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OPERATION 29

many computer programs for recording com-
pressed audio files. When an MP3 bitstream is 
present, the sound will automatically be played
in the stereo (surround off) mode. The surround
modes are not available during MP3 playback.

In addition to the Bitstream Indicators, the
AVR 3500 features a set of unique channel input
indicators that tell you how many channels of
digital information are being received and if the
digital signal is interrupted.

These indicators are the L/C/R/SL/SR/LFE letters
that are inside the center boxes of the
Speaker/Channel Input Indicators Q in the
front panel Main Information Display Ú.
When a standard analog stereo or matrix sur-
round signal is in use, only the “L” and “R” indi-
cators will light, as analog signals have only left
and right channels, respectively, even surround
recordings, carry surround information on the left
and right channels only.

Digital signals, however, may have one to six sep-
arate channels, depending on the program mate-
rial, 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 DVD or audio tracks selected on
DVD or other Dolby Digital programs are encod-
ed for 5.1. Thus, it is sometimes normal for a
DVD with a Dolby Digital soundtrack to trigger
e.g. 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, the ”2.0” version often is used with other
languages. When playing a DVD, always be cer-
tain 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 AVR 3500 or to
select the appropriate audio track and thus lan-
guage (”2.0” audio tracks can be played with all
Pro Logic II or Vmax modes, see "Dolby Digital"
on page 28). 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 out-
put, the AVR 3500 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 Q also flash to indicate when a bit-
stream 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 put into a Pause mode. 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 AVR. This is nor-
mal, and the digital playback will resume once
the playback is started again.

Night Mode 
A special feature of Dolby Digital is the Night
mode, which enables Dolby Digital input sources
to be played back with full digital intelligibilty
while reducing the maximum peak level and lift-
ing the low levels by 

1

/

4

to 

1

/

3

. This prevents

abruptly loud transitions from disturbing others
without reducing the impact of the digital source.
The Night mode is available only when Dolby
Digital mode is selected.

The Night mode may be engaged when a Dolby
Digital DVD is playing by pressing the Night
Button 

B on the remote. Next, press the 

⁄

/

¤

buttons 

D to select either the middle range or

full compression versions of the Night mode. To
turn the Night mode off, press the 

⁄

/

¤

buttons

D until the message in the lower third of the
video display and the Main Information
Display N reads D-R OFF. When the Night
mode is active, the Night Mode Indicator O
will also illuminate.

The Night mode may also be selected to always be
on at either level of compression as soon as the
Dolby Digital mode is turned on using the options
in the Surround Setup Menu. See page 22 for
information on using the menus to set this option.

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 Indicators Q will flash.
This is normal and does not indicate a problem
with either the AVR 3500 or the source machine.
The AVR 3500 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 AVR 3500 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 AVR 3500.

3. Note that not all digitally encoded programs
and not all audio tracks on a DVD contain full
5.1-channel audio. Consult the program guide
that accompanies the DVD or laser disc to deter-
mine which type of audio has been recorded on
the disc. The AVR 3500 will automatically sense
the type of digital surround encoding used, indi-
cate it in the Bitstream Indicators A and
Channel Input Indicators Q and adjust to
accommodate it.

4. When a Dolby Digital or DTS source is playing,
you normally may not be able to select some of
the analog surround modes such as Dolby Pro
Logic II, Dolby 3 Stereo, Hall, Theater, 5CH Stereo
or Logic 7, except with special audio tracks 
(see indication ”Dolby Digital” on previous page)
or data format selected (see ”PCM” on previous
page).

5. When a Dolby Digital or DTS source is playing,
it is not possible to make an analog recording
using the Tape

1 or Video 1 or Video 2

4R record outputs, if the source is connected
to any digital input of the AVR3500 only. But the
analog two channel signal of that source, the
”Downmix” to Stereo or Dolby Surround, can be
recorded by connecting its analog audio outputs
to the appropriate analog inputs (e.g. DVD) of
the AVR3500, even if the digital input of the
AVR3500 remains selected. Additionally, the digi-
tal signals will be passed through to the Digital
Audio Outputs 

9.

In normal operation, the audio or video source
selected for listening through the AVR 3500 is
sent to the record outputs. This means that any
program you are watching or listening to may be
recorded simply by placing machines connected
to the outputs for Tape Outputs

1 or Video 1

or 2 Outputs

R in the record mode.

