vivitar DVR 820HD User Manual

DVR 820HD

Digital Video Camcorder

Owner’s Manual

© 2009 Sakar International, Inc. All rights reserved. Windows and the Windows logo are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective companies.

Table of Contents

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

Key Features ....................................................................................................... 2

What your digital video camcorder includes ......................................................... 2

Computer System Requirements for Windows XP ............................................... 2

Computer System Requirement for Windows Vista .............................................. 3

Computer System Requirements for Macintosh ................................................... 3

A Quick Look at your Digital Video Camcorder..................................................... 4

Preparing Your Camcorder for Use ...................................................................... 5

Inserting a SD Memory Card ................................................................................ 7

Powering on and setting DVR Function Control ................................................... 8

Capturing Videos ............................................................................................... 11

Capturing Still Photos ........................................................................................ 20

Audio Recording ................................................................................................ 28

Playback mode .................................................................................................. 30

AV mode – Using your TV to view images ......................................................... 34

Using your HDTV to view videos ........................................................................ 36

Connect DVR with PC using USB cable provided .............................................. 36

Connect DVR with printer using USB cable provided ......................................... 37

Install the Vivitar Experience Image Manager Software ..................................... 39

Connect your camera to the computer ............................................................... 41

Get photos and videos from your camera to your computer ............................... 41

Get started! ........................................................................................................ 42

Transfer media from my camera to my computer manually (Using Windows) .... 42

Transfer media from my camera to my computer manually (Using Macintosh) ... 43

Sakar Warranty Card ......................................................................................... 44

Technical Specifications .................................................................................... 45

Trouble Shooting ............................................................................................... 46

Introduction

Thank you for purchasing the DVR 820HD Digital Video Camcorder. With your camcorder you can shoot video clips, take individual photos and record audio files. In addition, a SD compatible memory card of up to 8GB can be inserted to expand the memory of your DVR camcorder.

Key Features

 5 modes – Video, Camera, Audio, Playback and Set Up.  3 Digital Video resolutions – 1280x720 HD, 640x480 (VGA), 320x240

(QVGA).

 3 Digital Camera resolutions – 8M (3400X2550); 5M(2592X1944);

2M(1600X1200)

 2.7" TFT LCD  8 X Digital Zoom  Supports external SD memory card up to 8GB  Built-in Microphone  Takes digital photos, videos and audio files  Vivitar Experience Image Manager software for uploading and managing

photos and videos to or from the most popular photo sharing and social network websites.

What your digital video camcorder includes

 Digital Video Camcorder  USB and AV Dual Cable  Vivitar Experience Image Manager software Installation CD  Quick Start Guide  Hand strap  Lithium battery  AC charger

Computer System Requirements for Windows XP

To be able to download photos and videos to your PC, you will need the following minimum configuration:

 Pentium 4 processor or above with Windows XP service pack 2  512 MB RAM, with 100MB of free disk space  1024 x 768 Recommended screen resolution  16-bit color or higher display adaptor  CD-ROM Drive

 QuickTime 6 or higher  Microsoft Internet Explorer 7 or higher  Windows Media Player 10 or higher  Internet connection required

Computer System Requirement for Windows Vista

To be able to download photos and videos to your PC you will need the following minimum configuration:

 Windows Vista  800MHz processor and 512 MB of system memory  20GB hard drive with at least 15GB of available space  Support for Super VGA graphics  Available USB Interface  CD-ROM drive  QuickTime 6 or higher  Microsoft Internet Explorer 7 or higher  Internet connection required

Computer System Requirements for Macintosh

 Macintosh with Intel processor running Mac OS X v10.4.6 or later  256 MB RAM, 100 MB free disk space  Display: 1024 x 768 or higher-resolution monitor  QuickTime 6 or higher  Internet connection required

Lens

Self-Timer Lamp

Flash Lamp

Microphone

Display Button

▲

◄

Left

►

Right

▼

Down



OK 6 Joystick

T / Zoom in Button

MENU Button

Capture Button

W / Zoom out

Speaker

Power Button

USB Jack

HDMI Jack

AV out

Strap Mount

MODE Button

LCD Monitor 19

Battery Holder

SD Card Slot

Battery & SD Door

Battery Compartment

A Quick Look at your Digital Video Camcorder

Battery Indicator

Battery Status

Empty battery

Half battery

Full battery

Preparing Your Camcorder for Use

Install lithium battery

Your digital camcorder needs a lithium battery in order to operate. The battery is found separately in the packaging. To install it correctly see the diagram below:

1. Slide the battery cover to the side for it to open.

2. Insert the battery in the battery compartment with the correct polarity facing up.

3. Use the battery clip found in the battery compartment to make sure that the battery is sitting firmly and secure.

4. Gently close and slide the battery cover back into place.

5. Once powering on your camcorder the battery icon will appear on the top left of the LCD screen.

How to charge the battery

Please charge the battery when the indicator shows the Empty battery icon.

