Pinnacle TVCENTER PRO User Manual

Pinnacle TVCenter Pro

User’s Guide

GB/US December 2006

explicit written permission from Pinnacle Systems GmbH, Braunschweig, Germany.

All brand or product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

This manual is printed on chlorine-free, bleached paper using solvent-free ink. Pinnacle Systems GmbH has written this manual to the best of its knowledge,

but does not guarantee that the programs/systems will fulfill the users’ intended applications.

No warranty is made as to the specifications of features. Pinnacle Systems GmbH retains the right to make alterations to the content of

the manual without obligation to inform third parties. All quotes, sales, supply and manufacturing contracts from Pinnacle Systems

GmbH, including consulting, installation and other contractual services are subject exclusively to the General Sales and Delivery Terms of Pinnacle Systems GmbH.

Introduction ........................................................................................................... 1

Welcome ............................................................................................................ 1

Pinnacle TVCenter Pro / TVCenter ............................................................... 1

Pinnacle hardware .......................................................................................... 2

PCTV TVCenter Pro remote control.............................................................. 2

Configuration Wizard for the Basic Settings..................................................... 3

Pinnacle TVCenter Pro.......................................................................................... 5

Pinnacle TVCenter Pro User Interface .............................................................. 5

PC View (optimized for use with a mouse)....................................................... 6

Pinnacle TVCenter Pro PC View Overview .................................................. 6

Control Bars ................................................................................................ 6

Size of the Pinnacle TVCenter Pro window in the PC View ..................... 6

Positioning the Pinnacle TVCenter Pro window in the PC View ..............6

General Operating Controls............................................................................ 7

Top Control Bar .......................................................................................... 7

Bottom Control Bar..................................................................................... 9

Shortcut menu ........................................................................................... 11

TV Operating Controls................................................................................. 13

Closed Bottom Control Bar ...................................................................... 13

Opened Bottom Control Bar ..................................................................... 16

File Playback Operating Controls ................................................................ 19

Closed Bottom Control Bar ...................................................................... 19

Opened Bottom Control Bar ..................................................................... 20

Teletext ......................................................................................................... 22

Teletext - Overview .................................................................................22

Navigating Teletext .................................................................................. 24

Electronic Program Guide (EPG) and Recording ........................................ 29

Electronic Program Guide (EPG) ............................................................. 29

Manual Recording..................................................................................... 32

Recording .................................................................................................. 36

Picture-in-Picture Function (PIP)................................................................. 37

Picture-in-Picture Overview (PIP)............................................................ 37

Picture-in-Picture Function in the PC View ............................................. 38

iii

Pinnacle TVCenter Pro

Pinnacle TVCenter Pro Window Formats.................................................... 40

Changing the window-size using the mouse............................................. 40

Pinnacle TVCenter Pro Operating Shortcuts ............................................... 41

Advanced Settings............................................................................................... 43

Advanced Settings Dialog Overview............................................................... 43

"Apply" button.............................................................................................. 43

Advanced General Settings.............................................................................. 44

Appearance ................................................................................................... 44

Language................................................................................................... 44

Check for updates ......................................................................................... 44

Control bar.................................................................................................... 44

Skip buttons .................................................................................................. 44

Advance TV Channel Settings......................................................................... 45

Advanced Channel Settings Overview......................................................... 45

Available TV channels.............................................................................. 45

My favorite TV channels .......................................................................... 45

Preview...................................................................................................... 46

Channel Details ......................................................................................... 46

Load / save channel lists ........................................................................... 46

Channel Scan............................................................................................. 47

Advanced Analog TV Reception Settings ...................................................48

Settings...................................................................................................... 48

Advanced DVB-T Reception Settings .........................................................49

Settings...................................................................................................... 49

Advanced DVB-S Reception Settings.......................................................... 50

Settings...................................................................................................... 50

Advanced Channel Settings - Modifying Channels ..................................... 51

Viewing the Channel and Favorites list.................................................... 51

Modifying a channel ................................................................................. 51

Advanced Analog-Digital and Internet Radio Reception Settings.................. 53

