the AVR uses a variety of indicators to let you know what type of signal is present. This will help you to understand the choice of modes and the input channels recorded on the disc.
When a digital source is playing, the AVR will display a variety of messages to indicate the type of bitstream received. These messages will appear shortly after an input or surround mode is changed, and will remain in the Main Information Display Ò for about five seconds before the display returns to the normal surround mode indication.
Surround Mode Types
For Dolby Digital and DTS sources, a three digit indication will appear, showing the number of channels present in the data. An example of this type of display is 3/2/.1.
The first number indicates how many discrete front channel signals are present.
•A 3 tells you that separate front left, center and front right signals are available. This will be displayed for Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1 programs.
•A 2 tells you that separate front left and right signals are available, but there is no discrete center channel signal. This will be displayed for Dolby Digital bit streams that have stereo program material.
•A 1 tells you that there is only a mono channel available in the Dolby Digital bitstream.
The middle number indicates how many discrete surround channel signals are present.
•A 2 tells you that separate surround left and right signals are available. This will be dis- played for Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1 pro- grams.
•A 1 tells you that there is only a single, sur- round encoded surround channel. This will appear for Dolby Digital bit streams that have matrix encoding.
•A 0 indicates that there is no surround chan- nel information. This will be displayed for two- channel stereo programs.
The last number indicates if there is a discrete Low Frequency Effects (LFE) channel. This is the “.1” in the common abbreviation of “5.1” sound and it is a special channel that contains only bass frequen- cies.
•A .1 tells you that an LFE channel is present. This will be displayed for Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1 programs, as available.
•A 0 indicates that there is no LFE channel information available. However, even when there is no dedicated LFE channel, low fre- quency sound will be present at the subwoofer output when the speaker configuration is set to show the presence of subwoofer.
•The information in the right side of the display will tell you if the digital audio data contains a special flag signal that will automatically activate the appropriate 6.1 or 7.1 mode. This will be shown as
An UNLOCK message may appear in the Lower Display Line Ò. This is your indication that the digital audio data stream has been interrupted or is no longer present. When that occurs, the unit’s digital signal processor has no signal to lock onto, and is thus “unlocked.” You may see this message when a DVD is first start- ed until the stream is playing and the processor determines which mode to apply; or any time the data stream is stopped or paused, such as when the menus of some discs are displayed or when the player is switching between the different sections of a disc. You may also see the message when a satellite receiver, cable
For incoming Dolby Digital signals, the following modes are available:
Incoming Bitstream | Available Surround Modes |
Dolby Digital 1/0/.0 or 1/0/.1 Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Stereo, Dolby Virtual Speaker Reference (2 Speaker), Dolby Virtual Speaker Wide (2 Speaker)
Dolby Digital 2/0/.0 or 2/0/.1 Dolby Pro Logic II (Movie, Music or Game), Dolby Pro Logic, Dolby Digital, Dolby Virtual Speaker Reference (2 or 3 Speaker),
Dolby Virtual Speaker Wide (2, 3, 4 or 5 Speaker), Dolby Pro Logic IIx (Movie, Music or Game)
Dolby Digital 3/0/.0 or 3/0/.1 Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Stereo, Dolby Virtual Speaker Reference (2 or 3 Speaker), Dolby Virtual Speaker Wide (2 or 3 Speaker)
Dolby Digital 2/1/.0 or 2/1/.1 Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Stereo, Dolby Virtual Speaker Reference (2 or 3 Speaker), Dolby Virtual Speaker Wide (2, 3, 4 or 5 Speaker)
Dolby Digital 2/2/.0 or 2/2/.1 Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Stereo, Dolby Virtual Speaker Reference (2 Speaker), Dolby Virtual Speaker Wide (2 or 4 Speaker), Dolby Digital EX1, Dolby Pro Logic IIx1 (Movie or Music)
Dolby Digital 3/2/.0, 3/2/.1 Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Stereo, Dolby Virtual Speaker Reference (2 or 3 Speaker), Dolby Virtual Speaker Wide (2, 3, 4 or 5 Speaker), or EX Dolby Digital EX1, Dolby Pro Logic IIx1 (Movie or Music)
42OPERATION
