OPERATION 23
Operation
Connections may be made to the
Optical
or
Coaxial
inputs
on the rear panel or front
panel
ıˆ
.
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 analog audio signal for recording.
Next press the
Digital Select
button
Ò
F
and then use the
⁄
/
¤
buttons
C
on the
remote, or the
Selector
buttons
5
on the front
panel, until the desired choice appears in the
Main Information Display
Ú
, then press the
Set
button
Ó
E
to confirm the choice.
When a PCM source is playing, a brief message
PCM will appear in the
Main Information
Display
Ú
. During PCM playback you may
select any surround mode as described on pages
21 and 22 except Dolby Digital or DTS.
Selecting a Digital Source
To utilize either digital mode you must have
properly connected a digital source to the
AVR. Connect the digital outputs from DVD play-
ers, HDTV receivers, satellite systems or CD play-
ers to the
Optical
or
Coaxial
inputs on the rear
or front panel
ıˆ
. 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
inputs
on the rear
panel when you connect the source’s digital
outputs).
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. When the digital input appropriate with the
DVD player is not selected automatically (due to
the input settings made earlier during the system
configuration, see page 15), select the digital
source by pressing the
Digital Input Selector
button
F
Ò
and then using the
⁄
/
¤
buttons
C
on the remote or the
Selector
buttons
5
on the front panel to choose any of the
OPTICAL
( O P T )
or
COAXIAL
(COAX)
inputs, as they appear in the
Main
Information Display
Ú
. When the digital
source is playing, the AVR will automatically
detect whether it is a multichannel Dolby Digital,
DTS source or a conventional PCM signal, which
is the standard output from CD players.
Digital Status 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
selected 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.
When a digital source is playing, the AVR will
display a variety of messages to indicate the type
of bitstream received. These messages will
appear shortly after an input or surround mode is
changed, and will remain in the
Main
Information Display
Ú
for about five
seconds before the display returns to the normal
surround mode indication.
Surround Mode Types
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 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
signals are available, but there is no discrete
center channel signal. This will be displayed for
Dolby Digital bit streams that have stereo pro-
gram material.
• A 1 tells you that there is only a mono channel
available in the Dolby Digital bitstream.
The middle number indicates how many discrete
surround channel signals are present.
• A 2 tells you that separate surround left and
right signals are available. This will be dis-
played for Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1 pro-
grams.
• A 1 tells you that there is only a single, sur-
round encoded surround channel. This will
appear for Dolby Digital bit streams 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 if 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
information available. However, even when
there is no dedicated LFE channel, low fre-
quency sound will be present at the subwoofer
output when the speaker configuration is set to
show the presence of subwoofer.
When Dolby Digital 3/2/.1 or DTS 3/2/.1 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 sur-
round 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 package. In some cases you will see indi-
cation 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 spe-
cific disc being played to make certain that the
player is sending the correct signal to the AVR.
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 if 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
in the
front panel
¯
. 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 infor-
mation on the left and right channels only.
Digital signals, however, may have one to six sep-
arate channels, depending on the program mate-
rial, 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 DVD or audio tracks selected on
DVD or other Dolby Digital programs are encod-
ed for 5.1. Thus, it is sometimes normal for a
DVD with a Dolby Digital soundtrack to trigger
e.g. only the “L” and “R” indicators.
