ATI Technologies MULTIMEDIA CENTER 9.0 User manual

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ATI Multimedia Center ™ 9.0
User’s Guide
P/N 137-70268-70
Copyright © 2004, ATI Technologies Inc. All rights reserved.
ATI and all ATI product and product feature names are trademarks and/or registered
trademarks of ATI Technologies Inc. All other company and/or product names are
trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective owners. Features,
performance and specifications are subject to change without notice. Product may not
be exactly as shown in the diagrams.
Reproduction of this manual, or parts thereof, in any form, without the express written
permission of ATI Technologies Inc. is strictly prohibited.

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Disclaimer
While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this
document, ATI Technologies Inc. assumes no liability with respect to
the operation or use of ATI hardware, software or other products and
documentation described herein, for any act or omission of ATI
concerning such products or this documentation, for any interruption of
service, loss or interruption of business, loss of anticipatory profits, or
for punitive, incidental or consequential damages in connection with
the furnishing, performance, or use of the ATI hardware, software, or
other products and documentation provided herein.
ATI Technologies Inc. reserves the right to make changes without
further notice to a product or system described herein to improve
reliability, function or design. With respect to ATI products which this
document relates, ATI disclaims all express or implied warranties
regarding such products, including but not limited to, the implied
warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-
infringement.

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Contents
Using Your ATI Multimedia Center. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Starting ATI Multimedia Center.................................................................... 2
Starting from LaunchPad........................................................................ 2
Starting from Windows®taskbar........................................................... 3
Online Help.................................................................................................... 3
ATI REMOTE WONDER............................................................................. 3
Multimedia Center Configuration Tool ................................................... 4
TV. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Special Features............................................................................................. 7
Video-In......................................................................................................... 8
Setting up TV ................................................................................................ 8
Initialization Wizard............................................................................... 9
Sizing the TV display...........................................................................10
TV Feature Menu......................................................................................... 11
TV Keyboard Shortcuts............................................................................... 13
Display Settings........................................................................................... 15
Video Settings.............................................................................................. 17
TV Tuner Settings ....................................................................................... 18
Channel Property Details...................................................................... 19
Stills Gallery Settings.................................................................................. 21
TV Schedule Settings .................................................................................. 21
ATI TV Bar .................................................................................................22
ATI TV Bar controls ............................................................................ 22
Channel Surfing........................................................................................... 23
Closed Captioning ....................................................................................... 24
Closed Caption settings........................................................................25
HOTWORDS™........................................................................................... 26
TV Magazine............................................................................................... 27
External Captions Support........................................................................... 29
Secondary Audio Program (SAP)................................................................ 30
Zooming and Panning.................................................................................. 30
Channel Lockout.......................................................................................... 31
Parental Control........................................................................................... 32
Recording Video and Still Images............................................................... 33
Recording a clip of video and audio from TV...................................... 34
TV-ON-DEMAND™.................................................................................. 35
Personal Video Recorder............................................................................. 38
Personal Video Recorder settings.........................................................40
Using VIDEOSOAP............................................................................. 43
One Touch Record................................................................................ 44