Available radio channels .............................................................................. 53

Source........................................................................................................ 53

My favorite radio channels........................................................................... 53

Preview ......................................................................................................... 53

Channel Details ............................................................................................ 54

Load / save channel lists............................................................................... 54

Table Of Contents

Channel Scan ................................................................................................ 54

Advanced Settings - Program Guide EPG - epgData.com Service ................. 55

epgData.com, the Electronic Program Guide............................................... 55

Advanced Capture Settings.............................................................................. 57

Capture folder............................................................................................... 57

Hard disk capture settings ............................................................................57

Source........................................................................................................ 57

Video format ............................................................................................. 57

Video quality............................................................................................. 58

Audio format ............................................................................................. 58

Audio quality............................................................................................. 58

Direct to DVD recording.............................................................................. 58

Would you like to create chapters?........................................................... 59

Video quality............................................................................................. 59

Advanced Timeshift Settings........................................................................... 60

Default TimeShifting.................................................................................... 60

Automatically enable Timeshifting at TV startup .................................... 60

TimeShifting file path .................................................................................. 60

Maximum duration / TimeShifting file size................................................. 60

Advanced Display Settings.............................................................................. 61

On Screen Display (OSD) ............................................................................ 61

Enable OSD............................................................................................... 61

Hi Resolution OSD ................................................................................... 61

Duration..................................................................................................... 61

Transparency............................................................................................. 61

Preferred output device ................................................................................ 62

Screen saver.................................................................................................. 62

Preferred video aspect ratio.......................................................................... 62

Hardware acceleration .................................................................................. 62

Video display................................................................................................ 62

Advanced Remote Control Settings................................................................. 63

Remote control selection .............................................................................. 63

Remote control receiver ...............................................................................63

Advanced Hardware Settings........................................................................... 64

Hardware to configure.................................................................................. 64

Antenna inputs.............................................................................................. 64

Pinnacle TVCenter Pro

Preview ......................................................................................................... 64

Analog video inputs...................................................................................... 64

Advanced System Information Settings .......................................................... 65

TVCenter Pro install information................................................................. 65

TVCenter Pro features.................................................................................. 65

System information ......................................................................................66

More information.......................................................................................... 66

Technical Support................................................................................................ 67

Getting Technical Support ............................................................................... 67

1. Frequently Asked Questions ....................................................................67

2. Ask a Question and Get an Answer ......................................................... 67

3. E-mail Support.......................................................................................... 67

4. Discussion Forum..................................................................................... 68

License Information ............................................................................................69

Pinnacle End User License Agreement ...........................................................69

Glossary............................................................................................................... 73

Index .................................................................................................................... 81

Introduction

Welcome

Your new Pinnacle product offers you a whole new world of multimedia entertainment. Starting today, you can sit at your computer or comfortably on the couch and conveniently access, manage and process all sorts of media such as television, radio and movies:

You can watch both analog and digital TV (optional) on your computer monitor or TV screen. This TV viewing fun has been enhanced even more with numerous additional functions. Thanks to spur-of-the-moment or scheduled recording to your hard drive and modern timeshift recording technology, you can watch television flexibly and not miss a minute of your favorite shows. In connection with this, quick-to-open teletext provides you with the latest news any time you want it, and an Electronic Program Guide (EPG) guarantees you an overview of the TV schedule as well as quick and uncomplicated recording scheduling.

Now you also have the option of listening to radio any time you want and of recording your favorite broadcasts quickly and easily. In addition, your Pinnacle product lets your receive Internet radio stations.

The following components of your new Pinnacle product let you access all these functions:

Pinnacle TVCenter Pro / TVCenter

The Pinnacle TVCenter Pro / TVCenter installed on your computer plays back your media. Use the Pinnacle TVCenter Pro / TVCenter to watch and record television, play back recordings as well as open teletext. You can also listen to and record radio broadcasts.

Various Pinnacle PCTV hardware variants are delivered only with the Pinnacle TVCenter. However, the TVCenter has a limited range of functions. Throughout this manual, the term Pinnacle TVCenter Pro is used, since all of the functions included in the program are explained in this context.

