Parasound AVC-2500 manual

O W N E R ' S M A N U A L A V C - 2 50 0 Aud io Vide o C ontrol l er[...]

2 T able of Contents Impor tant Safety Instructions ---------------------------------------------------------------- 4 Introduction --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9 About this Manual ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 9 Unpacking and Inspection ----[...]

3 A VC-2500 Audio Video Controller Features • Full 24 bit Processing Using Three Motorola 56009 DSPs • DTS, Dolb y Digital, and Dolby Pro Logic Decoding • THX Ultra Processing of DTS , Dolby Digital, and Dolb y Pro Logic • Ref erence Quality FM/AM Stereo T uner with 20 Presets • A utomatic Calibration System of Le vel and Dela y for All C[...]

4 Important Safety Instructions Sav e these instructions for future use This triangle alerts you to the dangerous v oltages inside that may be a shock hazard. This triangle alerts you to important operating and maintenance instructions in this manual. ü Follo w all instructions and warnings marked on the unit. ü Always use with the correct line v[...]

5 Español Instrucciones Importantes de Seguridad Guarde esta instrucciones para uso posterior . Utilice siempre el v oltaje correcto. Dirijase a las instrucciones de operación del fabricante para obtener las especificaciones de potencia. Esté al tanto de que v oltajes de operación distintos requleren el uso de cables y/o enchufes distintos. No [...]

6 Deutsch Wichtige Sicherheitsanweisungen Heben Sie sich diese Sicherheitsanweisungen auch für später auf. Befolgen Sie alle auf der V orrichtung stehenden Anweisungen und W arnungen. Immer nur mit der richtigen Spannung v erw enden! Die Gebrauchsanweisungen des Herstellers informieren Sie über die elektrischen Anforderungen V erg essen Sie nich[...]

7 Dansk Vigtig inf ormation om sikkerhed Gem denne V ejledning til senere brug. Folg alle an visninger og adv arsler pá apparatet. Apparatet skal altid tilsluttes den korrekte spænding. Der hen vises til brugsanvisningen, der indeholder specifikationer for strømforsyning. Der gøres opmærksom pá, at ved v arierende dr iftsspændinger kan det b[...]

8 Norsk Viktig Informasjon om sikkerhet T a v are pá denne veiledningen for senere bruk. Folg alle an visningene og advarslene som er angitt pá apparatet. Apparatet skal alltid an vendes med k o rrekt spenning. Produktbeskri velsen inneholder spesif ikasjoner f or stromkrav . Vær oppmerksom pá at det v ed ulike driftsspenninger kan være nodven[...]

9 Introduction Congratulations on your purchase of this precision component and thank you for selecting Parasound. Y our new A VC-2500 Audio V ideo Controller is designed to be the heart of the finest imaginable home theater system and to provide y ou with years of listening and viewing enjoyment. Intuiti ve front panel and remote control operation[...]

10 Audio 6 Record Video 2 Record Front Surround Video 3 Center L R Subs IR IR DC Triggers Trigger 2 Zone 1 Main Audio Video 4 Video 5 Monitor OSD S Video Inputs Outputs Digital Inputs Video 1 75 Ω AM Ground Video 6 Video 6 Record YC b Cr Input 1 YC b Cr Input 2 YC b Cr Monitor Monitor No OSD Video 2 Video 3 Video 4 Video 5 Video 1 Video 6 Coax 1 [...]

11 1. A udio/Video 1-6 Analog Inputs All six audio/video analog inputs are com- patible with typical analog line le vel sources. Connect the left and right ana- log audio output of your audio/video source components to these inputs. 2. Video 6 Re cord Use the V ideo 6 input and output for the VCR you intend to use for recording. Connect the left an[...]

12 AVC-2500 Audio Video Controller VIDEO 1 CINEMA COAXIAL 1 -15dB On-Off Preset Source Cal Mic Digital Surround THX Zone Memory FM/AM Mute Tuning Pro Logic DTS Dolby Digital Overload 12 3 4 5 6 7 8 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 9[...]

13 1. P ower Switch Press the On-Off b utton to turn the A VC- 2500 on and of f. When you f irst turn on the A VC-2500, the on-screen and front panel displays show the last selected source input, digital input, surround mode, and master volume le vel. If the tuner is acti ve, the frequency and preset number are displayed. 2. Infrared Receiver Infra[...]

