Vialta Beamer BM-80 User manual

Beamer BM-80 User’s Guide
For the latest cool tips, special offers, and easy
online registration, visit www.vialta.com/beamer
Please read this User’s Guide.
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Table of Contents
Important Safety Precautions........................................2
Introduction....................................................................3
What’s Included with your Beamer................................3
Installing your Beamer...................................................4
Installing your Beamer with a Single-Line Phone .....4
Installing your Beamer with a Two-Line Phone ........5
Two-Line Phone with a Single Wall Jack .............6
Two-Line Phone with a Double Wall Jack ............7
Placing a Video Call with your Beamer.........................8
Receiving a Video Call with your Beamer...................10
Locating your Beamer’s Features ...............................10
Using your Beamer’s Features....................................11
Start/Views Button ..................................................11
Snapshot Button and Privacy Feature ....................12
Detail/Movement Button .........................................14
Line Quality Indicator ..............................................14
Brightness Adjustment ...........................................15
Caller ID Switch ......................................................15
Tips..............................................................................16
Lighting ...................................................................16
Movement ...............................................................16
Call Waiting and Three-Way Calling ...........................16
Compatibility................................................................17
Care and Maintenance................................................17
Troubleshooting Guide................................................18
Specifications ..............................................................19
Service ........................................................................20
Limited Warranty ....................................................21
FCC Statement............................................................22
FCC Part 15 Information ........................................22
FCC Part 68 Information ........................................22
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Important Safety Precautions
Always follow these basic safety precautions when using
your Beamer. This will reduce the risk of fire, electric shock,
and injury.
• Unplug Beamer from both the power outlet
and the wall jack before performing care and
maintenance.
• Should any solid object or liquid fall into the
housing, unplug Beamer and have it checked
by qualified personnel before operating it
again.
• Do not use this product near water or when
you are wet.
• Slots and openings on the Beamer are for
ventilation to prevent overheating. Do not
cover them up.
• Do not place Beamer near a heat source or in
direct sunlight.
• Place Beamer on a stable, level surface.
Serious damage to Beamer may result if it
falls.
• Do not disassemble Beamer. There are no
user-serviceable parts inside. Disassembly
of Beamer will void your warranty.
• Only use the AC power adapter included with
Beamer. Using any other power adapter
will void your warranty.
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Introduction
Welcome to Beamer™, the world’s first Phone Video
Station™ (PVS™). We know it will bring you closer to your
friends and loved ones.
Beamer is the easiest way to see and talk with friends and
family, whetherthey live across town… or on the other side
of the world. With Beamer, staying in touch is more than
just a voice on the other end of the phone line; it’s live, full
color video at up to 15 frames per second right in front of
you. And, since Beamer uses your regular phone line, a
video call with Beamer costs the same as a regular phone
call.
Please take a moment to fill out the enclosed Warranty
Card to activate your warranty. You can also register online
at www.vialta.com/beamer
What’s Included with your Beamer
Everything you need to install your Beamer is included in
the package:
• Standard 3-foot phone cord (RJ-11)
• AC Power Adapter
• This User’s Guide
• Warranty Card
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Installing your Beamer
You can use your Beamer with any home phone, including
a cordless phone or a speakerphone, for a hands-free
experience.
Note: Connect the phone line directly to your Beamer; it is
not designed to be used with a PBX (Private Branch
Exchange).
Installing your Beamer with a Single-Line Phone
1) Unplug the phone cord from your phone and plug it
into the LINE IN jack on the back of your Beamer.
2) Connect one end of the supplied phone cord to your
phone and the other end to the PHONE jack on the
back of your Beamer.
3) Plug the AC power adapter’s pin into the POWER IN
jack on the back of your Beamer.
4) Plug the power cord into a wall socket.
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Your Beamer will display the message “Beamer is
now ready.” to let you know when it is ready for you to
place or receive a video call.
Installing your Beamer with a Two-Line Phone
Your Beamer also works with a two-line phone. Be sure to
place and receive video calls on Line 1 only. If you are on a
video call and receive a phone call on Line 2, Beamer will
let the call ring through to that line. We recommend that
you use another phone to answer the call instead of putting
the video call on hold. If you put your Beamer video call on
hold to answer a new call on the second line, your video
call may be disconnected.
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Two-Line Phone with a Single Wall Jack
If you have a two-line phone that connects to a single wall
jack, connect your Beamer to the wall jack and to the L1 or
L1/L2 jack on your two-line phone.
1) Unplug the phone cord from your two-line phone and
plug it into the LINE IN jack on the back of your
Beamer.