When a digital audio recorder is connected to
any of the Digital Audio Outputs

9, you are

able to record the digital signal using a CD-R,
MiniDisc or other digital recording system.
Note that all digital signals will be passed
through to both, coaxial and optical, digital out-
puts simultanously, no matter which kind of digi-
tal input was selected.

NOTES:
• The digital outputs are active only when a digital
signal is present, and they do not convert an ana-
log input to a digital signal, or change the format
of the digital signal (e.g. Dolby Digital to PCM or
vice versa, but coaxial digital signals are converted
to optical signals and vice versa). In additon, the
digital recorder must be compatible with the out-
put signal. For example, the PCM digital output
from a CD player may be recorded on a CD-R or
MiniDisc, but Dolby Digital or DTS signals may not.

• To make an analog recording of a Dolby Digital
or DTS source is not possible, if the source is con-
nected to a digital input of the AVR 3500 only.
But the analog two channel signal of that source
can be recorded (see item 5, ”Important Notes
on Digital Playback” above).

30 OPERATION

Normal output level adjustment for the 
AVR 3500 is established using the test tone, as
outlined on pages 22 and 23. In some cases,
however, it may be desirable to adjust the output
levels using program material such as a test disc,
or a selection you are familiar with. Additionally,
the output level for the subwoofer and those for
the Stereo and VMAx modes can only be adjust-
ed using this procedure.

To adjust the output levels using program materi-
al and the Main Information Display N or
the semi-OSD only, first select the surround mode
for which you want to trim the speakers (see
NOTE below), start your program material source
and set the reference volume for the front left
and front right channels using the Volume
Control (

".

Once the reference level has been set, press the
Channel Select button 

CÛ and note that

FL LEVEL

will appear in the Main

Information Display N for five seconds or
on-screen display for 3 seconds. To change the
level, first press the Set button 

F Ó , and

then use the Selector buttons 5 or the 

⁄

¤

buttons 

D to raise or lower the level. DO NOT

use the volume control, as this will alter the ref-
erence setting.

Once the change has been made, press the Set
button 

F Ó and then press the Selector but-

tons 5 or the 

⁄

/

¤

buttons 

D to select the

next output channel location that you wish to
adjust. To adjust the subwoofer level, press the
Selector buttons 5 or the 

⁄

/

¤

buttons 

D

until SW LEVEL appears in the Main
Information Display N or on-screen display.
(only available if the subwoofer is turned on).

Press the Set button 

F Ó when the name of

the desired channel appears in the Main
Information Display N and on-screen display,
and follow the instructions shown above to
adjust the level.

Repeat the procedure as needed until all chan-
nels requiring adjustment have been set. When
all adjustments have been made press the Set
button

F Ó twice, the AVR 3500 will return

to normal operation.

If you are using a disc with noise test signals or
an external signal generator to trim the output
levels, you may use the EzSet feature of the
remote to guide you to the correct sound pres-
sure level (SPL). To use the remote for this pur-
pose, start the test tone from the source and
press and quickly release the SPL Indicator
Select

$ to activate the sensor. When the test

tone from the source is fed to the left front
speaker, to set the reference level, turn op th
Volume Control (

" until the Program

2 on the remote lights green. When

the test tone from the source is fed to the speak-
er you want to trim, the Program Indicator
2 may change color to indicate the level.
Adjust the level for the appropriate channel as
outlined above until the LED lights green for all
channels. When it is red the level is too high;
when it is amber the level is too low. After the
output levels of all channels are aligned,press the
SPL Indicator Select

$ to turn the sensor

and indicator off.

The channel output may also be adjusted using
the full-OSD on-screen menu system. First, set
the volume to a comfortable listening level using
the Volume Control (

". Then, press the

OSD button 

L to bring up the MASTER

M E N U

(Figure 1). Press the 

¤

Button 

D

until the on-screen 

›

cursor is next to the

CHANNEL ADJUST

line. Press the Set

Button 

F to activate the CHANNEL

A D J U S T

menu (Figure 8).

Once the menu appears on your video screen,
use the 

⁄

/

¤

buttons 

D to move the on-screen

›

cursor so that it is next to the channel that you

wish to adjust. Then, use the 

‹

/

›

buttons

E to raise or lower the output level.

