4 Input A/V Switcher with Automatic Input Mode and Volume Stabilizer Model SVS-4 User Manual Table of Contents WHAT'S INCLUDED .........................................................................2 INTRODUCTION................................................................................3 IMPORTANT SAFETY PRECAUTIONS.........................................3 FRONT PANEL ...................................................................................4 REAR PANEL ......................................................................................5 IR REMOTE CONTROL, SRC-1 ......................................................5 TYPICAL HOOK UP ..........................................................................6 OPERATION......................................................................................10 POWER ..............................................................................................10 INPUTS ..............................................................................................10 AUTO INPUT MODE ...........................................................................10 VOLUME STABILIZER ACTIVE............................................................11 VOLUME STABILIZATION ADJUSTMENT.............................................11 HOW IT WORKS ..............................................................................12 SIMPLIFIED BLOCK DIAGRAM OF THE SVS-4.....................................12 AUTOMATIC INPUT SENSING .............................................................12 VOLUME STABILIZATION...................................................................12 VOLUME STABILIZER INPUT / OUTPUT CURVES ................................13 COMPOSITE TO S-VIDEO CONVERSION..............................................13 TROUBLE SHOOTING....................................................................14 TERMS ...............................................................................................14 TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS ...................................................15 LIMITED WARRANTY ...................................................................16 What's Included 1 - SVS-4 A/V switcher unit 1 - AC power adapter, 15 vdc. 1 - Triple A/V RCA cable, 1 meter long 1 - SRC-1 IR remote control, with batteries 1 - This instruction manual 1998 by Sima Products Corp. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission from Sima Products Corp. Page 2 Introduction The Sima model SVS-4, 4 Input Audio / Video Switcher with Automatic Input Mode (AIM) and Volume Stabilization has been designed for the home theater, DSS satellite, DVD, audio recording as well as for background music applications. The SVS-4 has the following features: · Four A/V inputs to allow you to add more A/V sources such as DVD, satellite dish, VCR, games, etc. to your TV and home theater system. The unit supports stereo audio as well as both composite and S-Video. · Dual A/V outputs to connect to your TV, your surround sound receiver and/or a recording VCR. · Composite video to S-Video conversion to simplify hook-up in systems using both composite and S-Video. · Automatic Input Mode (AIM) provides automatic switching to active input without you having to push any buttons. Simply turn on your VCR and the SVS-4 connects it automatically to the TV. · Volume Stabilization circuitry to maintain constant audio volume levels for late night viewing or when channel surfing. It can also be adjusted to add impact to old movies by increasing the dynamic range. · IR remote control when you want to select a different input or mode without getting up from your chair. · Front panel display brightness control allows you to dim the lights for nighttime use (via the remote only). Warnings Important Safety Precautions When using this product, basic safety precautions should always be followed to reduce the risk of fire and electric shock, including the following: Read and understand all instructions. Follow all warnings and instructions marked on this product. Unplug this product from wall outlets before cleaning. Do not use liquid or aerosol cleaners. Use a damp cloth for cleaning. To prevent fire or shock hazard, do not expose this product to rain or moisture. Do not use near a bath tub, wash bowl, sink, or laundry tub; do not use in a wet basement or in a swimming pool. To avoid electrical shock, do not open the case of this product. Operate this product using only the power supply included with it or provided as an accessory. If you are not sure of the type of power supplied to your home, consult your dealer or local power company. Do not overload electrical outlets or extension cords as this can result in fire or electric shock. The unit should be situated away from heat sources such as radiators, stoves, etc. The unit should be situated so that its location or position does not interfere with its proper ventilation. Page 3 Front Panel Figure 1, SVS-4 front panel Controls 1 - Power / Stand-by - Press to turn unit on or off. The Power/Stand by light will be on when the unit is operational and dim when it is in the standby mode. 2 - Inputs 1 through 4 - Press to select desired input. The light above the switch will light to indicate the current active input. 3 - Auto Input Mode - Press to turn AIM on or off. If on, the unit will scan the video inputs and automatically turn on and select the input to the device you turned on. 4 - Volume Stabilization Adjustment - This controls the amount of dynamic range you want. In the middle, at the 1:1 setting, the input is equal to the output, so there is no affect on the audio signal. If the knob is rotated counter-clockwise towards the 10:1 setting, the audio will remain more constant. This will bring up soft dialogue and reduce loud sounds. If the knob is rotated clockwise towards the 1:2 setting, the unit will increase the dynamic range and make loud sounds louder and soft sounds quieter to add impact to music or movies. 5 - Volume Stabilizer Active - Press to turn Volume Stabilization on or off. If active, the light will be on and the audio will go though the Volume Stabilization circuitry to either increase or decrease (depending on the setting of the Volume Stabilization adjustment) the dynamic range of the audio. The light will be off when the Volume Stabilization is bypassed. Page 4 Rear Panel Figure 2, SVS-4 rear panel 6 - S-Video inputs, 1 through 4 from the SVideo output of your VCR, DSS or DVD devices. 