JBL AVR480 manual Selecting a Digital Source, Digital Status Indicators, PCM Audio Playback

PCM Audio Playback

PCM (Pulse Code Modulation) is the non- compressed digital audio system used for compact discs, non-Dolby Digital/DTS laserdiscs and some special PCM- encoded DVDs. The digital circuits in the AVR480 are capable of high-quality digital-to-analog decoding, and they may be connected directly to the digital audio output of your CD/DVD or LD player

(LD only for PCM or DTS programs; for Dolby Digital laserdiscs, an RF adapter is needed; see “Dolby Digital” above).

Connections may be made to either the

Optical or Coaxial Input on the rear panel.

To listen to a PCM digital source, first select the input for the desired source (e.g., CD) to feed its video signal (if any) to the TV monitor and to provide its ana- log audio signal for recording. Next, press the Digital Select Button *F and then use the ⁄ / ¤ Buttons C on the remote, or the Selector Buttons % on the front panel, until the desired choice

appears in the Main Information

Display K, then press the Set Button E^ to confirm the choice.

When a PCM source is playing, the PCM Indicator A will light. During PCM playback you may select any surround mode (as described on page 28) except Dolby Digital or DTS.

Selecting a Digital Source

To utilize either digital mode, you must have properly connected a digital source to the AVR480. Connect the digital out- puts from DVD players, HDTV receivers, satellite systems or CD players to the

Optical or Coaxial Input on the rear panel.

When playing a digital source such as DVD, first select its input using the remote or front-panel controls 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 record- ing. If necessary, select the digital input by pressing the Digital Input Selector Button F * and then using the ⁄/¤ Buttons C on the remote or the Selector Buttons % on the front panel to choose any of the OPTICAL or COAXIAL inputs, as they appear in the Main Information Display K and Display Indicators BE. When the digital source is playing, the AVR480 will automatically detect whether it is a mul- tichannel Dolby Digital or DTS source, or

a conventional PCM signal, which is the standard output from CD players. A Bitstream Indicator A will light in the Main Information Display ( to confirm that the digital signal is Dolby Digital, DTS or PCM. 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 reselected each time the appropriate source input choice (e.g., DVD) is made.

Digital Status Indicators

When a digital source is playing, the AVR480 senses the type of bitstream data that is present. Using this information, the correct surround mode will automatically 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 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 AVR480 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, a Bitstream Indicator A will light to show which type of signal is playing:

D: When the Dolby D A indicator lights, 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 sur- round modes are possible. Note that only one channel without subwoofer, called ”1.0” audio, or all five channels with sub- woofer (”5.1” audio) or all steps between can be recorded on digital surround- encoded audio tracks (see NOTES on page 29). With all those tracks, except ”2.0” audio, only the Dolby Digital mode is available. When the Dolby Digital sig- nal is only two-channel (”2.0”), these two channels (l and r) often contain Pro Logic surround informations. With those tracks the AVR480 automatically switches to the Dolby Pro Logic II Movie mode (the Dolby Digital Indicator D will also remain lit). When the D.D. 2.0 signal contains no Pro Logic information, the Dolby Digital mode will be selected automatically, but you may also select any Pro Logic II mode

(only Music or Pro Logic should be used then).

DTS: When the DTS Indicator A lights, a DTS bitstream is being received. When the unit senses this type of data, only the DTS mode is available.

PCM: When the PCM Indicator A lights, a standard Pulse Code Modulation, or PCM, signal is being received. This is the type of digital audio used by conven- tional compact disc and laser disc record- ings. When a PCM bitstream is present, all modes except Dolby Digital and DTS are available. Note that the PCM signal format can be selected on the DVD player with any audio track, even with Dolby Digital tracks (but not with Dolby Digital decoding). So, if selected, even ”2.0” D.D. audio tracks can be played with all sur- round modes.

In addition to the Bitstream Indicators A, the AVR480 features a set of unique channel input indicators that tell you how many channels of digital information are being received and whether the digital signal is interrupted.

These indicators are the L/C/R/SL/SR/LFE letters that are inside the center boxes of the Speaker/Channel Input Indicators

Nin 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, respectively; even surround recordings carry surround information on the left and right channels only.

Digital signals, however, may have one to six separate channels, depending on the program material, the method of trans- mission 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 DVD 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.

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