Hitachi VT-FX623A manual

1 VIDEO CASSETTE RECORDER VT-F X623A Ow ner's manual Using these quality feat ures: • The VCR Plus+* programming sy stem allow s you to program the VCR for timer recording by simply entering a PlusCode* number. *VCR Plus+C3 and PlusCode are tr adem arks of G ems tar Developm ent Corporation. The VCR Plus + system is m anuf actured under lice[...]

2 TA BLE OF CONTENTS FOR YOUR SAFETY................................................................................................................ ..2 IMPORTANT SAFEGUARDS .....................................................................................................3 CUSTOMER CONTROLS .......................................................[...]

3 This symbol w arns the user that uninsul ated voltag e within the unit may have sufficient magnitude to cause el ectric shock. Therefore, it is dang erous to make any kind of contact w ith any inside par t of this unit. This symbol al erts the user that important li terature concerning the operation and maintenance of this uni t has been included[...]

4 2 Retain Instruction -- The safety and operating i nstructions should be retained for fu t ure re f ere nce. 3 Heed Warnings -- Compl y w ith all w arnings on the v ideo product and in the operating i nstructions. 4 Polarized Plug -- This v ideo product is eq uipped wi th a polariz ed alternating cur rent line plug (a plug hav ing one blade wi de[...]

5 product should nev er be placed near or ov er a radiator or heat register . This video product should not be placed in a bui lt-in install ation such as a bookcase or rack unless proper v entilation is pr ovided or the v ideo product manufacturer's instr uctions have been followed. 9 A ttachments -- Do not use attachments unless recommended [...]

6 should be left to a professional antenna install er. USE 14 Cleaning -- Unplug this v ideo product from the w all outlet before cleaning . Do not use liqui d cleaners or aerosol cl eaners. Use a damp cloth for cleaning . 15 Object and Liquid Entry -- N ever push objects of any ki nd into this vi deo product through opening s as they may touch dan[...]

7 prevent fire, el ectric shock or other haz ards. 20 Safety Check - - Upon completion of any ser vice or repairs to this video pr oduct, ask the service technician to perform safety checks recommended by the manufacturer to determine that the v ideo product is in safe operati ng condition. CUSTOMER CONTROLS VCR Customer Controls Item No. Function [...]

8 Tape remaining or 35 VCR mode indi cator 29 PLAY - pl ayback 29 SRCH - double-speed play, 32 visual search and skip playback ["-" appears duri ng rever se direction v iewi ng] SLOW - slow play - REW - rewi nd 32 S:REW - high speed rew ind 29 FF - fast fo rward - S:FF - high speed fast forwar d 29 STILL - play pause and frame advance 31 [...]

9 25 OUT TO T V - signal to T V 1 0 26 VIDEO OUT jack 11 27 AUDIO OUT L, R jacks 11 Remote Control Customer Contr ols Item No. Function Page 1 Transmission w indow 8 2 POW ER button 22 3 GUIDE - to r ecall OSD menu 22 4 DISPLAY - to recall on-screen d i s p l a y 3 4 5 CLEAR - clear s time counter 36 6 VCR/TV mode select button 10 7 100/ENT button [...]

10 or search 32 16 LAST CH button - sw itches to the TV channel you w atched previ ously duri ng the current view ing session 52 17 CH (c hannel up/down) button 38 18 AVX button - sel ect L1 or L2 53 19 Number buttons 22 20 VCR, TV - dev ice buttons let you set the remote to contr ol one of the two devi ces 8 REMOTE OPERA TION Install batteries in [...]

11 Operating in the remote control 1 Make sure there is no obstacle bet w een the remote control and VCR's inf rared receiver. Note: You cannot operate the VCR if there is an obstacle (for example, coffee table, sofa, etc) between the VC R and remote control. 2 Point the remote control at the VCR's infrared receiv er and press the require[...]

12 • To get the best quality picture, recor d at standard recording speed ( SP). • This VCR does not record at the LP speed, but i t can play cassette that w ere recorded at the LP speed. Safety tabs prevent erasure The VCR automaticall y enters the play back mode when a cassette w ithout its safety tab is inserted. The VCR w on't record o[...]

13 WITH THIS HOOKUP YOU CAN... • W ATCH AVAILABLE TV CHANNELS • RECORD AND W AT CH THE S A ME CHANNEL • RECORD ONE CHANNEL A ND W ATCH A NOT HER Hookup A Illustrati on Switch the RF Channel 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. • W hen the[...]

