54
Operating the DCR600
II
Receiver
When the digital source is playing, the DCR600
II
will automatically detect whether it is a multi-
channel Dolby Digital or DTS source, or a conven-
tional PCM signal, which is the standard output
from CD players. A
Bitstream Indicator
A
will light in the
Main Information Display
(
to confirm that the digital signal is Dolby Digital,
DTS or PCM.
Digital Status Indicators
When a digital source is playing, the DCR600
II
senses the type of bitstream data that is present.
Using this information, the correct surround
mode will automatically be selected. For example,
DTS bitstreams will cause the unit to switch to
DTS decoding, and Dolby Digital bitstreams will
enable Dolby Digital decoding. When the unit
senses PCM data from CDs, it will allow the
appropriate surround sources to be selected
manually. Since the range of available surround
modes is dependent on the type of digital data
that is present, the DCR600
II
uses a variety of
indicators to let you know what type of signal is
present. This will help you to understand the
choice of modes.
When a digital source is playing, a
Bitstream
Indicator
A
will light to show which type of
signal is playing:
DOLBY D
: When the
DOLBY D Indicator
A
lights, a Dolby Digital bitstream is being
received. Depending on the settings on the
source player and specific surround information
and number of channels on the disc, a number
of surround modes are possible. For discs with
full 5.1 audio, only the Dolby Digital mode is
available. When the Dolby Digital signal is only
two-channel, you may also select from the Logic
7 Cinema/Music, Hall, Theater, Dolby Pro Logic
II Movies/Music/Emulation, or Dolby 3 Stereo
modes. When the receiver detects a 2.0-channel
Dolby Digital signal, it will automatically select
Dolby Pro Logic II as the surround processing
mode, and both the
Dolby Digital
D
and
Dolby Pro Logic II
F
indicators will light, in
accordance with the requirements of Dolby
Laboratories.
DTS
: When the
DTS Indicator
A
lights, a
DTS bitstream is being received. When the unit
senses this type of data, only the DTS mode may
be used.
PCM
: When the
PCM Indicator
A
lights, a
standard Pulse Code Modulation, or PCM, signal
is being received. This is the type of digital
audio used by conventional compact disc and
laser disc recordings. When a PCM bitstream is
present, all modes except Dolby Digital and DTS
are available.
In addition to the bitstream indicators, the
DCR600
II
features a set of unique channel-input
indicators that tell you how many channels of
digital information are being received and/or
whether the digital signal is interrupted.
These indicators are the L/C/R/SL/SR/LFE let-
ters that are inside the center boxes of the
Speaker/Channel Input Indicators
M
in the
front panel
Main Information Display
(
.
When a standard analog signal is in use, only
the “L” and “R” indicators will light, as analog
signals have only left and right channels,
respectively.
Digital signals, however, may have two, five or
six separate channels, depending on the
program material, the method of transmission
and the way in which it was encoded. When a
digital signal is playing, the letters in these
indicators will light in response to the specific
signal being received. It is important to note
that although Dolby Digital, for example, is
referred to as a “5.1” system, not all Dolby
Digital DVDs or programs are encoded for 5.1.
Thus, it is sometimes normal for a DVD with a
Dolby Digital soundtrack to trigger only the “L”
and “R” indicators.
NOTE:
Many DVD discs are recorded with both
“5.1” and “2.0” versions of the same sound-
track. When playing a DVD, always be certain to
check the type of material on the disc. Most discs
show this information in the form of a listing or
icon on the back of the disc jacket. When a disc
does offer multiple soundtrack choices, you may
have to make some adjustments to your DVD
player (usually with the “Audio Select” button or
in a menu screen on the disc) to send a full 5.1
feed to the DCR600
II
. It is also possible for the
type of signal feed to change during the course
of a DVD playback. In some cases, the previews
of special material will only be recorded in 2.0
audio, while the main feature is available in 5.1
audio. As long as your DVD player is set for 6-
channel output, the DCR600
II
will automatically
sense changes to the bitstream and channel
count and reflect them in these indicators.
The letters used by the
Speaker/Channel
Input Indicators
M
also flash to indicate
when a bitstream has been interrupted. This will
happen when a digital input source is selected
before the playback starts, or when a digital
source such as a DVD is paused. The flashing
indicators remind you that the playback has
stopped due to the absence of a digital signal
and not through any fault of the DCR600
II
. This
is normal, and the digital playback will resume
once the playback is started again.
Night Mode
A special feature of Dolby Digital is the Night
mode, or Dynamic Range Compression mode,
which enables these input sources to be played
back with full digital intelligibility while reduc-
ing the minimum peak level by
1
/
4
to
1
/
3
. This
prevents abruptly loud transitions from disturb-
ing others, without reducing the impact of the
digital source. The Night mode is available only
when Dolby Digital signals with special data are
being played.
The Night mode may be engaged when a Dolby
Digital DVD is playing by pressing the
Night
Mode Button
on the remote. Next, press
the
⁄
/
¤
Buttons
y
to select either the
middle range or full-compression versions of the
Night mode. To turn the Night mode off, press
the
⁄
/
¤
Buttons
y
until the message
in the lower third of the video display and the
Main Information Display
U
reads
D-Range Off
.
IMPORTANT NOTES
ON DIGITAL PLAYBACK
1.
When the digital playback source is stopped,
or in a Pause, Fast Forward or Chapter Search
mode, the digital audio data will momentarily
stop, and the channel position letters inside the
Speaker/Channel Input Indicators
M
will
flash. This is normal and does not indicate a
problem with either the DCR600
II
or the source
machine. The DCR600
II
will return to digital
playback as soon as the data is available and
when the machine is in a standard play mode.
2.
Although the DCR600
II
will decode virtually all
DVD movies, CDs and HDTV sources, it is possible
that some future digital sources may not be com-
patible with the DCR600
II
.
3.
Note that not all digitally encoded programs
contain full 5.1-channel audio. Consult the pro-
gram guide that accompanies the DVD to deter-
mine which type of audio has been recorded on
the disc. Also, due to bandwidth limitations, dig-
ital cable television signals may contain only a
2.0-channel Dolby Digital signal. Check with
your cable provider. The DCR600
II
will automati-
cally sense the type of digital surround encoding
used and adjust to accommodate it.
4.
When a digital source is playing, you may not
be able to select some of the analog surround
modes such as Dolby Pro Logic II, Dolby 3 Stereo,
Hall, Theater or Logic 7.
