Philips VR420/55 User Manual

Page 2

To record while you’re away, follow step 1 — 9
below. For each programme you set, the VCR will
turn on, start recording, and turn off automatically.
You can store up to 8 programmes.

FOR EACH STEP BELOW, YOU NEED TO FINISH
WITHIN 60 SECONDS; OTHERWISE,
PROGRAMMING WILL HAVE TO BE RESTARTED
FROM STEP 1.

❍

Select Timer Mode

1 Press

VCR

2 Press

TIMER.

The Timer

Recording menu appears.

❍

Select Programme mode

Press

PLAY

5 or

STOP

∞ to

select “QUICK PROGRAMM-
ING”, then press

OK/STATUS

The Quick Programming menu
appears.

• If you have already set 8 programmes, “ALL PRO-

GRAMS IN USE” appears and goes back to the Timer
Recording menu. If this happens, delete unwanted
programmes. (✈P.14)

❍

Select Channel

Press

5 or ∞ to enter the TV channel.

• Holding down

5 or ∞ rapidly scans through the

channels.

• To record from external line input, press

5 or ∞

until “A/V REAR” or “A/V FRONT” appears.

❍

Select Start Time

Press

START +

–

(Number button

• Each time you press the button, the set time changes by

1-minute intervals. If you hold the button, the set time
changes by 30-minute intervals.

❍

Select Stop Time

Press

STOP +

–

(Number

button

• Each time you press the button,

the set time changes by 1-minute
intervals. If you hold the button,
the set time changes by 30-minute
intervals.

RF OUT

ANT.IN

OUT

AUDIO

VIDEO

RF OUT

ANT.IN

OUT

AUDIO

VIDEO

●

dvanced

perations

●

Timer Recording

Using On-Screen Display

You can display the VCR operating status on the
TV screen.

❍

Select VCR Set Up Mode

1 Press

VCR

2 Press

3 Press

PLAY

5 or

STOP

∞ to select“VCR SET

UP” then press

OK/STATUS

❍

Select On-Screen Mode

1 Press

PLAY

5 or

STOP

∞ to select “ON

SCREEN MODE”.

2 Press

3. Each time you press the button, the

setting changes.
ON:

When you press a tape running button (Stop,
Play, etc.), the VCR status appears for 5
seconds.

COUNTER:

When you press a tape running button, the VCR
operating status appears for 5 seconds.
After 5 seconds, the VCR status disappears
except the time counter.

OFF:

The VCR operating status does not appear even
if you press a tape running button.

❍

Finish Setting

Press

To display the VCR status on the TV screen
manually, press

OK/STATUS

. The VCR status

appears for about 5 seconds.
• If “ON SCREEN MODE” is set to “OFF,” no

VCR status appears though you press

OK/

STATUS

You can make the picture softer or sharper or
distinct the picture when playing back the tape.
SmartPicture is set to AUTO when you receive the
VCR.

❍

Select SmartPicture Mode

1 Press

VCR.

2 Press

SMARTPICTURE

button. The current setting will
appear on the screen for about
5 seconds.

3 While the current setting

appears, press the

SMART-PICTURE

button

repeatedly, the setting changes as follows.

AUTO:

Normally select this mode.

DISTINCT:
Select this mode when you want the distinct
picture. The picture detail is emphasized.

SOFT:
Select this mode when you want the soft
picture. The signal noise of the picture is
softened.

SHARP:
Select this mode when you want the sharp
picture. The picture edge is emphasized.

Notes:
• It is recommended that the SmartPicture is set to

“SOFT” if playback picture is noisy.

• When “DSPC” is set to “OFF”, “AUTO” is switched

to “NATURAL” automatically.

With this function, you can prevent the VCR
operations from being misused.
To use Child Lock
When the VCR is turned on, press and hold

POWER

on the remote control for more than 10

seconds to turn off the VCR.
The “CL” appears blinking on the display.
While “CL” is on the display, you cannot turn on
the VCR by pressing

POWER

on the VCR.

To cancel Child Lock
Press and hold

POWER

on the remote control for

more than 10 seconds to turn on the VCR.
The “CL” disappears on the display and VCR is
turned on.
You can also cancel the child lock function by
unplugging the AC power cord.