The following functions are not available in the TVCenter:

1. Recording DVDs

2. Burning DVDs and CDs

3. Dolby decoding

4. PSP/iPod recording

5. MPEG2 recording when using analog PCTV hardware

Pinnacle TVCenter Pro

Pinnacle hardware

If your new Pinnacle product comes with the optional reception device, you can receive TV and radio (optional) and take advantage of, for example, the teletext or timeshift functions.

PCTV TVCenter Pro remote control

You can use the remote control to easily operate the menu displayed on your monitor from any point in the room - and you don't even have to get up and go over to the computer.

And now have fun with your Pinnacle product!

Introduction

Configuration Wizard for the Basic Settings

During the software installation of the Pinnacle TVCenter Pro, the wizard leads you through several areas in the Advanced Settings dialog where you can configure the most important settings for the Pinnacle TVCenter Pro.

The wizard appears automatically after the Pinnacle TVCenter Pro has been installed. You can now configure your PCTV hardware using the wizard.

The individual settings dialogs are explained in detail in the "Advanced Settings" section. You can start the Settings dialog by clicking the Settings icon in the Pinnacle program group or by double-clicking the Settings link on the desktop.

You can start the wizard at any time via the program group Start/Programs/Pinnacle TVCenter Pro/Tools/Wizard.

Pinnacle TVCenter Pro

Pinnacle TVCenter Pro User Interface

The PC View is optimized for use with your mouse or keyboard. This interface is especially useful when you use the Pinnacle TVCenter Pro while working at your desk (for example, for watching TV while working on the computer). The bar-shaped menu buttons are arranged to the side of the Pinnacle TVCenter Pro window and are easily activated with a click of the mouse. Since you will be mainly using this view when working at your computer, PC View menus are only displayed if necessary so that as little screen space as possible is used.

Pinnacle TVCenter Pro

PC View (optimized for use with a mouse)

Pinnacle TVCenter Pro PC View Overview

The Pinnacle TVCenter Pro PC View is optimized for use with a mouse. While you are sitting at your desk doing other things on your PC, you can access your personal media directly with the mouse. For this purpose, you can seamlessly adjust the Pinnacle TVCenter Pro window in the PC View to any size you want and move it anywhere you find most convenient. The control bars can be configured in such a way that they are only displayed if necessary so only the minimum amount of screen space for media playback is used.

Control Bars

To navigate the Pinnacle TVCenter Pro in the PC View, you have two control bars, one at the top and one at the bottom of the Pinnacle TVCenter Pro window. For more information, refer to the chapter General Operating Controls.

Size of the Pinnacle TVCenter Pro window in the PC View

The Pinnacle TVCenter Pro window in the PC View can be adjusted to any size you want: To do this, left-click and hold the mouse button down on the corner of the Pinnacle TVCenter Pro window and then drag the corner until the window is the size you want.

If the window exceeds normal size, the control bars can no longer be displayed. You can resize the Pinnacle TVCenter Pro window by either dragging the corner with your mouse to enlarge it or double-clicking the window with your mouse. This automatically sets the Pinnacle TVCenter Pro to normal size and the control bars can again be displayed.

Positioning the Pinnacle TVCenter Pro window in the PC View

To position the Pinnacle TVCenter Pro window in the PC View to the area on your screen you want, left-click in the top or bottom control bar and move the window while holding down the mouse button.

Pinnacle TVCenter Pro

General Operating Controls

Top Control Bar

The top control bar in the PC View contains various buttons for operating the Pinnacle TVCenter Pro - independent of the media type currently selected. For example, you can modify the size and behavior of the Pinnacle TVCenter Pro window, switch to the TV View or access various types of media.

The control bars can be configured in Advanced Settings in such a way that they are not always visible but are only displayed when you move your mouse over the Pinnacle TVCenter Pro window. They automatically disappear again when you move your mouse out of the Pinnacle TVCenter Pro window or if the cursor does not move for a few seconds.

Note that depending on your hardware and the current reception area, some buttons and their functions may be temporarily unavailable.

