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OPERATION
When one of the Dolby Pro Logic II Music modes is selected, access to the
Edit submenu becomes available. This submenu may be used to adjust
special settings available only in Music mode: Center Width, Dimension and
Panorama.
Once you have programmed the default surround mode for each type of
program, simply select the line from the Surround Modes menu any time you
wish to override the AVR’s automatic surround mode selection. The AVR will
use the same surround mode the next time the source input is selected.
NOTE
: Dolby Digital 2.0 signals may also include a Dolby Surround flag
indicating DS-ON or DS-OFF, depending on whether the 2-channel bitstream
contains only stereo information, or a downmix of a multichannel program
that can be decoded by the Dolby Pro Logic decoder in the AVR. By default,
these signals are played in Dolby Pro Logic IIx Movie mode, but you may
select another Dolby surround mode manually.
Surround Modes
Surround mode selection is dependent upon the format of the incoming
audio signal, as well as personal taste. There is no harm in experimenting
with all of the modes available with any given source material. Information
about the Dolby and DTS modes is available on the companies’ Web sites:
www.dolby.com and www.dtsonline.com.
When in doubt, check the jacket of your DVD for more information on which
surround modes are available on the disc. Usually, nonessential sections of
the disc, such as trailers, extra materials or the disc menu, are only available
in Dolby Digital 2.0 (2-channel) or PCM 2-channel mode. If the main title is
playing and the letters in the Speaker/Channel Input Indicators are not lit for
all speaker locations, look for an audio or language setup section in the disc’s
menu. Also, make sure your DVD player’s audio output is set to the original
bitstream rather than just PCM. Check the DVD player’s output setting by
stopping play of the disc and checking the DVD player’s menu system.
Different surround modes may only be available with certain input signals
or bitstream formats. For any incoming signal, only a limited number of
surround modes are available. Although there is never a time when all of the
AVR 260’s surround modes are available, there is usually a wide variety of
modes available for a given input.
To select a surround mode, press the Surround Modes Button
R
8
, select
either Auto Select - AVR Selects Best Mode, or move the blue line to the other
options: Virtual Surround, Stereo, Movie, Music and Video Game. Each of these
5 options permit several selections, accessed by pressing the OK Button (See
Figure 14).
Dolby Surround Settings
Some additional settings are available for Dolby modes. Three settings
are active only when the Dolby Pro Logic II or IIx Music modes have been
selected. See Figure 15.
Figure 15 – Dolby Pro Logic II/IIx Music
Mode Settings
Center Width
: This setting affects how vocals sound through the three
front speakers. A higher number (up to 7) focuses the vocal information
tightly on the center channel. Lower numbers broaden the vocal soundstage
across the three speakers. Use the
M N
Buttons to change the setting.
Dimension
: This setting affects the depth of the surround presentation,
allowing you to “move” the sound toward the front or rear of the room. The
setting of “0” is a neutral default. Setting “F-3” moves the sound mostly
toward the front of the room, while setting “R-3” moves the sound mostly
toward the rear. Use the
M N
Buttons to change the setting.
Panorama
: With the Panorama mode turned ON, some of the sound from
the front speakers is moved to the surround speakers, creating an enveloping
“wraparound” type of effect. Each press of the OK Button toggles the setting
on or off.
Night Mode
Night mode is available with some Dolby Digital programs, if it has been
encoded in the material. It compresses the peak sound levels, maintaining
the intelligibility of the dialogue and quieter passages, while reducing the
loudness of special effects and louder passages to avoid disturbing others.
Night Mode is accessed from the Audio Effects menu. Press the Audio Effects
Button and scroll down to the Night Mode line. Three levels of compression
are available:
Off
: At this setting, there is no compression, as the Night mode is
deactivated.
Half
: A mild compression is applied.
Full
: More compression is applied.
Feel free to experiment and simply cycle through all of the available surround
modes at any time; you cannot cause any problems for the AVR 260 by doing
so.
Note
: To access 6.1- and 7.1-channel modes, such as Dolby Digital EX, DTS-
ES, Logic 7 (7.1 modes), DTS Neo:6 (6.1 modes), and 7-channel Stereo, you
must enable the surround back channels as explained in the Manual Setup
section. You should not enable these channels if you don’t have surround back
speakers in your system.