Harman-Kardon DVD 27 User Manual

JPEG

VCD

DVD

WMA

Open/Close

DVD 27

DVD 27 Digital Versatile Disc Player

OWNER’S MANUAL

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS

3 Introduction
4 Terminology
5 Features, Packing List
6 Front Panel Controls
7 Front Panel Information Display

8 Remote Control
10 Rear Panel Connections
11 Setup and Connections
11 to a Stereo TV and Stereo or Pro Logic

Amplifier/Receiver

12 to a Dolby Digital/DTS Amplifier/Receiver
13 to a TV or monitor with SCART or

Component Connectors

14 Remote Control
15 Digital Audio Connections
16 Playback Basics
16 Basic Play
16 Playback Features
16 About DivX Movie Files
17 System Set-up
18 System Settings
18 Audio Settings
19 Video Settings
20 Test Screen
20 Test Screen
20 TV Picture Adjustment
21 Player Menu
21 Using the Player Information Menu
22 CD Playback
24 MP3, Windows Media and JPEG Playback
26 Troubleshooting Guide
27

DVD Language Codes

27 Specifications

Table of Contents

2

NOTE: This player is designed and manu­factured for compatibility with Region
Management Information that is encoded on
most DVD discs.This player is designed only for

playback of discs with Region Code 2, or for
discs that do not contain Region Code infor­mation. If there is any other Region Code on a
disc, that disc will not play on the DVD.

Declaration of Conformity

We, Harman Consumer Group International

2, Route de Tours
72500 Château-du-Loir,
FRANCE

declare in own responsibility, that the product described in
this owner’s manual is in compliance with technical
standards:

EN 55013:2001

EN 55020:2002

EN 61000-3-2:2000

EN 61000-3-3:1995+A1:2001

EN 60065:2002

Jurjen Amsterdam

Harman Consumer Group International

01/06

INTRODUCTION 3

Introduction

Thank you for choosing the
Harman Kardon DVD

The DVD is a multipurpose DVD player, capable
of playing both DVD-Video discs and
conventional CD audio discs with the highest
fidelity and access to future software upgrades
via the Internet. Along with conventional Video
and CD audio discs, the DVD 27 is also
compatible with MP3, CD-R and CD-RW as well
as DivX

®

and VCD discs.

To enable you to get the maximum quality from
DVDs, the DVD is equipped with the latest in
design techniques, including advanced 10-bit
video digital-to-analog converters (DAC) and
Video (composite), S-Video and RGB video (RGB
via SCART) outputs, to ensure that you get all the
quality inherent in today’s DVD medium.
For optimum playback of NTSC and PAL DVD
with compatible high-definition display devices,
DVD is equipped with progressive component
video outputs.

In addition, Harman Kardon’s audio heritage
continues into the digital video era with
audiophile-grade DACs to ensure that the audio
quality matches the superb video. Of course, both
coaxial and optical digital audio outputs are
available for direct connection to A/V receivers or
processors so that you may take advantage of
Dolby Digital* and DTS

®

soundtracks.When play­ing audio CDs, the playback quality is state-of­the-art, matching that of the finest players avail­able.

A wide range of programming features makes it
easy to program an evening’s worth of entertain­ment. When playing DVDs, easy-to-understand
on-screen menus and icons make it simple to
change languages, soundtracks, subtitles or
aspect ratio.

DVD players are among the fastest growing
consumer electronics products ever brought to
market, but this may, nevertheless, be the first
DVD player you’ve owned. Although many of the
features of the DVD resemble those of standard
CD players, there are a number of functions that
you may be unfamiliar with. To ensure that you
are able to take advantage of all the power and
flexibility the DVD has to offer, we encourage you
to review this quick setup manual. That small
investment of your time will pay major dividends
in the enjoyment you will get from proper use of
the DVD.

If you have additional questions about this
product or its installation or operation that are
not answered in this manual, please contact your
dealer, as he is your best source of local infor­mation.

