RCA VR-691-HF Video Cassette Recorder
(160-0692)                 Special Features           Faxback Doc. # 61860

Other Features

Features To Enhance VCR Operation

Commercial > > Advance

Movie > > Advance

Picture Search Options

Pro-Tect Plus Locking

Tracking

Auto Repeat 

Time Counter

On-Screen Displays

Audio Reception

Audio Tape Playback

Commercial >> Advance

COMMERCIAL >> ADVANCE is a patented technology that detects and marks most 
commercials on your tape for any recording that is more than 15 minutes 
long.  After recording, the VCR rewinds the tape to the beginning of the 
recording and determines where the commercials are located. It then marks 
the beginning and end of the detected commercial segments and when 
finished returns the tape to the end of the recording.  It does not erase 
the commercials from the tape.

During playback, the VCR automatically skips the detected commercial 
segments, or you can choose to manually skip them.  This feature reduces 
three minutes of commercials to approximately 8-12 seconds of fast 
forwarding in the SLP speed.  You can select a background display of blue 
or see the video as the commercials are skipped.

Because television signals do not indicate where commercials are located, 
this feature finds and marks them through a set of formulas based on how 
television is broadcast today.  Since television stations broadcast 
differently and insert their own commercials, you may experience some 
variations in this feature's effectiveness.  Station promotions, 
identifications, and announcements are not considered commercials - but 
might be skipped.  For more information - see Questions and Answers about 
COMMERCIAL >> ADVANCE in the References section.  All of the COMMERCIAL 
>> ADVANCE features are accessed through the COMMERCIAL ADVANCE menu.

1.  Press MENU to display the VCR Main Menu.

    1. VCR Plus +
    2. Timer Recordings
    3. Time
    4. Channels
    5. Setup
    6. Preferences
    7. Audio 
    8. Language
    0. Exit

2.  Press 6 to display the Preferences menu.

Preferences

1. Remote Control:   VCR1
2. Auto Play:        ON
3. Auto TV/VCR:      ON
4. Front Panel:      AUTO
5. Tape Speed:       SLP
6. Set Auto Repeat
7. Commercial Advance

0. Exit

3.  Press 7 to display the Commercial Advance menu.

    Commercial Advance

    1. Marking:        ON
    2. Playback:       MANUAL
    3. Display:        BLUE
    4. Mark an unmarked tape

    0. Exit

Now, you can select one of the COMMERCIAL > > ADVANCE features.

Commercial >> Advance Marking

Press 1 to turn commercial Marking ON or OFF.

  Select ON, and the VCR will mark commercials within approximately 30
  seconds for  the following types of recording:

    Timer, Timer with VCR Plus +, or Express Recording

    The VCR automatically marks the commercials after the power is turned
    off.

    Recording - When you stop the recording, the VCR prompts you to mark
                the commercials.

    The VCR is waiting to mark commercials in the program you recorded.

    1. Mark them now
    2. Mark them later
    3. Don't mark commercials

    The VCR will begin marking in 30 seconds. . .

  Select OFF and the VCR will not mark the commercials.

Commercial >> Advance Playback

Press 2 to switch between Playback: AUTO and MANUAL.

  Select AUTO to have the VCR automatically advance through the blocks of
  marked commercials.

  It works with most 30, 45, and 60-second commercials.

  A commercial group starting within the first two minutes or last two
  minutes of a recording will not be automatically skipped. 

  A commercial will not be skipped if the recording starts in the middle
  of a commercial segment, one isolated commercial is shown without
  others, or a commercial is longer than one minute.  Press FWD to scan
  through the commercial.

  Part of a recorded program may be skipped if the program segment is
  between commercials and less than one minute or there are frequent dark
  and quiet scenes.  If part of the program is skipped, rewind the tape to
  the beginning of the skipped program segment and press PLAY.

  Select MANUAL and the VCR won't advance through the blocks of marked 
  commercials until you press SEARCH.

If you press SEARCH during playback of material other than commercials, 
the VCR advances to the end of the next "marked" commercial block and 
resumes playback.

The VCR resumes playback when it reaches the end of the marked commercials 

Commercial >> Advance Display

Press 3 to switch between Display: BLUE or VIDEO.

  Select BLUE to display a blue background when the VCR advances through
  the block of marked commercials.

  Select VIDEO to display the recorded video when the VCR advances through
  the block of marked commercials. 

Marking an Unmarked Tape

This feature allows you to mark an existing tape turning it into a 
Commercial >> Advance tape.  The VCR will play the tape and then mark the 
commercial segments it finds.
  
