Philips VRA231AT, Owner'S Manual

Page 1: ...Owner s Manual Important Return your Warranty Registration Card within 10 days See why inside Video Cassette Recorder VRA231AT ...

Page 2: ...icer P S Remember to get the most from your PHILIPS MAGNAVOX product you must return your Warranty Registration Card within 10 days So please mail it to us right now Know these safetysymbols This bolt of lightning indi cates uninsulated material within your unit may cause an electrical shock For the safety of everyone in your household please do not remove product covering The exclamation point ca...

Page 3: ...rticular specifying that the cable ground shall be connected to the grounding system of the building as close to the point of cable entry as possible As an ENERGY STAR Partner Philips Consumer Electronics Company has determined that this product meets the ENERGY STAR guidelines for energy efficiency ENERGY STAR is a U S registered mark Using products with the ENERGY STAR label can save energy Savi...

Page 4: ...s 18 19 On Screen Status Displays 20 VCR Display Panel 21 Front Panel 22 Rear Panel 23 Basic Operations Playing 24 Recording 25 Recording Recording One Channel Watching Another 26 One Touch Recording 27 Timer Recording 28 31 Setting Up the VCR Plus Programming System 32 33 Timer Recording with the VCR Plus Programming System 34 35 Rerecording Tape Duplication 36 Playing Repeat Play 37 Real Time Co...

Page 5: ... as indicated 3 Replace the battery compartment lid Do not mix alkaline and man ganese batteries Do not mix old and new batteries Helpful Hints Using the Remote Control Point the remote control at the VCR then press the VCR but ton when using the remote control to operate the VCR If you have a Magnavox Philips or Philips Magnavox television point the remote control at the TV then press the TV butt...

Page 6: ...elow If you have a Cable Box or a Direct Broadcast System please see pages eight nine If you have a Stereo TV please see page 10 After you hook up the VCR go to page 11 to turn on the VCR ANTENNA IN Jack on back of TV Cable 75 ohm Back of VCR Antenna Indoor Outdoor 300 ohm 1 Disconnect the antenna or cable from your TV 2 Connect the antenna or cable to the ANT enna IN Jack of your VCR Cable 75 ohm...

Page 7: ...TV You may use either a snap on type supplied or screw on type of coaxial cable whichever you prefer 5 Set the CH3 CH4 switch on the back of the VCR to CH3 or CH4 whichever channel is not used or least used in your area Set the TV to the same channel For example when playing a tape if the CH3 CH4 switch is set to CH3 the TV should be on channel 03 Hookups Without a Cable Box Direct Broadcast Syste...

Page 8: ...to the Cable Box DBS output channel 03 or 04 for every VCR Plus channel in the VCR Plus Cross Reference Map You must set the Cable Box DBS to the channel you want to record leave the Cable Box DBS on for the timer recording Details are on page 33 VIDEO IN OUT CH3 CH4 AUDIO OUT IN ANT OUT IN 75V ANT CABLE TV s ANTENNA IN Jack Cable Box DBS VCR Recording Viewing Any Channel Connections 1 With the VC...

Page 9: ...utton once to put the VCR in TV position The VCR light will disappear 3 Set the TV to the Cable Box DBS output channel 03 or 04 4 Select the channel you want to watch at the Cable Box DBS TV s ANTENNA IN Jack Cable Box DBS VCR When you play a tape make sure the Cable Box DBS is set to the same channel as the CH3 CH4 switch on the VCR Set the TV to the Cable Box DBS output channel 03 or 04 Helpful ...

Page 10: ...le to the VIDEO IN Jack on your TV 3 Connect an audio cable to the white AUDIO OUT Jack on the back of the VCR Then connect the other end of the audio cable to the AUDIO IN Jack on your TV If your TV has Right and Left AUDIO IN Jacks you must use a Y splitter audio cable as illustrated to deliver audio to the TV s right and left channels 4 Turn on your TV making sure it is in Line Input mode Pleas...

Page 11: ... only scan through channels that you receive To skip this feature and play a tape immediately insert a tape with its record tab removed Or to skip step 3 press the MENU button All on screen displays will be in English To skip step 5 press the STOP p but ton Channels will not be pro grammed and CHANNELS NOT SET will appear on screen If you try to program channels when there is no antenna or cable c...

Page 12: ... or the STOP p button to select TUNER SET UP then press the F FWD B button SELECT op CHOOSE B AUTO PROGRAMMING ADD DELETE CH CH MEMORY REVIEW TO END PUSH EXIT 4 Press the PLAY o button or the STOP p button to select AUTO PROGRAMMING then press the F FWD B but ton The VCR distinguishes between TV channels and cable chan nels and the VCR will place all the channels you receive into its memory 5 Wait...