14 A VC D VD CD AUX SA T On-Off Digital Surround Digital Setup Tr i m V olume Mem Enter Auto Audio T une T une Auto Video V olume Mute Status Disc T uning FM/AM A. Cal Sleep Dim A ud 1 A ud 4 Vid 1 Vid 4 A ud 2 A ud 5 Vid 2 Vid 5 A ud 3 A ud 6 Vid 3 Light Shift Zone MAC 1 MAC 2 MAC 3 MAC 4 1 23 45 67 89 1 0 Vid 6 Surround TV THX Dyn VCR CBL 22 3 7 [...]

15 1. On-Off Button This button tur ns the A VC-2500 On and Off. 2. Digital Selection Buttons The Digital g g g g g and h h h h h buttons allo w you to scroll up or do wn through all six digital inputs and the analog input. 3. Surr ound Selection Buttons The Surr ound g g g g g and h h h h h buttons allo w you to scroll through all fi ve Autoformat[...]

16 Play/Out L R DVD Player Rec/In Video Cassette Recorder TV Monitor Left Speaker Center Speaker Right Speaker Left Surround Right Surround Zone Left Zone Right Subwoofer Audio Out Digital Out Coaxial Toslink L R S-Video Out Component Video Out Composite Video Out S-Video In Component Video In Composite Video In L R Zone TV Monitor Audio Out Compos[...]

17 Making Connections to Y our A VC-2500 Precautions Before making any connections to your A VC-2500, be sure to turn off the po wer to your amplifiers. When connecting cables to the A VC-2500, make sure there is no strain or tension on any connections that could cause them to pull loose later . Rear P anel Connections There are ninety-three connec[...]

18 5.1 Analog Inputs The 5.1 Analog Input jacks are designed to accept up to six channels of processed analog output from a D VD player or other component with discrete outputs. Connect the six discrete outputs of your source component to the corresponding 5.1 Analog Input jacks of the A VC- 2500. Note: Y ou will need an optional module to control [...]

19 Zone External Remote Contr ol The Zone External IR allo ws for control of the A VC-2500 from a r emote z one. The input connector accepts a standard 1/8-inch (3.5 mm) two conductor mini plug. (The tip is positi ve and the slee ve is ne gative). Y our Authorized Parasound Dealer or Custom Installer can recommend a compatible infrared repeater sys[...]

20 Antenna Connections Y ou will not be able to receiv e an y radio stations unless you connect FM and AM antennas to the A VC-2500. The following are options to connect FM and AM antennas: FM Dipole Antenna A standard FM “folded dipole” 300 Ω wire antenna is included with your A VC-2500. This dipole antenna is adequate for most urban and sub[...]

21 Outputs Connect the Component V ideo Monitor Output connectors of your A VC-2500 to the corresponding input connectors of your video line processor or directly to your monitor or projector . Y ou can select whether the on-screen display will appear a t the Component V ideo Output connectors during the setup process. Refer to the setup section fo[...]

22 Composite and S-Video Monitor Output Connections If your video monitor or projector is equipped with separate input connections and switching for NTSC/P AL composite video, S-video, and component video, you can connect all three video formats to the A VC-2500’ s corresponding Composite V ideo, S-V ideo or Component V ideo Output connectors. No[...]

23 Preset Button Pressing the Pr eset b utton once automatically selects the tuner , e ven if a dif ferent source was already selected. It temporarily con verts the knob from controlling v olume to become the Pr eset Selector for the stations that were stored into the 20 possible memory presets. Its blue LED will stay lit for fi ve seconds during w[...]

24 A utomatic Calibration Micr ophone Input Connection The front panel Cal Mic jack is for the A CM-2500 A utomatic Calibration Microphone that is used for automatic calibration of indi vidual channel lev els and delay times. Plug the A CM- 2500 into this jack during the Setup process. Refer to the Setup section of this manual for details regarding[...]

25 A VC 2500 Remote Contr ol Buttons On-Off This b utton operates the same as the On-Off b utton on the front panel. There are also separate on and off control codes for ease of use while setting up macros or programming e xternal system controllers. Press the On-Off to turn the unit on or of f. Press Shift + THX for an on-only command. Press Shift[...]

26 A uto A udio When you press and hold this button do wn for thr ee seconds, the A VC-2500 scans for a source that is playing. It will search for an y activ e digital or analog audio signal and automatically switch to that source with the accompan ying digital or analog audio input, video, and ASP mode you had assigned to that Input Source. This a[...]

