Hitachi VM-H720A manual

For Your Sa fety - 1 - Instruction Manual 8mm Video Camcorder VM-H620A / VM-H720A Hitachi Home Electronics (A merica), Inc. HITACHI (HSC) CA NADA INC 3890 Steve Rey nolds Blvd., Norcr oss, G A 30093 3300 Trans Canada Highway, Pointe Claire, Tel. 770-279- 5600 Quebec, H9R 1B1, CANADA Tel. 514-697- 9150 HITACHI SA LES CO RPORA TION O F HA WA II, INC [...]

For Your Sa fety - 2 - TA BLE OF CONTENTS For Your Safet y ................................................................................................................ ... 4 Important Safeguards .......................................................................................................... 6 IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTI ONS FOR AC ADAP[...]

For Your Sa fety - 3 - Simple Pr ogram mable Edi t (Edit r emote c ontrol is opti onal accessor y ) ............ 46 Contro llin g Your T V with the Cam c o rder's Rem o te Control ................................ 49 Using Audio/Vid eo Du bbing ...................................................................................... 50 Recordin g [...]

For Your Sa fety - 4 - For Your Safety The CAM/OFF/VIDEO switch tur ns the camcor der on and off, leaving the date/time feature unaffected. If the unit is to be left unattended for a long per iod of time, turn the camcor der off and attach the lens cap. WA RNING: TO PREVENT FIRE O R SHOCK HAZARD, DO NO T EX POSE T HIS UNIT T O RAIN OR MOIST URE. Th[...]

For Your Sa fety - 5 - particular ins tallation. If this equipment does cause har mf ul interf erence to radio or television reception, which can be deter mined by turning the equipment of f and on, the us er is encouraged to try to correct by one or mor e of the following m easures : -- Reorient or relocate the rec eiving antenna. -- Incr ease the[...]

Important Sa feguards - 6 - Important Safeguards In addition to the caref ul attention devoted to quality standards in the m anuf acture of your video product, saf ety is a major factor in the design of ever y instrum ent. But, saf ety is y our responsibility too. This page lists im portant inf orm ation that will help to assure your enjoyment and [...]

Important Sa feguards - 7 - bed, sofa, r ug or other sim ilar s urfac e. This video product should never be placed near or over a radiator or heat r egister. T his video produc t should not be placed in a built-in ins tallation such as a bookc ase or rac k unles s proper ventilation is provided or the video produc t m anufactur er's instruc ti[...]

Important Sa feguards - 8 - 16 Lightning -- For added protec tion for this video product dur ing a lightning storm , or when it its left unattended and unused f or long periods of tim e, unplug it f rom the wall outlet and disconnect the antenna or cable-s y stem . Th is will prevent dam age to the video product due to lightning and power-line surg[...]

IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTI O NS FOR AC ADAPTER/CHARGER - 9 - IMPORTA NT SA FETY INSTRUCTIONS FOR A C A DA PTER/CHARGER 1. Save these Instruc tions -- This page contains im portant saf ety and operating instructions f or AC Adapter/Charger Model VM-AC 85A. 2. Before us ing AC Adapter/Charger, r ead all instructions and cautionary mark ings on ( 1) A[...]

Read This First - 10 - Read This First To guide you, we've inc luded: • A "Before You Begin" sect ion containing im portant cautions for your fam ily's safety as well as instruct ion for getting your video cam corder r eady for use. Please read and unders tand this section thor oughly before m oving on. • A "Getting Sta[...]

Before Y ou Begin - 11 - Before You Begin Any problem s that occ ur as a res ult of any of the following conditions will not be covered by our warranty .  Be caref ul that no water, dust or sand enter s the cam cor der and all acces sories.  W hen you shoot at a scene which contains an extr emely bright object s uch as the sun or a light sour[...]

Before Y ou Begin - 12 - Optional RF A dapter If you wi sh to connect this cam corder to a television that does not have audio/video input jac ks y ou will need to use the optional RF adapter m odel VM-RF86A ( R). The RF adapter can be purchas ed by calling the telephone number below. For your convenience Visa, Master Car d, and Am erican Expr ess [...]

