Harman-Kardon AVR 135 - Manual (Page 19)

SYSTEM CONFIGURATION 19
System Configuration
As an example, in the Figure below, all speakers
are set for “large,” and a subwoofer is set.
Surround Setup
Once the speaker setup has been completed, the
next step for that input is to set the surround
mode you wish to use with that input. Since sur-
round modes are a matter of personal taste, feel
free to select any mode you wish – you may
change it later. The Surround Mode chart on page
26 may help you select the mode best suited to
the input source selected. For example you may
select Dolby Pro Logic II or Logic 7 for most ana-
log inputs and Dolby Digital for inputs connected
to digital sources. In the case of inputs such as a
CD Player, Tape Deck or Tuner, you may wish to
set the mode to Stereo, if that is your preferred
listening mode for standard stereo sources, where
it is unlikely that surround encoded material will
be used. Alternatively, the 5 Channel Stereo or
Logic 7 Music mode may also be a good choice
for stereo-only source material.
It is easiest to complete the surround setup using
the full-OSD on-screen menus. From the
MASTER menu (Figure 1), press the ⁄ / ¤
buttons D until the ➞ cursor is next to the
SURROUND SELECT menu. Press the
Set Button F so that the
SURROUND
SELECT menu (Figure 5) is on the screen.
Figure 5
Each of the option lines on this menu (Figure 5)
selects the surround mode category, and within
each of those categories there will be a choice of
the specific mode options. The choice of modes
will vary according to the speaker configuration in
your system.
When the SURR BACK line of the
SPEAKER SETUP menu (Figure 4) is set to
NONE the AVR will be configured for 5.1-
channel operation, and only the modes
appropriate to a five-speaker system will appear.
When the SURR BACK line of the
SPEAKER SETUP menu (Figure 4) is set to
SMALL or LARGE the AVR will be configured
for 6.1/7.1-channel operation, and additional
modes such as Dolby Digital EX and DTS-ES will
appear, as they are only available when six main
speakers are present. In addition, the modes DTS
ES (Discrete) and DTS+NEO:6 (DTS ES Matrix)
available in the AVR will not appear unless a
digital source is playing the correct bitstream.
In addition, some of the modes available in the
AVR will not appear unless a digital source is
selected and is playing the correct bitstream.
Remember that when you use only a single, sur-
round back speaker, you will get the benefits of a
6.1/7.1 system, but with only one speaker
installed at the back of the room. The mode indi-
cations will show 7.1 in some cases, but no addi-
tional adjustment is needed for 6.1 operation.
Remember that the AVR 135 will combine the left
and right surround back channel information
present in 7.1 modes such as Logic 7/7.1 and 7-
channel stereo, outputting the information as a
single surround back channel.
Note: When a Dolby Digital or DTS source is
selected and playing, the AVR will select the
appropriate surround mode automatically, no
matter which surround mode was selected for
that input as default. Then no other surround
modes will be available, except VMAx with Dolby
Digital recordings and all Pro Logic II modes with
Dolby Digital 2 channel (2.0) recordings (see page
27).
To select the mode that will be used as the initial
default for an input, first press the
⁄ / ¤ buttons
D until the on-screen cursor is next to the
desired mode’s master category name. Next, press
the Set Button
F to view the sub-menu. Press
the ‹ / › Buttons Ea to scroll through the
available choices, and then press the ¤ Button
D so that the cursor is next to
BACK TO
MASTER MENU to continue the setup process.
On the Dolby menu (Figure 6), the selection
choices include Dolby Digital, Dolby Pro Logic II
Music, Dolby Pro Logic II Cinema, Dolby Pro Logic
II and Dolby 3 Stereo. The Dolby Digital EX mode
is only available when the system is set for
6.1/7.1 operation by configuring the Surround
Back speakers to “Small” or “Large” as described
on page 21. When a disc is playing that contains
a special “flag” signal in the digital audio data
stream, the EX mode will be selected automati-
cally. It may also be selected using this menu or
through the front panel or remote controls as
shown on page 26. A complete explanation of
these modes is found on Page 23-24. Note that
when the Dolby Digital mode is selected there are
additional settings available for the Night mode
that are associated with the surround mode only,
not with the input. That´s why these settings must
be made only once, not with each input in use.
They are described later in the next main chapter
(see below).
Night Mode Settings
The Night mode is a feature of Dolby Digital that
uses special processing to preserve the dynamic
range and full intelligibility of a movie sound track
while reducing the peak level. This prevents
abruptly loud transitions from disturbing others,
without reducing the sonic impact of a digital
source. Note that the Night mode is only available
when the Dolby Digital surround mode is selected.
To adjust the Night mode setting from the menu
press the OSD Button
L so that the
MASTER menu appears. Then press the ¤ but-
ton D to access the
AUDIO SETUP and
press Set F to select the
SURROUND
SETUP menu. Press Set F to select the
DOLBY menu (see fig. 6).
Figure 6
To adjust the Night mode setting, make certain
that the
➞ cursor is on the NIGHT line of the
DOLBY menu. Next, press ‹ / › Buttons
Ea to choose between the following set-
tings.
OFF : When OFF is highlighted, the Night mode
will not function.
MID : When MID is in the highlighted video,
a mild compression will be applied.
MAX : When MAX is in the highlighted video,
a more severe compression algorithm will be
applied.
When you want to use the Night mode feature,
we recommend that you select the MID setting as
a starting point and change to the MAX setting
later, if desired.
Note that the Night mode may be adjusted direct-
ly any time that Dolby Digital surround mode is
selected by pressing the Night button
B. When
the button is pressed, the words
D-RANGE followed by the current setting
( MID , MAX , OFF ) will appear in the lower
third of the video screen and in the Main In-
formation Display ˜. Press the
⁄ / ¤ buttons
D within five seconds to select the desired set-
ting, then press Set
F to confirm the setting.