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Owner’s Manual

Important! 

Return your Warranty Registration

Card within 10 days. See why inside.

Video Cassette Recorder

VRA601AT

Summary of Contents for VRA601AT

Page 1: ...Owner s Manual Important Return your Warranty Registration Card within 10 days See why inside Video Cassette Recorder VRA601AT ...

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: ...ller s attention to Article 820 40 of the National Electrical Code which provides guidelines for proper grounding in particular 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 fo...

Page 4: ...uttons 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 Rerecording Tape Duplication 32 Playing Repeat Play 33 Real Time Counter Memory 34 Time Search 35 Special Effects Playback 36 Automatic Operation Features 37 Stereo Featu...

Page 5: ...tom of the remote control by sliding it in the direction of the arrow 2 Place two AA batteries inside the battery compartment with their and ends aligned as indicated 3 Replace the battery compartment lid VCR maintenance Video cassette tapes have record tabs to ensure that recordings are not accidentally erased 1 To prevent erasure break off the tab with a screwdriver 2 To record again cover the h...

Page 6: ... is shown below 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 C...

Page 7: ...NTENNA IN Jack on the 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 ...

Page 8: ...nnel This is step 5 on page 29 Leave the Cable Box DBS on for a timer recording AUDIO R L VIDEO OUT IN IN OUT CH3 CH4 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 VCR on and in VCR position the VCR TV light will appear on the dis play panel use the CHANNEL o p buttons to set the VCR to the Cable Box DBS output channel c...

Page 9: ...t to record at the VCR Start the recording 2 Press the VCR TV button once to put the VCR in TV position The VCR TV light will disappear 3 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 ...

Page 10: ...DEO OUT Jack on the back of the VCR Then connect the other end of the video cable to the VIDEO IN Jack on your TV 3 Connect audio cables to the red and white AUDIO OUT Jacks on the back of the VCR Then connect the other end of the audio cables to the AUDIO IN Jacks on your TV 4 Turn on your TV making sure it is in Line Input mode Please refer to your TV owner s manual for details A stereo audio ca...

Page 11: ... you press the CHANNEL o p buttons you ll 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 the screen If you try to program...

Page 12: ...P 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 TV STEREO ON 2ND AUDIO TO END PUSH EXIT 3 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 m...

Page 13: ...utton 2 5 6 1 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 a channel that is receiving a weak sig nal you will see and hear the static in the TV programming To set BLUE BACKGROUND to ON or OFF follow these s...

Page 14: ...y buttons within 10 seconds you will either go to the next screen of channels or you will return to the previ ous menu 4 Press the STATUS EXIT button once or twice to exit 1 Press the MENU button SELECT op CHOOSE B PROGRAM VCR SET UP TUNER SET UP SET CLOCK TO END PUSH EXIT 2 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 PR...

Page 15: ...e VCR s calendar will cause a question mark to appear on the screen To make corrections press the CLEAR button until the space for the number you want to correct is flashing Then enter the correct number To see the current time on the TV screen press the STATUS EXIT but ton Details are on page 20 Power failures that last for more than one minute can cause you to lose your clock setting This VCR is...

Page 16: ...lock will automatically move forward one hour in April and turn back one hour in October Daylight Savings Time is set to ON when you receive your VCR Turn Daylight Savings Time ON or OFF by following the steps below Before you begin Make sure the clock is set 3 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 DA...

Page 17: ...D PUSH EXIT SELECT op CHOOSE B REPEAT PLAY OFF ON SCREEN MODE AUDIO OUT LANGUAGE BLUE BACKGROUND ON TO END PUSH EXIT If you accidentally select Spanish and need English 1 Press the MENU button 2 Press the PLAY o button or the STOP p button to select PREPARE EL VCR then press the F FWD B button 3 Press the PLAY o button or the STOP p button to select LENGUA JE then press the F FWD B button 4 Press ...

Page 18: ...ter a brief 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 For example to select channel 5 press 0 5 If you only press the Number 5 button channel 5 wi...