When all adjustments are done, press the 

⁄

/

¤

buttons 

D to move the on-screen 

›

cursor so

that it is next to RETURN TO MENU
and then press the Set Button 

F if you wish to

go back to the main menu to make other adjust-
ments. If you have no other adjustments to make,
press the OSD button 

L to exit the menu 

system.

NOTE: The output levels may be separately
trimmed for each digital and analog surround
mode. If you wish to have different trim levels for a
specific mode, select that mode and then follow the
instructions in the steps shown above.

Changing the levels by the trim adjustment as
described above will automatically change the
level settings in the Output Adjust Menu (Fig. 7,
page 23) correspondingly (and vice versa). With
Stereo and Vmax modes the adjustment proce-
dure described above is the only way to trim the
output level (e.g. to match the Vmax level with
other modes).

The AVR 3500 is equipped for future expansion
through the use of optional, external adapters for
formats that the AVR 3500 may not be capable
of processing. When an adapter is connected to
the 6-Channel Direct Input

8, you may select

it by pressing the 6-Ch Direct Input Selector
%. The 6-Channel Direct Input may also be
selected by pressing the Input Source Selector
button ! on the front panel until the words 
6 C H

appear in the Main Information

Display N, and a green LED lights next to 6
CH in the Input Indicators Ô.

Note that when the 6-Channel Direct Input is in
use, you may not select a surround mode, as the
external decoder determines processing. In addi-
tion, there is no signal at the record outputs
when the 6-Channel Direct Input is in use, and
the Tone ^ * and Balance & controls will
not be effective.

This product is equipped with a memory backup
system that preserves tuner presets and system
configuration information if the unit is turned off
completely, accidentally unplugged or subjected
to a power outage. This memory will last for
approximately two weeks, after which time all
information must be reentered.

*   C H A N N E L   A D J U S T   *

F R O N T   L E F T       :   0 d B          

C E N T E R               :   0 d B

F R O N T   R I G H T     :   0 d B

S U R R   R I G H T       :   0 d B

S U R R   L E F T         :   0 d B

S U B W O O F E R         :   0 d B

C H A N N E L   R E S E T :  

O F F

  O N

R E T U R N   T O   M E N U

OPERATION 31

The AVR 3500’s tuner is capable of tuning AM,
FM and FM Stereo broadcast stations and receiv-
ing RDS data. Stations may be tuned manually, or
they may be stored as favorite station presets
and recalled from a 30 position memory.

1. Press the AM/FM Tuner Select button 

6

on the remote to select the tuner as an input.
The tuner may be selected from the front panel
by either pressing the Input Source Selector
! until the tuner is active or by pressing the
Tuner Band Selector 9 at any time.

2. Press the AM/FM Tuner Select button 

6

or Tuner Band Selector 9 again to switch
between AM and FM so that the desired frequen-
cy band is selected.

3. Press the Tuner Mode button 

I on the

remote or hold the Band Selector 9 on the
front panel pressed for 3 seconds to select manu-
al or automatic tuning.

When the AUTO indicator P is illuminated in the
Main Information Display N the tuner will
only stop at those stations that have a strong
enough signal to be received with acceptable
quality.

When the AUTO indicator P is not illuminated,
the tuner is in a manual mode and will stop at
each frequency increment in the selected band.

4. To select stations press any Tuning button 8
K. When the AUTO indicator P is illumin-
ated, press the button to cause the tuner to
search for the next highest or lowest frequency
station that has an acceptable signal or hold the
button pressed to tune more quickly and release
it to start the auto search. In the Auto mode the
tuner will play each station in stereo or mono
mode, just as the program is transmitted. If the
AUTO indicator P is not illuminated, tap the
Tuning button 8

K to advance one frequen-

cy increment at a time, or press and hold it to
locate a specific station. When the TUNED indi-
cator L illuminates, the station is properly
tuned and should be heard with clarity.

5. Stations may also be tuned directly by press-
ing the Direct button 

J, and then pressing

the Numeric Keys

H that correspond to the

station’s frequency. The desired station will auto-
matically be tuned after the latest number is
entered. If you press an incorrect button while
entering a direct frequency, press the Clear but-
ton 

 to start over.