Before Y ou Begin - 13 - Lens Cap Using the lens cap str i ng: Pass the str ing through the lens cap and gr ip belt and attach it as shown in the f igure. Removing the lens cap Alway s attach the lens cap to pr otect the lens when carr y ing or storing the c amc order. During shooting attach the lens c ap as shown in the figur e to prevent it from [...]

Getting Started - 14 - Getting Sta rted This sec tion guides you thr ough the initial preparation of the camc order. None of these pr ocesses are complex. Set as ide some time, relax , and familiarize yourself with this quality instrument. Enjoy getting to know all about your Hitachi 8mm camc order. The more c omfortable and familiar you are with t[...]

Getting Started - 15 - Refres hing a fully charged battery takes approxim ately 4 hours (VM-BP82G ), adding considerable tim e to batter y charging. W ith repeated norm al char ging and use the battery will gradually lose operating time. W hen operation tim e becom es too shor t to be useful, r eplace the battery. If the POW ER light begins to flas[...]

Getting Started - 16 - Ey epiece A djustment To us e the electronic viewf inder, turn this contr ol for your optimum f ocus adj ustm ent. A djustment the Hand Strap Adjust the hand st rap to best fit your hand. After adj ustm ent, hook the hand s trap's pad sec urely. Loading Batteri es Install the batteries to pr event misplacing them. Clock [...]

Getting Started - 17 - 1. Pull out the battery holder. 2. Insert the battery with the "+" terminal f acing up. 3. Fully insert the battery holder into the cam corder . Remote Control Battery 1. Push the tab to the right of the r em ote control and hold it, then rem ove the battery holder. 2. Press the PLAY button and hold it for about two[...]

Getting Started - 18 - Note: Keep the batteries in a dark , cool, dr y place. Camcorder Batteries Using Battery Pack Before you install the batter y for the firs t time it must be fully c harged. Refer to "Charging the Battery" on page 12 for details . 1. Lift the OPEN lever and pull it up. The power s upply attachm ent cover will open. 2[...]

Getting Started - 19 - Note: If the OPEN lever is f lat, the cover will not close. Note: Alway s rem ove the battery from the c am corder af ter use. Note: W e cannot guarantee agains t m alfunctions of the cam cor der which occur when y ou use battery packs other than those specif ied. Note: Alway s attach a battery by the procedure descr ibed her[...]

Getting Started - 20 - This symbol indicates a par tially charged battery. This flashing symbol indic ates a battery nearly out of power. Use an alternate power source or c harge the battery before continuing to use the c am corder. Using A lkaline Dr y -Cell Batter i es The camcor der can be powered by six alkaline dr y-cell batter ies inserted in[...]

Getting Started - 21 - Note: Use only "AA" alkaline batteries m ark ed "LR6". (Manganes e batteries cannot be used to power the cam corder.) Note: It is rec omm ended that you use alkaline batteries within the recom mended per iod of use or within two y ears of the date of m anufacture. Note: Be caref ul of the f ollowing to pre[...]

Getting Started - 22 - 1. Plug the AC adapter/charger power cord into an AC outlet. Mak e sure that the wide blade fits into the wide slot. If it doesn't f it try reversing it. If you still cannot m ake f it the blades fully into the outlet either contact an elec trician to replac e your obsolete outlet, or use a polarized cord or outlet acces[...]

Getting Started - 23 - Inserting a Cassette 1. Slide the EJECT switch in the direction of the arrow. T he cass ette door opens autom atically. 2. Place the cass ette in the cass ette holder so that the transpar ent window faces away from the body of the cam cor der and the sproc kets toward the body of the cam corder . 3. Push the cas sette holder,[...]

Getting Started - 24 - Using the Linear Ti me Counter The linear time counter displays the tape r un in hours, minutes, and s econds, helping y ou to keep track of how long y ou've been filming or time you hav e left to film before running out of tape. Turn the c am corder on to dis play the linear tim e counter. T he linear tim e counter k ee[...]

Getting Started - 25 - Make s ure that the curr ent tim e is displayed correctly before you start film ing. 1. Load the battery ("Loading the Batteries: Camcor der batteries" p.15). Pr ess the red button on the CAM/OFF/VIDEO switch as you slide it to CAM. 2. Press the DAT E/T ITLE button and look into the viewfinder. T he date and tim e s[...]