Page 13: ...VCR button 1 VOL CH 3 2 1 6 5 4 9 8 7 0 POWER STATUS EXIT MEMORY REC OTR SPEED VCR PLUS ALT CH PAUSE STILL MUTE TV VCR F FWD REW PLAY STOP VCR TV EJECT MENU CLEAR If you want the TV screen to be solid blue when a weak signal is received set BLUE BACKGROUND to ON The screen will be blue and the sound will be muted Or if you want to receive the weak signal set BLUE BACK GROUND to OFF When you select...

Page 14: ...ons within 10 seconds you will either go to the next screen of channels or you will return to the previous menu 5 Press the STATUS EXIT button once or twice to exit 2 Press the MENU button SELECT op CHOOSE B PROGRAM VCR SET UP TUNER SET UP SET CLOCK TO END PUSH EXIT 3 Press the PLAY o button or the STOP p button to select TUNER SET UP then press the F FWD B button SELECT op CHOOSE B AUTO PROGRAMMI...

Page 15: ...reen To make corrections press the CLEAR button until the space for the number you want to correct is flashing Then enter the correct number The current time will appear on the VCR display panel when the clock is set The current time will also appear on screen if you press the STATUS EXIT button See page 20 for details Power failures that last for more than one minute can cause you to lose your cl...

Page 16: ...tically move forward one hour in April and turn back one hour in October Daylight Saving Time is set to ON when you receive your VCR Turn Daylight Saving Time ON or OFF by following the steps below Before you begin Make sure the clock is set 4 Press the PLAY o button or the STOP p button to select DAYLIGHT SVG TIME Then press the F FWD B button so that OFF or ON appears beside DAYLIGHT SVG TIME 2 ...

Page 17: ... MODE LANGUAGE VCR PLUS REF MAP BLUE BACKGROUND ON TO END PUSH EXIT If you accidentally select Spanish on screen displays and need English on screen displays 1 Press the VCR button 2 Press the MENU button 3 Press the PLAY o button or the STOP p button to select PREPARE EL VCR then press the F FWD B button 4 Press the PLAY o button or the STOP p button to select LENGUA JE then press the F FWD B but...

Page 18: ... delay There also may be a brief delay when you select channels 10 11 and 12 If you want to select channels 100 and above enter channel numbers as a three digit number For example to select channel 117 press 1 1 7 Antenna Users Enter channel numbers as a two digit number for the quickest results You may only select channels 2 69 For example to select channel 5 press 0 5 If PLAY o Button Press to p...

Page 19: ...button to adjust the controls in the TV menu STATUS EXIT Button Press to access or remove the on screen status display Details are on page 20 Press to exit on screen menus Or if you have a Magnavox Philips or Philips Magnavox TV press the TV button then press the STATUS EXIT button to see a TV status display or to remove the TV menu STOP p Button Press to stop the tape Press to select an item in t...

Page 20: ...tions of the status display also may appear when you press other function buttons If you select STATUS ON then select COUNTER ONLY OFF Whenever you press the STOP p button or the PLAY o but ton the status display will appear for five seconds Portions of the status display also may appear when you press other func tion buttons If you select STATUS OFF The status display will not appear when you pre...

Page 21: ...the VCR PWR power Light This light appears when the power is on REC OTR PAUSE POWER VCR TV CHANNEL VIDEO AUDIO REW F FWD STOP EJECT PLAY Timer Light This light glows when the VCR is turned off to set a timer recording or during a One Touch Recording It flashes if the power is off for a timer recording but there is no tape in the VCR It flashes when all timer recordings are finished Clock Display T...

Page 22: ...t the VCR Or press to adjust the tracking of a tape during normal playback Also press to remove vertical jitter in a Still picture PLAY Button Press to play a tape Press to release Search or Still mode and return to playback Details are on page 39 REW ind Button When playback is stopped press to rewind the tape at high speed During playback press to rewind the tape while the picture stays on scree...

Page 23: ...TV with your VCR Details are on pages six nine OUT Jack Use the supplied RF coaxi al cable to connect this jack to the ANTENNA IN Jack on your TV Cable Box or Direct Broadcast System Details are on pages six nine VIDEO OUT Jack Connect a cable going to the VIDEO IN Jack of a camcorder another VCR or an audio visual system laser disc player video disc player etc here Details are on page 36 AC Power...

Page 24: ...CR The PWR VCR and Cassette Inside lights will appear on the display panel If the tape s record tab has been removed playback will start automatically 6 When the tape stops press the EJECT button on the remote control or the STOP EJECT button on the VCR to remove the tape 3 If playback does not start automatically press the VCR button then press the PLAY o button 4 Press the STOP p button on the r...