Child Lock

SmartPicture

AUTO

One Touch Recording (OTR)

The OTR function lets you quickly specify how
long you want a recording to continue. You do not
have to programme the timer.

❍

On TV

1 Turn on the TV.
2 Select the video channel (or video input).

❍

On VCR

Insert a cassette with the record tab in place.
The VCR turns on.
• If a cassette is already in the VCR, turn on the

VCR.

❍

Select Channel

Press

5 or ∞ or

Number

buttons to select the

channel to record.

❍

Start OTR

Press

REC/OTR

● twice.

Recording starts immediately, and the

(Record)

indicator lights up and blinks on the display.
This indicates that the VCR
will automatically shut off after
30 minutes of recording.

❍

Select Recording Length

Press

REC/OTR

● repeatedly until the desired

recording length appears.
Each time you press the button, recording length
increases in 30-minute intervals.

0:30

1:00

1:30

5:30

6:00

REC (Normal recording)

To check time remaining during an OTR
Press

OK/STATUS

To change the recording length during an OTR
Press

REC/OTR

● repeatedly until the desired

length appears.

OTR(0:30)

CH12

❍

Select Tape Speed

Press

ALT/SPEED

• Each time you press the button, the tape speed

alternates between SP, LP and SLP.
SP, LP: For PAL signal.
SP, SLP: For NTSC signal.

❍

Select Start Date

Press

DATE +

–

(Number button

• The year and day of the week are displayed

automatically.

❍

Confirm Programme

Press

TIMER

OK/STATUS

“PROGRAM WAS COMPLETED” appears on the
TV screen.
After 5 seconds, the above message disappears, and
the normal TV picture resumes. The

(Timer)

indicator lights up on the display.
• If “PROGRAM NOT COMPLETED” appears,

try again from step 1.

• If “PROGRAM NOT COMPLETED/PRO-

GRAM OVERLAP”

appears on the TV screen, the

timer recording you just programmed overlaps another
timer recording. (✈P.13)

If you want to store other programmes, repeat steps
1 to 8.

❍

Finish Settings

Press

POWER

to turn off the VCR.

The VCR must be turned off for a timer recording to take
place. If you forget to turn off the VCR, PLEASE TURN
OFF VCR FOR TIMER RECORDING flashes on your TV
screen two minutes before a timer recording starts. To
remove the message, press the

CLEAR

button.

If you want to record the same programme daily, press

DAILY

(Number button

) during step 3 through 7.

(Press the button again to cancel.)
The VCR will record a TV programme every day
(Monday through Friday) at the same time and length.
(Daily Recording)
If you want to record the same programme weekly,
press

WEEKLY

(Number button

) during step 3 through

7. (Press the button again to cancel.)
The VCR will record a TV programme once a week at the
same day, time and length. (Weekly Recording)
If you want to cancel the currently set programme,
press

CLEAR

After a timer recording has taken place
Press

POWER

to turn on the VCR. You can operate your

VCR normally.
To stop a started timer recording
Press

POWER

Recording stops and the VCR turns off.
If it is a Daily or Weekly Recording, future recordings
will be carried out as programmed.

• Tape speed can be selected by pressing the ALT/SPEED

button anytime during steps 1 through 4.
The speed appears on the display for about 5 seconds.

When two programs overlap

The Program Review screen will
appear with a magenta line blink-
ing on the newly set timer
recording while the other
overlapped program blinking.

1 Press

PLAY

5 or

STOP

∞ to move the magenta

line among the two overlapping programs.

2 Press

OK/STATUS

to view

the detail information of the
program you want to change.

3 Go to step 4 through 8 to

modify the selected program.
To cancel any timer recording,
press

CLEAR

• If you do not modify the overlapping programs,

the VCR will record the earlier program com-
pletely. Only the remaining part of the later
program will be recorded.

• If the START time for the two programs are the

same, the lower program number will be re-
corded.

Useful function for Timer Recording:
Auto Tape Speed
With this function activated, the VCR can change
the tape speed and record the programme in LP or
SLP mode if not enough tape remains for recording
in SP mode.