■ Plays a Wide Range of Video and Audio
Formats, Including DVD-Video Discs,
VCD, Standard CD Audio Discs, CD-R/RW,
DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW,Audio Discs and
MP3 Discs

■ High-Quality Video Playback 10-Bit
DACs, Progressive Scan and Component
Video Outputs

■ Dolby Digital and DTS Data Signal
Output Through Both Optical and
Coaxial Digital Audio Connections

■ Audiophile-Grade Output DACs for the
Finest Audio reproduction

■ Easy-to-Use On-Screen Navigation
System

■ Playback of MP3 and Windows

®

WMA

Audio Discs and JPEG image files

■ Parental Lock Controls Prevent
Unauthorized Viewing of Restricted
Movies

■ Playback of DivX compressed video files

■ Extensive Programming Capability for

Audio and Video Discs

■ Multiple Options for Language,
Soundtrack and Subtitle Selection

■ Multiple-Angle Capabilities With
Specially Encoded DVD Discs

■ Backlit, Ergonomically Designed
Remote Control

4 TERMINOLOGY

Terminology

Since they share some of the characteristics and
technology of CD players, many of the terms and
operational concepts used in a DVD player are
similar to what you may be familiar with from CD
players and changers, or older video disc formats
such as Laser Disc. However, if this is your first
DVD product, some of the terms used to describe
the features of a DVD player may be unfamiliar.
The following explanations should solve some of
the mysteries of DVD, and help you to enjoy all
the power and flexibility of the DVD format and
the DVD.

With the arrival of DVD, disc data capacity has
increased dramatically. On a DVD Video disc most
of this capacity is taken up by MPEG 2 video and
the multichannel movie soundtrack in Dolby
Digital and/or DTS.This information is
compressed.

Aspect Ratio: This is a description of the width
of a video image in relation to its height.
A conventional video screen is four units wide for
every three units of height, that’s why the ratio is
called ”4:3”. Newer wide aspect ratio video
displays are 16 units wide for every nine units of
height, making them more like the screen in a
movie theater. The program material on a DVD
may be recorded in either format and, in
addition, you may configure the DVD to play
back in either format, depending on the features
recorded on a disc.

Title: For a DVD, a title is defined as an entire
movie or program.There can be as many chapters
within a title as the producers decide to include.
Most discs include only one title, but some may
have more than one, to give you a “Double
Feature” presentation.

Chapter: DVD programs are divided into
chapters and titles. Chapters are the sub-sections
programmed into a single title on a disc.
Chapters may be compared to the individual
tracks on an audio CD.

RGB Video: This is a new form of video signal
that eliminates many of the artifacts of tradition­al composite video signals by splitting the signal
into the three fundamental colors Red, Green
and Blue (RGB). With an RGB connection (via
SCART), you will see greater picture resolution
and eliminate many picture imperfections such as
the moiré patterns often seen on checkered
patterned cloths. However, in order to benefit
from RGB video, you must have a video display
with an RGB compatible SCART input.

Progressive scan: DVD offers progressive scan
video outputs for use with compatible high-reso­lution televisions and projectors. Before DVD, no
consumer medium could store, transmit or display
video with full resolution. To conserve bandwidth,
analog compression (interlacing) is employed: first
the odd-numbered lines of a frame are displayed,
followed by the even-numbered lines.The result is
that only half of the video image is drawn at one
time; the viewer's brain must reassemble the
complete image.This is acceptable, if the monitor
is not too large and if there is not too much
motion in the image. Large displays and fast-mov­ing images reveal the limitations of this system.
Thanks to DVD's immense data capacity, images
are now stored intact (progressively), so that all
the lines in each frame (odd and even) are shown
at the same time. But because most TV's cannot
handle a progressive signal, all current DVD
players generate an interlaced output for
compatibility. Now, the Harman Kardon DVD is
among the select few DVD players with true
progressive scan video output (NTSC and PAL) for
use with compatible TV's and CRT projectors and
with all plasma, LCD and DLP display devices via
the component video output. The result is 40%
greater light output than a conventional TV and a
stunningly detailed high definition image, along
with an almost complete absence of visible
scanlines and motion artifacts. Of course,
traditional Y/Pr/Pb component video, SCART,
S-Video and composite video outputs are
included for use with conventional televisions and
projectors.