Page 25: ... tape speed during a recording but some distor tion will appear on the tape The VCR will record in a preset vol ume Helpful Hints 5 Press the SPEED button until the desired tape speed appears briefly on screen Details about tape speed are on page 30 6 Use the CH annel o p buttons or the Number buttons to select the channel to be recorded 7 Press the REC ord OTR button once to start recording The R...

Page 26: ... at the TV 5 To return to the channel being recorded use the TV remote control to select channel 03 or 04 at the TV whichever channel the CH3 CH4 switch on the back of the VCR is set to 7 Press the VCR TV button to put the VCR in VCR posi tion The VCR light will appear on the display panel The channel being recorded will appear on screen 8 Press the STOP p button to stop the recording 3 7 2 8 1 Pr...

Page 27: ...ut continue recording press the REC ord OTR button repeatedly until REC appears in the upper left corner of the TV screen STATUS must be set to ON See page 20 for details The REC ord light will remain on the display panel of the VCR but the Timer light will disappear To check the time remaining for an OTR after the OTR has been set press the STATUS EXIT button To change the recording length while ...

Page 28: ...e STOP p button to select PROGRAM then press the F FWD B button SELECT op CHOOSE B ONCE DAILY WEEKLY PROGRAM REVIEW TO END PUSH EXIT 3 Press the PLAY o button or the STOP p button to select a ONCE DAILY or WEEKLY recording Then press the F FWD B button ONCE The VCR will record a TV program on any day you choose up to 12 months away DAILY The VCR will record the same channel every day from Monday t...

Page 29: ...on channel 6 will be selected after a brief delay There also may be a brief delay when you select channels 10 11 and 12 If you want to select chan nels 100 and above enter channel numbers as a three digit number For example to select channel 117 press 1 1 7 Antenna Users enter channel numbers as a two digit number for the quickest results For example to select channel 5 press 0 5 If you only press...

Page 30: ...on to turn off the VCR power The Timer light will appear on the display panel If the timer recording will take place several hours or days from now you may use the VCR until time for the recording Turn off the VCR a few minutes before the recording starts 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 ...

Page 31: ...R light will appear on the display panel press the VCR button then press the MENU button Checking or Cancelling Timer Recordings 2 Press the PLAY o button or the STOP p button to select PROGRAM then press the F FWD B button 3 Press the PLAY o button or the STOP p button to select PROGRAM REVIEW then press the F FWD B button The timer recording information for the program in the lowest numbered slo...

Page 32: ...ou must program the VCR with your local channel infor mation To fill in the boxes you will need 1 a cable channel list if applicable you can request one from your cable company and 2 a chart that lists VCR Plus channel numbers which you can find in your TV guide or the TV listings of your local newspaper NOTE If you are using a Cable Box DBS the Cable TV channel must be 3 or 4 the Cable Box DBS ou...

Page 33: ...MENU CLEAR 6 Look at the lists you filled in on page 32 For stations whose VCR Plus and Cable TV channels do not match press the PLAY o button or the STOP p button until the arrow is beside the VCR Plus channel you need Then press the Number buttons to enter the corresponding Cable TV channel from your list Enter all the stations on your list If you are recording from line input press 0 0 to selec...

Page 34: ...every day from Monday to Friday starting at the same time and recording for the same length of time WEEKLY The VCR will record a program on the same day at the same time and for the same length of time every week CODE ERROR may flash on screen after step 3 if you enter an incorrect PlusCode programming number for example one that is too short The previous screen will appear Enter the correct PlusC...

Page 35: ...n SP 1 SLP 2 will contin ue to flash For details about tape speed see pages 30 and 41 You cannot use the SPEED button at this time 6 Press the STATUS EXIT button PROGRAM WAS COM PLETED PLEASE TURN OFF VCR FOR TIMER RECORDING should appear on screen briefly 7 Press the POWER button to turn off the VCR power The Timer light will appear The Timer light will flash if there is not a tape in the VCR If ...

Page 36: ... CH3 CH4 AUDIO OUT IN ANT VCR 1 Playing VCR VCR 2 Recording VCR 2 VCR 1 will play your tape Put a prerecorded tape in VCR 1 1 Audio cable from AUDIO OUT Jack of VCR 1 to AUDIO IN Jack of VCR 2 2 Video cable from VIDEO OUT Jack of VCR 1 to VIDEO IN Jack of VCR 2 3 RF coaxial cable from the OUT jack of VCR 2 to the TV s ANTENNA IN Jack If you use the AUDIO and VIDEO IN Jacks on the back of VCR 2 pre...