Getting Started , Ide ntifying Controls - 26 - Getting Started, Identify ing Controls Left side/Rear Cam er a Illustration 1. Lens F1.6 (4~48m m ) 12:1 power zoom lens with auto f ocus and auto iris functions . 2. Viewfinder BRIGHT, COLOR and TINT controls Refer to page 56. 3. Cassette Holder Close Bu tton CA UTION: Be sure to pr ess this button to[...]

Getting Started , Ide ntifying Controls - 27 - Press thes e buttons sim ultaneously to select m anual or autom atic f ocus. F or m anual foc using ("Using Manual Focus ", p. 36), press the F or N buttons to bring the s ubject into f ocus. W hen using m anual foc us, FOCUS appear s in the viewfinder. 14. FA DE Button The FADE button f eatu[...]

Getting Started , Ide ntifying Controls - 28 - to the next lower channel. For thes e to operate, you must have pres et y our channels. ("Controlling your TV with the Camcorder 's Rem ote Control" P51). 30. Recorder's Remote Co ntrol The s haded buttons on the rem ote control have the s am e functions as the corr esponding button[...]

Basic Technique s - 29 - Basic Techniques The batteries are in plac e and charged, the date and time are s et, and you are familiar with the controls. Is time to make a rec ording. Basic rec ording is eas y and simple. Hooking up the camcorder to your TV is not complicated but give y ourself plenty of time to ensure connec tions are correc t. This [...]

Basic Technique s - 30 - turns of f autom atically. To restar t it press the Star t/Stop button and the cam era returns to record/paus e mode. Play ing Back Your Recording Depending on the setup of your v ideo equipment, you connect the c amcorder in one of the 3 methods explained below. Connecting to a Television w ith a VCR Attached 1. Connect th[...]

Basic Technique s - 31 - cable (provided) with the connection shown above, unplug the AV stereo output c able from the AV IN/OUT j ack of the cam c order. 2. Connect the fr ee square plug to the AV IN/OUT jack of the cam corder. 3. Insert a rec orded cass ette into the cam corder. 4. Turn on your television and set to the cam c order input m ode (c[...]

Basic Technique s - 32 - Note: W hen you engage play /paus e m ode the still pictur e will have som e interfer ence or noise. T his is nor mal. Using Forw ard and Reverse Search W hen looking f or a partic ular point in your videotape use the F.F button and REW button to f ind the spot quick ly. • Press F .F button during playback to play the tap[...]

Basic Technique s - 33 - Note: The indic ation showing double speed playback does not appear. Note: W hen double speed playback is ac tivated, both the picture and s ound are played back at twice the norm al speed. T his will cause nois e lines to appear on the pictur e and the sound to becom e warbled. (W ith som e tapes the width of the nois e ba[...]

Advanced Techni ques - 34 - A dv anced Techniques The Hitachi VM-H620A/H720A offers a div erse group of featur es that add interes t and excitement to your video. Adding fades to smooth transitions creates v ideo with a professional look. As you learn and pr actice with these featur es think of s ituations that they might fit in and add a special t[...]

Advanced Techni ques - 35 - No Display - No Date Recording The cam c order does not r ecord the date. Date and Time - Date and Time Recor ding The c amc order rec ords the date and tim e with the picture all the tim e. 3. Press the s tart/stop button. Rec ording will start. Note: W hen  AUTO and date display is selected, the date disappears abou[...]

Advanced Techni ques - 36 - Note: This digital zoom has c ertain lim itation and m ay degradate at extreme m agnif ication and amplif y camcor der's m ovem ent. Press and hold the power zoom T c ontrol until you find the picture you w ant. You control the zoom with the power zoom T and W c ontrols. W hen Z OOM is not dis played in the view fin[...]

Advanced Techni ques - 37 - The auto f ocus will not work under the following conditions and y ou mus t foc us m anually: Objects outside the center of the viewfinder Object s at diff erent distanc es in the center of the viewfinder Brightly lit objects such as a neon light, objects lit by spotlight, etc. Object s behind water dappled or dusty glas[...]

