Pioneer Digital Home Cinema System User Manual

Home Entertainment Guide 2000-2001

Your Life. Your Choice. Your Fun.

Pioneer Home Entertainment

2

Live your life to the fullest. Enjoy yourself and let your feelings show. Laughout loud at comedy, Cryat great

drama, feel the

Adrenalin-Rush of sports and get Goosebumps when you hear the music you love.

Pioneer has something for everyone: from individual hi-fi components to full-fledged, digital Home Cinema Systems.

Razor-sharp technology, stunning designs and options enough to please everyone. If you are looking for

inspiration, emotion,

Passion and simply incomparable home entertainment, you have found it in Pioneer.

Life is too short to waste your free time.

Dynamical DVD Reality.

Look. Listen. Live.

Piece by Piece.

Hip and Happening.

Digital Home Cinema >>> 4 > 21

NS Series >>> 36 > 41

Hi-fi Components >>> 22 > 35

Hi-Fi Systems >>> 42 > 47

Contents

3

Home Entertainment Guide 2000-2001

4

Your personal

Home Cinema Style

Digital Home Cinema

Pioneer's Digital Home Cinema Systems bring the total movie experience into your living room thanks

to excellent DVD picture quality and full surround sound — the peak of entertainment possibilities.

Something for everybody from the liveliest live film action, through the most stirring musical

sounds, to sports coverage so up close and personal that you'll feel like you've had a work-out. It is

so real that it is like having an entire cinema, concert hall and stadium all-in-one in your living room.

Whether you are looking for the entire home cinema experience in one stylish package or want to

develop your system step-by-step, Pioneer offers numerous options and components, including

market leading DVD expertise. Pioneer’s wide range of leading DVD solutions fit anywhere, anytime

and anyplace. Please see pages 8 and 9 for more information.

5

Digital

Home Cinema

NS-DV55

Digital Home

Cinema System

6

Home Entertainment Guide 2000-2001

Cinema

you can Live in

The latest in multimedia digital
technology, DVD, guarantees
second-to-none picture quality

and sound. The digital picture is
twice as sharp as standard VHS videotape. Home
cinema ready, DVD enables surround sound as
impressive as in the cinema, right in your home.
The media itself is more durable than VHS tape
and doesn’t need to be rewound. Plus DVD is
packed with useful features – multiple language
and soundtracks and subtitles, support for
various audio encoding technologies such as DTS
and Dolby Digital, multiple camera angle viewing
selection, parental blocking, return-to-pause and
view-per-chapter and support for both virtual or
digital surround sound. With all of this, DVD is
clearly the future.

A new arrival on the multi-channel,
multimedia audio format scene,
DTS 5.1 channel playback encoding

technology is rapidly gaining
popularity thanks to its dynamic sound impact
that flies at the listener from left, right and centre
surround sound speakers. Open up the doors of
digital home cinema and super surround sound
with any Pioneer DVD player and A/V
amplifier/receiver* because they can handle DTS
encoded discs.

*Except VSX-409RDS

The current surround sound
quality encoding standard,
Dolby Digital means movie

theatre sound performance for
your home cinema. Its 5.1 channel audio sound
compression technology wraps you in sound. The
front left and right, centre, rear left and right
speakers span frequencies from 20Hz – 20kHz
and there is a dedicated low frequency channel
for extra sound clarity. Extra features mean not
only stunning soundtracks but also additional
language tracks on one disc. And Dolby Digital
has gone a step further with THX Surround EX, a
co-development between Dolby Digital and THX,
which adds another audio channel to the
soundtrack behind the listener, meaning more
depth and localisation for even more sound
perfection.

P

W

Living cinema in your living room, the Pioneer NS-DV55 system is definitely the all-in-one stylish

design solution you are looking for. Its various input terminals make it easy to connect your other

favourite components. And with a choice of black* or warm wood-tone speakers, it will certainly slide

right into any interior. Sleek, compact, and CD-R compatible, opt for a home cinema statement packed

with exciting features like DTS surround sound and Dolby Digital. All that can be said is that the

NS-DV55 means more digital home cinema surround sound – from your favourite sofa.

