O W N E R ' S M A N U A L P/DD-1500 Digital Surround Processor 2 P/DD-1500 Owner's Manual IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS The lightning flash with the arrowhead symbol within an equilateral triangle is intended to alert the user to the presence of "dangerous voltage" within the product's enclosure that may constitute a risk of electric shock. The exclamation point within an equilateral triangle is intended to alert the user to the presence of important operating and maintenance instructions in the literature accompanying the product. TO REDUCE THE RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK, DO NOT REMOVE COVER. NO USER-SERVICEABLE PARTS INSIDE. REFER SERVICING TO QUALIFIED SERVICE PERSONNEL 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Read Instructions -- Read all the safety and operating instructions before operating this product. Retain Instructions -- Retain safety and operating instructions for future reference. Heed Warnings -- Adhere to all warnings on the product and in the operating instructions. Follow Instructions -- Follow all operating and use instructions. Cleaning -- Unplug this product from the wall outlet before cleaning. Use a damp cloth for cleaning. Attachments -- Do not use attachments not recommended by the product manufacturer; they may cause hazards. Water and Moisture -- Do not use this product near water. Accessories -- Do not place this product on an unstable cart or stand. The product may fall causing bodily injury and damage to the product. A product and cart combination should be moved with care. Quick stops, excessive force, and uneven surfaces may cause the product and cart combination to overturn. Ventilation -- Slots and openings in the cabinet are provided for ventilation and to ensure reliable operation of the product and to protect it from overheating. These openings must not be blocked or covered. This product should not be placed in a built-in installation such as a bookcase or rack unless proper ventilation is provided. Power Sources -- Operate this product only from the type of power source indicated on the marking label. If you are not sure of the type of power supply to your home, consult your dealer or local power company. This product is equipped with a three-wire grounding type plug. This plug will only fit into a grounding type power outlet. If you are unable to insert the plug into the outlet, contact your electrician to replace your obsolete outlet. Do not defeat the safety purpose of the grounding type plug. Power Cord Protection -- Power supply cords should be routed so that they are not likely to be walked on or pinched by items placed upon or against them. Lightning-- For added protection for this product during a lightning storm, or when it is left unattended and unused for long periods of time, unplug it from the wall outlet. This will prevent damage to the product due to lightning and power line surges. Overloading -- Do not overload wall outlets or extension cords. This can result in a risk of fire or electric shock. Object and Liquid Entry - Never push objects of any kind into this product through openings; they may touch dangerous voltage points or short out parts that could result in a fire or electric shock. Servicing -- Do not attempt to service this product yourself. Opening or removing covers may expose you to dangerous voltage or other hazards. Refer all servicing to qualified service personnel. Damage Requiring Service -- Unplug this product from the wall outlet and refer servicing to qualified service personnel under the following conditions: a) When the power-supply cord or plug is damaged. b) If liquid has been spilled, or objects have fallen into the product. c) If the product has been exposed to rain or water. d) If the product does not operate normally by following the operating instructions. e) If the product has been dropped or damaged in any way. f) When the product exhibits a distinct change in performance. Replacement Parts -- When replacement parts are required, be sure the service technician has used replacement parts specified by the manufacturer or have the same characteristics as the original part. Unauthorized substitutions may result in fire, electric shock, or other hazards. Safety Check -- Upon completion of any service or repairs to this product, ask the service technician to perform safety checks to determine that the product is in proper operating condition. Heat -- The product should be situated away from heat sources such as radiators, heat registers, stoves, or other products (including amplifiers) that produce heat 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. P/DD-1500 Owner's Manual 3 Table of Contents Safety Instructions .....................................................................................................................................................2 Introduction ...............................................................................................................................................................3 Unpacking and Placement of Your P/DD-1500 ......................................................................................................... 3 Making Connections to Your P/DD-1500 ...................................................................................................................6 Input Connections .....................................................................................................................................................6 Output Connections ...................................................................................................................................................6 Setting Up Your P/DD-1500 ......................................................................................................................................7 Bass Management ....................................................................................................................................................7 Operating your P/DD-1500 ...................................................................................................................................... 10 P/DD-1500 Processing Modes ................................................................................................................................10 Additional Signal Processing Features .................................................................................................................... 