Page 19: ... CLEAR SLOW MENU REWIND PLAY F FWD REC OTR PAUSE STILL STOP TIME SEARCH SPEED STOP p Button Press to stop the tape Press to select an item in the VCR menu CHANNEL o p Buttons Press to change channels at the VCR EJECT Button Press to eject the tape PAUSE STILL Button While recording press to temporarily stop the recording pause Press a second time to resume normal recording Details are on page 25 Y...

Page 20: ... the counter will remain on the screen You must press the STATUS EXIT button to remove it Portions 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 button the status display will appear for five seconds Portions of the sta tus display also may appear when you press oth...

Page 21: ...n the VCR POWER Light This light appears when the power is on 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 or One Touch Recordings are finished REW REC OTR F FWD CHANNEL VCR TV POWER VCR TV POWER CST IN TIMER R...

Page 22: ... VCR Or press to adjust the track ing of a tape during normal playback or slow motion playback Also press to remove vertical jitter in a Still pic ture PLAY Button Press to play a tape Press to release Slow Search or Still mode and return to playback Details are on page 36 Press to select an item in the menu REW ind Button When playback is stopped press to rewind the tape at high speed During play...

Page 23: ...etails 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 monitor laser disc player video disc player etc here Details are on pages 32 and 38 AC Power C...

Page 24: ...nnel the CH3 CH4 switch on the back of the VCR is set to 2 Insert a tape in the VCR The POWER VCR TV and CST IN lights will appear on the display panel If the tape s record tab has been removed playback will start automatically 6 Press the EJECT button to remove the tape 3 If playback does not start automatically press the PLAY o button 4 Press the STOP p button to stop playback 5 Press the REWIND...

Page 25: ... 32 You can change the 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 4 Press the SPEED button until the desired tape speed appears briefly on the screen Details about tape speed are on page 30 5 Use the CHANNEL o p buttons or the Number buttons to select the channel to be recorded 6 Press the REC ord OTR button once...

Page 26: ... channel you want to watch at the TV 4 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 5 Press the VCR TV button to put the VCR in VCR posi tion The VCR TV light will appear on the display panel The channel being recorded will appear on the screen 6 Press the STOP p button t...

Page 27: ... p button To cancel the OTR but 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 chang...

Page 28: ... 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 to Friday...

Page 29: ...nnel 6 press 0 6 If you only press the Number 6 button 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 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 For exam...

Page 30: ... button 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 st...

Page 31: ...VCR on and in VCR position the VCR TV light will appear on the display panel 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 nu...

Page 32: ...on on VCR 1 then press the STOP EJECT button on VCR 2 CH3 CH4 OUT IN ANT CH3 CH4 OUT IN ANT R L VIDEO IN OUT IN OUT AUDIO R L VIDEO IN OUT IN OUT AUDIO VCR 1 Playing VCR VCR 2 Recording VCR 2 VCR 1 will play your tape Put a prerecorded tape in VCR 1 1 Audio cables from AUDIO OUT Jacks of VCR 1 to AUDIO IN Jacks of VCR 2 2 Video cable from VIDEO OUT Jack of VCR 1 to VIDEO IN Jack of VCR 2 3 RF coax...

Page 33: ...follow steps 1 3 above At step 4 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 3 Press the PLAY o button or the STOP p button to select REPEAT PLAY 2 4 5 1 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 S...

Page 34: ...he STOP p button to stop the tape 2 Press the STATUS EXIT button to see the status display 3 While the status display is on the screen press the CLEAR button to reset the real time counter to zero STOP 1 08 PM TV STEREO CH10 SLP 0 00 00 HIFI 4 While the real time counter is on the screen press the MEMORY button so that M appears beside the counter STOP 1 08 PM TV STEREO CH10 SLP M 0 00 00 HIFI 5 T...

Page 35: ...D B button or the REWIND button The VCR will skip over the specified length of time then begin playback If you want to search for more than 59 minutes you must enter the length of time in hours and minutes For example to search forward 70 minutes press 1 1 0 at step 2 You can not do a Time Search while recording To remove the Time Search display press the TIME SEARCH button again To cancel a Time ...