1 Press

VCR

2 Press

3 Press

PLAY

5 or

STOP

∞ to select “VCR SET

UP” then press

OK/STATUS

4 Press

PLAY

5 or

STOP

∞ to select “TIMER

REC SPEED.”

5 Press

3. Each time you press the button, the

setting changes.

AUTO:

Select this to allow the VCR to change the tape speed
from SP to LP (or SLP) when there is not enough
tape length remaining.

MANUAL:

Select this not to allow the VCR to change the tape
speed.

6 Press

to exit from the menu operations.

Tape Duplication

To check, edit or erase the programmes

1 Press

VCR

2 Press

TIMER

3 Press

PLAY

5 or

STOP

∞ to select

“PROGRAM REVIEW”, then press

OK/

STATUS

4 Press

OK/STATUS

repeatedly to view the more

detailed programme information.

• When you press the button for the first time, the

detailed programme information for Programme 1
appears. By pressing this button repeatedly, you can
review the detailed information of all other
programmes.

5 If you want to change the programme setting

shown on the TV screen, press the following
buttons:

5/∞

: Changes the channel.

START +/–

:Changes the start time.

STOP +/–

:Changes the stop time.

SPEED

:Changes the tape speed.

DATE +/–

:Changes the date.

If you want to erase the programme setting
shown on the TV screen, press

CLEAR

. The

detailed information of the next programme
appears.

6 If necessary, press

TIMER

to exit from the menu

operations.

Note:
• This function does not work for OTR (One Touch

Recording).

How to see the programme list
1 Programme numbers

2 Preset channel numbers

3 Start time

4 Stop time

5 Start date

“D” stands for “DAILY,” and
“W” stands for “WEEKLY.”

• If the programme has worked once for the Daily

recording, “DAILY” will be shown instead of the
start date.

• If the programme has worked once for the

Weekly recording, the day of the week (in this
example, “MON”) will be shown instead of the
start date.

Note:
• Even if a power failure occurs, the VCR keeps your

timer programs. However, the clock time and other
menu settings are lost if it lasts for more than 3
minutes. As a result, when the power is supplied
again to this VCR after the power failure, set the
clock time and turn off the VCR.
Each timer program you have made will start unless
its start time already passes.

1 Insert a source tape in the playing VCR and a
blank tape in the recording VCR.

• If a tape without the record tab is inserted in the play
ing VCR, playback automatically starts. In this case,
press the

STOP

button.

2 Turn the channel on the TV to your video
channel.
3 Press

5 or ∞, pointing the remote

control at this VCR, to select the external line
input.

• For rear jacks, select “L-1” on the display or “A/V IN”

on the TV screen.

• For front jacks, select “L-F” on the display or “F-A/V

IN” on the TV screen.

4 Press

ALT/SPEED

, pointing the remote control at

this VCR, until the desired tape speed (SP, LP or
SLP) appears on the screen.
SP, LP: For PAL signal.
SP, SLP: For NTSC signal.
5 Press the

PLAY

3 button on the playing VCR.

6 Press

REC/OTR

●

at this VCR.

Remember: press the buttons in steps 5 and 6 simultane-
ously to avoid missing any of the recording.

Dubbing from any VCR (or camcorder) to another is
simple.
Explanations on this page uses this VCR as the
recording VCR.
Refer also the manual supplied with the other VCR
(for playback)

Connect the recording VCR (this VCR) and

the playing VCR.

Connect the recording VCR (this VCR) to the

TV.

Recording VCR (this VCR)

Playing VCR

To RF OUT

From Audio output to AUDIO IN

From Video output to VIDEO IN

The DSPC (Digital Studio Picture Control) system
checks the condition of the tape in use during
recording and playback, and compensates to
provide the highest possible recording and playback
pictures. Set the DSPC to “ON” or “OFF” on the
VCR Set Up menu.

❍

Select VCR Set Up Mode

1 Press

VCR

2 Press

3 Press

PLAY

5 or

STOP

∞

to select “VCR SET UP” then
press

OK/STATUS

DSPC

This function allows you to set the timer recording
program without going through the regular set up
with the on screen. The extent of programming is
24 hours from the current time.