Settings

When you click the Settings button, the Advanced Settings dialog opens.

When you click this button, TV mode is activated, and the current TV program on the channel last selected is displayed in the PC View.

Radio

When you click this button, you switch to radio mode for listening to the current broadcast on the station last selected.

Browse

Click this button to open a pop-up window, where you can browse to the video file you want to play back.

Teletext

Clicking this button opens the teletext window in the PC View (if teletext is available).

Pinnacle TVCenter Pro

EPG

Click this button to open the Electronic Program Guide (EPG) in the PC View (if EPG is available). In addition, you can also schedule recordings manually with the timer.

Always on top

When this button is activated, the Pinnacle TVCenter Pro window is always displayed in front of all the other windows on the screen.

Minimize

Clicking this button minimizes the Pinnacle TVCenter Pro window into the taskbar.

Full Screen/Normal Screen

Clicking this button lets you switch the Pinnacle TVCenter Pro window back and forth from full screen to a normal-sized screen.

This button closes the Pinnacle TVCenter Pro or a subwindow (for example, the teletext or EPG window).

Pinnacle TVCenter Pro

Bottom Control Bar

The bottom control bar in the Pinnacle TVCenter Pro PC View is dependent on the media type you have selected: Depending on whether you are currently watching TV or listening to radio or playing a DVD or a file, the buttons available will vary.

Since the bottom control bar can contain different operating controls depending on the media type, detailed descriptions of the buttons are provided in the following chapters.

Open and closed bottom control bar in the TVCenter Pro PC View

The bottom control bar can be opened by clicking the button. This also gives you access to additional buttons.

Clicking the

Positioning the bottom control bar

If the bottom control bar is docked on the Pinnacle TVCenter Pro window, you can move them both around or change their size as a single unit.

Or you can also position the bottom control bar separately. This means you can put it anywhere on the screen independent of the rest of the Pinnacle TVCenter Pro window. To do this, click the bottom control bar and hold down your left mouse button. While holding down your left mouse button, drag the control bar to the position on the screen your want. If the bottom control bar is positioned separately, it will not disappear and cannot be resized.

button closes the bottom control bar.

Pinnacle TVCenter Pro

You can also put the control bars in the taskbar with the following setting. Right-click the live TV image and then in the shortcut menu that appears, select Send to taskbar.

You should now receive a message that the Pinnacle TVCenter Pro panel needs to be activated in the taskbar.

1. With your right mouse button, click the Windows taskbar.

2. Select the Toolbars / TVC taskbar option. The Pinnacle TVCenter Pro control bar is now displayed in the Windows

taskbar.

Click the original location.

button in the taskbar to move the control bars back to their

Pinnacle TVCenter Pro

Shortcut menu

When you right-click in the PC View of the Pinnacle TVCenter Pro window, a shortcut menu opens where you can make the following changes:

Channels...

Use the Channel list option to open the channel list where all the TV/radio channels are displayed.

PIP (activate Picture-in-Picture function)

The PIP option lets you open a second TV View if you are using a dual-tuner TV card.

Main

Click the Main option to open the TV, Radio, Teletext or EPG options.Here you can activate the media type you want.

Play/Pause

Use this option to start or pause live TV.

Mute

The Mute option turns off the volume.

More actions

Under More actions, you have access to functions such as Forward, Stop, Continue, Rewind, Fast Forward, Snapshot, Record as well as Set recording

profile....

Pinnacle TVCenter Pro

Devices

Use this option to see the list of PCTV hardware installed on your computer. If there is more than one PCTV hardware installed, you can select which one you would like to use for the TV reception.

Audio

Another option is Audio. After clicking this button, a dialog window opens where you can set the language for the soundtrack (if available) or change between stereo and mono sound.

Options

Under Options, you can select Always on top, No frame, Toolbars, Set Recordings Profile as well as Shuffle playlist and Repeat playlist options for

playback.

Window

Under the Window option, you can select Size and Aspect ratio. Here you can decide which size and aspect ratio your Pinnacle TVCenter Pro window should have.