1.  Insert a tape that has been previously recorded.

2.  Press 4 to select the Mark an unmarked tape feature.

3.  Position the tape where you want the marking to start using PLAY, FWD,
    and REV buttons.

      Set the tape to the point at which you want to start marking.

      When the tape is ready, press MENU to begin.

      Press CLEAR to cancel.

4.  Press MENU to begin the marking process.  The VCR will play the tape
    until it finds six seconds (or more) of blank tape or until the tape
    reaches the end.  It will then rewind the tape to the starting point
    you set and begin marking the commercial segments.

Movie >> Advance

Movie >> Advance helps you locate certain parts of prerecorded movies 
(rented or purchased).  The feature works in two ways: 1) you can go to 
the beginning of the movie or 2) you can skip from one preview to the 
next.  Movie >> Advance works only on cassettes recorded in the SP speed 
with the safety tab removed.

1.  Insert a tape with the safety tab removed and press SEARCH.

    The following menu appears.

      What type of tape is this?

      1. Purchased/Rented Movie
      2. Home Recording
      3. Other

      Press CLEAR to cancel

2.  Press 1 if the tape is a purchased or rented movie, press 2 if it's a 
    recording made at home, or press 3 if it is something else or you
    don't know.

    Movie >> Advance works only on cassettes recorded in the SP speed with
    the safety tab removed.

    Pressing 2 or 3 gives the same response and takes you to a different
    search feature.  If you accidentally make a wrong selection, press GO
    BACK to return to this screen.

    If you press 1, the Movie Advance menu appears.

      MOVIE ADVANCE

      Would you like to go to the start of the movie or to the next
      preview?

      1. Go to movie.
      2. Go to preview.

      Press CLEAR to cancel.

3.  Press 1 to advance directly to the beginning of the movie or press 2
    to view the first (next) preview.

    Press 1 to Go to movie.  The following screen appears with a blue 
    background.

      Movie Advance

      Searching for start of movie...

      Press STOP to cancel.
  
    When the movie is found, the following screen is displayed.

      Movie Advance

      The movie is ready.
      Press PLAY to start.

      Press STOP to cancel.

    This display will time out after a few minutes and the VCR will enter
    the stop mode. 

    Press 2 to Go to preview.  The following screen appears with a video 
    background.

Preview Search Note:

Anytime during the preview search mode, pressing SEARCH will reverse the 
search direction.

  Movie Advance

  Searching for preview ....

  Press SEARCH to reverse
  Press STOP to cancel

When a preview is detected, the VCR cues it and begins playing.

  Press SEARCH for next

Displays time out after a few seconds.

Picture Search Options

The most basic way to search during playback is using the FWD or REV 
buttons.  This section contains several other options available for 
searching a tape.

Forward And Reverse Search

You can search a tape during playback.  Sound is turned off during picture 
search.  Search works well for tapes recorded at the SP or SLP speed.

1.  Press FWD to search forward or REV go search in reverse.

2.  Press FWD or REV again or press PLAY to return to normal playback.

Slow Motion

You can view a tape during play or play-pause using slow motion.  Slow 
motion works well for tapes recorded at the SP or SLP speed.

1.  During play or play-pause, press SLOW (+) or (-) on the remote to
    begin slow-motion playback.  During play-pause, you can also press FWD
    or REV to begin slow-motion playback.

2.  Press SLOW (+) or FWD to increase or SLOW (-) or REV to decrease the
    speed of the search.

3.  Use TRACKING up or down to remove any streaks from the picture. 

4.  Press PLAY to return to normal playback. 

    The VCR switches automatically from slow-motion playback to stop after
    a few minutes.

Frame Advance

Frame advance lets you view one-stop action frame after another during 
playback.  Frame advance works well for tapes recorded at the SP or SLP 
speed. 

1.  Press PAUSE to "freeze" the action.

2.  Press F. ADV each time you want to view a frame of the scene.

3.  Press PAUSE or PLAY to return to normal playback.

Index Search

The VCR has a "VHS Index Search System" that automatically records an 
index mark on the tape every time you start a recording.  During playback 
you can locate the program you want to play by the number of index marks 
or by scanning.  The VCR will search forward or reverse from the location 
you are on the tape. 

To Search:

1.  Press STOP.

      Insert Tape:                        

      Don't forget to insert a recorded tape when using the search
      features.

