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01EN01DVDS253A(AU).book Page 2 Wednesday, June 7, 2006 3:39 PM CAUTION RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK DO NOT OPEN CAUTION: THESE SERVICING INSTRUCTIONS ARE FOR USE BY QUALIFIED SERVICE PERSONNEL ONLY. TO REDUCE THE RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK DO NOT PERFORM ANY SERVICING OTHER THAN THAT CONTAINED IN THE OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS UNLESS YOU ARE QUALIFIED TO DO SO.
01EN01DVDS253A(AU).book Page 3 Wednesday, June 7, 2006 3:39 PM Contents Introduction ......5 Symbol Used in this Manual ....5 Notes on Discs .
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01EN01DVDS253A(AU).book Page 4 Wednesday, June 7, 2006 3:39 PM Title List and Editing ....45 Title List and Chapter List Menu Overview ..45 Original and Playlist Editing (VR Mode) .
01EN01DVDS253A(AU).book Page 5 Wednesday, June 7, 2006 3:39 PM Introduction To ensure proper use of this product, please read this owner’s manual carefully and retain for future reference. This manual provides information on the operation and maintenance of your recorder. Should the unit require service, contact an authorized service location.
01EN01DVDS253A(AU).book Page 6 Wednesday, June 7, 2006 3:39 PM Accessories Check for the supplied accessories below. • Video Cable • Audio Cable • RF Cable for TV Dispose of batteries according to local environmental regulations. Do not put them in the household rubbish. Recordable and Playable Discs DVD-RAM •...
CD-R/RW (or DVD±R/RW) discs cannot be played on the unit. • Images taken with a Hitachi DVD video camera on 8 cm DVD-R discs that have not been finalized can be played on the unit. Additional recording and finalization cannot be performed.
If the recorder fails to record or play back because of a fault, Hitachi will not accept any responsibility for compensation for HDD contents (recorded program data, etc.) or loss of them, or any direct or indirect damage.
01EN01DVDS253A(AU).book Page 9 Wednesday, June 7, 2006 3:39 PM Card useable on this unit • Compact Flash Card (CF) • Micro Drive (MD), ST1 MD • Secure Digital Card (SD), Mini SD • Multi Media Card (MMC), MMC Plus, RS MMC, MMC Mobile •...
01EN01DVDS253A(AU).book Page 10 Wednesday, June 7, 2006 3:39 PM Front Panel POWER button Switches the recorder ON or OFF. (As to the indication of the Operate switch, “ I ” shows ON and “ ” shows electrical power stand-by.) (OPEN/CLOSE) Opens or closes the disc tray.
01EN01DVDS253A(AU).book Page 11 Wednesday, June 7, 2006 3:39 PM Remote Control 0-9 numerical buttons: (page 25, 50) Selects numbered options in a menu. (left/right/up/down): Selects an option in the menu. (up/down): Scans up or down through memorized channels. A-B: (page 26) Repeat sequence. ANGLE: (page 27) Selects a DVD camera angle, if available.
01EN01DVDS253A(AU).book Page 12 Wednesday, June 7, 2006 3:39 PM Hookup and Settings Rear Panel AERIAL Connect the aerial to this terminal. HDMI Connector (Type A) HDMI output providing a high quality interface for digital audio and video (page 14). AV (VIDEO) OUT Connect to a TV with video inputs.
01EN01DVDS253A(AU).book Page 13 Wednesday, June 7, 2006 3:39 PM Connections to Your TV Make one of the following connections, depending on the capabilities of your existing equipment. Tips: • Depending on your TV and other equipment you wish to connect, there are various ways you could connect the recorder.
01EN01DVDS253A(AU).book Page 14 Wednesday, June 7, 2006 3:39 PM HDMI connection If you have a HDMI TV or monitor, you can connect it to this recorder using a HDMI cable. Be sure to use an HDMI cable with HDMI logo 1.
01EN01DVDS253A(AU).book Page 15 Wednesday, June 7, 2006 3:39 PM Connecting to an Amplifier Connecting to an amplifier equipped with two channel analog stereo or Dolby Pro Logic ll/ Pro Logic Connect the Left and Right AUDIO OUT jacks on the recorder to the audio left and right in jacks on your amplifier, receiver, or stereo system, using the audio cables (A).
01EN01DVDS253A(AU).book Page 16 Wednesday, June 7, 2006 3:39 PM Accessory Audio/Video Connections Notes: • Pictures containing copy protection signals that prohibit any copying cannot be recorded. • If you pass the recorder signals via the VCR, you may not receive a clear image on your TV screen. Be sure to connect your VCR to the recorder and your TV in the order shown below.