Multiple Angle: DVDs have the capability to
show up to four different views of the same
scene in a program. When a disc is encoded with
multiple-angle information, pressing the Angle
button will enable you to switch between these
different views. Note that at present, few discs
take advantage of this capability and, when they
do, the multiple-angle technology may only be
present for short periods of time within the disc.
Producers will usually insert some sort of icon or
graphic in the picture to alert you to the
availability of multiple viewing angles.

Reading: This is a message that you will see
after you´ve loaded the disc and the tray has
closed. It refers to the fact that the player must
first examine the contents of the disc to see if it
is a CD or DVD, and then extract the information
about the type of material on the disc, such as
languages, aspect ratios, subtitles, number of
titles and more.The slight delay while the
contents of the disc are read is normal.

Resume: The operation of the Stop Button on
the DVD works differently from what you are
used to on CD players. On a traditional CD
player, when you press the Stop button, the unit
does just that: it stops playback. On a CD player,
when you press the start button again, the disc
starts from the beginning. With the DVD,
however, you have two options when playing
DVD discs. Pressing Stop once will stop playback,
but it actually puts the unit in the Resume mode.
This means that you can turn the machine off
and, when you press play the next time, the disc
will resume or continue from the point on the
disc where the Stop button was pressed. This is
helpful if you are watching a movie and must
interrupt your viewing session but wish to pick
up where you left off. Pressing the Stop button
twice will stop the machine in a traditional
manner and, when the disc is played again, it will
start from the beginning.

In resume mode, the cover of the DVD will be
displayed, if available. Otherwise, the
Harman Kardon screen will appear.

DivX

DivX is the name of a revolutionary new video
codec which is based on the MPEG-4 compres­sion standard for video.This DVD player will play­back discs created with DivX software.The DVD
player’s playback functionalities of DivX video
discs will vary depending on the DivX software
version used for creating your movies. For more
information about the different software versions
of DivX, please go to www.divx.com.

Terminology

FEATURES 5

Features

High quality video

• Advanced sophisticated 10-bit MPEG-2 video
decoding circuits.

• Direct RGB output via SCART (selectable) for
optimum video performance. SCART connector
also configurable for Composite Video output.

• Test screen videos available for testing video
performance and setup.

• Pure PAL with NTSC disc due to true
NTSC/PAL conversion.

• Dual-layer compatibility for extended play
DVD.

• Progressive Scan component video ouputs
(NTSC and PAL)

• Playback of JPEG image files

High quality digital audio

• By connecting a DTS (Digital Theater Systems)
or a Dolby Digital decoder, you can enjoy high
quality 5.1 digital surround sound from DTS or
Dolby Digital discs.

• With linear PCM audio at 16-24 bits and
44-96 kHz (also on digital output, see table
page 15), audio quality exceeding that of CD
becomes possible.

• Optical and coaxial digital audio output.

Many convenient features

• On-Screen Menu lcons for disc information or
player information and access to many major
functions of this unit.

• Subtitles may be displayed in one of numerous
languages*.

• The multi-angle function allows you to choose
the viewing angle of scenes which were shot
from a number of different angles (Limited to
DVD’s recorded with multiple camera angles.)

• Multiple options for dialog language and
soundtrack selection (limited to DVD’s
recorded with multiple dialog languages or
soundtracks).

• Intuitive menu operating system.

• 4 step Zoom during play and pause.

• Backlit, ergonomically designed remote
control.

• Future software upgrades accessible via
Internet. (See information below.)

* The number of languages recorded depends

on the software.

Compatible with CD
as well as DVD

• The DVD 27 will play any conventional Audio
CD or recordable (CD-R) or erasable CD
(CD-RW), MP3,WMA (v8) or any DivX or VCD
or DVD/Video with the region code 0 or 2.

Disc formats supported
by this player

The unit can play the following disc formats
(8 cm and 12 cm size):

• DVD

• DVD-R

• DVD-RW

• DVD+R

• DVD+RW

• CD

• CD-R

• CD-RW

• VCD

• S-VCD

• WMA (v8)

NOTE: Due to differences in the format of
certain discs, it is possible that some discs may
include a mix of features that are not compatible
with the DVD. Similarly, although the DVD is
capable of a wide range of features, not all discs
include every capability of the DVD system. For
example, although the DVD is compatible with
multi-angle discs, that feature is only possible
when the disc is specially encoded for multi­pleangle play. In addition, the DVD is capable of
playing back both Dolby Digital and DTS sound­tracks, but the number and types of tracks
available will vary from disc to disc.To make
certain that a specific feature or soundtrack
option is available, please check the options
noted on the disc jacket.