7 - Composite Video inputs, 1 through 4 from the composite video output of your VCR, DSS or DVD devices. 8 - Left and Right audio inputs, 1 through 4 from the audio output of your VCR, DSS or DVD devices. 9 - S-Video outputs, A and B that connects to the input on your TV or VCR 10 - Composite Video outputs, A and B that connects to the input on your TV or VCR 11 - Left and Right audio outputs, A and B that connects to the audio inputs on your TV, VCR or surround sound receiver 12 - 15 vdc input from the AC wall power supply IR Remote Control, SRC-1 Fig. 3, SRC-1 All the buttons on the SRC-1 IR remote control work just like the buttons on the front of the SVS-4, with the exception of the DISPLAY button. See descriptions above (under the heading "Front Panel") for more information POWER - Turns SVS-4 on or off. DISPLAY - Pressing this button cycles through three levels of brightness on the front panel lights - bright, dim or off. When the Display is set in the "off" mode, the lights will light for a few seconds when any button is pressed. VS ACTIVE - Toggles between the Volume Stabilizer being active or in the bypass mode. AUTO INPUT - Toggles between the Automatic Input Selection mode being on or off. INPUT 1 through 4 - Selects desired input. Be sure to install the two AAA batteries in the SRC-1 remote before using. Slide the cover open on the SRC-1 remote in the direction of the arrow and install the batteries as shown inside the unit. Page 5 Typical Hook up This shows a overview of a typical system with the SVS-4 using 4 A/V sources, a TV and Surround system. The outputs of up to 4 devices can feed into the inputs on the SVS-4. It can then select one of the devices to watch on your TV and/or listen on your receiver. Refer to the diagrams on the next few pages for more detailed connection diagrams. Figure 4, Overview of typical system Step 1 Connect the AC adapter to 120 VAC and plug the DC cord into the 15 v input on the SVS-4. Step 2 You need to determine how you want to use your system. If you want to watch and listen to the video sources on your TV and / or your surround sound receiver, see figure 5. This diagram only shows inputs 1 and 2 being used. Inputs 3 and 4 are connected in the same manner. If you want to be able to watch the video sources on your TV, listen on your surround sound receiver and tape from the sources plugged into the SVS-4, see figure 6. This shows how to connect one of the outputs of the SVS-4 to the Audio and Video inputs on the VCR that you will use for recording. Note: Do not select the same input that the recording VCR is connected to (input 4 in this diagram) while recording or loud feedback could occur. If you only have composite video signals or only S-Video signals, then use the one type in your system. If your TV only has composite video inputs, you must use all composite video signals into the SVS-4 as it will not convert S-Video signals to composite video. If you have a combination of standard composite video (RCA type jacks) and S-Video (mini-din jacks) on your equipment you can only feed one or the other but not both to any given input to the SVS-4. Page 6 In this case you have several options. Option A: For ease of use, the SVS-4 has a composite to S-Video converter . You can feed a combination of composite and S-Video to the SVS-4 and feed only a S-Video signal to your TV. This lets you use just one S-Video input on your TV and all sources will automatically be displayed there. Option B: If your TV has 2 video inputs that supports both composite video and S-Video inputs, you can feed both the composite and S-Video outputs from the SVS-4 to your TV. You will have to select the correct video input on your TV, composite or S-Video. This will give you the best picture quality. Note that this only works if the composite video and S-Video inputs are two separate inputs on your TV. Otherwise the picture may be blank, black and white or have lines and steaks. Fill in the chart below to help you organize and remember what devices are connected to the inputs and outputs. Save for future reference. Inputs From (VCR, DSS, etc.) Composite or S-Video? #1 #2 #3 #4 Outputs A B Remember both the A and B outputs are identical. The SVS-4 has buffers to prevent one output from loading the other output for best system performance. Note: Most systems have a VHF/UHF cable from an antenna or cable company going into the VCR and then a VHF/UHF cable between the VCR and TV. This is OK but you still must connect the A/V cables as shown in figures 5 and 6. Having both the VHF/UHF cable and the A/V cable would allow you to record a program off of the cable on your VCR (cable input) while watching a different program/movie via the SVS-4 on your TV via the A/V input. Don't forget, you must select the TV's A/V input (also call video input or line input on some TV brands) not channel 3 or 4 to view the output of the SVS-4. To (TV, Receiver, etc.) Composite or S-Video? Page 7 Figure 5 below shows a hook up showing only two input sources. Be sure you use either S-Video or composite video inputs, but not both on the same input. The one SVS-4 output goes to the TV so you can watch and listen on your TV. The second output (audio only) goes to the stereo receiver so you can listen to music or surround sound audio using your stereo receiver. Figure 5, Hook-up in typically system Note: Remember to always connect the outputs on your VCR/DSS/DVD/etc. to the inputs on the SVS-4. Likewise, connect the outputs on the SVS-4 to the inputs on the TV/VCR/Receiver/etc.. Note: If you have one or more devices that are not stereo and have a single audio output you have two options: 1) Use just the left connector for the audio of that source; or 2) the better solution is to use a "Y" adapter (available from any electronics store) to spilt the mono signal into two signals that you feed into both the Left and Right inputs on the SVS-4. Page 8 Figure 6 below shows a system with 3 sources. It also shows using the dual outputs to allow you to record on a VCR, watch the video on the TV and listen to the sound on a surround system. As shown below, you can select inputs 1, 2 or 3 (not 4 as you would be trying to record to itself) and record on the Recording VCR the video and audio from the selected source. Figure 6, SVS-4 with recording VCR Note: Remember to select the A/V or AUX inp ...