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OPERATION
OPERATION 27OPERATION 27
OPTICAL or COAXIAL
inputs, as they
appear in the
Upper Display Line ˜ or on-screen
display. When the digital source is playing, the
AVR 230 will automatically detect which type of digital
data stream is being decoded and display that infor-
mation in the
Upper Display Line ˜.
Digital Bitstream Indications
When a digital source is playing, the AVR 230 senses
the type of bitstream data that is present. Using this
information, the correct surround mode will automati-
cally 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 or LDs, you
may select any of the standard surround modes, such
as Dolby Pro Logic II or Logic 7. Since the range of
available surround modes is dependent on the type of
digital data that is present, the AVR 230 uses a variety
of indicators and messages to let you know what type
of signal is present. These messages will appear shortly
after an input or surround mode is changed, and they
will remain in the
Lower Display Line ¯ for about
five seconds before that portion of the display returns
to the normal surround mode indication.
Surround Mode Types
For Dolby Digital and DTS sources, a three digit indi-
cation 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 bitstreams that have stereo program
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 sur-
round channel signals are present.
• A “2” tells you that separate surround left and right
signals are available. This will be displayed for Dolby
Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1 programs.
• A “1” tells you that there is only a single, surround-
encoded surround channel. This will appear for
Dolby Digital bitstreams 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 whether there is a discrete
low-frequency effects (LFE) channel. This is the “.1” in
the common abbreviation of “5.1” sound and 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 infor-
mation available. However, even when there is no
dedicated LFE channel, low-frequency 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 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 surround 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 pack-
age. In some cases you will see indication for “2/0/0”
even when the disc contains a full 5.1, or 3/2/.1 sig-
nal. When this happens, check the audio output set-
tings for your DVD player or the audio menu selections
for the specific disc being played to make certain that
the player is sending the correct signal to the AVR.
PCM Playback Indications
PCM is the abbreviation for Pulse Code Modulation,
which is the type of digital signal used for standard CD
playback and other non-Dolby Digital and non-DTS
digital sources such as Mini-Disc. When a PCM signal
is detected, the
Lower Display Line ¯ will briefly
show a message with the letters PCM, in addition to a
readout of the sampling frequency of the digital signal.
In most cases this will be
48kHz, though in the
case of specially mastered, high-resolution audio discs
you will see a
96kHz indication.
Again, remember that some 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 230. It is also pos-
sible 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 2.0
audio, while the main feature is available in 5.1 audio.
As long as your DVD player is set for 6-channel out-
put, the AVR 230 will automatically sense changes to
the bitstream and channel count and reflect them in
these indicators.
Speaker/Channel Indicators
In addition to the bitstream indicators, the AVR 230
features a set of unique channel-input indicators that
tell you how many channels of digital information are
being received and/or whether the digital signal is
interrupted. (See Figure 9.)
Figure 9
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
ˆ on the front panel.
When a standard analog 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 two, five, six or
seven 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 let-
ters 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 pro-
grams are encoded for 5.1. Thus, it is sometimes nor-
mal for a DVD with a Dolby Digital soundtrack to trig-
ger only the “L” and “R” indicators.
NOTE: Many DVD discs are recorded with both “5.1”
and “2.0” versions of the same soundtrack. 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 230. It is also possible for the type of
signal feed to change during the course of a DVD
playback. In some cases, the previews of special
material will only be recorded in 2.0 audio, while the
main feature is available in 5.1 audio. The AVR 230
will automatically sense changes to the bitstream and
channel count and reflect them in these indicators.
The letters used by the
Speaker/Channel Input
Indicators
ˆ also flash to indicate when a bitstream