Page 36: ... return to playback press the PLAY o button or press the PAUSE STILL button again Viewing a Slow Motion Picture 1 During tape playback press the SLOW button The tape will play in slow motion 2 To release Slow mode and return to normal playback press the PLAY o button or press the SLOW button again Slow and Still modes will automati cally switch to Stop mode after five minutes to protect the VCR an...

Page 37: ... 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 recordings howeve...

Page 38: ...n a program broadcast in stereo is available STEREO appears here When a program broadcast in second audio is available 2ND AUD appears here When a program is available both in stereo and second audio both STEREO and 2ND AUD appear here Even though a program is avail able in stereo or second audio you still must program the VCR to receive or record the program Follow the directions on page 39 NOTE ...

Page 39: ...IO TO END PUSH EXIT SELECT op CHOOSE B AUTO PROGRAMMING ADD DELETE CH CH MEMORY REVIEW TV STEREO 2ND AUDIO ON TO END PUSH EXIT You can only receive and record in stereo or second audio programs that are broadcast in stereo or sec ond audio You can only play in stereo or second audio tapes that were recorded in stereo or second audio Please see page 38 to deter mine if the program you want to watch...

Page 40: ...XIT SELECT op CHOOSE B REPEAT PLAY OFF ON SCREEN MODE AUDIO OUT LANGUAGE BLUE BACKGROUND ON TO END PUSH EXIT Normally HIFI should be selected from the AUDIO OUT menu for playback with Hi Fi sound But you can change the selection to MONO if you want monaural audio play back To do this follow steps 1 3 At step 4 press the PLAY o button or the STOP pbutton to select MONO Press the STATUS EXIT button ...

Page 41: ...IT CLEAR SLOW MENU REWIND PLAY F FWD REC OTR PAUSE STILL STOP TIME SEARCH SPEED All programs are automatically recorded in both Hi Fi stereo sound and in monaural sound The audio level of a tape recorded in Hi Fi stereo will differ from the audio level of a tape not recorded in Hi Fi stereo If you play non Hi Fi tapes while the VCR is set to HIFI HIFI will disap pear from the status display and th...

Page 42: ...e If after programming a timer recording you turn off 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...

Page 43: ...l rotate for about five minutes This is normal The quick play mechanism allows the tape mechanism to switch from Stop mode to Play mode in one second Direct Broadcast System Hookups Watching one TV channel while recording another may not be possible if you have a DBS hookup You may have to set your TV to channel 03 or 04 then make your channel selections at the DBS With many DBS hookups if you use...

Page 44: ...ut mode press the CHANNEL o p buttons or use the Number buttons to select another channel 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 supplied with your VCR Use it to connect your VCR to your TV o...

Page 45: ...ent 120V AC 60Hz Power Consumption 16W Operating Temperature 41 F 5 C to 104 F 40 C Relative Humidity 10 to 80 Weight 5 7 lbs 2 6 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...

Page 46: ...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 47: ...se button 22 pause still button 19 25 36 play K button 18 22 24 36 playing 24 power button 18 22 cord 23 light 21 real time counter 34 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 remote control buttons 18 19 sensor 22 repeat play 33 rerecording 32 rew ind rewind s button 18 22 36 rf coaxial cable 6 9 32 44 safety precauti...

Page 48: ...ssette Storage Cases plastic Fits VHS and Beta cassettes M61104 Six High grade VHS T 120 Cassettes MHG1206 Stereo Audio and Video Cables 6 feet M61106 gold connectors M61105 color coded connectors RF Coaxial Cable 75 ohm 4835 323 27011 POW ER EJE CT VCR TV 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 CHA NNE L ME MO RY STA TUS EX IT CLE AR SLO W ME NU REW IND PL AY F F WD REC OT R PAU SE STI LL ST OP TIM E SEA RCH SPE ED 1 ...

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