2) Connect one end of the supplied phone cordto the L1
or L1/L2 jack of your two-line phone and the other end
to the PHONE jack on the back of your Beamer.
3) Plug the AC power adapter’s pin into the POWER IN
jack on the back of your Beamer.
4) Plug the power cord into a wall socket.
Your Beamer displays the message “Beameris now ready.”
to let you know when it’s ready for you to place or receive a
video call. See the figure on page 5.
L2 L1/L2
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Two-Line Phone with a Double Wall Jack
If you have a two-line phone that connects to a double wall
jack, connect your Beamer to Line 1 of your double wall
jack, and to the L1 or L1/L2 jack on your two-line phone.
1) Unplug the phone cord from the L1 or L1/L2 jack of
your two-line phone and plug it into the LINE IN jack
on the back of your Beamer.
2) Connect one end of the supplied phone cordto the L1
or L1/L2 jack of your two-line phone and the other end
to the PHONE jack on the back of your Beamer.
3) Plug the AC power adapter’spinintothePOWER IN
jack on the back of your Beamer.
4) Plug the power cord into a wall socket.
Your Beamer displays the message “Beameris now ready.”
to let you know when it is ready for you to place or receive
a video call. See the figure on page 5.
L2 L1/L2 LINE1
LINE2
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Placing a Video Call with your Beamer
When placing a call with your Beamer, the person you are
calling must also have a Beamer or H.324 compatible
device. To maximize your Beamer’s performance
capabilities, and to take full advantage of its great features,
we highly recommend that both parties use Beamers when
placing a video call. (See Compatibility on page 17.)
1) Use the phone connected to your Beamer to place the
call.
2) When the other party answers and you are ready to
start the video call, press the START/VIEWS button.
You’ll see and hear a message indicating that your
Beamer is preparing the video. Then your Beamer will
show the Self view along with a progress bar that will
indicate when the video connection is complete.
IMPORTANT: If both parties press the START/VIEWS
button at the same time, the video connection may
fail. If this happens, your Beamer will prompt you to
press the START/VIEWS button to try again.
It takes 15–45 seconds to complete the video
connection between you and the person you are
calling. For the first few seconds, you’ll hear a series
of beeps and tones on the line. Wait until you see the
Video on text on the screen before continuing your
conversation. While the other partywill nowbe ableto
see you on their LCD screen, you will only see the
Privacy On screen until the other party sends their
video image.
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3) To send a video image, the receiving party must press
their START/VIEWS button. The receiving party
should not press their START/VIEWS button until
the initial video connection - from you to the person
you’re calling - is complete.
4) To end your video call, simply hang up the phone.
Making video connection
Combo view
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ReceivingaVideoCallwithyourBeamer
1) Answer the call with the phone connected to Beamer.
2) Follow steps #2 and #3 in Placing a Video Call with
your Beamer on page 8.
Locating your Beamer’s Features
Your Beamer places everything you need right at your
fingertips.
1Camera Lens 6Brightness Adjustment
2Screen 7Caller ID Switch (On/Off)
3Snapshot Button 8Power In
4Detail/Movement Button 9Phone Jack
5Start/Views Button 10 Line In Jack
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Using your Beamer’s Features
Start/Views Button
Use the START/VIEWS button to start a video call. During
avideocall,presstheSTART/VIEWS button to step
through the three viewing options:
•Comboview(seeyourselfandtheotherparty)
•Other Party view (see only the other party)
•Self view (see only yourself).
Combo
Self Other Party
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Snapshot Button and Privacy Feature
Use the SNAPSHOT button to send a single high
resolution still picture instead of live video. You can
continue talking while showing the other party a detailed
picture, like a document or photo. You can also use this
feature for privacy because the other party sees only the
still picture that you sent, not any activity in front of your
Beamer. When you’re ready to resume sending live video,
just press the SNAPSHOT button again.
1) Press the SNAPSHOT button once to capture your
current picture and send it as a single high resolution
still picture.
Important: If you press the SNAPSHOT button a second time,
Snapshot mode is canceled and live video resumes.
Note: You’ll see the message “Sending snapshot” to let
you know that your Beamer is sending the snapshot.
Sending snapshot
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2) When the other party receives the high resolution still
picture that you sent, you’ll see “Snapshot sent”on
your screen. You won’t see any more messages, but
you will see a green snapshot icon as a reminder that
you are in Snapshot mode.
The other party sees similar status messages
indicating the progress of the transmission. They will
also see a blue snapshot icon as a reminder that they
are seeing a snapshot.