01EN01DVDS253A(AU).book Page 17 Wednesday, June 7, 2006 3:39 PM Using the Home Menu From the Home Menu screen you can access all the Media (HDD, DISC, MEMORY CARD) for playback and recording of the recorder. 1. Press HOME to display the Home Menu screen. 2.
01EN01DVDS253A(AU).book Page 18 Wednesday, June 7, 2006 3:39 PM Note: After you have connected your recorder for the very first time. If you press SETUP for initial setting, you can only set the [Auto Programming] option. Then you can set the other options. Program Edit You can edit a channel manually (add, delete, name, move, etc.).
01EN01DVDS253A(AU).book Page 19 Wednesday, June 7, 2006 3:39 PM Display Mode Selects how to display a wide picture on the screen when [4:3] is selected in [TV Aspect]. • [Letter Box] Displays a wide picture with bands on the upper and lower portions of the screen. •...
01EN01DVDS253A(AU).book Page 20 Wednesday, June 7, 2006 3:39 PM Dolby Digital / DTS / MPEG • [Bitstream]: Select “Bitstream” if you connect the recorder’s DIGITAL AUDIO OUT jack to an amplifier or other equipment with a Dolby Digital, DTS or MPEG decoder.
01EN01DVDS253A(AU).book Page 21 Wednesday, June 7, 2006 3:39 PM If you forget your 4-digit code If you forget your password, to clear the current password, follow the procedure below. 1. Press SETUP to display the Setup menu. 2. Use the Number buttons to enter the 6-digit number “210499”.
01EN01DVDS253A(AU).book Page 22 Wednesday, June 7, 2006 3:39 PM Auto Chapter When recording onto a DVD, chapter markers are put in specified setting. You can change this interval to 5 minutes, 10 minutes or 15 minutes. If you select [None], switch off automatic chapter marking altogether with the [None] setting.
01EN01DVDS253A(AU).book Page 23 Wednesday, June 7, 2006 3:39 PM Tips: • If you load a DVD-RW that has already been finalized, you can ‘Unfinalize’ it by choosing Unfinalize from the Finalize menu. After doing this, you can edit and re-record onto the disc. •...
01EN01DVDS253A(AU).book Page 24 Wednesday, June 7, 2006 3:39 PM Playback General Explanation of On-Screen Display This manual gives basic instructions for operating the recorder. Some DVDs require specific operation or allow only limited operation during playback. When this occurs, the symbol appears on the TV screen, indicating that the operation is not permitted by the recorder or is not available on the disc.
01EN01DVDS253A(AU).book Page 25 Wednesday, June 7, 2006 3:39 PM General Playback Features 1. Load your chosen disc in the tray, with the playback side down. 2. Starts playback using HOME menu (see page 17). 3. To stop the playback, press STOP ( ). The unit records the stopped point, depending on the disc.
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01EN01DVDS253A(AU).book Page 26 Wednesday, June 7, 2006 3:39 PM Buttons Operations REPEAT During playback, press REPEAT repeatedly to select a desired repeat mode. HDD (Title/Off), DVD (Chapter/Title/Off) VR mode DVD-RW (Chapter/Title/All/Off) Video CD, Audio CD (Track/All/Off) MP3/WMA (Track/Folder/Off) Notes: • On a Video CD with PBC, you must set PBC to [OFF] in the Setup menu to use the Repeat function.
01EN01DVDS253A(AU).book Page 27 Wednesday, June 7, 2006 3:39 PM If a menu screen is displayed The menu screen may be displayed first after loading a DVD or Video CD which contains a menu. Use the buttons to select the title/chapter you want to view, then press ENTER to start playback.
01EN01DVDS253A(AU).book Page 28 Wednesday, June 7, 2006 3:39 PM 3D Surround DivX This unit can produce a 3D Surround effect, which simulates multi-channel audio playback from two conventional stereo speakers, instead of the five or more speakers normally required to listen to multi- channel audio from a home theater system.
01EN01DVDS253A(AU).book Page 29 Wednesday, June 7, 2006 3:39 PM 2. Press SETUP. The Setup menu appears. Press SETUP [LANGUAGE] [Disc Subtitle] then select the language you have found. Refer to “Disc Menu/Audio/Subtitle” on page 19. Tip: If the subtitle still does not display properly after the steps 1-2 proceeded, press and hold SUBTITLE about 3 seconds then press to select another language...
01EN01DVDS253A(AU).book Page 30 Wednesday, June 7, 2006 3:39 PM Playing an Audio CD or MP3/ WMA file The recorder can play audio CDs and MP3/WMA files. Before playing MP3/WMA files, read “MP3/WMA audio file requirement” on page 30. 1. Press HOME. The HOME menu appears.