2.  Press SEARCH on the remote to display the INDEX SEARCH menu on the TV
    screen.

      Index Search

      Press REV OR FWD To begin scanning OR enter a specific index number.
             - -
      Press SEARCH to exit.

3.  If you want to search through a certain number of index marks, press 
    two number buttons to enter the number of marks you want to search.  
    Press CLEAR on the remote to correct an entry.

      Index Search
 
      Searching for index number 12 ...

      Press STOP to cancel.

4.  Press FWD to search forward or REV to search in reverse.  The VCR will
    locate your index mark and begin playback.  If you did not enter a
    specific index number, the VCR will locate the next index mark and
    begin playback.

5.  Press STOP to stop index searching. 

      Index Search

      Searching for Index marks...

      Press STOP to cancel.

Some index marks may be missed by the VCR: 
 
  A mark too close to your location on the tape.

  The mark at the beginning of a recorded segment of five minutes or less. 

  The first index mark on the tape when you start at the beginning of the
  tape.

Zero Search 

The Zero Search feature enables the VCR to quickly return to a counter 
reading of 0:00:00 anywhere on the tape.  This is especially convenient 
when you want to repeat a segment of the tape several times.

1.  Go to the beginning of the program you wish to return to.

2.  Press CLEAR to reset the counter to 0:00:00.

3.  Continue playing the tape.

4.  Press STOP.

5.  Press SEARCH on the remote until the Zero Search menu appears on the
    TV screen.

6.  Press REV to return to 0:00:00 on the tape.

7.  Press STOP to stop zero searching.

      Zero Search

      Current tape counter is 2:17:25.

      Press REV to go to 0:00:00.

      Press SEARCH to exit.


      Zero Search

      Searching for 0:00:00...

      Press STOP to cancel.

If Movie >> Advance is selected, Index and Zero Search are not available.

Blank Search

The VCR searches for blank portions of the tape that are more than six 
seconds in length.

1.  Insert a recorded tape and press STOP. 
                               
2.  Press SEARCH on the remote until the Blank Search menu appears.

3.  Press FWD to begin searching.  A message appears on the screen if a
    blank area is not found.

4.  Press STOP to stop blank searching.

      Blank Search

      Press FWD to begin Searching for blank Section of tape.

      Press SEARCH to exit.

      Blank Search

      Searching for Blank tape...

      Press SEARCH to exit.

Pro-tect Plus Lock Feature

To disable the usage of the VCR, or to protect your timer recordings, you 
can lock the VCR so that the buttons on the VCR or remote won't work.

    To Lock: Press and hold POWER or VCR 1 (VCR2/DVD) on the remote for
             approximately six seconds.  SAFE appears in the display to
             let you know the feature is activated.

  To Unlock: Press and hold POWER or VCR 1 (VCR2/DVD) on the remote for 
             approximately six seconds.

Tracking 

Your VCR has automatic tracking which removes the streaks or snow from the 
picture. Automatic tracking is activated when you insert a tape or turn on 
the VCR. Occasionally you may need to manually adjust tracking, especially 
if the tape was recorded on a different VCR. Just use the TRACKING buttons 
to remove the streaks or snow.  You can also use tracking when you PAUSE a 
tape to reduce jittering of the picture.

When you manually adjust the picture, automatic tracking is turned off. To 
turn automatic tracking back on, press both TRACKING buttons on the front 
of the VCR at the same time, or eject the tape and re-insert it.

Tracking has no effect during recording-only playback.

  If Movie >> Advance is Selected, Blank Search is not available.

  Locking Your VCR:

  If a timer recording is programmed, make sure your VCR is turned off.  
  Locking your VCR prevents the VCR from being accidentally turned on.

Auto Repeat

The Auto Repeat feature lets you specify the length of time you want the 
tape to play in a repeating loop.

1.  Go to the beginning of the program you want to repeat and press STOP.

2.  Press MENU to display VCR Main Menu.

      VCR Main Menu

      1. VCR Plus +
      2. Timer Recordings
      3. Time
      4. Channels
      5. Setup
      6. Preferences
      7. Audio
      8. Language

      0. Exit

3.  Press 6 to display the PREFERENCES menu.

      Preferences 

      1. Remote Control:      VCR1
      2. Auto Play:           ON
      3. Auto TV/VCR:         ON
      4. Front Panel:         AUTO
      5. Tape Speed:          SLP
      6. Set Auto Repeat
      7. Commercial Advance

      0. Exit

4.  Press 6 to display the Auto Repeat screen.

      Auto Repeat

      Set the Length of time you want the tape to play in a repeating loop

      Loop from 0:00 to -:-- (h : mm)

      Press MENU to exit.