NOTE: When the FM reception of a stereo
station is weak, audio quality will be increased
by switching to Mono mode by pressing the
Tuner Mode button 

I on the remote or

holding the Band Selector 9 on the front
panel pressed for 3 seconds until the
STEREO

indicator V goes out.

Preset Tuning
Using the remote, up to 30 stations may be
stored in the AVR 3500’s memory for easy recall
using the front panel controls or the remote.

To enter a station into the memory, first tune the
station using the steps outlined above. Then:

1. Press the Memory button 

 on the

remote. Note that MEMORY indicator U will
illuminate and flash in the Main Information
Display Ú.

2. Within five seconds, press the Numeric Keys
H corresponding to the location where you
wish to store this station’s frequency. Once
entered, the preset number will appear in the
Preset Number/Sleep Time Display R.

3. Repeat the process after tuning any additional
stations to be preset.

Recalling Preset Stations
• To manually select a station previously entered
in the preset memory, press the Numeric Keys
H that correspond to the desired station’s
memory location.

• To manually tune through the list of stored
preset stations one by one, press the Preset
Stations Selector buttons )

Q on the

front panel or remote.

32 OPERATION

The AVR 3500 is equipped with RDS (Radio Data
System), which brings a wide range of informa-
tion to FM radio. Now in use in many countries,
RDS is a system for transmitting station call
signs or network information, a description of
station program type, text messages about the
station or specifics of a musical selection, and
the correct time.

As more FM stations become equipped with RDS
capabilities, the AVR 3500 will serve as an easy-
to-use center for both information and enter-
tainment. This section will help you take maxi-
mum advantage of the RDS system.

RDS Tuning
When an FM station is tuned in and it contains
RDS data, the RDS Indicator W will illuminate
and the AVR 3500 will automatically display the
station’s call sign or other program service in the
Main Information Display N.

RDS Display Options
The RDS system is capable of transmitting a
wide variety of information in addition to the
initial station call sign that appears when a sta-
tion is first tuned. In normal RDS operation the
display will indicate the station name, broadcast
network or call letters. Pressing the RDS button
@

P enables you to cycle through the various

data types in the following sequence:

• The station’s call letters (with some private sta-
tions other information too).

• The station’s frequency.

• The Program Type (PTY) as shown in the list
below.

• A “text” message (Radiotext, RT) containing
special information from the broadcast station.
Note that this message may scroll across the dis-
play to permit messages longer than the eight
positions in the display. Depending on signal
quality, it may take up to 30 seconds for the text
message to appear; in that time, the word
TEXT

will flash in the Information Display

when RT is selected.

• The current time of day (CT). Note that it may
take up to two minutes for the time to appear,
in that time the word TIME will flash in the
information display when CT is selected. Please
note that the accuracy of the time data is
dependent on the radio station, not the AVR
3500.

Some RDS stations may not include some of
these additional features. If the data required
for the selected mode is not being transmitted,
the Main Information Display N will show
a NO TYPE, NO TEXT or NO TIME mes-
sage after the individual time out.

In any FM mode the RDS function requires a
strong enough signal for proper operation. If
you receive a partial message, or the RDS
Indicator W going on and off, try slowly
adjusting the antenna or tune to another
stronger RDS station.

Program Search (PTY)
An important feature of RDS is its capability of
encoding broadcasts with Program Type (PTY)
codes that indicate the type of material being
broadcast. The following list shows the abbrevia-
tions used to indicate each PTY, along with an
explanation of the PTY:

• (RDS ONLY)

• (TRAFFIC)

• NEWS: News

• AFFAIRS: Current Affairs

• INFO: Infomation

• SPORT: Sports

• EDUCATE: Educational

• DRAMA: Drama

• CULTURE: Culture

• SCIENCE: Science

• VARIED: Varied Speech Programs

• POPM: Popular Music

• ROCKM: Rock Music

• M.O.R.M.: Middle-of-the-Road Music

• LIGHTM: Classical Music

• CLASSICS: Serious Classical Music

• OTHERM: Other Music

• WEATHER: Weather Information

• FINANCE: Financial Programs

• CHILDREN: Children’s Programs

• SOCIAL A: Social Affairs Programs

• RELIGION: Religious Broadcasts

• PHONE IN: Phone-In Programs

• TRAVEL: Travel and Touring

• LEISURE: Leisure and Hobby