27 Sleep Timer The Sleep button sets the A VC-2500 to automatically turn itself off. Each press of the Sleep button ad ds 15 minutes to the sleep timer, up to a maximum of 90 min utes. Dur ing the last two minutes of the sleep timer , the volume le vel gradually drops before the A VC-2500 turns of f. Y ou can adjust the speed at which the v olume r[...]

28 SOURCE COAXIAL 1 VIDEO 1 15 dB THX CINEMA INPUT VIDEO 1 COAXIAL 1 S-VIDEO NTSC MODE THX CINEMA DOLBY DIGIT AL 3/2.1 15 dB SOURCE 105.50 MHz FM TUNER P5 15 dB STEREO INPUT VIDEO 1 FM 105.5 MHz COMPOSITE NTSC MODE STEREO ANALOG SOURCE VIDEO 1 MEMORIZED INPUT VIDEO 1 COAXIAL 1 S-VIDEO NTSC MODE VIDEO 1 memorized THX CINEMA DOLBY DIGIT AL 3/2.1 SOUR[...]

29 A utoformat Surr ound Pr ocessing Modes (ASP) Y our A VC-2500 automatically detects the type of digital signal present at the chosen digital input and will decode it based upon the Autofor mat Surround Processing (ASP) mode you ha v e selected for that input. This adv anced feature takes the guesswork out of selecting the correct surround mode e[...]

30 THX Cinema By pressing the THX button on the remote control or on the front panel, you can activ ate the adv anced Home THX Ultra enhancements listed belo w . The A VC-2500 is among the very fe w A V Controllers designed and qualified for THX Ultra Certif ica tion. Films that ha ve been encoded in Dolby Digital, DTS, Dolby Pro Logic, Stereo or e[...]

31 T w o-channel PCM PCM encoded material is found on compact discs and laserdiscs. In the Music ASP mode, the A VC-2500 plays back audio in the left, center , and right channels. Proprietary ambiance ef fects are routed to the surr ound channels. The subw oof er is acti ve in this mode. Analog A udio T wo-channel analog material is typically found[...]

32 DTS In the Stereo ASP mode, the A VC-2500 automatically decodes DTS encoded source material. The A VC-2500 plays back downmix ed two-channel audio in the left and right channels. The subwoofer is acti v e in this mode T wo-channel PCM PCM encoded material is found on compact discs and laser discs. In the Stereo ASP mode, the A VC-2500 automatica[...]

33 Placement of Y our Home Theater Speakers Speaker Placement Proper speaker placement is essential for optimum performance of your home theater sys- tem. The following are basic guidelines for speaker placement based upon idealized condi- tions. Y ou may need to make placement compromises to allo w for room shap e, furniture placement, windo ws, d[...]

34 Subw oofer Because of their long w avelengths, lo w bass frequencies are critically dependent on room placement to a void bass-robbing standing wa ves or null points. Sometimes moving a subwoofer a fe w inches makes the dif ference between thin, weak bass and room shaking, foundation-rattling bass. One of the most reliable methods to correctly p[...]

35 CENTER MONITOR Equidistant Equidistant RIGHT LEFT SUBWOOFER Null Null Left Surround Right Surround CENTER MONITOR Equidistant Equidistant RIGHT LEFT SUBWOOFER Left Surround Right Surround Typical home theater setup using THX dipole surround speakers. Note that all three front speakers are the same distance to the listening area. Typical home the[...]

36 SOURCE SETUP BASS MGMT SETUP SPEAKER LEVEL SETUP SPEAKER DELA Y SETUP OSD SETUP DC TRIGGER SETUP SYSTEM SETUP SETUP MENUS Label Input: [select name] Comp Video: [Input 1 or 2] T rigger Source: [Y es/No] Le vel: [0 dB] Analog input: (0dB) SOURCE SETUP MAIN: [Small/THX or Large] CENTER: [Small, Large, None] SURROUND: [Small, Large , None] SUBWOOFE[...]

37 INPUT DEF A UL TS Default Settings Basic or Complete Video 1 Coaxial 1 Digital Input; Cinema Mode Not Applicab le Video 2 Optical 1 Digital Input; Cinema Mode Not Applicab le Video 3 Analog Input; Cinema Mode Not Applicable Video 4 Analog Input; Cinema Mode Not Applicable Video 5 Analog Input; Cinema Mode Not Applicable Video 6 Analog Input; Cin[...]

