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26
Surround modes are selected using either
the front-panel controls or the remote. To
select a surround mode from the front
panel, repeatedly press the
Surround
Mode Selector
7
to scroll through the
list of available modes. To select a sur-
round mode using the remote, press the
Surround Mode Selector
9
, and then
press the
⁄
/
¤
Buttons
C
to change
the mode. As you press the buttons, the
Surround mode name will appear in the
Main Information Display
K
, and an
individual mode indicator will also light
up
C D F H I
. Any time a sur-
round mode is changed, it remains
associated with the input just selected
until another choice is made.
NOTE: The name of each Surround Mode
will scroll through the
Main Information
Display
K
while the modes are being
selected. To avoid exiting from the sur-
round mode selection process, be certain
to push the
⁄
/
¤
Buttons
C
while a
mode name is still visible.
Note that the Dolby Digital or DTS modes
may only be selected when a digital input
is in use. In addition, when a digital
source is present, the AVR480 will auto-
matically select and switch to the correct
mode (Dolby Digital or DTS), regardless
of the mode that has been previously
selected. For more information on select-
ing digital sources, see the following sec-
tion of this manual.
To listen to a program in traditional two-
channel stereo, using the front left and
front right speakers only (plus the sub-
woofer if installed and configured), follow
the instructions shown above for using
the remote until
SURR OFF appears in
the
Main Information Display
K
.
Digital Audio Playback
Digital audio is a major advancement
over older analog matrix surround sys-
tems. It delivers five discrete channels:
left front, center, right front, left surround
and right surround. Each channel repro-
duces full frequency range (20Hz to
20kHz) and offers dramatically improved
dynamic range and significant improve-
ments to signal-to-noise ratios. In addi-
tion, digital systems have the capability
to deliver an additional channel that is
specifically devoted to low-frequency
information. This is the “.1” channel
referred to when you see these systems
descibed as “5.1.” The bass channel is
separate from the other channels, but
since it is intentionally bandwidth-limited,
sound designers have given it that unique
designation.
Dolby Digital
Dolby Digital (originally known as AC-3
®
)
is a standard part of DVD, and is avail-
able on specially encoded LD discs and
satellite broadcasts and it is a part of
the new high-definition television
(HDTV) system.
Note that an optional, external RF
demodulator is required to use the
AVR480 to listen to the Dolby Digital
soundtracks available on laser discs.
Connect the RF output of the LD player
to the demodulator and then connect
the digital output of the demodulator to
the
Optical or Coaxial Input
12
of
the AVR480. No demodulator is required
for use with DVD players or DTS-encoded
laser discs.
DTS
DTS is another digital audio system
that is capable of delivering 5.1 audio.
Although both DTS and Dolby Digital are
digital, they use different methods of
encoding the signals, and thus they
require different decoding circuits to con-
vert the digital signals back to analog.
DTS-encoded soundtracks are available
on select DVD and LD discs, as well as
on special audio-only DTS CDs. You may
use any LD, DVD or CD player equipped
with a digital output to play DTS-encoded
special audio-only CDs with the AVR480,
but DTS-LDs can be played on LD players
and DTS-DVDs on DVD players only. All
that is required is to connect the player’s
output to either the
Optical or Coaxial
Input
12
on the rear panel.