Hitachi VT-M284A manual

VT-M284A 1 HITA CHI Video Deck VT-M284A Owner's Manual Your Complete Guide to Videocassette View ing and Recording Using these quality feat ures:  Automatic tape head cleaning  Up to 8 delay ed recording pr ograms  Auto tracking for impr oved picture in play back  Cable-compati ble frequency sy nthesizer q uartz tuner  Illuminat[...]

Introduction ................................................................................................................................................. 4 FOR YOUR SAFET Y ........................................................................................................................... 4 IMPORTANT SAFEGUARDS .........................[...]

Recordin g Tips .................................................................................................................................... 31 Using the In stant Recording T imer (IRT) ........................................................................................ 32 Setting the VCR t o Record Later ...............................[...]

Introduction Introduction FOR YOUR SA FETY POW ER SUPPLY: AC 120V, 60 Hz ONLY. The POW ER swi tch turns the VCR on and off, leaving the cl ock/timer unaffected. If the unit is to be left unattended for a long peri od, it is recommended that the uni t be compl etel y swi tched off and unplugg ed. Illustrated below is the label on the back of y our u[...]

Introduction Caution to user: Changes or modificati ons not expressly approved by the party responsible for compliance could v oid the user's authority to operate the equipment. "Note t o CA TV sy stem installer: This reminder i s provided to call the CATV system installer's attention to Articl e 820-40 of the NEC that provi des guid[...]

IMPORT ANT SAFEG UARDS I M P O R T A N T S A F E G U A R D S In addition to the careful attention dev oted to quality standards in the manufacture of your v ideo product, safety is a major factor in the design of ever y instrument. But, safety is your responsibility too. This page lists important inform ation that will help to assure y our enjoymen[...]

IMPORT ANT SAFEG UARDS broken plugs. They may result i n shock or fire hazard. Peri odically ex amine the cord and have it r eplaced by y our servic e technician if appearance indicates damag e or deteriorated i nsulation. 7 Powe r Cord Protection -- Pow er supply cor ds should be routed so that they are not likely to be walk ed on or pinched by it[...]

IMPORT ANT SAFEG UARDS accessory r ecommended by the manufacturer. 11A An appliance and cart combi nation should be moved w ith care. Quick stops, excessiv e force, and uneven surfaces may cause the appl iance and cart combination to overtur n. 12 Outdoor A ntenna Grounding -- If an outside antenna or cable system is connected to the video pr oduct[...]

IMPORT ANT SAFEG UARDS SERVICE 17 Servicing -- Do not attempt to serv ice this vi deo product yoursel f as opening or removi ng covers may expose y ou to dangerous v oltage or other haz ards. Refer all servi cing to qual ified service per sonnel. 18 Conditions Requiring Service - - Unplug thi s video product from the w all outlet and refer serv ici[...]

Getting Started G e t t i n g S t a r t e d Relax. Using a V CR is very straightforw ard. This sections explai ns how to hookup the VCR, quick tour of the controls , set up for first-ti me operation using on- screen menus, and videocassette tapes. Enjoy getting to know all about your Hitachi VCR. Let's get star ted.  Simple Hookups 1 Decide[...]

Getting Started W e will guide you through this process. But first, turn the TV and the VCR around so you are looking at their backs. Note the v arious input and output receptacles, their shapes, and how they are labeled. Then read throug h the rest of this hookup section before proceeding to an actual hookup. DO NOT TURN ON T HE POW ER YET . FOR Y[...]

Getting Started 4 Hook up the RF Signal Look at the back of your TV for a connector that looks lik e one of these, and follow the cor responding hookup option. If you hav e any sort of cable box , see the hookup options in Adv anced Operations (page 50) . Simple A ntenna/Cable 75 Ohm Hookup This is an easy hookup that you can use if your cabl e or [...]

Getting Started External or Internal 300 Ohm A ntenna If you have ei ther an external or internal (r abbit ears) antenna rather than cabl e, you may hav e 300 ohm connectors like these. In this case, you w ill need special adapters to make the 75 ohm round wire connection shown bel ow. (You may already have one on your TV.) 1. Remove the antenna l [...]

Getting Started strong sig nal. Connect the antenna to the adapter, and use the cable ex tension to go from the adapter to the VCR. Us e the supplied 75 ohm cable to connect the VCR to the TV. Now conti nue with the hookup: 1. Using whichev er adapter you hav e fit your antenna w ith, attach that connector to the IN FROM ANT jack on the back of the[...]

Getting Started 7 Set the RF or Video Channel Sw itch W hen the VCR is on, its vi deo signal can come into y our TV on either channel 3 or channel 4. You need to select the appr opriate channel.  Turn the power on to both the TV and the VCR , and look for a switch on the back of the VCR. Set the sw itch to 3 or 4, whi chever is not a commercial [...]