1 Insert a tape into the VCR and press the

“TURBO TIMER” button on the remote control.
“ ” (start time prompt) and the current
time appears alternately on the display.

2 To change the START time, press the

PLAY

5 or

STOP

∞ button (if you press and hold either

button, the time changes in 30-minutes incre-
ments), then press

OK/STATUS

Then,“

” (stop time prompt) and the set

start time appears alternately on the display.

3 To change the STOP time, press the

PLAY

5 or

STOP

∞ button (if you press and hold either

button, the time changes in 30-minutes incre-
ments), then press

OK/STATUS

Channel number will appear on the display.

4 To change the CHANNEL number, press the

PLAY

5 or

STOP

∞, then press

OK/STATUS

5 The data input will be memorized and the Turbo

Timer mode will be finished so that normal
display appears.

6 Turn off the VCR.

Notes:
• To exit Turbo Timer mode at any step, press the TURBO

TIMER button.

• If “Err” appears on the display panel, all eight

programs have been set and Turbo Timer will not
proceed. To remove the error message, press the
TURBO TIMER button again.

• Settings of Turbo Timer will appear on the display panel

only and not on the screen.

• Programs Overlap Warning does not function with

Turbo Timer.

• DAILY or WEEKLY programming are not available on

Turbo Timer.

Turbo Timer

This function enables you to search forward to the
next unrecorded portion of the tape (or to the point at
which recording was stopped).

1 Press the

SKIP SEARCH/REC END

button

when the tape is not running. The VCR begins fast
forwarding or rewinding to find the blank portion
or the recording end portion on the tape.

SEARCHING FOR REC END

will appear on

the screen during the search.

2 The VCR automatically stop when the blank

portion or the end of the recorded is reached.

REC END SEARCH COMPLETED

will appear

on the screen briefly.
The tape remaining tape time also appears on the
display panel.

Rec(ord) End Search

.....

Notes:
• The DSPC system works for SP, LP and SLP modes only

after a tape has been inserted and the Record mode is
first initiated. Also, it works if the colour mode is
changed. It does not work during recording.

• In the case of timer recording, the DSPC system works

before recording is initiated.

• Once the cassette is ejected after recording, the DSPC

data is cancelled. The next time the cassette is used for
recording, DSPC is re-performed.

• When “DSPC’ is displayed, the VCR does not start One

Touch Recording.

• Since the DSPC system works before recording actually

starts, there is a delay of approximately 7 seconds after

REC/OTR

● is pressed. To make sure you record the

desired scene or programme in its entirety, first perform
the following steps:

1) Press and hold

STILL/SLOW

(or PAUSE/STILL

8 on the front panel) and press

REC/OTR

● to

engage the RECORD PAUSE mode.

• The VCR then automatically checks the condition of the

tape and, after approximately 7 seconds, re-enters
RECORD PAUSE.

2) Press

REC/OTR

●

again to start recording.

• If you want to bypass the DSPC system and begin

recording immediately set “DSPC” to “OFF”.

• The VCR adjusts the playback picture quality based on

the quality of the tape in use.

• When watching a tape recorded with “DSPC” set to

“ON”, it is recommended that you leave DSPC to
“ON” during playback as well.

• “DSPC” only appears at the beginning of automatic

tracking. Even though it doesn’t appear after that, the
DSPC function is operative.

Tracking Adjustments

Auto tracking
Each time a tape is inserted, auto tracking starts
working and continuously analyses the signal to adjust
for optimum picture quality during playback. So, there
is no need for you to minimize noises in most tapes
during playback.

Manual tracking
• During normal playback:

If auto tracking cannot eliminate noises well
during playback, press

5 or ∞.

• During a slow motion picture:

Press

5 or ∞ to minimize noises in the slow

motion picture.

• During a still picture:

Press

5 or ∞ to reduce jitter in the still

picture.

To cancel manual tracking, stop the tape, eject the
tape, then re-insert it.

Note:
If you keep pressing

5 or∞ button, you might

get “USE CLEANING CASSETTE” message on the
screen. Please disregard this message and re-adjust
the tracking. However, if the message appears
automatically (without pressing

5 or∞), this

indicates that your video heads are dirty.