01EN01DVDS253A(AU).book Page 31 Wednesday, June 7, 2006 3:39 PM Program Playback with Audio CD/MP3/WMA Program Playback enables you to make custom playlists of Audio CD or MP3/WMA tracks. Programs can contain up to 99 Audio CD tracks or 256 MP3/WMA files.
01EN01DVDS253A(AU).book Page 32 Wednesday, June 7, 2006 3:39 PM Viewing a JPEG File The recorder can play JPEG files on HDD, DVD-RAM, DVD±RW/R, CD-R/RW, or Memory Card. Before playing JPEG recordings, read “Photo file requirement” on page 33. 1. Press HOME. The HOME menu appears.
01EN01DVDS253A(AU).book Page 33 Wednesday, June 7, 2006 3:39 PM Photo file requirement File extensions “.jpg” Photo size: Less than 4MB recommended CD-R Format: ISO 9660 and JOLIET. DVD±R/RW Format: ISO 9660 (UDF Bridge format) Maximum Files/Disc: Less than 1999 (total number of files and folders) Notes on JPEG file Progressive and lossless compression JPEG image files are not supported.
01EN01DVDS253A(AU).book Page 34 Wednesday, June 7, 2006 3:39 PM Editing a MP3/WMA, JPEG, ® DivX file These descriptions are MP3 file’s operation for example, other kind’s files are operated same way. Notes: ® • The MP3/WMA, and DivX files on the disc or HDD cannot be copied or moved to Memory Card.
01EN01DVDS253A(AU).book Page 35 Wednesday, June 7, 2006 3:39 PM Copying a file(s) to another media or folder You can copy a file(s)/folder(s) to another media or folder. 1. Select a file you wish to copy on the menu. You can select all files and folders on the menu by pressing CLEAR button.
01EN01DVDS253A(AU).book Page 36 Wednesday, June 7, 2006 3:39 PM Recording About DVD recording Notes: • This recorder cannot make recordings on CD-R or CD-RW discs. • Our company takes no responsibility for recording failure due to power outages, defective discs, or damage to the Recorder.
01EN01DVDS253A(AU).book Page 37 Wednesday, June 7, 2006 3:39 PM Time Shift Do not miss a scene from a live broadcast. If the telephone rings while you are watching your favorite live broadcast, just press “TIMESHIFT” and “ (PAUSE/STEP)” before answering the phone. The timeshift function will be activated and the broadcast is then recorded for later viewing.
01EN01DVDS253A(AU).book Page 38 Wednesday, June 7, 2006 3:39 PM Basic Recording from a TV Follow the instructions below to record a TV program. Recording starts immediately and continues until the disc is full or you stop the recording. Note: When recording on DVD: You must load a recordable disc for DVD recording.
01EN01DVDS253A(AU).book Page 39 Wednesday, June 7, 2006 3:39 PM Instant Timer Recording Instant Timer Recording allows you to make a recording easily of a preset length without using the program timer. 1. Follow steps 1-4 as shown left (Basic Recording from a TV).
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01EN01DVDS253A(AU).book Page 40 Wednesday, June 7, 2006 3:39 PM Notes: • You must press POWER to stop the timer recording. • The timer indicator lights in the display window when the recorder is in standby with the timer active. • For TV recording with bilingual, set audio channel from the [TV Rec Audio] in sub-menu of the Setup menu (see page 21).
01EN01DVDS253A(AU).book Page 41 Wednesday, June 7, 2006 3:39 PM System CODE This system makes programming timer recordings very simple. Most TV guides publish G- CODE numbers with their program details. If you want to make a timer recording of a program, you just input the corresponding G- programming number.
01EN01DVDS253A(AU).book Page 42 Wednesday, June 7, 2006 3:39 PM Checking Timer Recording Details Programming can be checked whenever the recorder is turned on. Press TIMER REC twice. • Use to select a timer recording. • Press ENTER to edit the selected program. Timer Record menu appears.
01EN01DVDS253A(AU).book Page 43 Wednesday, June 7, 2006 3:39 PM Recording from DV Input Before DV dubbing You can connect a DV-equipped camcorder to this recorder using a single DV cable for input and output of audio, video, data and control signals. •...
01EN01DVDS253A(AU).book Page 44 Wednesday, June 7, 2006 3:39 PM Simultaneous recording and playback Playback another title during recording Playback and recording for both DVD and built in hard disk drive (HDD) are completely independent. For example, you can record to either the DVD or HDD source and play back video from the other source at the same time.
01EN01DVDS253A(AU).book Page 45 Wednesday, June 7, 2006 3:39 PM Title List and Editing Title List and Chapter List Menu Overview Using the Title List menu, you can search for recorded titles and edit them. The editing features available in the Title List menu depend on whether you are editing video on DVD, or the HDD, and whether you’re editing Original content, or a Playlist.
