Cambridge SoundWorks MegaTheater AVS500, User Manual

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7
INTRODUCTION
Thanks for choosing the MegaTheater AVS500 as the
heart of your home theater system. We at Cambridge
SoundWorks believe that it is the ideal utilization of
high technology to simplify the home entertainment
experience.
The AVS500 will entertain you for many years with its
flawless DVD playback, sensitive AM and FM radio
reception, and playback of normal CD, CD+G, HDCD
and compressed music files on DVD-R, CD-R, or
CD-RW discs. It will also play back VCD and SVCD
discs you burn on your PC from video files such as
home movies from your digital camcorder. In addition,
the AVS500 will display your JPEG digital still photos
from CD on your TV screen. You can even produce a
slide show with musical background by saving your pho-
tos and background music MP3 file on the same disc.
The AVS500 includes all the inputs and outputs neces-
sary for the most common home theater system
needs. There are two sets of rear panel A/ V inputs and
outputs which can be used to connect a VCR and a
satellite receiver or cable box. A third front panel input
and output can be used for quick connection of a
camcorder video game, or portable music player. An
optical digital input is also provided to connect the
Dolby Digital 5.1 signal from a cable TV set top box or
a satellite receiver equipped with an optical digital out-
put. The built-in Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1 surround
decoders will accurately play back any contemporary
DVD when connected to a suitably powered loud-
speaker system or multichannel power amplifier.
Because of its stereo and Virtual Surround modes, the
AVS500 can also be used with a stereo TV or with
powered 2.0 or 2.1 speaker systems.
Finally, the AVS500 is compatible with High Definition
TV monitors thanks to its advanced progressive scan
circuitry. This unique circuit analyzes the characteris-
tics of the source material on DVD and automatically
selects the proper de-interlacing algorithm for fast
motion or still scenes, as well as 3:2 pulldown to con-
vert the 24 frame per second rate of film sources to
video’s 60 frames per second. The result is the clear-
est, sharpest picture – totally free of motion artifacts or
the visual stutter sometimes seen when movies, or
movie segments originally shot on film, are converted
to video.
If You Are New To Digital Discs
DVDs are divided into one or more sections called
“Titles.” Each title has a numerical label displayed on
the front panel Vacuum Flourescent Display (VFD). You
can select the different titles using the title key on the
remote control, or by using the Playback Control (PBC)
function. The ability to bypass titles on a particular
DVD is controlled by the maker of the specific DVD,
and may not be available on all DVDs.
Each title is divided further into “Chapters.” You may
navigate chapters using the skip keys
( |<< , >>| ), directly using the numerical keypad, or
within the DVD’s on-screen menu.
CD and VCD discs are divided in tracks. You may
select them using the skip keys or the numeric key-
pad. MP3 and Picture CDs are organized in files con-
tained within folders. Use the on-screen “Smart Nav”
function to select the files you wish to play.
The selection of many features of DVD playback is
automated by “flags” in the digital bitstream that let the
disc producer tell your player the optimum playback
mode. The AVS500 will respond to these flags where
appropriate and automatically select the proper
soundtrack or technique for producing a progressive
scan picture on high definition TV sets.