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Achieving the best results with MPEG video recording...................... 45
MULTVIEW™............................................................................................ 47
MULTVIEW audio requirements ........................................................ 48
MULTVIEW keyboard shortcuts......................................................... 49
TV Listings.................................................................................................. 50
Setting up TV Listings ......................................................................... 52
Getting around...................................................................................... 53
Recording ............................................................................................. 53
Viewing ................................................................................................ 54
Views.................................................................................................... 54
Filter options......................................................................................... 55
Actors tab ............................................................................................. 55
Categories- tab...................................................................................... 56
Searches................................................................................................ 56
Favorite search ..................................................................................... 56
Movies tab............................................................................................ 57
Schedules tab........................................................................................ 58
Searches tab.......................................................................................... 58
Setting search parameters.....................................................................59
Sports tab.............................................................................................. 60
Stations tab ........................................................................................... 60
Titles tab............................................................................................... 61
Days and dates...................................................................................... 61
FAST tvtv for PC.........................................................................................62
Stills Gallery................................................................................................ 63
Stills Gallery settings............................................................................ 63
DTV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Special Features ......................................................................................... 65
Setting up DTV ........................................................................................ 66
Initialization Wizard ......................................................................... 66
Sizing the DTV display ....................................................................67
DTV Feature Menu ..................................................................................68
Keyboard Shortcuts ................................................................................. 70
Display Settings ....................................................................................... 72
Video Settings .......................................................................................... 74
Channel List ............................................................................................. 75
Audio Settings ......................................................................................... 76
Autoscanning for DTV channels ...................................................... 77
Stills Gallery Settings .............................................................................. 78
Schedule Settings ..................................................................................... 78
Closed Captioning ................................................................................... 78
Closed Caption settings ...................................................................79
HOTWORDS ........................................................................................... 80
TV Magazine ........................................................................................... 81
Zooming and Panning .............................................................................. 83

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Channel Lockout ...................................................................................... 84
Parental Control ....................................................................................... 85
Recording Video ...................................................................................... 86
TV-ON-DEMAND .................................................................................. 87
One Touch Record ............................................................................ 88
Electronic Program Guide ....................................................................... 89
Stills Gallery ............................................................................................ 90
Stills Gallery settings ........................................................................91
CD Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
CD Audio Keyboard Shortcuts ................................................................ 94
CD Audio Settings ................................................................................... 95
CD Audio Preferences Settings ............................................................... 96
CD Audio Schedule Settings ................................................................... 96
Video CD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Video CD Feature Menu .......................................................................... 98
Video CD Keyboard Shortcuts ................................................................ 99
Capturing Still Frames From Video CDs .............................................. 100
Zooming and Panning ............................................................................ 100
Video CD Display Settings .................................................................... 101
Video CD Closed Caption Settings .......................................................102
Video CD Preferences Settings .............................................................103
Video CD Stills Gallery Settings ............................................................ 103
DVD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Special Features......................................................................................... 104
What can I play on my DVD drive?...................................................105
Sizing the Video Display Panel ............................................................... 105
Full-Screen Controls .............................................................................. 105
DVD Feature Menu ...............................................................................106
DVD Keyboard Shortcuts ......................................................................107
Playing DVD-Video Discs .................................................................... 109
Selecting audio channels ................................................................110
Setting up subtitles ......................................................................... 110
External subtitles ............................................................................ 110
Using the menus ............................................................................. 111
Searching DVD discs ..................................................................... 111
Selecting viewing angle ................................................................. 112
Parental Control ............................................................................. 112
Zooming and Panning .................................................................... 112
Bookmarks ............................................................................................. 113
Chapter Preview .................................................................................... 113
A/B Repeat ............................................................................................ 114
DVD Display Settings ........................................................................... 115
DVD Preferences Settings ..................................................................... 116

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DVD Initialization Wizard .................................................................... 117
DVD-Video Settings .............................................................................. 117
DVD Closed Captioning ........................................................................ 118
Closed Caption settings .................................................................. 119
DVD-Video Audio Settings ................................................................... 120
S/PDIF ................................................................................................... 121
DVD Advanced Aspect Ratio Settings .................................................. 121
DVD Schedule Settings .........................................................................123
Region Codes ......................................................................................... 123
Capturing Still Frames ........................................................................... 124
File Player . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Playing Multimedia Files ....................................................................... 126
Special Features ..................................................................................... 126
File Player Feature Menu ......................................................................127
File Player Shortcut Keys ......................................................................128
Zooming and Panning ............................................................................ 130
File Player Display Settings .................................................................. 131
File Player Preferences Settings ............................................................ 132
File Player Closed Caption Settings ...................................................... 133
External Captions Support .....................................................................134
File Player Audio Settings ................................................................... 135
File Player Stills Gallery Settings .......................................................... 136
File Player Schedule Settings ................................................................136
Slide Show ............................................................................................. 137
FM Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Setting Preset Stations ........................................................................... 140
Recording ............................................................................................... 140
Auto Scan .......................................................................................140
FM-ON-DEMAND ............................................................................... 141
Setting up FM Radio ................................................................................142
Radio settings ................................................................................... 142
FM-ON-DEMAND settings ............................................................. 144
Schedule ................................................................................................. 145
FM Feature Menu .................................................................................. 146
Keyboard Shortcuts ............................................................................... 147