14 BA SIC CA BLE HOOKUP [C] WITH THIS HOOKUP YOU CAN... • W A T CH AVAILABLE CABLE CH ANNELS • RECORD AND W AT CH THE S A ME CHANNEL • RECORD ONE CHANNEL A ND W ATCH A NOT HER Hookup C Illustr ation Switch the RF Channel 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[...]

15 Display the channel w hich is not used by a commercial channel in y our area. A DVA NCED CABLE HOOKUP -A V HOOKUP [D] WITH THIS HOOKUP YOU CAN... • W A T CH AVAILABLE CABLE CH ANNELS • RECORD AND W AT CH THE S A ME CHANNEL • RECORD ONE CHANNEL A ND W ATCH A NOT HER Hookup D Illustr ation BA SIC CA BLE HOOKUP -W ITH CA BLE BOX [E] WITH THIS[...]

16 Switch the RF Channel 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. • W hen the power is turned on, press the POW ER button to turn it off. Press the PLAY button on front of the VCR. Pressing the C HANNEL button alterantes betw een RFCH- 03 (channel [...]

17 A DVA NCED CA BLE HOOKUP -W ITH CA BLE BOX AND SPLITTER [G] WITH THIS HOOKUP YOU CAN... • W A T CH AVAILABLE CABLE CH ANNELS • RECORD AND W AT CH THE S A ME CHANNEL • RECORD ONE CHANNEL A ND W ATCH A NOT HER TO RECORD, ALL C HANNEL SELECTIONS MU ST BE MADE AT THE CABLE BOX. BE SURE TO CONSULT Y OUR CABLE BOX M ANUAL FOR THE CABLE BOX OUTPU[...]

18 Tips You'll need to set the cl ock when first hooking up your VCR , and any time the pow er goes out for more than 1 hour. W hen you first pl ug in the VCR or after a power outag e, the clock display w ill read "--:--". A uto clock set f unction This function sets the VCR's clock automatic ally w hen the VCR is tuned to a sta[...]

19 SETTING THE CLOCK-AU TOMA TIC MODE W I TH CABLE BOX If y our VCR is hooked up to a cabl e box (Hookups [E], [F] or [G]) Note: T u rn on the cable box before setting. 1 Turn on the TV and select the video channel (3 or 4). Or, if you ar e hooked up with an audio/v ideo cable, set the TV to AUX or VIDEO. 2 Press the GUIDE but ton. The main on-scre[...]

20 • It may take about fiv e minutes. • Since the VCR is searching for a broadcast station that tr ansmits a time signal, the channel indicati on on the cable box changes automati cally. W hen the clock is set, the scr een changes to a TV picture and the correct time appear s in the VCR's d isp la y. Notes: • If the clock is not set afte[...]

21 • This screen giv es an example w here <ATLANTIC> i s specified. 4 Press the (4) but ton to select the D.S.T. opt ion. Each time (4) i s pressed, the option for "SET D.S.T." switches from <AU TO> to <ON>, <OFF> and back to <AU TO>. <AUTO>: The daylight saving time (D.S.T) is set automatically. <[...]

22 2 Press the (3) butt on to bring up the "CLOCK SET" menu. 3 Press the (1) but ton to select "CLOC K SET <MA NUA L>". W hen "CLOCK SET <MANUAL>" i s selected, "SET TIME ZONE" (item 3) and "SET DST" (item 4) ar e not displayed. 4 Press the (2) butt on to bring up the clock set menu. •[...]

23 Click to see rem ote con t ro l illustration 7 Press the number buttons to fill in the number of the month, t hen the day then the y ear. • For dates w ith only one number ( 1-9) press the (0) button fir st, then the date. For exampl e, if today is July 8 1997, press (0)(7) (0)(8)(9) (7). The correct day of the week w ill appear by itself. 8 P[...]

24 Or, if you ar e hooked up with an audio/v ideo cable, set the TV to AUX or VIDEO. 3 Press the GUIDE but ton. Click to see rem ote cont ro l illustration. The main on-screen menu will appear on the TV screen. 4 Press the (4) but ton to select the CH A NNEL PRESET operation. 5 Press the (1) but ton to select the ty pe of receiving set up you hav e[...]

25 Channel Caption (Station Identifier) W hen your VCR is r eceiving a channel caption signal that is transmitted by a local broadcasting stati on together w ith a TV program, a station i dentifier is display ed on the TV screen. To add or erase channels The auto channel set procedure may memorize channel s that are blank, have snow y pictures, or [...]