* NS-DV55-K

Digital Home Cinema

DVD/VCD/CD/Tuner

Sophisticated design and sleek curves define the understated style
of this home cinema system. Hidden inside the central unit are the
Pioneer DVD/VCD/CD player and RDS tuner, convenient digital input
and output connections for hooking up a TV, VCR, CD recorder or a
MiniDisc player. In addition — the separate system display plus
Dolby Digital and DTS sound capability…

XV-DV55

Display + Remote Control

The perfect combination of function and design, a separate ice
blue display adds the finishing touch.

The remote control with its presets and colour illuminated keys
ensures easy operation. Plus its learning feature means that you
can teach it to operate a multitude of remote controlled products.

S-DV55ST-Q + S-DV55SW-Q S-DV55ST-K + S-DV55SW-K

Wood-tone Satellite Speakers +
Wood-tone Subwoofer/Amplifier

30 W x 5 + 50 W

You won’t even notice them… until you
turn on the surround sound. You can
choose black or a wood-toned finish to
complement your home.
The minimalist satellite speakers
combine with the centre speaker unit to
produce five times 30 Watts of output for
pure home cinema pleasure.
The sleek subwoofer, housing the
system's 5.1 channel surround ampifier,
completes the surround sound
experience. Place it where you want, sit
back and enjoy all the thrill and
excitement of the cinema in the comfort
of your home.

Black Satellite Speakers +
Black Subwoofer/Amplifier

30 W x 5 + 50 W

7

NEW

For full product features and specifications, please see page 48.

30 W x 5 + 50 W

WP∆y

NS-DV55

Home Cinema System

A home cinema system does not mean starting over. Simply begin with what you have: your VCR, TV set and hi-fi

speakers. The first step is to add a DVD player for drastically improved image quality and digital sound. Plus

DVD players come in many different forms – super compact portable players to take anywhere, standard

component units and even sleek design models. You won’t believe your eyes! Next, you’ll want to add a receiver

or amplifier for virtual surround sound through your hi-fi speakers. Cinema realistic, it is better than the

real thing. Finally, splurge on a 5.1 surround sound system – six speakers in total for complete Dolby Digital

or DTS wrap-around sound – the ultimate in Home Entertainment.

Home Entertainment Guide 2000-2001

8

Build towards the Ultimate

in Digital Home Cinema

The final touch, the 5.1 channel surround sound speakers, completes the
ultimate home cinema experience. The two front and two rear
speakers, one centre speaker above the monitor or TV and one
subwoofer for low frequencies will wrap home viewers in digital
surround sound – just like in the movie theatre.

The next step, adding a Pioneer A/V amplifier or receiver, is the central
component in any home cinema experience. The A/V amplifier or receiver
connects all the units, amplifying any sound source in the system — TV, DVD, CD,
MiniDisc… A Pioneer A/V amplifier or receiver not only provides powerful sound,
but you also can connect a variety of image sources, such as a video camera (easy
if your A/V amplifier or receiver has a front panel input).

To start, add a DVD player or a portable DVD unit to your TV/VCR combination. You can
create a surround sound effect with your TV stereo speakers if your DVD player is
equipped with a Virtual Surround decoder. Besides outstanding image quality and
superb sound, DVD lets you view films in various languages with a selection of
soundtracks and enjoy other easy and convenient features, such as viewing per chapter
and movie angle selection.

Most European homes have separate stereo and TV/VCR installations.

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Digital Home Cinema

9

Don't miss out on the entertainment options you deserve. Pioneer knows audio… and video… and everything

in-between. With Pioneer's recommended combination packages, you benefit from expert advice on how to mix

and match different components to get the best possible sound, picture, styling and technology. Multi-

component packages with a single purpose: to give you the total Digital Home Cinema experience.

2: DOLBY DIGITAL + DTS PACKAGE

3: DOLBY PRO LOGIC PACKAGE

1: DESIGN SOLUTION (DOLBY DIGITAL + DTS)

+ +

+ +

P

i

o

n

e

e

r

R

e

c

o

m

m

e

n

d

s

For full product features and specifications, please see pages 48 to 54.

10

Home Entertainment Guide 2000-2001

Dynamically Digital

DVD Reality

DVD-Audio is a brand new, high quality multi-channel audio format offering even better quality than CDs. This means superb surround sound,
longer playing time and the same type of interactivity found on DVD-Video.