1. Power your camcorder off.

2. Make sure the battery is inserted correctly and then connect your camcorder either to:

 A running PC with the USB cable provided, or  use the AC charger provided in the package. Plug the AC charger

cord into the USB jack of the camera.

3. The red LED will light up indicating that your camcorder is in charging mode. The LED will switch off when your camcorder is fully charged after a few hours (approx. 4 hours).

Note:

1. The camcorder should not be on while charging.

2. Use only the recommended power accessories. Use of power sources not expressly recommended for this equipment may lead to overheating, distortion of the equipment, fire, electrical shock or other hazards.

3. A red battery icon will flash on the LCD when the battery power is insufficient. Shortly thereafter your camcorder will power off.

4. The battery can be re-charged even when it has some power left. However we recommend re-charging it when it is empty.

5. When the operating time of the camcorder becomes extremely short even after proper battery-charging, this indicates that the life of the battery may be expired. You will need to buy a new battery.

6. Please remove your battery when you don’t intend to use your camcorder for a long time.

7. Video camera becomes warm during charging – this is normal.

8. Limited internal memory is provided in order to take photos, videos and audio files.

9. Use a SD Memory card to expand the memory in order to capture and record many more images. All the media in the built-in memory will not be lost if no SD Memory Card has been inserted in the DVR when

battery power is low or when you change your battery.

10. Do not open the battery door to take out the battery or SD card while media is being saved to the camcorder. Doing so may cause the photos, video or audio files to be lost or damaged.

11. We strongly recommend downloading your media regularly to your computer.

12. DO NOT leave any metal items (such as clips) near the contact areas of the power plug. Otherwise a fire and/or electric shocks may be caused by short-circuiting or the resulting heat generated.

Inserting a SD Memory Card

Your camcorder has limited internal memory. To expand the amount of memory, a SD compatible memory card of up to 8GB (not included) should be inserted into your DVR camcorder. SD Memory cards increase the number of videos, photos and audio files that can be captured with the camcorder before transferring them to a computer. Media sitting on the memory card is not lost when your camcorder’s power runs low or on replacing the battery.

1. Locate the SD card slot in the battery compartment.

2. Insert the SD memory card correctly in the direction shown.

3. Press the memory card until you hear a “Click” sound.

Note: After you insert an SD memory card, the SD card icon will appear on the top

left of the LCD, indicating that your SD memory card has been installed successfully. The media you capture will now be stored on the card and not in the internal memory.

 This product supports SD cards of up to 8GB.  Make sure that the card is not locked. Locked cards do not allow images to

transfer to the card.

 Formatting will delete all data on the SD Memory Card.  Download all the media to your computer before you format the card.  Do not remove the SD Memory Card during formatting as this may damage

the card and render it unusable.

 Before using the camcorder, be sure to format the card with the camcorder

(see the Setup section further on in the manual for instruction on how to format the card).

Powering on and setting DVR Function Control

To power on the camcorder, flip open the LCD Screen. The camcorder automatically powers on. The Power button is situated on the inside of the camcorder facing the LCD screen.

Power on

Press the Power button to turn on your DVR.

Power off

Press the Power button to turn your DVR camcorder off. The DVR camcorder will switch off. If you close the LCD screen, this will also turn the DVR camcorder off.

By default if the DVR camcorder is not in use or in an operational mode for 3 minutes (180 seconds) it will automatically switch off.

When there is insufficient battery power, a red battery icon will appear on the

LCD screen. The camcorder will automatically power off a few moments later.

Setting the Language

When using the video camcorder for the first time after purchasing it, be sure to choose a language and set the date & time before use.

1. Turn the Power on to enter the Video mode.

2. Press the MENU button.

3. Push the OK/Joystick button to the Left/Right/Up/Down to select the Setup icon from the menu icons that appear.

4. Press the OK/Joystick button.

5. Push the OK/Joystick button to the Left/Right/Up/Down and select the

Language icon submenu option.

6. Press the OK/Joystick button.

7. Push the OK/Joystick button to the Left/Right/Up/Down button to highlight and select the language you desire.

English /German / French / Spanish / Portuguese / Italian /Dutch / Russian / Turkish

8. Press the OK/Joystick button to save your choice. The interface of the camcorder will change to the language you selected.

9. Press the MENU button to close the language submenu and press it again to exit the Setup mode function.

Setting the Date and Time

To set the time and date that will appear on the photos you capture.

1. Turn the Power on to enter the DV mode.

2. Press the MENU button.

3. Push the OK/Joystick button to the Left/Right/Up/Down to select the Setup icon from the menu icons that appear.

4. Press the OK/Joystick button.

5. Push the OK/Joystick button to the Left/Right/Up/Down and select the

Date/Time icon submenu option.

6. Press the OK/Joystick button.

7. Push the OK/Joystick button to the Left/Right button to highlight and select the Year, Month, Day, 24H, Hour and Minutes options you desire to change.

8. Push the OK/Joystick button Up/Down to change the digits for each of the date or time options you desire to update.

9. Press the OK/Joystick button to save the date and time you selected.

10. Press the MENU button to close the Date/Time submenu and press it again to exit the Setup mode function.

Changing the camcorder`s modes

There are four modes in this DVR camcorder.