26 4 Use the number buttons to select the number of the channel y ou w ant to add or erase. 5 Press the STOP button t o delete the channel, or press the PLA Y button to add it. 6 Press the GUIDE butt on to return to regular v iew ing. A uto blue setting 1 Turn on the TV and select the video channel (3 or 4). Or, if you ar e hooked up with an audio/[...]

27 4 Press the (1) butt on to select A UTO BLUE "ON" or " OFF". ON: The screen becomes blue and mutes sound when a channel without a broadcast signal on the VC R or a channel on w hich broadcasting has fini shed. • If the signal is too str ong, this function may not oper ate even if you specify <ON>. During playback this[...]

28 3 Press the (4) but ton to select the CH A NNEL PRESET operation. 4 Press the (1) but ton to select <C A TV2>. 5 Press the (5) but ton to select "CA BLE BOX SETUP" menu. 6 Press the (1) but ton to answer "YES" to th e question "IS A CAB LE BOX BEING USED?" Note: Ref er to the cable box owner 's manual to [...]

29 For exampl e, press (0)(3) for channel 3. 9 Press the GUIDE butt on to enter the output channel of y our cable box. • The CABLE BOX TYPE message will appear on the TV screen. 10 Press the two number buttons that match the code number of your cable box brand from the table below . For exampl e, press (3)(7) for the Hitachi brand cable box . 11 [...]

30 12 Cable box channel changed to channel 9: Press the ( 1) button to end this setting. Click to see rem ote con t ro l illustration. Your cabl e box and VCR ar e now set for VCR Plus+ program r ecording. Dependi ng on the manufacturer and model of the cable box, y ou may al so be able to use the VCR remote control to: • Change channels on the c[...]

31 • W hen a cassette wi thout its safety tab is inserted, pl ayback starts automaticall y. 3 Press the PLA Y button to start playing t he tape. Click to see remote control illustration. 4 Press the STOP button t o end play back. Rew indi ng the tape When the v ideo cassette reaches the end of t he tape, the VCR will stop automatica lly and autom[...]

32 Rew indi ng or fast forw arding the tape at high speed This function rewi nds or fast-forwards T-120 tape for about 83 seconds. This time period will v ary for dif ferent types of tape. Press the REW or F.FW D button, then press it ag ain. To stop the tape, press the STOP button. Note: During super rewind/fast/forward, there will be an interval [...]

33 Variable speed play back Still Play back (Pause) Press the PA USE button on the remote control or PLA Y/STILL on the VCR to st ill the tape during play . The picture will "freeze". You may see some minor noise or interf erence on the screen. This is norm al. • To resume play, pr ess the PLAY button or PAUSE button ag ain. Note: T he [...]

34 2 Press the (6) but ton to v iew the picture one frame at a time. • Press the PAUSE button to resume play . Skip play back W h ile playing back your tape y ou can skip forward by pressing the (6) button. The tape will search ahead about a minute then resume playing . Slow motion 1 Press the PLA Y button. 2 Press the (4) but ton to slow the pla[...]

35 Press the STOP button to stop the tape. Notes: • Use the CH ( or ) button to minimiz e any v isual noise bands on the screen. • After 1 minute in slow motion playback, the VCR w ill stop the tape automatically to prevent damage to the tape and VCR . Visual Search This function let you sear ch backward and forw ard through the v ideotape whi [...]

36 2 Press the (2) but ton to select the VCR SETUP operation. 3 Press the (4) but ton to select "HIFI" or "LINEA R". • Select Hi-Fi to playback sound recor ded on the Hi-Fi track and for normal use. The L and R indicators will light in the VCR's display panel. • Select LINEA R to play back the sound r ecorded on the lin[...]

37 2 Press the (7) butt on for rew ind or the (9) button f or forw ard to begin the index search. • The tape rewinds or fast f orwar ds until an index mar k is detected. During this search, the word IN DEX is displ ayed at the top left corner of the screen. • W hen the VCR finds an index mark, it pl ays 15 seconds of the program that beg ins at[...]

38 Press the DISPLA Y button a third t ime to see the tape remaining time. Note: Im m ediately after the tape is inserted, "-:--" will appear. 2 minutes after play back or recording is started, the tape remaining time is displ ayed. Press the CLEAR button r epeatedly to sw itch the type of the tape used. The correct remaining time will ap[...]

39 5 Press the REW butt on to rew ind the tape. It will automatically stop at th e stop where you cleared th e counter in ste p 3. • Press the PLAY button to w atch the tape from the selected spot. Notes: • Press the DISPLAY button to turn the counter display off . The selected spot will stay in memory unti l you set a new one or until the tape[...]

