Operation, Digital audio playback – Harman-Kardon AVR45 User Manual

Page 27

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Operation

Surround modes are selected using either
the front panel controls or the remote. To
select a surround mode from the front
panel, simply press the button that corre-
sponds to the desired mode

( У Ф

. To select a surround mode using the

remote, press the

Surround Mode

Selector

y

, and then press the

/

¤

buttons

g

to change the mode. As

you press the buttons, the surround
mode name will appear in the

Main

Information Display

S

, and an

individulal mode indicator will also
light up

D

/

F

/

J

.

Note that the Dolby Digital Mode may
only be selected when a Dolby Digital
source is playing. For more information
on Dolby Digital, see the following section
of this manual.

To listen to a program in traditional two-
channel stereo, using the front left and
front right speakers only (plus the sub-
woofer if installed and configured), press
the

Surround Off

button

Ú

on the

front panel, or follow the insturctions
shown above for using the remote until

SURR OFF

appears in the

Main

Information Display

S

. When the

AVR45’s surround circuits are turned off,
and it is in the Stereo mode, the

BYPASS

indicator

B

will illuminate in the

Information Display

˝

.

Digital Audio Playback

Dolby Digital
Dolby Digital (also known as AC-3) is the
latest advancement in surround-sound
technology, delivering up to five full-
range surround channels (left, center,
right, left surround and right surround)
plus a special dedicated Low-Frequency
Effects (LFE) channel. This represents a
major advancement over traditional
analog surround in that each surround
channel is fully discrete and capable of
full bandwidth reproduction. Dolby
Digital is available on DVD and LV discs,
and it will be a part of the new high-
definition television (HDTV) system
when digital broadcasting begins in
1998. Dolby Digital for the home is based
on the same system used to deliver digital
audio sound tracks in movie theaters,
enabling true cinema reproduction in
your home.

To utilize the Dolby Digital mode you
must have a digital source properly
connected to the AVR45. Connect the
Digital datastream outputs from DVD
players, HDTV receivers and CD players to
the

AC-3/PCM Coaxial

or

Optical

inputs on the rear panel

° ·

. In order

to provide a backup signal and a source
for recording, the analog outputs provid-
ed on digital source equipment should
also be connected to their appropriate
inputs on the AVR45 rear panel (e.g.,
connect the analog stereo audio output
from a DVD to the

DVD

inputs

on

the rear panel when you connect the
digital outputs.)

When playing back a digital source, first
select the input using the remote or front
panel controls as outlined above. Next
select the digital source by pressing the
appropriate

Digital Input

button

w

ˆ

and then using the

/

¤

buttons

g

on the remote or the

Selector

buttons

¸

on the front panel to choose either

COAXIAL

or

OPTICAL

, as it appears

in the

Main Information Display

S

.

Press the

Set

button

i ˜

to enter the

desired choice. When the digital source is
playing, the AVR45 will automatically
detect if it is a multichannel Dolby
Digital source or a conventional PCM
signal, which is the standard output from
CD players. An indicator will light in the
Information Display to confirm the digi-
tal signal is

AC-3

H

or

PCM

I

and if

the source is

OPTICAL

E

or

COAX

G

.

When an AC-3 source is playing, the
AVR45 will automatically switch to the
Dolby Digital surround mode. It is impor-
tant to note, however, that not all AC-3
sources are encoded with the full comple-
ment of five channels plus LFE. When a
digital source is playing, the

Main

Information Display

S

will change to

show the input source and digital type
(

OPTICAL

or

COAX

). When a source with

Dolby Digital encoding is playing, the
input source name will appear in the
Information Display, followed by a
numeric key to the type and number
of channels being decoded as follows:

24

AVR45 om (G).Eng,Fr 4/16/99 11:41 AM Page 24

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