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Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Special Feature .......................................................................................... 149
Filtering files .......................................................................................... 150
Converting Media Files .........................................................................151
Converting DTV Files ...........................................................................152
Making Playlists .................................................................................... 152
External Captions Support .....................................................................152
Recommended Content Deletion ........................................................... 153
Creating DVDs ...................................................................................... 154
Schedule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Schedule Settings ................................................................................. 156
TV Out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Multi-Monitor Support .......................................................................... 157
Teletext . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Special Features......................................................................................... 159
Special Multimedia Center Features . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
THRUVIEW .......................................................................................... 161
EAZYLOOK ......................................................................................... 162
EAZYLOOK TV controls .............................................................. 163
Channel Surfing in EAZYLOOK mode .........................................169
EAZYLOOK DVD controls ........................................................... 170
EAZYLOOK File Player controls .................................................. 173
EAZYLOOK Library controls ....................................................... 176
EAZYLOOK Teletext controls ...................................................... 178
MULTVIEW in EAZYLOOK ....................................................... 180

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EAZYSHARE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Starting EAZYSHARE TV ................................................................... 183
Setting up EAZYSHARE TV ..............................................................184
Configuring your network ..............................................................184
Display settings .............................................................................. 186
Channel Control settings ................................................................ 187
Closed Caption settings .................................................................. 188
TV-ON-DEMAND settings ........................................................... 189
Schedule settings ............................................................................ 190
Local and Remote Functions ................................................................. 191
Local PC functions............................................................................. 191
Remote PC functions.......................................................................... 191
Playing Stored Media ............................................................................ 192
Controlling the Server ........................................................................... 192
Network Status ...................................................................................... 193
Recording Video and Still Images ......................................................... 194
Recording TV .................................................................................... 194
Exporting recorded video ............................................................... 195
Capturing still images ..................................................................... 196
Closed Captioning ................................................................................. 197
Special TV Features................................................................................... 197
EAZYLAUNCH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Using ATI REMOTE WONDER with EAZYLAUNCH .............. 199
Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Audio Problems ........................................................................................ 203
Video Problems ... ................................................................................... 208
DVD Problems .......................................................................................... 210
Other things to consider ..................................................................... 211

1
Using Your
ATI Multimedia Center
This Guide explains how to use the features that your ATI
Multimedia Center offers. The Multimedia Center is a suite of
products that provides TV, Video CD, CD Audio, DVD, File
Player, FM Radio, EAZYSHARE, and Library in one package.
Starting ATI Multimedia Center 2
Online Help 3
ATI REMOTE WONDER 3
Multimedia Center Configuration Tool 4
TV 7
ATI TV Bar 22
Personal Video Recorder 38
MULTVIEW™ 47
TV Listings 50
FAST tvtv for PC 62
DTV 65
TV-ON-DEMAND 87
Stills Gallery 90
CD Audio 93
Video CD 97
DVD 104
File Player 125
FM Radio 139
Library 149
Schedule 155
TV Out 157
Multi-Monitor Support 157
Teletext 159
Special Multimedia Center Features 161
EAZYSHARE 183
EAZYLAUNCH 199
Troubleshooting 203