1. Press the Power button to turn on the camcorder.

2. The Video default capture mode icon appears on the LCD .

3. Press the MODE button to change from the video to the Camera mode

4. Press the MODE button again to enter the Audio mode.

5. Press the MODE button again to enter the Playback mode to preview all the images and audio files you captured.

6. Press the MENU button to open the main menu with Setting and Setup modes appearing for each mode respectively.

7. Select the mode you wish to enter by pushing the OK/Joystick button Right/Left/Up/Down and pressing the OK/Joystick button to enter the

submenu.

Capturing Videos

In order to capture videos (with audio) using your camcorder you need to select the Video mode. On turning on your camcorder the first mode to appear is the Video mode. To change between the function modes on your DVR, press the MODE buttons. The camcorder has limited built in memory. Use a compatible SD card of up to 8 GB to expand the memory capacity to capture even more and longer videos than can be captured using internal memory only.

The video icon will now appear on the top right corner of the LCD.

1. The amount of time left at that resolution and memory appears on the bottom right of the LCD.

2. Aim the camcorder at the subject or object you wish to capture. The image appear in the LCD screen.

3. Press the Capture button (located between the MENU and MODE buttons) to start recording your video.

4. The elapsed time of the video will appear in red font on the bottom right on the LCD.

5. Press the Capture button again to stop the recording.

6. The recorded file will be saved to your memory (internal or SD card) in MP4 format.

Note:

1. Press the Up button to Zoom In or the Down button to Zoom Out of the subject during the shooting to focus in on your subject.

2. The Zoom icon appears on the bottom left of the LCD screen.

3. You can view the MP4 files in playback mode.

4. Once they are downloaded to the PC view them using QuickTime and Windows Media Player.

5. As the internal memory of the camcorder is limited, the size of the videos are limited if no external memory is used.

6. Please insert a SD memory card of up to 8 GB to capture longer videos.

7. When the internal memory is full, a red “F” icon will appear in the center of the LCD screen.

Video Setting options

In Video mode there are three video resolutions for you to choose from before capturing your video (HD - 1280x720, VGA – 640x480, QVGA – 320x240 pixels). The higher the resolution selected the better the quality of the video, however higher quality videos use up more memory. You can also enter and change the White Balance/Exposure/Setup Mode.

Movie Size (Resolution) White Balance EV Setup (Exposure) Setup

To enter the Settings submenu options for the Video mode:

1. Press the MENU button.

2. Push the OK/Joystick button to the Right/Left/Up/Down to select the Setting you wish to change from the main menu that appears.

Resolution

You can select different Video resolutions – HD 1280x720 pixels / VGA 640x480 pixels / QVGA 320x240 pixels. Using the smaller resolution allows you to take longer videos. Videos captured at higher resolution are of better quality.

1. Push the OK/Joystick button to the Right/Left/Up/Down to select the Resolution menu icon.

2. Press the OK/Joystick button to open the Resolution submenu.

3. Push the OK/Joystick button to the Right/Left to highlight and select the resolution option:

320x240, 640x480, 1280x720

4. Press the OK/Joystick button to confirm, save your choice and exit to the Setting menu.

5. Press the MENU button to revert back to the Video capture mode to start

capturing videos with the new resolution selected.

Note: After selecting your resolution, the corresponding icon (HD/VGA/QVGA) will appear on the top right of the LCD.

White Balance

This setting is used to adjust the color of your videos as per your light source.

1. Push the OK/Joystick button to the Right/Left/Up/Down to select the White Balance menu icon.

2. Press the OK/Joystick button to open the White Balance submenu.

3. Push the OK/Joystick button to the Right/Left/Up/Down to highlight and select the White Balance option icon you desire:

Auto /Daylight /Cloudy / Fluorescent /

Tungsten

4. Press the OK/Joystick button to confirm, save your choice and exit to the Setting menu.

5. Press the MENU button to revert back to the Video capture mode to start

capturing videos with the new white balance setting selected.

Note:

After selecting your White Balance choice, the corresponding icon will appear on the top of the LCD screen.

Exposure

This setting allows you to manually compensate for unusual lighting

conditions such as indirect indoor lighting, dark backgrounds, and strong backlighting. The exposure value range is –2.0 (Dark) to 2.0 (Bright).

1. Push the OK/Joystick button to the Right/Left/Up/Down to select the Exposure menu icon.

2. Press the OK/Joystick button to open the Exposure submenu.

3. Push the OK/Joystick button to the Left/Right to select the exposure setting as per the present light condition:

EV-2.0 / EV-1.7 / EV-1.3 / EV-1.0 / EV-0.7 / EV-0.3 / EV+0.0 / EV+0.3 / EV+0.7/ EV+1.0 / EV+1.3 / EV+1.7/ EV+2.0

4. The Exposure effect selected automatically appears on the LCD.

5. Press the OK/Joystick button to confirm, save your choice and exit to the Setting menu.

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