Harman-Kardon AVR 445 Stereo System User Manual


 
OPERATION
OPERATION
37OPERATION
37
OPERATION
When a digital source is first detected, the AVR 445
will display a message to indicate the type of bitstream
being received. It will remain in the
Lower Display
L
ine
$ f
or about 5 seconds before that portion of the
d
isplay returns to the normal surround mode indication.
For Dolby Digital and DTS sources, a numerical indica-
tion (such as
3/2/.1) will appear, showing the
n
umber of channels present in the data.
The first number in the display message 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, Dolby Digital EX and DTS 5.1
or DTS-EX programs.
• A “2” tells you that separate front left and right sig-
nals 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 in the display message indicates
how many discrete surround channel signals are present.
• A “3” tells you that separate, discrete left surround,
center surround and right surround signals are pres-
ent. This is available only on discs with DTS-ES
digital audio.
• 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
infor
mation.
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 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 and DTS
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 a
subwoofer.
The information on the right side of the display will
tell you whether the digital audio data contains a
special flag signal that will automatically activate the
appropriate 6.1 or 7.1 mode. This will be shown as
EX-ON or EX-OFF for Dolby Digital bitstreams and
ES-ON or ES-OFF for DTS bitstreams.
When a 2.0 or 5.1 digital source is playing on a sys-
tem configured for 5.1 operation, you may use Dolby
Digital EX, DTS-ES, Logic 7/7.1or Dolby Pro Logic IIx
t
o add rear channels for full 7.1 sound fields. Note,
however, that the availability of specific modes for
postprocessing is dependent on the format of the
incoming source material. While some combina-
tions (e.g., a Dolby Digital or DTS 5.1 source with
L
ogic 7/7.1or Dolby Pro Logic IIx postprocessing) are
allowable
,
others (e.g., a Dolby Digital 5.1 source with
DTS Neo:6) are not. If you wish to add surround
back channels to a 2.0 or 5.1 source, we recom-
mend that you experiment with the various options to
see which may be available and which are best suited
to your taste and listening environment.
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 an indication 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 specific disc being played to make
certain that the player is sending the correct signal
to the AVR.
NOTE: When an HDMI-equipped video display is in
use, regardless of the type of source and whether or
not it is connected through the AVR 445, it communi-
cates with the source device using a technology called
“EDID” so that the capabilities of the source and dis-
play are properly matched. In some cases, this may
cause configuration problems when the video display
is not capable of handling multichannel audio. In those
cases, it will send a signal back to the source (such as
a DVD player or set-top box), limiting the digital audio
output to two channels, even though a separate digital
audio connection is made to the AVR.
If you encounter a situation in which an HDMI source
and display are in use and a multichannel soundtrack
does not trigger a
“3/2/.1”
message when playback
begins, it may be necessary to change a setting in the
source. In many cases, the setting is called “Audio
Output,” though it may vary from brand to brand.
Change the setting to
“bitstream” or
“original” so that
the digital audio output is returned to the multichannel
data stream. For information about the specific setting
on your source player
, consult the manufacturer. This
is not a problem with the AVR 445, but rather it is a
by-product of HDMI and its associated content
protection systems.
PCM Playback
PCM is the abbreviation for Pulse Code Modulation,
the digital signal format used for standard CD play-
b
ack, and other non-Dolby Digital and non-DTS digital
s
ources such as MiniDisc. When a
P
CM
s
ignal 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
PCM 44.1kHz or
P
CM 48kHz
,
though in the case of specially
mastered, high-resolution audio discs, you will see a
PCM 96kHz indication. Note that the sampling
rate displayed is that of the incoming digital signal, and
not the upsampled rate that may be applied to PCM
sources when Dolby Pro Logic or Dolby Pro Logic II
processing is applied, as shown on page 24.
During PCM playback, you may select any surround
mode except Dolby Digital or DTS/DTS-ES mode.
USB Playback
The AVR 445 is among the very few A/V receivers
capable of direct connection to a computer for audio
playback. Once the AVR is connected, audio streams
and playback are possible through your AVR, with all
the power and performance of the high-current amplifi-
er, your own speakers, and the enhanced multichannel
playback made possible through the use of Logic 7,
Dolby Pro Logic II/IIx or DTS Neo:6 processing.
The AVR 445’s USB connectivity may be used with
PC-compatible computers running either Microsoft
®
Windows
®
2000 with Service Pack 4 or higher
installed, or Windows XP or Windows XP Media
Center Edition with Service Pack 1 or higher installed.
Connect one of the available USB ports on your com-
puter or a USB hub to the USB Port W on the AVR
using a cable with a standard USB plug on one side
and a USB “Mini B” plug on the other side. You may
use an optional cable available at most electronics and
computer stores for this purpose.
In addition, you will need to have a media player
installed on the computer.
The
AVR 445 has been
tested for operation with Windows Media
®
Player
Version 8.0 and above, but it is also compatible with
many other popular players such as iTunes
®
, Winamp
®
and RealPlayer
.
®
In most cases
,
it is best to always
make certain that you have the latest version of the
player installed to ensure the best compatibility.
When the connection between a computer and the
A
VR is made for the first time
,
or if the
USB connection
is plugged into a different USB port on a computer
or
hub that has not been previously connected to the
AVR, you will see a series of pop-up messages from
Windows to indicate that the computer is configuring
itself for the new device. Since the AVR provides a
number of different functions
,
you may see the
“F
ound
New Hardware” message up to four times, one each
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