You can locate an index marked at the beginning of
each recording on a tape recorded on this VCR (or
an indexed tape).
Press

¢ or 4 repeatedly until the appropriate

number is displayed on the TV screen before
starting play.
Rapid forward or reverse search begins.
When it finds the designated index, playback starts
automatically.

• Locate an index number by pressing the button

repeatedly, indicating how many index marks ahead of
or behind that recording you want is from the tape’s
current position.

• Up to ±9th index mark from the current position on the

tape can be located.

Index Search

Eject cassette
You can eject the tape simply by pressing

EJECT

0 (or

STOP/EJECT

■

0 on the front

panel) even while the VCR is turned off.
When you press

STOP/EJECT

■

0 on the front

panel, the VCR automatically turns on, ejects the
tape, then turns off.
Auto playback
When a tape is inserted, the VCR turns on. If the
record tab is removed, playback begins.
Auto rewind
When a tape reaches its end during playback or fast
forwarding, the VCR rewinds the tape and stops.
Memory rewind power off
When you press POWER during rewinding, the
VCR turns off after rewinding is completed.
Repeat Playback
When you press and hold

PLAY

3 for more than 5

seconds, you can play back the same tape repeat-
edly (100 times).
When the tape runs to its end, the VCR automati-
cally rewinds the tape, and starts playback.

To cancel an OTR
Press

STOP

7 to stop recording before the preset

recording length is reached.
If you want to cancel the OTR mode but continue
recording, press

REC/OTR

● several times until

“OTR” changes to “REC” on the TV screen.

Notes:
• During recording, the displayed time counts down.

When “0:00” is reached, recording stops and the
VCR turns off automatically.

• If an OTR is engaged during pause, the displayed

time counts down normally, but recording does
not begin until you cancel the pause.

❍

Select On-Screen Mode

1 Press

PLAY

5 or

STOP

∞ to select “DSPC”.

2 Press

3 to set “ON” to “OFF”.

❍

Finish Setting

Press

Once the “DSPC” mode is set to “ON”, the DSPC
system works for both recording & playback;

appears blinking on the display.

Automatic Operations

Power
No power.

Recording & Playback
TV programme cannot be recorded.

Timer recording cannot be performed.

There is no playback picture, or the playback
picture is noisy or contains streaks.

During a still or slow motion picture, the
picture may contain some vertical jitter when
using a TV which has an automatic vertical
hold control.

If the top of your playback picture waves
back and forth excessively.

During playback, “USE CLEANING
CASSETTE” appears on the screen.

Correction

• Check that the AC power cord is correctly connected

to an AC outlet.

• Check that the VCR is turned on.

Correction

• Check the connections between the VCR, the antenna

and the TV.

• Make sure that the record tab on the back of the

cassette is not removed.

• Set the timer on-time and timer off-time correctly.
• Make sure that the VCR is turned off after setting is

made.

• Timer recording may not be performed or stopped if a

power interruption occurs before or during timer
recording.

• Select your video channel correctly.

• Adjust the tracking slowly in either direction.

• Try to change to another tape, you may not have this

problem.

• Because the VCR playback signal is not as stable as

an off-the-air TV signal, the top of your TV screen
may be bent or unstable during playback. You may
have better result if the A/V input is used.

• The video heads are dirty. Use a head cleaner.

efore

equesting

ervice

●

perating TV

●

❍

Set Code

1 Press and hold

2 Press

two Number

buttons for the manufactur-

er’s code number of your TV, referring to the
table to the right.

• For example, for 02, press

then

3 Press

STOP

7, then release

• The remote control can now operate the TV of the

selected code.

❍

Confirm Setting

Press

POWER

, pointing the remote control at the

TV.
If the TV turns on or off, your setting is completed.
If not, repeat steps above, using another code.

Notes:

• After replacing the batteries, you need to reset the

manufacturer’s code again.

• The buttons you can use to operate your TV are

explained on page 3.