40 2 Insert a blank or erasable tape. The power comes on automati cally and the tape i ndicator lig hts on the display. • If a cassette without its safety tab i s inserted, playback star ts automatically , and you cannot complete the record oper ation. 3 Press the DISPLA Y button. This screen appears on the TV. 4 Press (5) button t o select SP (s[...]

41 Example: Select channel 8. • 100/ENT and (2) and (4) for channel 124. 6 Press the REC button on t he remote control or the REC/IRT butt on on the VCR. Recording will start and the REC indicator on the VCR w ill appear. Notes: • Recording will not start unless th e cassette has th e sa fety tab in pla ce . If this tab h as been removed, the V[...]

42 Notes: • You can check on the recordi ng by pressi ng VCR/TV again. T his will switch y ou ba ck to view ing through the VCR , and you'll see the pr ogram y ou are recording . • If y ou're hooked up w ith an audio/video cable: Sw itch the TV from AU X or VIDEO mode back to the TV mode, then select the channels you w ant to watch, a[...]

43 2 Press the (2) but ton to select the VCR SETUP operation. 3 Press the (6) butt on to set the SA P option to "ON" . 4 Press the (5) butt on to set the STEREO/M ONO option to "STEREO" . 5 Press the GUIDE but ton to end the setting. 6 Follow the Step 1 through 5 on "Basic Recording Steps" on pages 37 and 38. Stereo vs[...]

44 INSTA NT RECORDING TIMER Using the Instant Recording Timer (IRT) The In stant Reco rd ing Tim e r (REC/IRT bu tto n on the VCR) will let you make a simplified timer recording w ithout having to use the prog ramming ti mer. In order to set the IRT properly the clock must be set before starting. 1 Follow the steps 1 through 5 on "Basic record[...]

45 To stop recording w hile in the IRT mode: 1 Press the POWER butt on. 2 Press the STOP button wi thin 10 seconds. • This can be done either on the VCR or with the r emote control. DELA YED RECORDING Setting the VCR to record later Note: T he cassette saf ety tab must be in place in or der to record.[...]

46 W ith the delayed recording feature, you can set this VCR so that it automatically turns on and records prog rams whenev er you l ike - w ithout your bei ng around! You can record a prog ram one time only , or you can automati cally r ecord a show ev ery w eekday or ever y w eek at the same time. You can preset as many as 8 timed r ecordings at [...]

47 timer will appear. Press the PROGRAM button twice, this screen w ill appear. Ty pes of Delay ed Recordings ONE TIME Recor ds one show at a particular date and time. DAILY Records a show at the same time ever y day of the w eek, Monday throug h Friday . W EEKLY Records a show at the same day and time ev ery w eek. EXA MPLE: Set the VCR to record [...]

48 7 Press the (2) but ton for PM. 8 Enter the end time by pressing (0), (6), (3) and (0) fo r 6:30. The VCR automaticall y selects PM for you. 9 Enter the recording date by pressing (0), (7), (1) and (0) for 7/10/97. Click to see rem ote cont ro l illustration. p ic 10 Press the (5) but ton to select the recording speed EP. 11 Press the PROGRA M b[...]

49 progr ammed. • If you are using a cable box, y ou must select the channel y ou w ant to record on the cable box (in this case 08) ; and turn on the cable box. Note: You can correct any i tem entered as you g o by pressing the CLEAR button repeatedly until the dig it to be corrected changes to w hite dash "-" on the screen. Then enter[...]

50 to record w ith the VCR Plus+ sy stem you need to assig n your local broadcast and cable channel numbers to the VCR Plus+ channel codes already stored in y our VCR's memory. This i s called channel setup and y ou do it using the on-scr een Easy Guide System and the following step-by-step instructions. Then you w ill be ready to begin VCR Pl[...]

51 VCR Plus+ setup - Channel setup The following shows the procedur e you should perform w hen you are recei ving the Cable New s Networ k (channel 42 w ith the VCR Plus+ sy stem) on channel 38. Matching Broadcast CH Numbers to VCR Plus+ C hannels for Home A ntenna or Cable (No Ca bl e Box) Se tup (Hook ups [A ], [B], [C] or [D]. ) 1 Turn on the TV[...]

52 6 Press the number buttons to assign your broadcast channel number to the corresponding VCR Plus+ channel. In this ex ample broadcast channel 38 is assig ned to VCR Plus+ channel 42. Note: If you enter a w rong di git, press the CLEAR button to er ase the wrong number and enter the correct one. VCR Plus+ setup - Channel setup 7 Repeat steps 5 - [...]