Advanced Techni ques - 38 - control to zoom to the pic ture you w ant, the picture m ay fall out of f ocus when actual rec ording starts. 3. Press the F ocus c ontrol F (f ar) or N ( near) button until the subj ect is in f ocus. 4. Use the power zoom W contr ol to zoom back to the picture you desire. Note: To r eturn to auto focus press the FOCUS c[...]

Advanced Techni ques - 39 - Using Fade Use the fade feature to add a profes sional touch to your r ecordings. Us e the FADE button to select one of the three fade options . • W hite fade: Fades in from a white scr een or fades out to a white screen. appears in the upper left c orner of the viewfinder. • W ipe fade: T he picture opens gradually [...]

Advanced Techni ques - 40 - Using 16x9 Pressing the 16x 9 button during recor ding or recording paus e fades the top and bottom of the picture in the viewfinder to black. • "16x9" is dis play ed in the viewfinder. • W hen the 16x9 button is pr essed again, "16x9" dis appears and the norm al pic ture is r estored. Using Insta[...]

Advanced Techni ques - 41 - Using M acro This function allows you to shoot subjects as close as 3/8 inches ( 1cm ). Press and hold the power zoom control W . The cam er a focus es on the subj ect autom atically. Check your lighting as it tends to be insuf ficient when film ing c lose up. Date Search The date searc h function memorizes the start and[...]

Advanced Techni ques - 42 - the battery providing the power to the camcor der is rem oved. Note: W hen the cass ette was recorded by another cam corder, the date s earch f unction does not operate. Note: The date s earch f unction is releas ed when y ou press the ST OP button during date search m ode. Note: If the rec orded tim e is less than 30 se[...]

Advanced Techni ques - 43 - Note: The linear time c ounter with the mem ory feature in the viewfinder c an also be displayed on the connected television. Using the Wireless Remote Control Use the wireless remote control to oper ate the camcorder from a distance. T he PLAY, F.FW D, REW, ST OP, PAUSE (START/ST OP) and ZOO M buttons on the wireless r [...]

Advanced Techni ques - 44 - 4. Use the ST OP button to place the curs or where you w ish to begin y our title. 5. Use the F.FW D and REW buttons to select the f irst char acter of y our title. 6. Once you've selected a character press the ST OP button to s et it. 7. Complete the title by repeating steps 5 and 6. 8. W hen you complete your titl[...]

Advanced Techni ques - 45 - Recording a Created Title w hile Transferring a Tape 1. Connect the cam corder to the VCR (p.27). 2. Turn on the VCR and s et it to record. Hold down the red button on the CAM/OF F/VIDEO switch while sliding the switch to VIDEO. Pres s PLAY on the cam corder . 3. Press the T IT LE ON/OF F button on the rem ote control at[...]

Advanced Techni ques - 46 - play back . To res um e recording on the tape in the VCR, pres s the Start/Stop button and then the S.EDIT button. To f ast for ward or rewind the tape, press the ST OP button, then F.FW D or REW . To r eturn to recording on the tape in the VCR, pr ess the ST OP button, then the PLAY button, then the Start/Stop button, a[...]

Advanced Techni ques - 47 - hold it. If the rem ote contr ol code has been s et, the VCR channel is counted up autom atic ally . Note: Your VCR should have an infrar ed rem ote control. Note: If the channel on the VCR does not change with the above operation, you need to switch the rem ote control c ode of your VCR. Refer to the VCR's ins truc[...]

Advanced Techni ques - 48 - 3. Set the CAM/OFF/VIDEO switch of the cam c order to VIDEO. T urn the rec ording VCR on and select line input. 4. Press the PRO GRAM button of the r em ote control. T he program display appears in the viewfinder. Note: If your VCR is connected to a T V, the program display will also appear on the TV screen. 5. Press the[...]

Advanced Techni ques - 49 - Note: After the s imple pr ogram m able edit is finis hed, the program m ed data is eras ed. If you want to continue editing other segm ents, repeat s teps 5 - 12. Note: Most VCRs ( recording m achine) m ay be released f rom the record paus e m ode if it continues f or m ore than five m inutes. Note: The dubbing s tart a[...]