5.  Enter the Length of time (hours and minutes) you want the tape to play
    in a repeating loop using the number buttons on the remote.

More About Auto Repeat

Use the number buttons to enter the length of time in hours and minutes.

Eject the tape to cancel the repeat feature.

The VCR plays to the end of the tape if the time you enter exceeds the 
actual length of the tape.

Time Counter

The time counter shows the actual time it takes to record a program or 
play black a segment of a recorded tape.  It helps locate the beginning or 
end of programs you taped.  The time counter resets to 0:00:00 whenever 
the tape is ejected from the VCR.

For example, if you record a 30-minute program at the beginning of the 
tape and you want to go to the end of that program to begin another 
recording, you would:

                0:30:00
    Hours ______| |  |
    Minutes ______|  |
    Seconds _________|


1.  Press INFO twice to display the time counter.

2.  Press CLEAR to reset the time counter to 0:00:00.

3.  Press FWD to froward the tape until the time counter reads 0:30:00.

4.  Press STOP.  This is the approximate end of the program.  (You may
    want to press PLAY to verify.)  Now you can begin recording at this
    spot.

5.  Press INFO to remove the time counter from the screen and return to
    the normal display mode.

On-Screen Displays  

The INFO button shows the status of the VCR (STOP, PLAY, RECORD, etc.), 
channel number, time counter, date, time, and tape speed on the TV screen.
The date and time must be set before they can be displayed.

1.  Press INFO to see the on-screen displays.  The current time is
    displayed in the VCR's display panel.

2.  Press INFO again to have only the time counter remain on the screen.
    The time counter is displayed in the VCR's display panel.

3.  Press INFO again to have no displays appear on the TV screen.  The 
    time counter remains in the VCR's display panel.  This is useful for
    dubbing tapes.

4.  Press INFO again to return to the normal display.  The current time is
    displayed in the VCR's display panel. 

    Turning off the VCR also resets the displays.

      1   Stop Ch 05   0:30:00

          11/18/97 Tue 01:30 PM SLP

            On-screen display (times out)

      2   0:30:00

            Time counter only (does not time out)

      3   - - -

            No displays will appear (useful for dubbing).

Audio Set-Up Features

The audio set-up features enhance your tape playback and recordings.  The 
features in this section are accessed through the Audio menu and are shown 
in the displays below.

1.  Press MENU to bring up the VCR Main Menu.

      VCR Main Menu

      1. VCR Plus +
      2. Timer Recordings
      3. Time
      4. Channels
      5. Setup
      6. Preferences
      7. Audio 
      8. Language
      0. Exit

2.  Press 7 to display the Audio menu.

      Audio

      1. Reception:          STEREO
      2. Tape Playback:      HI-FI

      0. Exit

Now you are ready to select an item from the menu to set up.

Reception

Some TV programs are broadcast with stereo audio or a second audio program 
(SAP) which offers a second language.  The Reception feature lets you 
select the type of audio you want to record.  Press 1 to switch between 
Reception:  STEREO, MONO, and SAP.

  Select STEREO for normal or stereo broadcast TV recording.  The STEREO 
  indicator lights when the station you are tuned to is broadcasting 
  stereo.

  Select MONO if the stereo signal is weak and the sound is too noisy.

  Select SAP to record a second audio program instead of the normal audio
  on both the hi-fi and linear tracks.  The SAP indicator lights when the
  station you are tuned to is broadcasting SAP.

Tape Playback

The VCR records the same audio on both the Hi-Fi and linear tracks on the 
tape.  Hi-Fi sound is recorded on separate left and right stereo channels.
Monaural sound is recorded on the linear track.  Press 2 to switch between 
Tape Playback: Hi-Fi, LINEAR and MIX.

To enjoy Hi-Fi sound, connect your VCR to a stereo television or amplifier 
/receiver using the audio/video jacks.  The Tape Playback feature lets you 
select which audio you play back.

  Select HI-FI to play back sound recorded on the Hi-Fi track and for
  normal use.  The Hi-Fi indicator lights in the display when you are 
  playing back hi-fi.

  Select LINEAR to play back the sound recorded on the linear monaural
  track, such as a second audio program, (SAP) or a dubbed voice-over.

  Select MIX to play back the sound recorded on both the linear track and
  the Hi-Fi track, sound-on-sound.

(BR EB 9/18/00)

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