53 3 Press the number buttons to enter the PlusCode number of the program y ou w a nt to record. Note: T his number can be up to eig ht digits. If you enter a wrong di git, press the CLEAR button and enter the correct one. 4 Press the PROGRA M button to st ore the PlusCode number in the VCR's memory . Ty pes of Delay ed Recordings ONE TIME Rec[...]

54 6 Press the (5) button to choose recording speed SP (standard play ) or EP (extended play ). The screen will display all the details of the program y ou chose. Check the CH number to make sure it is the r ight one. If not, you need to check y our VCR Plus+ channel setup again. 7 Rev iew the screen to be sure ev ery thing is set as y ou w ant, th[...]

55 Notes: • If you use the VCR Plus+ system to prog ram the timer w hile observi ng the VCR's displ ay, you can on ly progr am a one-time recordi ng. • To stop programming , press the POW ER button to turn the VCR power on. Remote Co ntrol Illustra tion 1 Insert a blank or eraseable tape. The power comes on automati cally and the tape i nd[...]

56 Remote Co ntrol Illustra tion 6 Press the PROGRAM button to complete your pr ogramming or continue with additional pr ograms. The d elayed record ing indicato r will display on the VCR. T his tells you th a t theVCR will automatically record at the times and dates y ou have prog rammed. W hen you have set up all the ti med recordings y ou want: [...]

57 2 Press the (1) but ton for the PROGRA M REVIEW option. This brings up the screen setting for the first prog ram. If y ou wa nt to clear this program, press the CLEA R button to remov e this program. 3 Keep pressing the (1) button to cy cle through all the programs y ou have preset. • The screen will display the nex t program, if there are mor[...]

58 3 Press and hold the "TV" but ton. 4 Press the remote button corresponding to y our TV brand as show n in the set-up chart. The TV channel will change to confirm that the remote control has been set. TV Brand Press "TV" and TV Brand Press "TV" and this remote button this re mote button Hitachi 1 Pansonic 2 9 Zenith [...]

59 INTEGRA TING YOUR STEREO SY STEM WITH YOUR VCR Hookup W hen your VCR is connected to a ster eo system, you can: • Make high q uality "audi o only" recor dings for up to 6 hours (on a T-120 v ideo cassette tape). • Receiv e quality stereo sound from your VCR through y our stereo system. • Use the VCR as an ex tra audio tape deck f[...]

60 COPYING TA PES FROM A CA MCORDER Hookup You may use your VCR to copy tapes from any camcorder onto standard VHS cassette tapes. NOTE: If your camcorder is not ster eo (has only one audi o plug), connect it to the AU DIO IN-L input on the front of the VCR. * It is not necessary to connect the S-VIDEO jack. To copy from a camcorder BEFORE YOU BEGI[...]

61 being play ed on the TV. 4 When y ou see the part of the C amcorder tape y ou w ish to copy , press the VCR PA USE button again to release pause and start copy ing the camcorder tape. • Press the stop button to finish recording . COPYING FROM ONE VCR TO A NOTHER VCR (DUBBING) Hookup If you have tw o VCRs, y ou may use one VCR to r ecord a tape[...]

62 2 Press the REC, th en PA USE buttons on VCR-1. The VC R w ill go into Record/Pause. 3 Press the PLA Y button on VCR-2. Y ou w ill see the taped program being play ed on the TV. 4 When y ou see the part of the program y ou w ish to record, press the PA USE button on VCR- 1 again to release pause and start recording. • Press the STOP button to [...]

63 speed for maxi mum programmi ng. • Safety tab has been removed from cassette. Snowy picture in playback • Snow or picture n o ise is norma l d uring search, still, an d slow P l a y b a c k . • Head cleaning may be req uired. • Tape is worn or of inf e rior quality - adjust tracking controls. Snowy picture in normal TV • Check antenna [...]

64 TECHNICA L SPECIFICA TIONS Technical specifcations Format: VHS Video Signal System: NTSC col or EIA standard Record/Play back System: Video: 4 head Audio: VHS Hi-Fi stereo record/playback system Tape Speed: 33.35 mm/sec (SP), 16.67 mm/sec (LP) (pl ayback only ), 11.12 mm/sec (EP) RF Input: U HF/VHS 75 ohm Tuner: USA: 181 channel tuning ability *[...]

65 In Canada MONTREAL 514-956- 9882 TORONTO 905-821-4545 VANCOUVER 604-214-0777 iThis unit does NOT do DSS control. This i s incorrect.[...]