A dual layer DVD-Audio can play at least 2 hours of full surround sound audio and 4 hours of stereo audio.
Pioneer is planning to launch a top of the line DVD player that can play DVD-Audio early next year. Pioneer guarantees the best sound in your future.

11

Guaranteed first-class picture and sound quality from the leader in DVD technology. Enjoy a digital picture

more than twice as sharp as standard VHS videotape along with impressive cinema-style sound. Pioneer

DVD players even play back your own CDs and offer full CD-R Playback compatibility thanks to the twin-wave

laser pick-up. You've always expected high quality video and sound from Pioneer. Now you can have the

outstanding video quality and supreme audio quality, plus benefits you could only dream of: multiple

language and soundtracks and subtitles, support for various encoding technology such as DTS and Dolby

Digital, multiple camera angle viewing selection, parental blocking, return-to-pause and view-per-chapter and

support for both virtual or digital surround sound and much more.

Don’t forget that you can enjoy Pioneer DVD anywhere and anytime, thanks to Pioneer’s diverse range of DVD

players including portable DVD players and an in-car DVD changer model.

Digital Home Cinema

DVD

Players

DVL-919E

The ultimate combination player for DVD/LD/CD and VCD. Enter into the fabulous DVD world and still play your
Laser Discs. Support for all your existing media is what you need. Provided with DTS and Dolby Digital output, it
even allows you to enjoy virtual surround sound.

DV-737

Top of the line DVD, this clean-cut unit equally delivers high quality images and the purest sound. We know that
sound is important to you, which is why this forward thinking DVD player has separately designed audio circuits
that perfectly complements its video enhancing features. Combined, this means pure perfection in audio and
visual design... and it
looks good, too.

Also available as DV-737-K with
black finish.

NEW

For full product features and specifications, please see pages 49 to 50.

oWJ∆

gb/a˚Dd

WJ b/a

d

Home Entertainment Guide 2000-2001

12

DVD

Players

NEW

NEW

NEW

Region 2 Region 5

DV-636D

Both Dolby Digital and DTS! This DVD player is heaven for
real movie buffs. With its built-in Dolby Digital and DTS
decoder, this DVD player can handle all the latest audio­encoding technology, which means more cinema effects
without the extra equipment.

DV-535

Entering the world of DVD? This player is the perfect
starting point. Cool and convenient, this easy-to-use model
comes with a simplified remote control. And there are
optical and coaxial digital outputs to enjoy pure digital
home cinema sound.

DV-530

Or maybe you want to follow the new trends or match
existing units and go with silver components for your
entertainment centre? Then this DVD player is the answer.
Just click the user friendly remote control button and fly into
the DVD world of high quality image and theatre-like sound.

Built-in security features

DVD players carry a regional code number
corresponding to one of six global regions.
For example as shown here, region 2 covers
most of Europe, the Middle East, South
Africa and Japan and region 5 covers most
of Africa, the CIS and India.

Additionally, most DVD discs carry the
respective codes for particular regions
where viewing is allowed. If the player
code and the disc do not match, the disc
will not be able to be played. This accounts
for differences in regional culture and
parental guidance.

Region code-free DVD discs are also
available for playing in any region.

WJP

b/ad

WJ

b/ad

WJ

b/ad

Digital Home Cinema

13

14

Home Entertainment Guide 2000-2001

Turn it Up!

Digital Home Cinema Sound

Technology is taking off and the home cinema audience is most certainly listening. Thanks to
Lucasfilm’s THX division, DVD home cinema audiences can enjoy similar high-tech sound
effects found in movie theatres. The THX label guarantees that the system can handle 5.1
channels for quality wrap-around surround sound performance.

Going a step further, THX joined forces with Dolby Laboratories to develop the THX Surround EX system.
This innovation adds an extra Surround Back channel to the soundtrack, meaning that one additional sound
path is decoded and actually flies right over the listener. Sound
surrounding you — plus sound flying right over your head.
Now, that’s realistic.

DTS-ES

Early this year, DTS introduced a new cinema decoder: DTS-ES. Using low data
compression and a high data transfer rate, DTS-ES adds an additional sound
channel to digitised films, allowing filmmakers to be even more creative with
sound.
This translates to better special effects that truly surround the audience like
never before. The third channel flies over the head of the viewers, putting them
right in the middle of the action. Used now only in cinemas, this exciting
technology will most certainly be implemented in future DVD home cinema
products.