38 Setting up your A VC 2500 The A VC-2500 will work without any initial setup, so you may enjoy it right out of the box. Ho wev er , there are eight le vels of setup procedures that you can perform one at a time or all at once to assure easy operation and future enjoyment. Y our remote control is required for all setup procedures. W e ha ve pre-pr[...]

39 Renaming Inputs Y ou can rename each of A VC-2500’ s twelve Source inputs (Audio/V ideo 1-6, Audio 1-6) from a b uilt-in library of popular source component names or you can create your own names. For e xample, you can program your Audio/V ideo 1 Source to read DV D PLA YER , your Audio/V ideo 2 Source to read VCR 1 , and your A udio 2 Source [...]

40 Assigning the Input Sour ce to Activate the External DC T rigger Y ou can program the input sour ce to acti vate the e xternal Main and/or Zone 12 V DC trigger located on the rear panel, whenev er the source is selected. When programmed together with DC TRIGGER SETUP , you can acti v ate the external DC trigger whene ver you select a particular [...]

41 T o Automaticall y Set the Analog Input Level: 1. Play material through the input source. Select source material with loud transient peaks. 2. Press and hold the Setup/T rim b utton on the remote control until SOURCE SETUP appears on the front panel or on-screen display . 3. Press the T une < or > buttons until ANALOG INPUT appears in the [...]

42 T o Setup Bass Management for y our Surround Speakers: 1. If you are not already in the Bass Management setup menu, follow steps 1 and 2 from abov e and use the T une f f f f f or e e e e e buttons until SURROUND and LARGE a ppear in the displays. 2. Press the V olume g g g g g or h h h h h buttons to select either SMALL / THX , LARGE , or NONE [...]

43 Setup Menu Le vel Three - Calibrating Channel Levels The A VC-2500 is equipped with adv anced circuitry that automatically calibrates your home theater system’ s individual channel le vels. The easiest method to calibr ate channel output lev els and delay times in your home theater system is with Automa tic Calibration. Before you start this p[...]

44 7. Repeat lev el adjustments for all channels. 8. Press the Mem/Enter button to turn of f the noise generator . 9. Press the Setup/T rim button to adv ance to SPEAKER DELA Y SETUP , or press and hold the Setup/T rim button f or three seconds to exit SPEAKER DELA Y SETUP and return to normal operation. T o Manually Calibrate Channel Le vels with [...]

45 Setup Menu Level Five - On-Screen Displa y Setup Pr ocedures This setup feature giv es you the option of having an on-screen information display for any of the video outputs. Y ou can turn on or of f the on-screen display at the Composite V ideo, S- V ideo , or Component V ideo outputs. Y ou can also pr ogram the display default system to be for[...]

46 The follo wing describes the list of e vent labels in the DC TRIGGER setup menu and which e v ent acti v a tes the Main ( 1 ) or Zone ( 2 ) T ri ggers . Event Label Event Executed to Activ ate T rigger Po wer DC T rigger is acti vated by turning on the system from that zone. Manual DC T rigger is manually acti v ated by pressing the Shift + V ol[...]

47 Pr ogramming the Learning Remote Control The Par asound univ e rsal remote control can control up to eight dif ferent Audio/V ideo components. It is preprogrammed to operate the Par asound A VC-2500 Audio V ideo Controller and Parasound CD players. Y ou can also program codes from an ad ditional six components under the D VD, A UX, Satellite, TV[...]

48 T o Erase All the Programmed Commands within a P age 1. Press and hold the device b utton and Mem/Enter buttons simultaneously until the amber status LED and the device b utton turns on and r emains lit. 2. Press and hold the Light b utton for fi ve seconds. The status LED will flash red fi ve times, flash green twice and return to steady amber [...]

49 Remote Control Shift + Commands There are sev eral “secondary” codes on the learning remote contr ol used for adv anced programming and automation that provide optional methods of controlling the A VC-2500. For e xample, there are separate on and of f commands, direct acces to ASP modes and digital inputs. Belo w is a chart of all of the sec[...]

