•The digital audio input signal may be either optical or coaxial, but the signal must be in the MP3 SPDIF format. Direct connection of USB or serial data outputs is not possible, even though the signals are in the MP3 format. If you have any questions about the data output format from your computer or a sound card, check with the device’s Owner’s Manual or contact the manufac- turer’s technical support area.
•If your computer or sound card’s digital output is not capable of direct connection to the AVR or if the output is not capable of delivering MP3 data stream, you may use an optional, external transcoder, such as those available from Harman Kardon (DAL 150) to convert the USB output of a computer to a format compatible with the AVR. Contact your Harman Kardon dealer for addition- al details.
•Due to the wide variation in MP3 formats and encoding speeds, it is possible that the AVR may not be compatible with all MP3 input signals.
Some may produce unacceptable results and some may not be decoded. This is not a fault of either the computer or the AVR, but rather a by-product of the unpredictable nature of MP3 playback.
Selecting a Digital Source
To utilize either digital mode you must have prop- erly connected a digital source to the AVR. Connect the digital outputs from DVD players, HDTV receivers, satellite systems or CD players to the Optical or Coaxial inputs on the rear or front panel *Ó. 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 rear panel (e.g., connect the analog stereo audio output from a DVD to the DVD Audio inputs on the rear panel when you connect the source’s digital outputs).
To select a digital source such as DVD, first select its input using the remote or front panel Input Selector 4%as outlined in this manual in order to feed its video signal (if any) to the TV monitor and to provide its analog audio signal for recording. When the digital input associated with the input selected (e.g. “DVD”) is not selected automatically (due to the input settings made earlier during the system configuration, see page 21), select the digital source by pressing the Digital Input Selector button GÛand then using the ⁄/¤ buttons Don the remote or the Selector buttons 7$on the front panel to choose any of the OPTICAL or COAXIAL inputs, as they appear in the Main Information Display ˆ, or on-screen display. To confirm the selection press the Set Button Fon the remote.
When the digital source is playing, the AVR will automatically detect which type of digital data stream is being decoded and display that infor- mation in the Main Information Display ˆ and/or with the Surround Mode/Bitstream Indicators ¯ (see below).
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 needs not be re-selected each time the appropriate input choice (e.g. DVD) is made.
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 select- ed 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.
To help you see which type of digital source is playing, the Surround Mode Indicators ¯ also serve as bitstream indications to show which type of bitstream present, as well as the surround mode in use, if applicable.
Dolby Digital: When the green LED next to the Dolby Digital logo is lit, a Dolby Digital bitstream is being received. Depending on the audio track selected on the source player and number of channels on the disc, different surround modes are possible. Note that only one channel without subwoofer, called ”1.0” audio, or all five chan- nels with subwoofer (”5.1” audio) or all steps between can be encoded on Dolby Digital audio tracks.. With all those tracks, except ”2.0” audio, only the Dolby Digital and VMAx modes are avail- able. With all Dolby Digital tracks you can add the THX processing as described on page 33, than the LED next to the THX or THX Surr EX logo (depending on 5.1 or 6.1/7.1 setup and on chan- nels encoded) will light as well.
When the Dolby Digital signal is only two channel (”2.0”) these two channels (l and r) often con- tain Pro Logic surround informations. With those tracks the AVR automatically switches to the Dolby Pro Logic II Movie mode (in addition to the Dolby Digital mode), but you may also select the Vmax mode. When the D.D. 2.0 signal contains no Pro Logic information, the pure Dolby Digital mode will be selected automatically, but you may also select any Pro Logic II mode (only Music or Emulation should be used then) or any Vmax mode. When the Pro Logic II Mode was selected with Dolby Digital tracks (automatically or manu- ally) the green LED next to the Dolby Pro Logic II Indicator ¯ will light (together with the Dolby Digital LED).
DTS: When the green LED next to the DTS logo lights, a DTS bitstream is being received. When the unit senses this type of data, only the applicable DTS mode may be used. But you may add the THX processing as described on page 33, than the LED next to the THX or THX Surr EX logo (depending on 5.1 or 6.1/7.1 configuration) will light as well.
PCM: When the green LED next to the word DIGI- TAL is lit, a standard Pulse Code Modulation, or PCM, signal is being received. This is the type of digital audio used by conventional compact disc and laser disc recordings. When a PCM bitstream is present, all modes except Dolby Digital and DTS are available.
HDCD: When the green LED next to the letters HDCD is lit the CD that is playing is encoded using the special High Definition Compatible Digital® process. HDCD® discs use 20-bit encod- ing and other proprietary processing to provide the ultimate in CD listening. Note that HDCD pro- cessing is only available in the Stereo (Surround Off) mode.
MP3: When the green LED next to MP3 is lit, a compatible MPEG 1/Layer 3 digital signal is being received. This is the popular audio format used by many computer programs for recording com- pressed audio files. When an MP3 bitstream is present, the sound will automatically be played in the stereo (Surround Off) mode. The surround modes are not available during MP3 playback.
Note that there are many different forms of MP3 encoding available and the format is used at a number of different bit rates. The AVR 8500 may not be compatible with all forms of MP3, particularly when the data file is encoded above 128 kb/s.