TV Manufacturers’ Codes

PHILIPS

01, 02, 03

EMERSON

GOLDSTAR

GRUNDIG

24, 25

HITACHI

JVC

MITSUBISHI

13, 26

PANASONIC

07, 17, 19, 20

RCA

SAMSUNG

SANYO

SHARP

SONY

THOMSON

21, 22, 23

TOSHIBA

ZENITH

06, 15

G e n e r a l

Mains voltage

AC 110 V – 240 V

Mains frequency

50 Hz/60 Hz

Power consumption

Approx. 14W

Ambient temperature

+5 °C to +40 °C

Relative humidity

10 % to 80 %

Dimensions (WxHxD)

Approx. 360 mm x 94 mm x 249 mm

Mass

Approx. 3.0 kg

Position for use

Horizontal

Video output channel

UHF E36 (adjustable betweeen E28 — E60)

Possible number of TV channel

Number of pre-programmable memory blocks

Number of days in advance

365 or every day, or every week

T u n e r

Video signal

B/G, D/K, I, SECAM K1

VHF

42 MHz — 175 MHz

VHF H

175 MHz — 470 MHz

UHF

470 MHz — 870 MHz
CATV

V i d e o

Input (VIDEO IN)

0.5 V(p-p) to 2.0 V(p-p), 75 ohms

Output (VIDEO OUT)

1.0 V(p-p) ±0.2 V(p-p), 75 ohms

Resolution

Better than 240 lines

Signal/noise ratio

Better than 43 dB

A u d i o

Input (AUDIO IN)

–8 dBs, 50 k ohms (0 dBs=0.775 Vrms)

Output (AUDIO OUT)

–8 dBs, 1 k ohms (0 dBs=0.775 Vrms)

A c c e s s o r i e s s u p p l i e d

Remote control unit
RF coaxial cable
Batteries – R6(SUM-3)/AA
(only for checking operations)

efore

equesting

ervice (continued)

●

pecifications

●

Correction

Remote Control
The remote control cannot work.

Miscellaneous

A cassette cannot be inserted.

The cassette does not eject.

The cassette ejects when you press

REC/OTR

●.

• Aim the remote control directly at the remote sensor

on the VCR.

• Avoid all obstacles which may interfere with the

signal path.

• Inspect or replace the batteries.

• Make sure batteries are inserted correctly.

Correction
• Insert the cassette with the window side up and the

record tab facing you.

• Check that a cassette tape is not already inserted. Press

EJECT

• Check that the AC power cord is correctly connected

to an AC outlet.

• Check that the record tab on the back of the cassette is

not removed.

Design and specifications are subject to change without notice.

DSPC

ON SCREEN MODE ON
TIMER REC SPEED MANUAL

SELECT: CHANGE:
END: MENU

QUICK PROGRAMMING

PROGRAM REVIEW

SELECT: CONFIRM: OK
END: TIMER

ONE TIME PROGRAM
PROGRAM 1
CHANNEL+/–
START +/– – –:– –
STOP +/– – –:– –
REC SPEED SP
DATE +/– – –/– –/– –

DAILY: 8 WEEKLY: 9
CONFIRM: OK END: TIMER

– –

ONE TIME PROGRAM
PROGRAM 1
CHANNEL+/–
START +/– 20:00

STOP +/– 22:00

REC SPEED SP
DATE +/– – –/– –/– –

DAILY: 8 WEEKLY: 9
CONFIRM: OK END: TIMER

PR CH START STOP DATE
1 12 20:00 22:00 20/07
2 20 11:00 11:30 15/10
3 24 15:00 16:00 10/08

4 45 21:00 23:00 FRI

5
6
7
8
SELECT: CONFIRM: OK

ONE TIME PROGRAM
PROGRAM 1
CHANNEL+/–
START +/– 20 : 00
STOP +/– 22 : 00
REC SPEED SP
DATE +/– 20/07/01
FRIDAY
ERASE: CLEAR
NEXT: OK

END: TIMER

PR CH START STOP DATE
1 12 20:00 22:00 W10/06
2 25 10:00 10:45 MON
3 03 15:00 15:15 D16/10
4 45 23:30 23:00 DAILY
5
6
7
8
NEXT: OK END: TIMER