Page 37: ...e At step 5 press the F FWD B button so that OFF appears beside REPEAT PLAY Press the STATUS EXIT button The real time counter memory does not function during Repeat Play Helpful Hints SELECT op CHOOSE B PROGRAM VCR SET UP TUNER SET UP SET CLOCK TO END PUSH EXIT SELECT op CHOOSE B REPEAT PLAY OFF ON SCREEN MODE LANGUAGE VCR PLUS REF MAP BLUE BACKGROUND ON TO END PUSH EXIT 4 Press the PLAY o button...

Page 38: ... STOP p button to stop the tape 1 Press the VCR button 3 Press the STATUS EXIT button to see the status display 4 While the status display is on screen press the CLEAR button to reset the real time counter to zero STOP 1 08 PM CH10 SLP 0 00 00 5 While the real time counter is on screen press the MEM ORY button so that M appears beside the counter STOP 1 08 PM CH10 SLP M 0 00 00 6 To go to a tape l...

Page 39: ... NOTE Only tapes recorded in SLP Super Long Play speed will show a clear picture Each time you press the PAUSE STILL button in the Still mode the noise lines will change position on screen 2 To release the still picture and return to playback press the PLAY o button Still mode will automatically switch to Stop mode after five minutes to protect the VCR and the tape from damage SP LP SLP means this...

Page 40: ...lly or shut itself off Tape Eject A tape can be ejected with the VCR power on or off but the VCR must be plugged in If a timer recording is set a tape can only be ejected with the power on Make sure you insert a tape and turn off the VCR power for the timer recording Automatic Tracking Adjustment The VCR adjusts tracking automatically to give you the best possi ble picture quality With some record...

Page 41: ...the VCR select 001 AV REAR If you accidentally enter Line Input mode press the CH annel o p buttons or use the Number buttons to select another chan nel OTR One Touch Recording a timed recording that starts imme diately and records for 30 minutes to eight hours Remote Control the small electronic unit that came with your VCR allows you to operate your VCR from a distance RF coaxial cable The cable...

Page 42: ...ff the VCR power without putting a tape in the VCR the Timer light will blink If the record tab on a tape is missing the VCR will eject the tape The Timer light will blink Make sure the VCR power is off Make sure the clock is set page 15 The VCR may not perform or continue a timer recording if a power interruption of more than one minute occurs If you have a Cable Box Direct Broadcast System timer...

Page 43: ...our timer recording VCR ejects the tape when the REC ord OTR button is pressed or when the VCR power is turned off to set a timer recording Make sure the tape has a record tab page five Poor reception You may need to tune your TV again The motor cylinder rotates even when the VCR is in Stop mode To enable the quick play mechanism the cylinder will rotate for about five minutes This is normal The q...

Page 44: ...120V AC 60Hz Power Consumption 14W Operating Temperature 41 F 5 C to 104 F 40 C Relative Humidity 10 to 80 Weight 5 51 lbs 2 5 kg Dimensions 14 3 16 W x 3 1 16 H x 10 D 360mm x 92mm x 230mm Tuner Broadcast Channels VHF 2 13 UHF 14 69 Cable TV Channels 2 13 Midband A 1 Superband J W Hyperband A 5 A 1 Special Channel 5A Ultraband 37 94 100 125 NOTE Designs and specifications are subject to change wi...

Page 45: ...ies where the product is officially distributed by Philips Consumer Electronics Company In countries where Philips Consumer Electronics Company does not dis tribute the product the local Philips service organiza tion will attempt to provide service although there may be a delay if the appropriate spare parts and technical manual s are not readily available MAKE SURE YOU KEEP Please keep your sales...

Page 46: ... button 22 pause still button 18 25 39 play K button 18 22 24 39 playing 24 power button 18 22 cord 23 pwr power light 21 real time counter 38 rear panel 23 rec otr button 18 22 25 27 rec ord light 21 recording basic 25 one channel watching another 26 timer 28 31 with the vcr plus programming system 32 35 remote control buttons 18 19 sensor 22 using 5 repeat play 37 rerecording 36 rew ind s button...

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Page 48: ...e Cassette Storage Cases plastic Fits VHS and Beta cassettes M61104 Six High grade VHS T 120 Cassettes MHG1206 Monaural Audio and Video Cables 6 feet Color coded for easy connection M61103 RF Coaxial Cable 75 ohm 4835 323 27011 VO L CH 3 2 1 6 5 4 9 8 7 0 POW ER STA TUS EX IT MEM ORY REC OT R SPE ED VCR PLU S ALT CH PAU SE STI LL MU TE TV VCR VCR TV EJE CT ME NU CLE AR ST OP PL AY F F WD RE W Remo...