15

Amplifiers and receivers are key to any home cinema system. This is where it happens, where the cinema sound

experience is decoded and transferred to the speakers in your living room. Pioneer has hi-tech amplifiers and

receivers featuring Dolby Digital and DTS decoders or even supporting THX Surround EX. With sound this

good, you definitely begin to feel like you're inside the movie.

Digital Home Cinema

VSX-909RDS-G

This top-of-the-line, feature-packed A/V receiver
has everything, and we mean everything you’d
expect: THX Ultra certification, THX Surround EX
and DTS-ES, plus an RDS tuner. On top of this,
thanks to top-of-the-line THX Ultra certification,
this quality system produces
110 watts of quality cinema surround sound with

7.1 channels in/out — perfect even in larger
rooms.

Also available as VSX-909RDS with black finish.

VSA-E08

What you have been dreaming
of… exists. THX Ultra certified,
this A/V surround sound
processing amplifier is packed
with every feature imaginable
including DTS-ES and THX
Surround EX decoders for the
ultimate digital home cinema sound experience.
This new model has more connection
possibilities, including component video in/out
for the highest quality A/V installations, while
audio and video circuits are shielded in separate
chambers for pure multi-channel sound. Perfect for movies and music!

The feature-packed remote control unit offers an improved user interface, including a preset recall guide,
item memo and key rename possibilities. Its lock switch prevents activation by mistake.

NEW

NEW

A/V

Amplifiers

& Receivers

For full product features and specifications, please see pages 51 to 53.

WP åOqNd

WP åOqNzd

130 W x 5

110 W x 5

Home Entertainment Guide 2000-2001

16

VSX-859RDS

This A/V receiver is ready for what the future
brings. Completely versatile, this unit can
handle the latest and future digital sources —
up to 7.1 channels in/out. Plus, there’s THX
Surround EX and it’s DTS-ES compatible. Its
THX Select certification makes it the perfect
choice for your digital home cinema centre,
today and tomorrow.

Also available as VSX-859RDS-G with gold finish.

NEW

VSX-839RDS

THX Select certified, this A/V receiver is a top
quality "5.1" surround system. Universal DVD
player ready, it has a 5.1 channel input for
stereophonic surround sound. And it can
decode Dolby Digital and DTS encoded discs
for a great digital home cinema experience.

NEW

M-10X

NEW

100 W x 5

100 W x 5

120 W x 2

You’re probably thinking THX Surround EX, right? This is why we’ve
designed this golden amplifier specifically to enhance the additional 2
Surround Back channels, in the THX Surround EX system. And the gold
finish perfectly matches the other components – VSA-E08 and
VSX-909RDS-G. Just the extra touch you’d expect.

A-509R

90 W x 2

If you are looking for a black model to do the same job of
amplifying the extra channel which creates the THX Surround
EX sound, you might want to consider the A-509R. This model
can be used with the VSX-909RDS and VSX-859RDS.

7.1 Channel Surround

Add-on Amplifiers

WP åOqNzd

WP åONzd

Digital Home Cinema

17

VSX-709RDS

VSX-609RDS

VSX-409RDS

Here’s cutting-edge technology in an A/V
receiver: Dolby Digital and a DTS decoder
plus a front A/V input with S-video and a
digital output – all combined with an RDS
tuner.

WPqONzd

This A/V receiver with RDS tuner incorporates
Dolby Digital surround sound and DTS
superior sound localisation. It also features a

5.1 channel input for multi-channel audio like
future DVD-A players.

WPqONzd

Looking for Dolby Pro Logic surround at an
affordable price? Then this A/V receiver with
its 5.1 channel input is designed for you. And
it's a perfect partner for the DV-636D DVD
player which has built-in Dolby Digital and
DTS decoders.

qzd

18

Home Entertainment Guide 2000-2001

Truly,

three dimensional Sound

Wrap-Around Sound

Wrap yourself in the most overwhelming surround sound reproduction and be
amazed how sound can colour your home cinema experience. So pure and realistic, it
makes you feel like part of the action. Dolby Digital and DTS – they paint your walls
and ceilings with sound.