■ Playback capability for CD-R, CD-RW, WMA,

JPEG, MP3, DivX, VCD/SVCD, DVD-R, DVD+R,
DVD-RW and DVD+RW discs may vary due to
variations in the quality of the disc and the
recorder used to create the disc.

■ The DVD 27 is compatible with most discs

recorded with files encoded using MP3 or
Windows Media 8, as well as JPEG still
images. However, note that variations in the
encoder or codec used and the bit rate of the
encoding may affect the DVD 27’s ability to
play back a specific disc. As a result, we can­not guarantee complete compatibility with all
encoders and versions of the codecs. For best
results, we recommend that MP3 files be
encoded at bit rates ranging between 32kbps
and 320kbps.WMA files should be encoded
at bit rates between 64kbps and 320kbps.
Although the DVD 27 is capable of playing
some WMA 9 files, not all features of version
9 are supported. JPEG files should contain no
more than 5 megapixels, and the file size
should be no larger than 5Mb.

Upgradeability via Internet

The ”firmware” controlling the functionality of
the Harman Kardon DVD is fully upgradeable. In
the event of future improvements to its
operations and features, it will be possible to
download firmware upgrades from
www.harmankardon.com/International/
All you have to do is create a CD-R with the
data and insert it in the DVD for an automatic
upgrade.

Packing List

1 Harman Kardon DVD Player

1 Remote control

2 AA batteries

1 A/V cable for stereo analog audio and

composite video

1 S-Video cable

1 remote extension cable

1 owner's manual

6 FRONT PANEL CONTROLS

Front Panel Controls



Main Information Display: This display
delivers messages and status indications to help
you operate the DVD player.

1

Power On/Off (Standby): Press the button
once to turn the DVD player on, press it again to
put the unit in the Standby mode.

2

Open/Close: Press this button to open or
close the Disc Tray.

3

Play: Press to initiate playback or to resume
playback after Pause has been pressed.

4

Pause: Press this button to momentarily
pause playback. To resume playback, press the
button again. If a DVD is playing, action will
freeze and a still picture will be displayed when
the button is pressed.

5

Stop: Press this button once to place the
disc in the Resume mode, which means that
playback will stop, but as long as the tray is not
opened or the disc changed, DVD playback will
continue from the same point on the disc when
the Play Button is pressed again. Resume will
also work if the unit was turned off. To stop a
disc and have play start from the beginning,
press the button twice.

6

Skip/Search (Previous): Press this button
to move backward through the music tracks on
a CD disc or the chapters on a DVD disc. Keep
the button pressed to search backwards at one
of the available speeds.

7

Skip/Search (Next): Press to move forward
through the music tracks on a CD or the chap­ters on a DVD disc. Keep the button pressed to
search forwards at one of the available speeds.

8

Display: Press this button to reduce the
brightness of the Information Display by 50% or
to turn the display off completely in the
following order: FULL BRIGHTNESS ➔ HALF
BRIGHTNESS ➔ OFF ➔ FULL BRIGHTNESS.



Main Information Display

1

Power On/Off (Standby)

2

Open/Close

3

Play

4

Pause

5

Stop

6

Skip/Search (Previous)

7

Skip/Search (Next)

8

Display

DVD 27

1 3 4 5 6 7 8

JPEG

RANDOM

PROG

MP3

VCD

DVD

Open/Close

2 

WMA

1 ALL

A – B

TITLE

TRACK

V. O F F

REPEAT

CHAP

PBC

HOUR

TEST

MIN SEC

P. SCAN

FRONT PANEL INFORMATION DISPLAY 7

Front Panel Information Display

A Disc Type Indicators
B Playback-Mode Indicators
C Progressive Scan Indicator
D Chapter/Track Number Indicators
E Time Indicators

F Title Indicators
G V-OFF Indicator
H Repeat Indicators
I VCD Playback Control Indicator
J Random Indicator

K A-B Repeat Indicator
L Program Indicator
M Angle Indicator
N Parental Lock Indicator
O Test Indicator

A Disc Type Indicators: The CD, DVD or DVD

Audio indicator will illuminate to show the type
of disc currently being played.