A green snapshot icon means you sent a snapshot
and a blue snapshot icon means you are viewing a
snapshot.
3) To resume sending live video, press the SNAPSHOT
button once. The snapshot icons disappear and live
video replaces the still picture.
Note: Only the party who sent the snapshot can restart
their live video.
Receiving snapshot
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Detail/Movement Button
The DETAIL/MOVEMENT button adjusts the sharpness of
the video you see. It is a balance between detail and
movement. Press the DETAIL side of the button to
increase picture sharpness. Press the MOVEMENT side of
thebuttontoseemorefluidmotion.
When you press the DETAIL/MOVEMENT button, an
indicator bar shows the current setting.
Line Quality Indicator
The quality of your video call depends on the quality of
your phone line. A blinking red “Line”will appear in the
upper, right hand corner of the screen if the line quality
drops by more than 10%. If the Line Quality Indicator
appears frequently, you may want to try your call again or
have your phone line tested by your local carrier.
Adjust video
Line
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When the line quality drops too low to support a video call,
Beamer will automatically attempt to improve the
connection, which may take up to 20 seconds. During this
time a beep and a “Please wait”message will be heard. If
the connection has improved enough to support a video
call, a second beep will be heard and you may continue
your video call. However, if the connection still cannot
support a video call, Beamer will display “Line condition
cannot support video. Returning to voice only call. Press
Start/Views button to try video again”. At this time, you may
continue a voice only call or try to establish a video call
again by pressing the START/VIEWS button.
Brightness Adjustment
You can adjust the brightness of the picture with the scroll
wheel on the back of your Beamer.
Caller ID Switch
The CALLER ID switch turns the display of Caller ID
information on and off. Caller ID is a subscription-based
service provided by your local phone company.
Caller ID may shorten the life of your Beamer’s screen. If
you do not subscribe to Caller ID, or wish to prolong the life
of your Beamer’s screen, we recommend that you leave
the switch in the OFF position.
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Tips
Follow these tips to get the best results with your Beamer.
Lighting
Correct lighting is important for good picture quality. For
optimal results, we recommend front or side lighting. A
standard desk light should be sufficient. Don’t place lights
or mirrors behind you, since they may shine into the
camera lens.
Movement
If you make rapid movements, the other party may see a
slightly blurred picture. Just move naturally in front of the
camera. Clothing with busy patterns or stripes may also
cause some distortion.
If you see a blurred picture, or not enough detail, you can
adjust the picture sharpness. (See Detail/MovementButton
on page 14 for more information.)
Call Waiting and Three-Way Calling
If you subscribe to Call Waiting, you may want to disable it
before placing a video call. The Call Waiting tone may
disrupt the video call, causing the line quality to drop and
the Line Quality Indicator to appear. Please check with
your
phone service provider for the code to disable Call Waiting.
Three-Way Calling services are not currently compatible
with Beamer or most videophones.
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Compatibility
Both parties need a Beamer or compatible H.324 device to
view Beamer’s live full color video. Your Beamer will work
with most videophones that meet the H.324 International
Telecommunications Union (ITU) standard.
Care and Maintenance
To keep your Vialta Beamer working and looking good,
follow these simple guidelines:
•Avoid putting your Beamer near heating appliances
and devices that generate electrical noise. (For
example, motors and fluorescent lamps.)
•Do not expose your Beamer to direct sunlight or
moisture.
•Clean your Beamer with a soft cloth. (Remember to
unplug your Beamer from the wall and phone outlet
first).
•Never use a strong cleaning agent or abrasive
powder when caring for your Beamer, as this will
damage the finish.
•Retain the original packaging for future use.
Please visit us at www.vialta.com/beamer for more
information.
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Troubleshooting Guide
Problem What to Do
No dial tone on
phone connected
to Beamer.
Make sure Beamer’sLINE IN jack is
connected to your phone wall jack and that
the phone is connected to Beamer’sPHONE
IN jack.
Can’t be heard by
other party. Make sure mute is OFF on your phone.
While establishing a video call the audio is
muted until you see the other party.
Beamer won’t
connect. Ensure that the AC power cord is connected
securely. Only use the supplied AC power
adapter.
Have the other party initiate the video call.
Try using another long distance carrier.
Choppy video &
poor sound quality. Adjust the balance between DETAIL and
MOVEMENT. If this doesn’t fix the problem,
the connect rate may be low. Hang up and
place the call again.
Screen has tiny
black or bright
points.
This is a normal result of the manufacturing
process, not a malfunction.
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