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01EN01DVDS253A(AU).book Page 46 Wednesday, June 7, 2006 3:39 PM 1 2 3 1. Menu options: To display menu option, select a title or chapter then press ENTER. The options displayed differ depending on the disc type. • [Combine] Combines two titles or chapters into one (page 51, 52).
01EN01DVDS253A(AU).book Page 47 Wednesday, June 7, 2006 3:39 PM Original and Playlist Editing (VR Mode) Is editing a DVD like editing a video tape? No. When you edit a video tape you need one video deck to play the original tape and another to record the edits.
01EN01DVDS253A(AU).book Page 48 Wednesday, June 7, 2006 3:39 PM Making a New Playlist Use this function to add an Original title or chapter to the Playlist. When you do this, the whole title is put into the Playlist (you can delete bits you don’t need later — see “Deleting an Original or Playlist Title/Chapter”...
01EN01DVDS253A(AU).book Page 49 Wednesday, June 7, 2006 3:39 PM Deleting an Original or Playlist Title/Chapter Video When you erase a title or chapter from the Playlist menu, you only remove it from the Playlist; the title/ chapter remains in the Original menu. If you choose to delete a title or chapter from the Original (title/chapter) menu, the title or chapter is actually deleted from the disc and the remaining time...
01EN01DVDS253A(AU).book Page 50 Wednesday, June 7, 2006 3:39 PM Naming a Title Video You can name Original and Playlist titles independently. Names can be up to 32 characters long. 1. Choose the title you want to name on the Title List menu, then press ENTER.
01EN01DVDS253A(AU).book Page 51 Wednesday, June 7, 2006 3:39 PM Sort This function allows you to access show listings organized by Date, Title, or Category on the Title List- HDD menu. So you can find title you want to watch easily. 1.
01EN01DVDS253A(AU).book Page 52 Wednesday, June 7, 2006 3:39 PM Divide Use this command to split a title up into two new titles. 1. On the Title List menu, select a title you want to divide then press ENTER. The menu options appear on the left side of the screen.
01EN01DVDS253A(AU).book Page 53 Wednesday, June 7, 2006 3:39 PM Moving a Playlist Chapter Use this function to re-arrange the playing order of Playlist chapters on the Title List-Playlist menu. Note: This function is not available if there is only one chapter.
01EN01DVDS253A(AU).book Page 54 Wednesday, June 7, 2006 3:39 PM Dubbing Before Dubbing Use the copying features of this recorder to: • Back up important recordings stored on the HDD to a DVD. • Make a DVD copy of a recording on the HDD to play in another player.
01EN01DVDS253A(AU).book Page 55 Wednesday, June 7, 2006 3:39 PM Re-encode copying If you choose XP, SP, LP or EP other than Fast copying, re-encode copying will start: The dubbing will be performed only at standard (1×) speed, and the playback screen will appear during dubbing. The quality of dubbed images will degrade when the speed mode is changed, for example, from SP to EP.
01EN01DVDS253A(AU).book Page 56 Wednesday, June 7, 2006 3:39 PM 8 cm discs recorded on DVD video camera/recorder: • A disc on which both movie and photo was recorded cannot be dubbed. To dub the movie only, copy the photo onto the DVD video camera’s memory card, delete that photo from the disc, and then dub the movie to the HDD.
01EN01DVDS253A(AU).book Page 57 Wednesday, June 7, 2006 3:39 PM Reference Additional Information Overwriting Recording To overwrite a new video recording on a previously recorded title, follow these steps. This feature is not available for DVD+Rs, that always record at the end of the Disc.
01EN01DVDS253A(AU).book Page 58 Wednesday, June 7, 2006 3:39 PM Language Codes Use this list to input your desired language for the following initial settings: Disc Audio, Disc Subtitle, Disc Menu. Language Code Language Abkhazian 6566 Fiji Afar 6565 Finnish Afrikaans 6570 French Albanian...
Controlling other TVs with the remote You can control the sound level, input source, and power switch of non-Hitachi TVs as well. If your TV is listed in the table below, set the appropriate manufacturer code.
01EN01DVDS253A(AU).book Page 62 Wednesday, June 7, 2006 3:39 PM Troubleshooting Check the following guide for the possible cause of a problem before contacting service. Symptom No power. • The power cord is disconnected. No picture. • The TV is not set to receive recorder signal output.
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01EN01DVDS253A(AU).book Page 63 Wednesday, June 7, 2006 3:39 PM Symptom Cannot record or did not • The remaining blank space on the disc record successfully. is insufficient. • The source you are trying to record is copy protected. • When setting the recording channel, the channel is tuned on the TV’s own tuner.