B Playback-Mode Indicators: These
indicators light to show the current playback
mode:

B

Lights when a disc is playing in the normal

mode

H

Lights when the disc is in the Fast Search
Forward mode. The on-screen banner display
indicates the selected speed (x2, x4, x8, x20,
x100).

1

Lights when the disc is paused.

G

Lights when the disc is in the Fast Search
Reverse mode.The on-screen banner display
indicates the selected speed (x2, x4, x8, x20,
x100).

C Progressive Scan Indicator: This indicator
lights when the unit sends out a progressive
scan signal.

D Chapter/Track Number Indicators: When
a DVD disc is playing, these two positions in the
display will show the current chapter. When a
CD disc is playing they will show the current
track number.

E Time Indicators: These positions in the
indicator will show the running time of a DVD in
play.When a CD is playing, these indicators will
show the current track time, time remaining in
the current track, or the total remaining time on
the disc.

NOTE: The Indicators DEF will also display
text messages about the DVD’s status, including

LOADING when a disc is loading,
POWER OFF when the unit is turned off, and
DISC ERROR when a disc not compatible

with the DVD is put into the play position.

F Title Indicators: These two positions in the
display will show the current title number when
a DVD disc is playing.

G V-OFF Indicator: This indicator lights when
the unit's video output has been turned off by
pressing the V-OFF button on the remote
control.

H Repeat Indicators: These indicators light
when any of the Repeat functions are in use.

I VCD Playback Control Indicator: This
indicator lights when the playback control func­tion is turned on with VCDs.

J Random Indicator: This indicator lights
when the unit is in the Random Play mode.

K A-B Repeat Indicator: This indicator lights
when a specific passage for repeat playback has
been selected.

L Program Indicator: This indicator lights
when the programming functions are in use.

M Angle Indicator: This indicator blinks when
alternative viewing angles are available on the
DVD currently playing.

N Parental Lock Indicator: This indicator lights
when the parental-lock system is engaged in
order to prevent anyone from changing the rat­ing level without a code.

O Test Indicator: This indicator lights when the
TV test screen is activated.

LJK HI

A

JPEG

VCD

DVD

WMA

MP3

PROG

BF D E

OG M N C

A – B

RANDOM

TITLE

TRACK

REPEAT

CHAP

1 ALL

PBC

HOUR

V. OFF

TEST

MIN SEC

P. SCAN

8 REMOTE CONTROL FUNCTIONS

Remote Control Functions



0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q











POWER ON

POWER OFF

SUBTITLE

TITLE

ANGLE

AUDIO

ENTER

OPEN/CLOSE

SETUP

ARROWS

INFO

MENU

PAUSE

STATUS

SKIP/STEP (PREVIOUS)

SKIP/STEP (NEXT)

PLAY

SEARCH/SLOW REVERSE

STOP

SEARCH/SLOW FORWARD

DIMMER

PROGRESSIVE SCAN/INTERLACED

ZOOM

PLAYLIST

RANDOM

A-B Repeat

V.OFF

LIGHT

NUMERIC KEYS

REPEAT

CLEAR

IR EMITTER

7





O

8

H

9

Q

0

5
N

P

A
E

4



1

2

3



D

B

F

I

J

G

M

C

6

L

K

®

REMOTE CONTROL FUNCTIONS 9

Remote Control Functions

0

POWER ON: Turns on the player when it is
in standby mode (Harman Kardon logo appears
on screen).

1

POWER OFF: Turns off the player to stand­by mode.

2

SUBTITLE: When a DVD is playing, press to
select a subtitle language or to turn subtitles off.

Note: Due to the variations in how DVD discs
are authored, the subtitle languages displayed
by the DVD 27 may not accurately reflect the
actual languages available on the disc. It is
recommended that subtitles be selected using
the disc’s menu.

3

TITLE: When a disc is playing, press to
make the player go back to the first section of
the disc.

4

ANGLE: Press to access various camera
angles on a DVD (If the DVD contains multiple
camera angles) or to rotate JPEG images.