11 Using Your P/DD-1500 with Other Processors ........................................................................................................ 11 Maintaining Your P/DD-1500 ................................................................................................................................... 14 Troubleshooting .......................................................................................................................................................14 Specifications .......................................................................................................................................................... 15 Special Features ..................................................................................................................................................... 15 Limited Warranty ..................................................................................................................................................... 16 Introduction Congratulations on your purchase of this precision audio component and thank you for your selection of Parasound. Your P/DD-1500 incorporates high-quality full 20 bit decoders, filters, and D to A converters to process Dolby Digital encoded material to provide you with an unbelievable home theater experience. Although we designed the P/DD-1500 for control by the companion P/SP-1500 A/V Processor/Preamplifier, it can also be used with many other processors that have six discrete inputs. Please take the time now to read these instructions thoroughly to fully appreciate the advanced capabilities of your P/DD-1500 Digital Decoder. Be sure to refer to the P/SP-1500 Owner's Manual. It contains much of the information regarding connecting, setup and operation of both units. Unpacking and Placement of Your P/DD-1500 Carefully unpack your P/DD-1500 and remove all the enclosed accessories including the remote control, DB-25 interconnect cable, and detachable AC cord. Be sure to inspect the unit for any possible shipping damage. If you see any, contact your Parasound Dealer immediately. Save all of the packing material including the outer carton in case you ever need to ship the unit. Locate the P/DD-1500 near your P/SP-1500 to allow for easy connection with the provided DB-25 interconnect. Keep your P/DD-1500 out of direct sunlight because it could interfere with its remote control sensor. You should also keep the unit away from heat sources such as hot air ducts or radiators. Before you proceed, find the serial number located on the rear panel of your unit and record it for reference: SERIAL NUMBER: ____________________ DATE OF PURCHASE: ____________________ 4 2 Channel Audio Output RF Input External Remote Manufactured under license from Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation. "Dolby", "AC-3", "Pro Logic", and the double-D symbol are trademarks of Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation. Copyright 1992 Dolby Laboratories, Inc. All Rights Reserved Manufactured under license from LucasFilm Ltd. U.S. Patent Numbers 5,043,970; 5,189,703; and 5,222,059. Foreign patents pending. Re -EQ P/DD-1500 L AC 120 V R 60 Hz Digital Surround Decoder Parasound Products, Inc. San Francisco, CA USA Digital Inputs Power Consumption: 70 W CAUTION: LS / RS Channels Coaxial Toslink 1 2 Small Speakers Bass Filter On Large Speakers Bass Filter Off Subwoofer On, No Filter Subwoofer Output = LFE Only Subwoofer Output On, No Filter Sub Out = LFE + 5 Channels Mixed Subwoofer Output Off LFE & C, LS, RS, Bass Frequencies Mixed with L, R Channels LFE/ Bass Management P/DD-1500 Owner's Manual 5.1 Audio Output & Control Input Center Channel Speaker TO PREVENT ELECTRIC SHOCK, DO NOT REMOVE COVER. NO USER SERVICEABLE PARTS INSIDE. REFER SERVICING TO QUALIFIED SERVICE PERSONNEL. No Speaker Phantom Mode Small Speaker Bass Filter On Large Speaker Bass Filter Off CAUTION RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK DO NOT OPEN Discrete 5.1 Adapter Video 3 Play Comp S Video Video Monitor Video 4 Rec Video 4 Play Video 3 Play Monitor Video 4 Rec Video 4 Play Video 2 Play Video 1 Play Video 2 Play Video 1 Play AC 120V 60Hz Audio 3 Rec Output Front/Direct R Rear Center Audio 2 Video 2 Play Video 1 Play Audio 1 Video 4 Rec Video 4 Play Video 3 Play PARASOUND P/SP-1500 AV Processor / Preamplifier Parasound Products, Inc San Francisco, CA U.S.A. R Center Speaker None Sub Control all Modes DC Trigger External Remote Input Small Large or THX L C R full range Sub off L C R full range Sub Full Range L C R high pass THX Filter +12V GND L L Subwoofer Audio Outputs Audio Inputs Power Consumption 20 W Figure 1: P/SP-1500 and P/DD-1500 Rear Panels P/DD-1500 Digital Surround Decoder LS 2 Channel Norm Range Cinema Select Pro Logic Dolby Digital Dialog Dynamic Re-EQ Delay L C R % mS Delay Time Re-EQ Lock LFE RS On-Off RF Toslink 1 Coaxial 2 On Off Mute amic Dyn nge Ra t Inpu me Volu Dialo Trim Cal lay Disp g d oun Surrelay D Log o Mon y Dela Pro 2 Ch THX ic Hall eo Sterect Dir e ianc Amb ogic ro L P Keys Control P/DD-1500 Only Keys Control P/SP-1500 Only Keys Control Both Models Re-E Q 5.1 ct Sele io 1 Aud io 2 Aud io 3 Aud y Dolb al Digit der o Dec o1 Vide o3 Vide o2 Vide o4 Vide Tos RF P/DD-1500 Owner's Manual link Coa x1 Coa x2 R-1 500 5 Figure 2: P/DD-1500 Front Panel and Remote Control 6 P/DD-1500 Owner's Manual Making Connections to Your P/DD-1500 Refer to Figure #1 Precautions Before making any connections, be sure to turn off the power to your P/DD-1500, P/SP-1500 and especially your power amplifiers. Also, make sure there is no strain or tension on any connections that could cause them to pull loose. AC Line Cord Receptacle The AC receptacle accepts the AC cord supplied with your P/DD-1500. Plug the female end of the AC cord firmly into the AC receptacle and make sure that it is properly seated. Input Connections Your P/DD-1500 comes equipped with four inputs: one RF, two 75 digital coaxial inputs and a digital fiber-optic Toslink. RF Input Connect the RF output of your Dolby Digital equipped laser disc player to this input. The P/DD-1500 has a built-in RF demodulator that processes the audio signal stored on Dolby Digital encoded laser discs. The demodulated RF signal is then decoded by the P/DD-1500. If the laser disc was encoded with two channel information, you will only be able to select the Dolby Pro Logic or Two Channel stereo modes for playback. If it was recorded with 5.1 channels of information, the P/DD-1500 wi ...