Getting Started (Contr ols) Getting Sta r ted (Controls)  Quick Tour of the Controls Study these pictur es carefully to learn about the buttons and contr ols that you'll need f or every day operati on. Various controls ar e explained throug hout this manual as they are needed, but now is a g ood time to get f amiliar with their locations. M[...]

Getting Started (Contr ols) Remote Control Buttons POW ER Turns the VCR on and off . GUIDE Bri ngs up an on-screen setup and prog ramming g uide, the Easy Guide Sy stem. VCR/TV Sw itches between v iewing through the VCR and not v iewi ng through the VCR . CLEAR Used i n on-screen progr amming and index ing. DISPLAY U sed in on-screen prog ramming a[...]

Getting Started (Contr ols) If the remote is not wor king even at cl ose range, try putting in tw o f resh AA batteries.  W hen replacing the batteries, r emove the old batteries and pr ess the POW ER button on the remote and hold it for about 10 seconds, then inser t two fresh batteries. Objects in t he Way There may be objects betw een the rem[...]

Getting Started (Contr ols) Display Indicators W atch f or these signs and sy mbols that let you know that the VCR is respondi ng to y our instructions. Meet Your On- Screen Guide Your H itachi VCR has as a special feature call ed the Easy Guide Sy stem. This feature guides you throug h simple setup and programming tasks right on the TV screen. W i[...]

Getting Started (Initial Setup) Getting Sta rted (Initial S etup)  Setup for First-Time Operation Before you use y our VCR to watch or record from your TV, y ou need to "tell" the VCR whether your TV uses cable or antenna input and l et it program i tself to receive y our TV's channels. It's also a good idea to set the cl ock[...]

Getting Started (Initial Setup) 2 MOVIE Press 2 to select w hether you w ant prerecorded mov ies (safety tab remov ed) to play automatically when loaded, and then r ewind, eject and tur n off the power w hen done. Options are <ON > and <OFF>. 3 CODE Press 3 to enable the remote contr ol to control a second VCR. Options ar e <VCR1>[...]

Getting Started (Initial Setup) Tips:  The item to be changed will blink on the screen as y ou go.  The clock uses the 12-hour sy stem. You set it for AM or PM.  An illogical time (like 13 for the hour or 20 fo r the m onth) will not be accepted. A question mark displays instead of the illogical number.  If you press the w rong digi t, [...]

Getting Started (Initial Setup) remov ed from memory. To A dd or Erase Channels  Press GUIDE, then press 5 to bring up the Initi al Setup scr een. Item 9 l ets y ou add or delete channels. Use the number buttons to enter the channel you w ant to change, then press STOP to delete it or pr ess PLAY to add it.[...]

Getting Started (Videotapes ) Getting Sta rted (Videota pes)  A bout Videocassette Tapes Ty pes The best thing y ou can do f o r your VCR i s use the best quality tapes available. This VCR uses VHS tapes only, w hich are the most common ty pe. Look for the VHS mar k on new or prerecorded tapes you buy . Tapes are marked either T-120 or T-160, wh[...]

Getting Started (Videotapes ) show y ou the way with a littl e arrow on the top si de which should g o in first. Push the videocassette g ently into the slot on the front of the VCR. You will feel the VCR take it in. W hen the cassette is all the way in, the VCR pow ers up automatically and a TAPE-IN indicator show s on the display. It may also sta[...]

Basic Oper ations Basic Operations Practice starti ng and stopping a video you've rented - play it thr ough, see how it automati cally rewinds. Get a blank tape and try recor ding a TV show. Then you'll know how to use the VCR when you need to - or where i n the manual to find the instr uctions you forgot. Let's go!  Viewing a Vid[...]

Basic Oper ations If you press the DISPLAY button when vi ewing a v ideocassette, the display , as shown, appears for several seconds so you can see the functions of the number buttons on the remo t e cont ro l. 1: TRA CKING + 3: SLOW + 4: TRA CKING - 6: SLOW - 9 : F R AM E AD V AN C E The above functions alw ays w ork when y ou are view ing a v id[...]

Basic Oper ations time. Press PAUSE to resume play . Skip Play back W hile playing back your tape you can ski p forward by pressing the 9 button. The tape will search ahead for about a minute and then resume playing. Slow Motion To slow the play back speed to exactly the pace you want, pr ess PLAY, then then press 3 or 6 button. Press 6 to slow dow[...]