Settings

When you click the Settings button the Advanced Settings dialog opens.

Exit

The Exit option closes the Pinnacle TVCenter Pro window.

Pinnacle TVCenter Pro

TV Operating Controls

Closed Bottom Control Bar

The closed bottom control bar gives you access to the following buttons while you watch TV:

Channel

The currently set channel is displayed in this field. You can also switch channels here:

 To do this, click the Channel button.  If you have not created channel lists in the Advanced Settings, a pop-up

window displays all the available channels. Clicking a channel will take you to its currently running program.

 If you have created channel lists in the Advanced Settings, a pop-up window

displays all the available channel lists. If you click a specific channel list, all the channels assigned to this group appear on the right side of the window. Clicking a channel will take you to its currently running program.

 In addition, you can switch between composite and S-video input in the

lower part of the pop-up window. To do this, click the corresponding button.

Audio Mode

The currently set audio mode is displayed in this field. If more than one audio mode is available, you can select between them here:

 To do this, click the Audio Mode button. This opens a pop-up window

displaying all the available audio modes.

 Click a specific audio mode (for example, MPEG audio or AC3 audio) to set

it.

Pinnacle TVCenter Pro

Channel information

Here you find the following information about the selected channel:

Snapshot

If you click this button, a snapshot of the currently playing TV program is taken as a single image and saved in the previously indicated directory in "Advanced Settings". The file name is automatically created from the date, time, channel name, and any available EPG information.

Previous / Next channel

Clicking these buttons switches you to the previous or to the next channel in the currently selected channel list.

Volume

You can adjust the volume of your TV show individually with this slider. To do this, click the slider button and while holding the mouse button down, slide it to the position you want.

Clicking the Mute

button mutes the TV show soundtrack. You can turn the

soundtrack back on by clicking the button again.

Pinnacle TVCenter Pro

Record

If you click this button, the TV program currently playing is recorded and saved in the directory previously indicated in "Advanced Settings". The file name is automatically created from the date, time, channel name, and any available EPG information.

The recording can be paused by clicking the Record button again or by clicking the Stop button.

Play / Pause

If a timeshift recording is not currently taking place, you can start a timeshift recording by clicking the Play/Pause button.

During a timeshift recording, playback is paused by clicking the Play/Pause button. Click the button again to continue the recording.

Stop

In timeshift or playback mode, you can use the Stop function to stop timeshifting or file playback. This button is not active during live TV.

Open the bottom control bar

Clicking this button opens the bottom control bar.

Pinnacle TVCenter Pro

Opened Bottom Control Bar

If you click the

button while watching TV, the bottom control bar opens:

The following additional functions are now available:

Go to Begin

This button can only be activated if a timeshift recording is currently running. Clicking the Back button starts the playback of the timeshift recording from the

beginning.

Stop

This button is only available if a recording is currently being made or you are in timeshift mode. You can then end the currently running recording by clicking Stop.

Record

If you click this button, the TV program currently playing is recorded and saved in the directory previously indicated in Advanced Settings. The file name is automatically created from the date, time, channel name, and any available EPG information.

The recording can be paused by clicking the Record button again or by clicking the Stop button.

Play / Pause

If a timeshift recording is not currently taking place, you can start a timeshift recording by clicking the Play/Pause button.

During a timeshift recording, playback of the timeshift recording is paused by clicking the Play/Pause button. Click the button again to continue the recording.

Pinnacle TVCenter Pro

Reverse / Forward

These buttons are only available if a timeshift recording is currently running. Clicking the Rewind and Fast Forward buttons allows you to move back and

forth within the timeshift recording: If you click once, the recording runs at double speed. If you click twice, the recording runs at quadruple speed. Three clicks results in 8x speed, and four clicks in 16x speed. One more click lets the recording run at normal speed again.

To pause rewind/fast forward, click the corresponding button until the recording plays at normal speed or click the Play/Pause button.

Jump back /Jump forward

These buttons are only available if a timeshift recording is currently running. With the Jump back and Jump forward buttons, you can jump back and forth

in the timeshift recording within a time interval set in the "Advanced Settings".