Advanced Techni ques - 50 - Gold Star 1 F.FW D Tos hiba AV DUB Gold Star 2 STO P NEC PAUSE (START /ST OP) RCA DISPLAY Panasonic T IT LE ON/OF F Mitsubishi ZOO M.(T) JVC COUNT ER RESET Sharp S.EDIT Controll i ng the TV Once progr amm ed, the c amc order's r em ote control is r eady to control the T V. • Press the button of the TV f unction th[...]

Advanced Techni ques - 51 - 4. Insert a previous ly recorded tape in the c am corder. 5. Use the wireless rem ote c ontrol and press the PLAY button. Use the PLAY, F.FW D, and REW buttons to find the plac e where y ou want to stop dubbing. Press the PAUSE (ST ART /STOP) button. 6. Display the linear timer counter with mem ory ("Using Memory,&q[...]

Advanced Techni ques - 52 - 2. Remove both c aps of the c onverter lens. 3. Screw the lens into the threads on the cam corder lens assem bly. A ttaching the Optional DC Camera Li ght You can use the DC cam era light to light subj ects in dark ened areas or corr ect unflatter ing shadows. Use the cam er a light wisely as it greatly reduces the tim e[...]

Advanced Techni ques - 53 - picture. W atc h the battery charge indicator especially when using a battery as the power source. • W hen the DC cam era light is us ed, the operation tim e of the c amc order when a fully- charged battery pack is attached is halved. Removing the DC Camera Light Depress the light to r elease the tab fr om the hook and[...]

Advanced Techni ques - 54 - View finder Bright, Color and Tint Control (Only for VM-H720A ) This sm all "BRIGHT ", "COLOR" and "T INT " controls ar e set at the fac tory and should require no adjustm ent. If they ever require adjus tm ent, use a plastic s crewdriver. Mak e the adjus tments with caution to prevent dam a[...]

General Mainten ance - 55 - General Maintenance Cleaning the camcorder Heads Dirt can acc um ulate on the video heads on the cam era c ausing the playback picture to bec om e blurred or appear as if video inf orm ation is los t. This often m eans that the video heads are dirty. Use a video head cleaner s uch as a dry ty pe head cleaning tape to cle[...]

General Mainten ance - 56 - Periodic M ai ntenance A precision elec trom echanic al device, the Hitachi VM-H 620/H720A requires m aintenanc e after a period of nor mal us e. W e expect that no other m aintenance other than head cleaning will be required during the per iod of warranty unless the cam cor der is used either heavily or seldom . Defecti[...]

General Mainten ance - 57 - start/stop button is pressed. cassette. Push the cassette holder embossed PUSH LOCK to close it. Slide the CAM/OFF/V IDEO switch to CAM. Picture is out of focus. Make sure that FOCUS does not appear in the v iew finder. If it is displayed, pr ess FOCUS control buttons to erase it. Auto focus does not operate. Auto focus [...]

General Mainten ance - 58 - Interference on play back picture. W hen you see the play back picture on your TV, adjust fine tuning knob on televi sion set to obtain best picture. Picture bends at the top of the TV screen TV receiver is of older ty pe. It need to be modified to wor k properl y w ith camcorder. Tape is damaged. Try another cassette. C[...]

General Mainten ance - 59 - operations are accepted. date/title battery . And after about one minute, the display in the v iewfinder w ill be reset. Then set the information again. The camcorder does not operate w hen alkaline batter ies are inser ted. Check that the polarit ies (+, -) of the batteries are cor rect. Insert six batter ies. TA PE DIS[...]

General Mainten ance - 60 - Video Recorder Specifications F o r m a t 8 m m Record/playback Two video recor d/playback heads Video signal EIA standard NT SC color Tape speed 14.3mm /s ec Video input 1.0Vp-p, 75 ohm Video output 1.0Vp-p, 75 ohm Audio input -7.8dBs (316m Vr ms ) Audio output -7.8dBs (316m Vr ms ) Fast f orward/rewind time Less than 8[...]

Accessories Add E x citement - 61 - A ccessories A dd Excitement We k now that once you dis cover how muc h your Hitachi VM-H620A/720A c an add to your life you will want to use these acc essories for even more ex citement. Converter lens es, adapters for synchr o editing, and car cor ds are just a few of the exciting acc essories av ailable to you[...]