2 Starting ATI Multimedia Center
Starting ATI Multimedia Center
Starting from LaunchPad
The LaunchPad provides a convenient way to
start all your Multimedia Center features — just
click the feature you want. LaunchPad opens
automatically when you start your computer, or if
you prefer, you can right-click LaunchPad, and
uncheck Load on Startup in the drop-down
menu.
• To dock LaunchPad, right-click it, and then
click Dock in the menu. To change the docking position,
right-click LaunchPad while it is docked, point to Side ,
and then choose a location.
• To change the size of the LaunchPad when it is not docked,
double-click it or right-click it, and choose a size.
The buttons in the right side of LaunchPad let you access your
desktop settings, get Help, and close LaunchPad. If your
system does not have a TV tuner, Video In appears in place of
TV in the LaunchPad.
Certain Multimedia Center features use some of the
same resources. If you try to start one of these
features while another is running, a resource conflict
message appears. You have up to four choices:
•Run both features with reduced performance, where
possible.
•Suspend the first feature while the other is active.
•Close the first feature.
•Press Cancel to continue without starting the second
feature.
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Online Help 3
Starting from Windows ® taskbar
1In the Windows taskbar, click Start, and then point at
Programs .
2Point at ATI Multimedia Center , and then select
CD Audio,DVD, LaunchPad, File Player, TV,
Video CD, Library, or Configuration.
For information about using the ATI Multimedia Center
features, see the online help.
Online Help
Feature Help. Click the Help button in any display panel to
open the online help.
Context-Sensitive Help. Context-sensitive help is always
available for each feature; just press the F1 key.
Tool Tips. Simply move the mouse cursor over a control to see
a description of its purpose. As you become familiar with your
ATI Multimedia Center, you may want to turn off Tool Tips —
click the Show Tool Tipscheckbox in the Display tab (for more
information, see Display Settings on page 72).
ATI Desktop Help. For help on your ATI video card’s graphics
features, double-click the ATI icon in the lower-right corner of
your screen.
Internet. Click http://www.ati.com/support/index.html for
product support, including driver downloads, technical and
warranty information.
ATI REMOTE WONDER
The ATI REMOTE WONDER replaces all the
functionality of a mouse in all Windows software
applications. If you have an ATI graphics card installed
in your system, you will also enjoy additional control
over ATI software. For complete information and
installation instructions, see the ATI REMOTE
WONDER Installation Guide that came with your card.
F1
TM

4 Multimedia Center Configuration Tool
Multimedia Center Configuration Tool
When the Multimedia Center is running, you access settings via
the Settings dialogs. You can also use the Multimedia Center
Configuration Tool to access audio/video settings, TV settings,
PC Check, file types, skin settings, and EAZYLOOK settings
for the following purposes.
• To modify settings that do not change regularly
• To change settings and run diagnostics when the Multimedia
Center is not running
• To modify advanced settings that should only be changed if
absolutely necessary
To open the Multimedia Center Configuration Tool
from LaunchPad
Click the Configuration Tool button in the
Launchpad. For information on LaunchPad, see
page 2.
from Windows ® taskbar
1In Windows taskbar, click Start, and then
point at Programs.
2Point at ATI Multimedia Center, and then select
Configuration.

Multimedia Center Configuration Tool 5
To access Audio/Video settings
click the DVD tab in the Multimedia Center Configuration
Tool. Three audio settings are available.
To access TV settings
Click the TV tab in the Multimedia Center Configuration Tool.
The TV page provides settings for the Video Capture Source. If
your system has multiple video decoders, select the one that
Multimedia Center TV should use as its default.
To access file types
File Types displays how files are associated with different
Multimedia Center applications. Click the File Types tab in the
Multimedia Center Configuration Tool.
Selection Function
Enable Dynamic
Compression Applies dynamic compression to the overall dynamic range of the audio
(useful for low-volume listening and
for smaller speakers).
Output surround
compatible (Dolby
Pro Logic®) signal
Encodes the 2-channel stereo output
with Dolby Pro Logic information
(used for external Dolby Pro Logic
decoder/amplifier.
Add low-frequency
effects channel into
downmix
Includes the LFE (subwoofer)
channel in the 2-channel stereo
downmix (may be useful if you have
external subwoofers or want more
bass — this only affects DVDs with
true LFE data in the Dolby Digital 5.1
sound tracks).
EnableMulti-monitor
support (may reduce
performance)
Enables support for multiple
monitors.
The Multimedia Center supports standard DVD-Video, which
provides stereo and compressed, multi-channel surround
sound using Dolby® Digital or DTS® encoding. DVD-Audio
(DV-A) is a separate standard, which requires a DVD-Audio
player.

