Harman Kardon AVI 250 - Basic Operation; Powering On and Source Selection; Volume and Surround Mode Control

Once the input, speaker and antenna
connections have been made, and the
system has been configured, the unit is
ready for operation. Note that some con-
trols are duplicated on both the front
panel and the remote control, while oth-
ers appear on one or the other, but not
both.
To turn the unit on, press either the
Power button on the front panel (79 or
Main Power ON @ on the remote.
When power is turned on, the receiver
will return to the input source in use
when the unit was last turned on. The
front panel display will also illuminate to
provide status indicators of the unit’s
operation.
MASTER VOLUME
NOTE: If the MASTER VOLUME control is
set too high, overloading of speakers may
activate the speaker protector and turn the
protective relay OFF. As the STANDBY LED
lights in red in this case, switch the power
OFF temporarily then ON again in a few
seconds.
Source Selection
To select or change the input source,
press one of the Source buttons on the
front panel RYE EITARAED or one of
the Source buttons on the remote @.
To listen to one source while you watch
another, first select the video source (LD,
TV, VCR1, VCR2 or Aux), and then
select the desired audio source (Tuner
CD, Tape 1, Tape 2).
The audio source will be displayed on the
Information Display, while the video
source will be displayed in the upper left
corner of the Fluorescent Display next to
the word VISUAL @.
Basic Operation
19
Volume Control
The AVI250’s volume is controlled using
either the front panel knob {& or the
Main Volume buttons @® on the
remote.
NOTE: Unlike conventional mechanical-
ly driven volume controls, this amplifi-
er’s volume is set using digital devices.
This means that the volume knob has no
firm stopping point at either end of its
rotation. Depending on the speed with
which the knob is turned, it is normal for
as many as three complete rotations to be
required for full travel from the loudest
setting to the softest.
When the volume is adjusted, the word
Master will appear in the main por-
tion of the Information Display, followed
by a two digit number. The number indi-
cates the variation from the reference
point established when the output levels
are set.
Surround Mode Selection
One of the most important features of
the AVI250 is its ability to reproduce a
full multichannel surround soundfield
from both surround encoded programs,
and standard stereo programs. In addi-
tion, this is one of the few products avail-
able that is equipped for Home THX, the
ultimate in home theater. In all a total of
eight listening modes are available on
the AVI250.
Selection of a surround mode is based on
personal taste, as well as the type of pro-
gram source material being used. For
example, motion pictures bearing the
logo of one of the major surround encod-
ing processes, such as Dolby Surround,
SDDS, DTS Stereo or UltraStereo may be
played in either the THX Cinema, Dolby
Pro Logic or Movie Surround Modes, TV
or radio broadcasts of programs in sur-
round, but not originally produced as
theatrical motion pictures should be
played back in the Dolby Pro Logic or
Movie Surround modes. Other mode
selections are described elsewhere in this
manual.
NOTE: Once a program has been encod-
ed with surround information, it retains
the surround matrix as long as the pro-
gram is broadcast in stereo. Thus, movies
with surround sound will carry surround
information when they are broadcast via
conventional TV stations, cable, pay TV
and satellite transmission. In addition, a
growing number of made for television
programs, sports broadcasts, radio dra-
mas and music CDs are also recorded in
surround sound. You may obtain a list of
these programs and discs from Dolby
Laboratories Licensing Corp., Woothon
Bassett, Wiltshire, SN4 8QJ, England.
Surround modes may be selected in one
of three ways.
From the front panel, use the Mode &
or Mode ® buttons § to scroll
through the list of modes. The selected
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