50 Operating Y our A VC-2500 Congratulations, no w that you hav e completed the setup procedur es, you are ready to sit back and really enjoy your A VC-2500. The follo wing are typical operating instructions for vie wing a f ilm, listening to music, using the tuner , and operating the remote zone. Vie wing a Film Manuall y 1. T urn the power on to [...]

51 A utomatically 1. T urn the po w er on to your A VC-2500, source equipment, and power amplif iers. If you ha ve incorporated DC tr iggering, the A VC-2500 may turn on the other equipment for you. 2. Load a CD or other media, and press Play . 3. Press the Auto A udio button on the remote control. The A VC-2500 automatically detects the input sour[...]

52 Manual T uning fr om the Fr ont P anel 1. Activ ate the tuner in the manual tuning mode by pressing the T uning button on the front panel twice. The Rotary Knob then becomes the tuning knob . PRESET [ NUMBER OR NAME ], [ FREQUENCY ] MAN , and [ FM or AM ] appear in the displays. 2. Select the FM or AM band. 3. T une up or down incrementally by t[...]

53 Operating the Remote Zone From the Fr ont P anel 1. When Zone is selected , you ha ve about f iv e seconds to press a button to control the Zone. If the Zone is currently of f, ZONE OFF appears in the displays. Use the On-Off b utton to acti v ate the zone . 2. Press the Zone button f irst to control the remote zone from the main zone. ZONE appe[...]

54 T o T rim Individual Channel Levels 1. Press the Setup/T rim button on the remote control until source SPEAKER LEVEL TRIM , SUBWOOFER [ PRESET CAL LEVEL ] dB appears on the front panel or on-screen display . 2. Press the V olume g g g g g or h h h h h buttons to adjust the subwoofer to the desired le v el. 3. Press the T une f f f f f or e e e e[...]

55 Important Notice Before Shipping your A VC-2500 Before you ship the unit to Parasound, you MUST repack the unit into its f itted foam insert sandwich and its original carton. Use of any other carton and packing materials will prob- ably result in shipping damage. Common carriers such as UPS will not pay claims for dam- age incurred during shipme[...]

56 Button Assignment W or ksheet f or Lear ning Remote Component Component Instructions: write down stored codes into the blank b uttons f or each programmed component.[...]

57 Button Assignment W or ksheet f or Lear ning Remote Component Component Instructions: write down stored codes into the blank b uttons f or each programmed component.[...]

58 Button Assignment W or ksheet f or Lear ning Remote Component Component Instructions: wr ite down stored codes into the b lank buttons f or each programmed component.[...]

59 A VC-2500 Installation W orksheet Date Installed:___________________________________ Installer:________________________________________ Phone Number___________________________________ Input Sources Digital Input ASP Mode Name Component T rigger Le vel A/D Level Video Input Video 1 __________ ___________ ________ 1 / 2 / None Y es / No _______ dB[...]

60 A VC-2500 Installation W orksheet Date Installed:___________________________________ Installer:________________________________________ Phone Number___________________________________ Input Sources Digital Input ASP Mode Name Component T rigger Le vel A/D Level Video Input Video 1 __________ ___________ ________ 1 / 2 / None Y es / No _______ dB[...]

61 A VC-2500 Specifications Frequency Response Front 10 Hz-24 kHz Rear 10 Hz-24 kHz Center (Small or THX) 80 Hz-24 kHz Center (Large ) 10 Hz-24 kHz Subwoofer 10 Hz-80 Hz Harmonic Distortion Front < 0.006 % Center < 0.006 % Rear < 0.005 % Subwoofer < 0.006 % Input Impedance All Inputs 10 k Ω IM Distortion (1 kHz 1V Output) All Channels[...]

62 A VC-2500 T uner Specifications T uning Range FM: 87.5 MHz to 108 MHz AM: 520 kHz to 1610 kHz FM Sensitivity Mono IHF 11 dBf Stereo IHF 37 for 50 dB of quieting AM Sensitivity IHF 10 uV/m Signal to Noise Ratio >74 dB Stereo 65 dBf IHF W eighted FM Stereo Separation 50 dB @ 1 kHz 40 dB @ 10 kHz FM Selectivity 80 dB AM Selectivity 30 dB FM Freq[...]

63 Parasound Products, Inc. 950 Battery Street, San Francisco, CA 94111 415-397-7100 / FAX 415-397-0144 www.parasound.com © 1999 Parasound Products, Inc. Rev 0.91[...]