5

AUDIO: Press to access various audio
languages on a DVD (If the DVD contains
multiple audio streams).

6

ENTER: Press this button to activate a
setting or option

7

OPEN/CLOSE: Press to open or close the
disc tray.

8

Setup: Press this button to use the DVD
27’s on-screen menu system to adjust the play­er’s configuration settings. Note that the Info

Button

A

must be pressed to access the DVD
27’s Player Information menu to obtain detailed
disc information, and to configure the playback
mode of the disc.

9

ARROW buttons (M/N/K/L): Use to

move the cursor in the OSD.

A

INFO: Press for detailed informations on
the disc playing (Video/Audio Bit rate, Movie
aspect ratio and others), and for current player
settings made. Note that the unit doesn’t react
on any transport button as long as the info
menu is displayed. Press again to remove
information from screen.

B

MENU: Displays the actual DVD Disc Menu
on the TV screen in play mode.
When playing discs with JPEG images, pressing
this button will access the thumbnails.

C

PAUSE: Freezes a picture (with DVD/VCD)
and pauses the playback signal (CD) when a disc
is playing. Press again for normal playback.

D

STATUS: Press while a disc is playing to
view banner display. Use the ARROW buttons to
move through the different features in the
Banner Display.When a symbol is highlighted,
press ENTER on the remote to select it.

E

SKIP/STEP (Previous): Press to go to
beginning of current track. Press again quickly to
go to beginning of previous track. After pressing
the PAUSE button, each press of this button will
move the image in reverse frame by frame.

F

SKIP/STEP (Next): Press to go to begin­ning of next track. After pressing the PAUSE
button, each press of this button will move the
image forwards frame by frame.

G

PLAY: Begins to play disc (closes disc tray
first, if it is open.)

H

SEARCH/SLOW (REV): Allows you to
search in reverse through a disc while it is in
play mode. Each time you press this button, the
search speed changes as indicated by a number
of arrows on the right top of your screen.
After pressing the PAUSE button, each press of
this button will change the slow down speed
indicated by a number of arrows in the right top
of the screen.

I

STOP: Stops playing a disc.When a disc is
playing, if you press STOP and PLAY, the disc will
resume play, i.e. it will start from the same point
on the disc where the unit was stopped. If you
press STOP twice and the PLAY button, the disc
will start play from the beginning.

J

SEARCH/SLOW (FWD): Allows you to
search forward through a disc while it is in play
mode. Each time you press this button, the
search speed changes as indicated by a number
of arrows on the right top of your screen.
After pressing the PAUSE button, each press of
this button will change the slow down speed as
indicated by a number of arrows in the right top
of the screen.

K

DIMMER: Press to change the brightness
of the front panel display or to turn the display
off completely in the following order: FULL
BRIGHTNESS ➜ HALF BRIGHTNESS ➜ OFF ➜
FULL BRIGHTNESS

L

PROGRESSIVE SCAN/INTERLACED:

Press this button to change the resolution of the
Component Video Output between standard def­inition and progressive definition (PAL interlaced
and PAL progressive; NTSC interlaced and NTSC
progressive).

M

ZOOM: When a DVD or VCD is playing,
press this button to zoom the picture so that it is
enlarged. There are 4 steps to the zoom
function, each progressively larger. Press through
each of the zoom stages to return to a normal
picture.

N

PLAYLIST: Press this button to change the
playback order of the disc.

O

RANDOM: Press for RANDOM playback in
random order.

P

A-B: Press to select section A-B and to play

repeatedly.

Q

V.OFF: Press to turn off video output for
improved performance from audio-only discs.
Press again to restore video output.



LIGHT: Press to illuminate remote

controller.



NUMERIC KEYS: Select numbers by

pressing these buttons.



REPEAT: Each press of this button changes
the playback mode to repeat a chapter or track
or the entire disc. A repeat icon will appear in
the upper right corner of the screen indicating
the current repeat mode. If the Player
Information Screen is active, the changes will be
displayed on screen.



CLEAR: Press to remove the Banner menu
from the screen.



IR EMITTER: This small, clear button-like
device sends the IR commands from the remote
control to the DVD 27. To ensure proper per­formance of the remote control, be sure to point
it toward the unit and do not cover it with your
fingers when sending remote commands.