6 Multimedia Center Configuration Tool
To access PC Check
PC Check evaluates your computer system to determine if it is
correctly set up for multimedia playback. If your computer fails
any of the tests, PC Check recommends corrective action.
1In Windows Taskbar, click Start, point at Programs, point
at ATI Multimedia Center, and then select
Configuration.
A warning dialog appears, which identifies any pre-test
requirements you should be aware of.
2To start the tests, click the Run Tests button.
The tests last approximately 45 seconds. When they are
complete, you can click the Details button to see the test
results.
To access skins settings
Click the Skins tab in the Multimedia Center Configuration
Tool, and select skins for your Multimedia Center components.
To access EAZYLOOK settings
Click the EAZYLOOK tab in the Multimedia Center
Configuration Tool. For information on EAZYLOOK, see
page 162.
The test results are best estimates; they may not be
100% accurate.
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Modern Classic
Tranquility Zero-G

TV 7
TV
Watch Television on your
computer! You can
receive up to 125 cable
television channels and 70
antenna channels in
smooth, full-motion video
on the whole screen or in
a window.
TV delivers advanced
features: TV-ON-
DEMAND™, Closed
Captioning, Personal Video Recorder, Still Capture, Channel
Surfing, Scheduled Events, TV Listings, Parental Control, and
more.
When you click the logo in the upper left corner of the
display panel, the “About” notice appears. If you have
more than one feature installed, a Task menu displays available
and active features.
For information about using TV controls, see the online help
and Tool Tips.
Special Features
Additional special features are available for TV.
• THRUVIEW™ — see page 161.
• EAZYLOOK™ — see page 163.
• EAZYLAUNCH™ — see page 199.
•All channels may not be available in all countries.
•Not all TV features are available with Video-In cards.
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8 TV
To start TV
from LaunchPad
Click the TV button in the Launchpad. For
information on LaunchPad, see page 2.
from Windows ® taskbar
1In the Windows taskbar, click Start, and then
point at Programs .
2Point at ATI Multimedia Center , and then select TV.
You can also start TV from other Multimedia Center
features installed on your system. Click the ATI logo in
the feature’s control panel or display panel, and then click TV.
Video-In
If there is no TV tuner in your computer system, a small control
panel is provided for recording video from external video
sources.
Setting up TV
The first time you start TV, you must complete the Initialization
Wizard. After that, the Wizard will not run unless you want to
re-run it in order to change settings. The Initialization Wizard
guides you quickly and easily through setting up TV channels,
Parental Control, Sound, Recording Format, and
TV-ON-DEMAND.
If you have a Video-In card, the following dialogs and
features are unavailable:
•TV Tuner settings (see page 18)
•Channel Surfing (see page 23)
•TV-ON-DEMAND (see page 35)
•Channel Lockout (see page 31)
•Parental Control (see page 32)
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TV 9
Initialization Wizard
Click the Setup button, and then click the Display tab.
Click the Initialization Wizard... button. The TV Channels
Initialization Wizard appears. Follow the Wizard’s instructions
to select cable or antenna, choose the broadcast standard, and to
scan for active channels.
Click Next >. The TV Parental Control Initialization Wizard
appears. Follow the Wizard’s instructions to set or change your
Parental Control password.
If your computer has an ATI ALL-IN-WONDER video card and
an ATI TV WONDER video card, clicking Next > opens the
MULTVIEW settings page, where you can enable MULTVIEW
(Picture in Picture), specify the MULTVIEW window position,
and enable dual monitor display.
Click Next >. The Sound Initialization Wizard appears.
Follow the Wizard’s instructions to set up your audio
connection. Line-In is the most common connection.
• If you do not hear TV audio, ensure that the TV is tuned to a
broadcasting channel, and that you have made the correct
audio connections. See Troubleshooting on page 203 for
more information.
Click Next >. The Recording Format Initialization Wizard
appears. Follow the Wizard’s instructions to select the default
recording format.
Click Next >. The TV-ON-DEMAND Initialization Wizard
appears. Follow the Wizard’s instructions to set up a temporary
file and allocate file space. Available time is indicated. The
Advanced Settings button lets you customize settings for
image quality and processor load.
Click Next >. The End of Initialization Wizard panel appears.
Click Finish to complete TV setup.
Passwords are optional, case-sensitive, and must be
at least three characters in length. If you forget your
password, you will have to uninstall and reinstall your
TV software.
MULTVIEW is not available with ALL-IN-WONDER VE
cards.
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10 TV
Sizing the TV display
You can resize the TV display using the mouse, the Maximize
button, or CTRL key combination.
• The F2 key hides/shows the control panel, to save desktop
space.
To resize the TV display using the mouse
Drag the display’s border. The TV display maintains a fixed
aspect ratio (width-to-height) of 4:3 to avoid picture distortion
(to change this, see Display Settings on page 15).
To display TV in full-screen
Press CTRL+F or ALT+F to toggle between full-screen and the
current size, or click the Maximize button. To return to the
previous size, press the Esc key.
To display preset sizes using the CTRL key
Tiny CTRL+1
Small CTRL+2
Medium CTRL+3
Large CTRL+4
Toggle between full screen and
current size CTRL+F ALT+F
Increase size of display panel CTRL + Up Arrow
Decrease size of display panel CTRL + Down Arrow
Ctrl

