Harman-Kardon AVR 430 owner manual Operation, Selecting a Digital Source, to the AVR PCM Playback

OPERATION

owner’s manual for your DVD player for more informa- tion on making these settings.

Selecting a Digital Source

To utilize either digital mode, you must have properly connected a digital source to the AVR 430. Connect the digital outputs from DVD players, HDTV receivers, satellite systems or CD players to the Optical or Coaxial Inputs JK 33 36 . In order to provide a backup signal and a source for analog stereo recording, the analog outputs provided on digital source equipment should also be connected to their appropriate inputs on the AVR 430 rear panel (e.g., connect the analog stereo audio output from a DVD to the DVD Audio Inputs 32 on the rear panel when you connect the source’s digital outputs).

If you have not already configured an input for a digital source using the on-screen menus as shown on page 21, first select the input using the remote or front panel controls, as outlined in this manual. Next, select the digital source by pressing the Digital Select Button pF and then using the ⁄/¤ Navigation Button o on the remote or the ‹/› Button H on the front panel to choose any of the OPTICAL or COAXIAL inputs, as they appear in the Upper Display Line # or on-screen display. When the digital source is playing, the

AVR 430 will automatically detect which type of digital data stream is being decoded and display that infor- mation in the Upper Display Line #.

When both a digital and an analog connection are made between a source device and the AVR, the digi- tal input is the default. If the digital stream is not pres- ent or is interrupted, the unit will automatically switch over to the analog inputs for the selected source.

Digital Bitstream and Surround Mode Indications

When a digital source is playing, the AVR 430 senses the type of bitstream data that is present. Using this information, the correct surround mode will automati- cally be selected. For example, DTS bitstreams 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 or LDs, you may select any of the standard surround modes, such as Dolby Pro Logic II or Logic 7. Since the range of available surround modes is dependent on the type of digital data that is present, the AVR 430 shows you what type of signal is present. This will help you to understand the choice of modes.

When a digital source is first detected, the AVR 430 will display a message to indicate the type of bitstream being received. This message will appear shortly after an input or surround mode is changed, and will remain in the Lower Display Line $ for about five seconds before that portion of the display returns to the normal surround mode indication.

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 in the display message 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 sig- nals are available, but there is no discrete center channel signal. This will be displayed for Dolby Digital bitstreams 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 in the display message indicates how many discrete surround channel signals are present.

•A "3" tells you that separate, discrete left surround, center surround and right surround signals are pres- ent. This is available only on discs with DTS-ES digital audio.

•A “2” tells you that separate surround left and right signals are available. This will be displayed for Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1 programs.

•A “1” tells you that there is only a single, surround- encoded surround channel. This will appear for Dolby Digital bitstreams that have matrix encoding.

•A “0” indicates that there is no surround channel information. This will be displayed for two-channel stereo programs.

The last number indicates whether 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 frequencies.

•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 infor- mation available. However, even when there is no dedicated LFE channel, low-frequency sound will be present at the subwoofer output when the speaker configuration is set to show the presence of a 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 appro- priate 6.1 or 7.1 mode. This will be shown as EX-ON or EX-OFF for Dolby Digital bitstreams and ES-ON or ES-OFF for DTS bitstreams.

When Dolby Digital 3/2/.1 or DTS or DTS-ES signals are being played, the AVR will automatically switch to the proper surround mode, and no other processing may be selected. When a Dolby Digital signal with a 3/1/0 or 2/0/0 signal is detected, you may select any of the Dolby surround modes.

It is always a good idea to check the readout for the channel data to make certain that it matches the audio logo information shown on the back of a DVD pack- age. In some cases, you will see an indication for “2/0/0” even when the disc contains a full 5.1, or 3/2/.1, signal. When this happens, check the audio output settings for your DVD player or the audio menu selections for the specific disc being played to make certain that the player is sending the correct signal

to the AVR.

PCM Playback

PCM is the abbreviation for Pulse Code Modulation, which is the type of digital signal used for standard CD playback, and other non-Dolby Digital and non-DTS digital sources such as Mini-Disc. When a PCM signal is detected, the Lower Display Line $ will briefly show a message with the letters PCM, in addition to a readout of the sampling frequency of the digital signal.

In most cases, this will be PCM 44.1kHz or PCM 48kHz, though in the case of specially mastered, high-resolution audio discs, you will see a PCM 96kHz indication. Note that the sampling rate displayed is that of the incoming digital signal, and not the upsampled rate that may be applied to PCM sources when Dolby Pro Logic or Pro Logic II pro- cessing is applied, as shown on page 21.

During PCM playback you may select any surround mode except one of the Dolby Digital or DTS/DTS-ES modes. However, when a CD with HDCD encoding is being played you must select the Surround Off (stereo) mode to take advantage of the HDCD process.

Speaker/Channel Indicators

In addition to the bitstream indicators, the AVR 430 features a set of unique channel-input indicators that tell you how many channels of digital information are being received and/or whether the digital signal is interrupted (see Figure 14).

Figure 14

32 OPERATION