Harman-Kardon AVR 745 Speaker/Channel Indicators, Night Mode, Important Notes On Digital Playback

29510_AVR745_Engelsk 30/10/06 9:32 Side 49

Operation

•Two options are available for selecting an input source using the TC 30 remote.

■Press the Activities Button 3 to display the list of preprogrammed activities and then press the Screen Button 6 to the left of LISTEN TO USB. This will both select the USB input and change the remote codes so that the buttons will control the media player on your computer.

■To directly select the USB input as a source, first press the Devices Button 4 and then press the Screen Bnutton 6 to the left of AV Receiver. When the next page of options appears in the LCD Screen 7, press the Screen Button 6 to the left of USB.

•To select USB as an input using the ZR 10 remote, press the USB Input Selector D.

When the USB input is selected and the AVR 745 is connected to a compatible computer with one of the media players mentioned above open, you may then use the TC 30 to start and stop playback, as well as move to the next track using either the commands that appear in the LCD Screen 7 in conjunction with presses of the Screen Buttons 6, or the Transport Controls 9. Activity of the Transport buttons may vary from one media player to another, but at the very least you will be able to use the Play and Stop buttons. You may also control the media player on a connected computer using the Transport Controls P on the ZR 10 remote.

Once playback is started, the audio from a USB source is treated the same as any other two- channel audio source, and you may apply any of the appropriate surround processing modes. When playing back audio from a computer via the USB connection, the internal speakers in a laptop computer are often muted.

Speaker/Channel Indicators

In addition to the Bitstream Indicators, the AVR features a set of unique channel-input indi- cators that tell you how many channels of digital information are being received and/or whether the digital signal is interrupted.

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 Ú 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 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 will automatically 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 Ú 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. This is nor- mal, 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 at any time when a Dolby Digital source is playing by pressing the Devices Button 4 on the TC 30, followed by the Screen Button 6 at the top of the row of buttons on the left side of the TC 30, to the left of the AV RECEIVER image on the LCD screen. After the list of options displayed on the LCD Screen 7 changes, press the Page Left/Right Button 8 to display the next page of options, and press the Screen Button 6 to the left of the word NIGHT. Each press of the button will change the Night mode setting, as shown in the lower third of the on-screen display (except when 720p or 1080i sources are in use). To turn the Night mode off, press the button as described until D- RANGE OFF is shown.

The Night mode may also be selected to always be on at either level of compression using the options in the DOLBY SURROUND menu. See page 31 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 Ú will flash. This is nor- mal and does not indicate a problem with either the AVR or the source machine. The AVR 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 will decode virtually all DVD movies, CDs and HDTV sources, it is possible that some future digital sources may not be compatible with the AVR.

ENGLISH

OPERATION 49