TV 11
TV Feature Menu
You can access TV functions by right-clicking on the control
panel or the viewing area of the display panel. This is very
useful in full-screen mode.
Selection Function
Setup Opens the TV setup page.
Show Controls Shows the TV Control panel.
Always
On Top Displays TV on top of other applications.
THRUVIEW
Window
THRUVIEW
Desktop
If your computer uses a RADEON or later video card,
THRUVIEW Desktop and THRUVIEW Window are
available (see page 161).
THRUVIEW Window: The current panel appears as a
translucent layer on top of any other windows, allowing
you to work and watch TV at the same time.
THRUVIEW Desktop: The current panel appears full-
screen as a translucent layer on top of all other windows
when minimized.
Video Desktop Minimizing TV replaces your desktop pattern with the TV
display.
Minimize TV Minimizes TV.
Display Size Indicates the sizes available for the current panel:
Tiny
Small
Medium
Large
Full Screen

12 TV
Selection Function
Aspect Ratio Selects the width-to-height ratio for the video window:
Non-Fixed Allows the window to be stretched
to any proportions.
Standard Standard aspect ratio for
4:3 television broadcast.
Letterbox (16:9, 1.85:1, 2.35:1)
Crops the top and bottom of the
frame to fit a wider window.
Widescreen (16:9, 1.85:1, 2.35:1)
Scales the entire image
to fit a wider window.
Input
Connector Specifies the video input:
Analog TV TunerSelects TV Tuner input.
Composite Selects composite video input.
S-Video Selects S-Video input.
Audio Mode Sets the audio mode:
Captions Displays closed captions
when muted when audio is muted.
Stereo Enables stereo TV audio.
Both Plays both standard and SAP audio tracks.
SAP Enables the Secondary Audio Program.
Mono Enables monaural TV audio.
Closed
Captions Specifies how closed captioned text is displayed. You can also enable the HOTWORDS and TV Magazine
features. See HOTWORDS™ on page 26 and TV
Magazine on page 27.
Zoom Selects the zoom ratio (2x, 4x, or 8x) or Unzoom if
already zoomed. See Zooming and Panning on page 30.
Scheduling Provides options for scheduling, recording, and TV
MAGAZINE.
About Displays the About... dialog.
Exit Closes TV.