19

Digital Home Cinema

A superb system deserves high performance speakers. The quality of Pioneer speakers lets you enjoy the full

spectrum of sound. Backing up brilliant components, the superb subwoofers, and all front, centre and rear

speakers are designed to deliver the best possible sound. You’ll hear action movie effects that make you want

to run for cover, dramatic musical scores that put you in the centre of the audience, musical arias that stir

the senses, and sports so live you'll feel like cheering.

The entire line of Pioneer speakers presented here in packages is also available separately. So feel free to buy

a fabulous new set for your brand new digital home cinema experience or just add the rear or centre speakers

needed to create great 5.1 channel surround sound.

A/V

Speakers

S-V59T

100 W (front), 100 W (rear, centre)

Enjoy the full sound spectrum through 3 powerful cone woofers in the
stylishly designed front speakers. Feel the dynamism of the movie
soundtrack, supported by superb centre and rear satellite speakers.
The S-V59T consists of S-H509V (floorstanding front speakers) and
S-CR59 (centre and rear satellite speakers).

S-V59

100 W (satellite), 110 W (subwoofer)

Feel the real surround sound through the 5 sleekly designed satellite
speakers, which blend into any interior thanks to their small size and
warm wood-tone finish, and high performance subwoofer with built­in amplifier. The S-V59 consists of S-F59 (front satellite speakers),
S-CR59 (centre and rear satellite speakers) and S-W80S (subwoofer).

For full product features and specifications, please see page 54.

Home Entertainment Guide 2000-2001

20

S-V39T

80 W

Two cone woofers on the front speakers supported by centre and rear speakers will
envelop you with the true digital home cinema feeling. With black finish to match
your existing components. The S-V39T consists of S-H309V (floorstanding front
speakers) and S-CR39 (centre and rear satellite speakers).

S-V39

S-V30

CP-HC10

S-V30T

80 W

The sleek look of the main units screams digital home cinema. The new compact rear
units easily fit on any shelf or subtly mount on the wall. And looks aside, these 2-way
speakers add outstanding audio performance and sound quality to any home
entertainment system. The S-V30T consists of S-H210V (tall boy bookshelf front
speakers) and S-CR30 (centre and rear satellite speakers).

Note: The S-H210V can be replaced by the S-H309V-W (floorstanding front speakers).

S-W80S

NEW

NEW

Streamlined…

The thin, light design makes it easy to place the screen anywhere – on the wall, floor, a stand or even the ceiling.

Brighter images, higher contrast

The Pioneer PDP-502MXE features a unique cell structure that emits light on the anode and cathode sides for 1.6 more illumination in
total. True black stripes provide noticeably improved contrast and the waffle structure barrier ribs mean better pixel efficiency,
outstanding brightness and improved clarity.

Wide Viewing Angle

Flat plasma screens offer a significant advantage over LCD and rear projection displays. With flat plasma, the phosphor-coated screen is
stimulated directly. The image is not projected onto the screen. The plasma screen delivers an exceptionally wide viewing angle – more
than 160° vertically and horizontally. Plus the brightness across the screen is virtually uniform.

Outstanding colour

Using 256 greyscale definition levels and 16.7 million colours, Pioneer plasma technology reproduces an incredible amount of sharpness
and detail in its images for very realistic viewing.

Future and multimedia compatibility

This high definition XGA panel can process all types of signals – VGA, SVGA, XGA as well as SXGA and UXGA formats.

The PDP-502MXE can support various screen sizes and can reproduce PAL, NTSC, SECAM and HDTV. And its wide range of input/output
terminals matches the vision of any digital home cinema system.

SD-T50W1

Projection Television

You won’t miss a moment with this super-size 16:9 widescreen
television. This 50-inch projection screen unit is loaded with
options – worldwide multi-system reception, a built-in stereo
amplifier, 2-way speakers and teletext decoder. Plus there’s a
handy remote control.

21

PDP-502MXE

Plasma Display Panel

Pure style to the finest detail reaches a pinnacle
with this super-thin, 50-inch diagonal plasma
display panel. Delivering high resolution
images in 16:9 format, this smooth screen is
unquestionably the ultimate in colour,
contrast and brightness.

Displays

P

i

c

t

u

r

e

P

e

r

f

e

c

t

Digital Home Cinema

For full product features and specifications, please see page 54.

Xb/c/ad

b/c/a