Go to End

This buttons is only available if a timeshift recording is currently running. Click this button to return to the live position in the current program. The

timeshift recording continues to be recorded and can be played back at any time.

Timeshift timeline

This field tells you the following information:

 The start time of the timeshift recording (here: 13:25 pm)  The maximum timeshift position, at which the timeshift recording will pause

or start from the beginning (here: 13:40 pm). This is dependent on the maximum available disk space that you can set for timeshift recordings in "Advanced Settings".

 The end of the status bar marks the current position of live TV. You can also

see how much disk space has already been used for the timeshift recording or how much free disk space is still left.

 The current position of the timeshift playback (approx. 13:26 PM) In addition, you can jump to any position within the timeshift recording: To do

this, click and hold your mouse button on the position indicator for the timeshift playback and drag it to the position you want within the recording.

Pinnacle TVCenter Pro

PIP Selector / Create PIP (Picture-in-Picture function)

1.PIP Selector (only active if a dual-tuner TV card or 2 TV cards are installed) When you click this button, the PIP window appears; here click Create PIP. Another Pinnacle TVCenter Pro window now opens in which the other TV channel is displayed. The TV channels displayed can be turned on and off independently of each other.

2.Create PIP (only active if a dual-tuner TV card or 2 TV cards are installed) When you click this button, another Pinnacle TVCenter Pro window immediately appears, in which another TV channel is displayed.

Close bottom control bar

Clicking this button closes the bottom control bar.

Pinnacle TVCenter Pro

File Playback Operating Controls

Closed Bottom Control Bar

The closed bottom control bar gives you access to the following buttons while you play a video file:

File title

The title of the currently playing file is displayed in this field.

Snapshot

Click this button to take a snapshot of the currently playing file as a single image and save it in the directory previously indicated in Advanced Settings. The file name is automatically created from the date, time, and title of the file.

Volume

You can adjust the volume of file playback with this slider. To do this, click the slider button and while holding the mouse button down, slide it to the position you want.

Clicking the Mute

button turns off the sound of the file playback. You can

turn the soundtrack back on by clicking the button again.

Play / Pause

Clicking the Play button starts the playback of an audio or video file. This button then changes to a Pause button. You can pause file playback by clicking the Pause button. Clicking it again resumes playback.

Open the bottom control bar

Clicking this button opens the bottom control bar.

Pinnacle TVCenter Pro

Opened Bottom Control Bar

If you click the

button while watching a File, the bottom control bar

opens:

The following additional functions are now available:

Go to Begin

Click this button to playback the currently running audio or video file from the beginning.

Stop

Use this button to stop the current playback.

Play / Pause

Clicking the Play button starts the playback of a file. This button then changes to a Pause button. You can pause file playback by clicking the Pause button. Clicking it again resumes playback.

Reverse / Fast forward

Clicking the Rewind and Fast forward buttons lets you move back and forth in a video file at an increased speed, therefore letting you access different areas within the video file: If you click once, the video file runs at double speed. If you click twice, the video file runs at quadruple speed. Three clicks results in 8x speed, and four clicks in 16x speed. One more click lets the video file run at normal speed again.

Jump back /Jump forward

Use the Jump back/Jump forward buttons to jump back and forth during playback of a file.

Pinnacle TVCenter Pro

Title Menu

When playing back a recorded file (for example, in MPEG1 VCD quality), the button is inactive.

Main Menu

When playing back a recorded file (for example, in MPEG1 VCD quality), the button is inactive.

Language

If subtitles are available for the current file and you click this button, a dialog window appears where you can set the language for the subtitles.

Timeline

This field tells you the following information:

 The beginning of playback (here: 00:00:00)  The end of the file (here: 00:00:50)  The current position within the file (here: 00:00:18). You can see here how

much of the file has already been played back and how much is still left to play back.

In addition, you can jump to any position in the file. To do this, click and hold your mouse button on the position indicator and drag it to the position you want within the timeline.

Close the bottom control bar

Clicking this button closes the bottom control bar.

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