Basic Oper ations  Press PLAY and tur n the dial to the far right or l ef t to search f o rward and backw ard. Searching w ith the Time Counter During playback (and recor ding), a counter keeps track of how many hours, minutes, and seconds the tape has run. W hen you first start play back, the counter shows br iefly in the TV screen's upper[...]

Basic Oper ations Select minutes by pressing buttons 0 to 9 - one dig it for hours, then two di gits for minutes. If you enter a w rong dig it, press CLEAR and enter the cor rect one. Then press F.FW D if you want to mov e that many minutes ahead, or R EW if you want to mov e that many minutes backw ard. For exampl e, say you w ant to revi ew a sce[...]

Basic Oper ations (Recor ding) Basic Operations (Recording)  Recording a Program Before y ou Record  The VCR must be hooked up properl y for recording . See the Simple Hookups at the beginni ng of this manual. Copy right Infringement Warning Most telev ision programs and films ar e copyrig hted. This means that someone has legal rig hts gover[...]

Basic Oper ations (Recor ding) To Watch One Program While Recording Another Once you have set th e VCR f o r recording, p re ss VCR/TV. No w, you will be viewing through y our TV only. Sw itch channels using y our TV controls or the VCR remote, if it's progr ammed to control your tel evision (s ee Advanced Operations). The recording will conti[...]

Basic Oper ations (Recor ding) automatically stop and the VCR will turn itself off. To stop recording w hile in the IRT mode, press the POW ER button and then press the STOP button (this can be done either on the VC R or wi th the remote control) w ithin 10 seconds. Setting the V CR to Record Later W ith the delayed recordi ng feature, you can set [...]

Basic Oper ations (Recor ding) After you enter the channel and time, the VCR automaticall y shows the cur rent date or the next date, w hichever is most logical. Leav e the date as it comes up, or enter new digits for the month and day .  You can corr ect any item entered as y ou go by pressi ng the CLEAR button repeatedly until the digit to be [...]

Basic Oper ations (Recor ding) indicator on the VC R's display . Prepare to admire y ourself on the evening news.  If using a cable box the VCR can control, turn on the cabl e box before the time the recording is to begin.  If using a cable box the VCR cannot control, turn on the cabl e box and tune it to the channel you w ant to record [...]

Basic Oper ations (VCR Plus + Rec ording) Basic Operations (VCR Plus + Recording)  Easy Delayed Recording with VCR Plus + A bout VCR Plus+ This handy feature makes timed r ecordings a snap. You don't need to enter the specific channel, date, time, or dur ation of a program. All y ou enter is its Pl usCode--a number of up to eight dig its. T[...]

Basic Oper ations (VCR Plus + Rec ording) 3. If you don't get cable TV, make a li st of all the broadcast channel numbers y ou receiv e on your TV - for exampl e, channel 4 W TTV (Ind.), channel 20 W FYI (PBS) . 4. If you subscribe to cabl e TV, have your cable company 's channel directory handy. This should lis t all the channels as you [...]

Basic Oper ations (VCR Plus + Rec ording) do any special channel setup. To f ind out, compare the VCR Plus+ channels i n your TV progr am guide to your list of channels that you recei ve at home. If any channel numbers don't match, follow the steps (page 43) to assig n your local channel numbers to VCR Plus+ numbers. Cable (No Cable Box) This [...]

Basic Oper ations (VCR Plus + Rec ording) 4. Repeat step 3 for all channels that need to be assi gned. 5. Press GUIDE to end the setup pr ocedure. You are ready to begin delay ed recording with VCR Plus+. Cable with a Cable Box or Cable with a Cable Box and Splitter Setup Use this setup pr ocedure if you receiv e all channels throug h a cable box. [...]

Basic Oper ations (VCR Plus + Rec ording) 8. Press GUIDE to displ ay the CABLE BOX TYPE messag e on the TV screen. 9. Enter your cable box ty pe from the chart below by pressing tw o numbers. 10. Press GUIDE to enter your cable box type. The VCR will change the cable box from channel 02 to channel 09 w hen you enter the corr ect code for your cable[...]

Basic Oper ations (VCR Plus + Rec ording) Using VCR Plus+ to Record a Program Now that y our channels are set up, y ou can take advantage of this q uick and easy method of delayed recording. You w ill use the on-screen Easy Guide System, following the basic procedur e f or delayed recordi ng outlined on page 37. See the secti on on Recording a Prog[...]

Basic Oper ations (VCR Plus + Rec ording) 7. Revi ew the screen to be sure ev erything is set as you w ant, then press GUIDE to complete your programming or continue w ith additional prog rams. W hen you have set up all the ti med recordings y ou want:  Don't forget to load a videocassette (w ith the safety tab still attached) to record on.[...]

