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12
AVR
Introduction to Home Theater
Introduction to Home Theater
This introductory section will help you to familiarize yourself with some basic concepts
unique to multichannel surround-sound receivers, which will make it easier for you to set
up and operate your AVR.
Typical Home Theater System
A home theater typically includes an audio/video receiver, which controls the system
and supplies amplification for the loudspeakers; a disc player; a source component for
television broadcasts (cable box, satellite dish receiver, HDTV tuner or antenna connected
to the TV); a TV or video display; and multiple loudspeakers.
Multichannel Audio
The main benefit of a home theater system is its ability to produce “surround sound.”
Surround sound uses multiple speakers and amplifier channels to immerse you in the
audio/video presentation for a dramatically increased sense of realism.
Your AVR may have up to seven main speakers connected directly to it, plus a subwoofer.
Each main speaker is powered by its own amplifier channel inside the AVR. A system
with more than two speakers is called a multichannel system. The different main speaker
types in a home theater system are:
sFront Left and Right: The front left and right speakers are used as in a two-channel
system. In many surround-sound modes, these speakers are secondary, while the
main action, especially dialogue, is reproduced by the center speaker.
sCenter: When you are watching movies and television programs, the center speaker
reproduces most of the dialogue and other soundtrack information, anchoring it with
the picture. When you are listening to a musical program, the center speaker helps
to create a seamless front soundstage, creating a realistic “you-are-there” listening
experience.
sSurround Left and Right: The surround left and right speakers produce ambient
sounds that help create a realistic and immersive surround-sound environment.
They also help recreate directional sound effects such as aircraft flyovers.
sSurround Back Left and Right: Surround back channel speakers are used with
surround modes such as the Dolby Digital EX, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS-
ES
®
(Discrete and Matrix), DTS-HD
™
High Resolution Audio, DTS-HD Master Audio
™
and Logic 7
®
7.1 modes that are designed for 7.1-channel systems.
sFront Height Left and Right: Your AVR includes Dolby Pro Logic IIz decoding, which
uses the AVR’s Assigned Amp channels as front height channels. The addition of
front height channels – an additional pair of speakers positioned above the front left
and right speakers – produces a surround-sound experience with added depth and
dimension by creating lifelike sound that comes at you from varying heights.
NOTE: You can set up your system to use either surround back speakers or front height
speakers; you cannot use both.
The surround back channel speakers are optional. If your system does not include
surround back left and right speakers, you can set up your AVR with a 5.1-channel
surround-sound system in the main listening area, and you can reassign the surround
back channel amplifiers to power loudspeakers located in another room in a multizone
system. (Alternately, you can reassign the surround back channel amplifiers to power
front height speakers for use with Dolby Pro Logic IIz. See Manual Speaker Setup, on
page 36, for more information.)
Many people expect the surround speakers to play as loudly as the front speakers.
Although you will calibrate all of the speakers in your system to sound equally loud at the
listening position, most artists use the surround speakers for ambient effects only, and
they create their programs to steer relatively little sound to these speakers.
sSubwoofer: A subwoofer is designed to play only the lowest frequencies (the deep
bass). It augments smaller, limited-range main speakers that are usually used for
the other channels. Many digital-format programs, such as movies recorded in
Dolby Digital, contain a low-frequency effects (LFE) channel that is directed to the
subwoofer. The LFE channel packs the punch of a rumbling train or airplane, or the
power of an explosion, adding realism and excitement to your home theater. Some
people use two subwoofers for additional power and for even distribution of the
sound.
Surround Modes
There are different theories as to the best way to present surround sound and to
distribute each audio channel’s sounds to the surround-sound system’s speakers.
A variety of algorithms have been developed in an effort to recreate the way we hear
sounds in the real world, resulting in a rich variety of options. Several companies
have developed different surround-sound technologies, all of which can be accurately
reproduced by your AVR:
sDolby Laboratories: Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital
EX, Dolby Pro Logic
®
IIx and IIz.
sDTS: DTS-HD High Resolution Audio, DTS-HD Master Audio, DTS, DTS-ES (Discrete
and Matrix), DTS Neo:6
®
, DTS 96/24
™
.
sHARMAN International: Logic 7
®
, HARMAN virtual speaker, HARMAN headphone.
sStereo Modes: Generic modes that expand upon conventional two-channel stereo,
including 5CH and 7CH Stereo.
Appendix Table A12, on page 50, contains detailed explanations of the different surround-
sound options available on your AVR. Digital surround-sound modes, such as the Dolby
Digital and DTS modes, are available only on specially encoded programs, such as those
available via HDTV, DVD and Blu-ray Disc media and digital cable or satellite television.
Other surround modes may be used with digital and analog signals to create a different
surround presentation or to use a different number of speakers. Surround-mode selection
depends upon the number of speakers in your system, the program you are watching or
listening to, and your personal tastes.