Advanced Operations A dvanced Operations This section explai ns how to use the VCR's rem ote control to operate your TV. It also shows you how to hook up a cable box and how to connect a stereo or a second VC R for a complete hom e entertainment system .  Controlling Your TV with the VCR's Remote Compatibility The remote control is des[...]

Advanced Operations listed, it is likely that you will not be a b le to program this re m ote contro l for your TV . TV Brands Press TV and This Number Hitachi 1 Zenith 2 Sony 3 Magnav ox 4 Sanyo 5 Gold Star 1 6 Toshiba 7 Gold Star 2 8 NEC 9 R C A 0 Panasonic CHANNEL ( up arrow) Mitsubishi CHANNEL (dow n arrow) JVC 100/ENT Sharp 1 LAST CH Sharp 2 D[...]

Advanced Operations (Cable Box Hook ups) A dvanced Operat ions (Cable Box Hookups)  Hooking Up to a Cable Box The cable box bri ngs all the adv antages of pay cable, but finding a sati sfactory hookup can be challengi ng. To sort out what to do, w e suggest a step-by -step approach to installation . Before you begi n, take a close look at the ba[...]

Advanced Operations (Cable Box Hook ups) Check all the TV and VCR functions. B. A dvanced hookup (Cable Box to unscramble all channels) Use this hookup for sli ghtly i mproved picture q uality and mor e convenient operati on - use of VCR/TV button not requir ed. 1. Connect as shown. This connection requi res additional accessories not pr ovided. 2.[...]

Advanced Operations (Second VCR) A dvanced Operations (Second VCR)  Integrating a Second VCR W ith another VCR hooked up, you can copy videotapes as needed, and y ou can get fancy wi th multimedia progr amming. For this di scussion, we refer to the model VT- M284A Hitachi as VCR2 and the other unit as VCR1. Hookup To hook up a second VCR, you ne[...]

Advanced Operations (Second VCR)  Press AVX on VCR1 - the LINE in dicator will display.  Press REC on VCR 1, and press PLAY on VCR2. To monitor the picture as y ou record, VCR1 must be connected to y our TV (follow instructions in the other VCR's manual). Pr ess the VCR/TV button on the remote. The VCR indicator will lig ht on VCR1'[...]

Advanced Operations (Synchro Editing) A dvanced Operations (Synchro Editing) Sy nchro Editing Tape copying i s much easier if you can connect VCR 1 and VCR2 with a sy nchro edit cable. This lets y ou use a single set of controls to gov ern both VCRs.  W e assume that VCR2 is your model VT-M284A. This is the play back VCR.  The other VCR must [...]

Advanced Operations (Synchro Editing) happen.[...]

Advanced Operations (Cam corder) A dvanced Operations (Camcorder) Copy ing Tapes From a Camcorder If you woul d like to copy a v ideo tape shot in your camcorder onto your VCR here's how to do it.  Connect the camcorder's AV output cabl e to your VCR. ( see diagram below ) Illustration of Hookup  Press the AVX button on the VC Rs re[...]

VCR Care and Servicing V C R C a r e a n d S e r v i c i n g The VCR is fai rly self-ser vicing, but you'll want to keep an eye on a few things as you go. In addition, you m ay sometim es have troubles with your VCR . W e offer som e suggestions for care to pr event problems, ways to troubl eshoot, and places to contact when you cannot solve t[...]

VCR Care and Servicing Don't A ttempt Repa irs Yourse lf Do not rem ove the cover or the b ack of th e VCR - this will void the warranty and endanger y our safety. The exposed uninsul ated voltage i n this unit may be hi gh enough to cause electrical shock. It is dangerous to make contact with any inside part, and none of these parts are inten[...]

Care and Servicing ( Problem s) Care and Servicing (Problems) Often Encountered Problems PROBLEM THINGS TO CHECK SOLUTION NO POW ER POW ER CORD PLUGGED IN? CONNECT T HE POW ER CORD TO AC OUT LET DELAYED RECORDING PROGRAM SET TO T HE CORRECT CHANNEL? RESET TH E DELAYED RECORDING. IF USING VCR PLUS+, CHECK DOES NOT W ORK T HE CHANNEL SETUP. PROGRAM T[...]

Care and Servicing ( Problem s) TV CAN RECOGNIZE. IS REMOTE CONT ROL SET T O CONT ROL THE TV. PRESS THE T V DEVICE BUTT ON, T HEN PRESS THE BU TTON CORRESPONDING T O THE T V FUNCTION YOU WA N T. MECHANICAL SOUNDS DURING PLAYBACK. HAS A LOADED CASSETT E BEEN STO PPED MORE THAN 5 MINUTES? NOTHING IS W RONG. THE T APE PROT ECT ION MECHANISM IS W ORKIN[...]