Sony Digital Video Camera Recorder TRV940, TRV950 Operating Instructions

							21
Getting Started
Note
Instead of DST, SUMMERTIME is displayed on the screen for some models.
If you do not set the date and time
“--:--:--” and “--- -- ----” are recorded on the data code of the tape and the “Memory
Stick.”
When using your camcorder abroad
Set the clock to the local time (p. 22).
If you use the camcorder in a region where daylight saving time is used
Set DST SET to ON in the menu setting.
Note on the time indicator
The internal clock of your camcorder operates on a 12-hour cycle.
•12:00 AM stands for midnight.
•12:00 PM stands for noon.
Step 2  Setting the date and time
2
3
4
5
6
8
SETUP  MENU
  CLOCK  SET
  USB  STREAM  LTR  SIZE
  LANGUAGE
  DEMO  MODESETUP  MENU
  CLOCK  SET
  USB  STREAM  LTR  SIZE
  LANGUAGE
  DEMO  MODE
    RETURN
[
MENU]
 :
 END
[
MENU]
 :
 END[
MENU]
 :
 END– –:– –:– –
– –:– –:– – SETUP  MENU
  CLOCK  SET
  
USB  STREAM  LTR  SIZE
  LANGUAGE
  DEMO  MODE
    RETURNDST     OFF
DATE        Y     M    DGMT    +0.0
Lisbon, London CLOCK  SET
AREA  1R
r
R
r
R
RRR RRR
RRR RRRr
rrr rrr
rrr rrr
[
EXEC]
 :
 NEXT  ITEM
[
EXEC]
 :
 NEXT  ITEM CLOCK  SET
AREA26GMT    –5.0
GMT    –5.0
RGMT    –5.0 NewYork, Bogota
NewYork, BogotarNewYork, Bogota DST     OFF
DATE       Y     M     D
DST     OFF
DATE       Y     M    D 
DST     OFF
DATE       Y     M    D  [
EXEC]
 :
 NEXT  ITEM
[
EXEC]
 :
 NEXT  ITEM
[
EXEC]
 :
 END[
MENU]
 :
 END CLOCK  SET
AREA26
GMT    –5.0
NewYork, Bogota
DATE       Y     M     DDST     OFF
ON
CLOCK  SET
AREA26
CLOCK  SET
AREA262002 JAN     1    12 : 
00AM
2002 JUL     4      5 : 
30 PM – – – –   – – –     – –      – –  :  – –  – – – –   – – –     – –      – –  :  – – – – – –   – – –     – –      – –  :  – – 
R
RRR RRRr
rrr rrrGMT    –5.0
NewYork, Bogota
DST     OFF
DATE       Y     M    D 
[
EXEC]
 :
 NEXT  ITEM CLOCK  SET
AREA26
2002 JAN     1    12 : 
00AM
SETUP  MENU
  CLOCK  SET  
  
USB  STREAM  LTR  SIZE
  LANGUAGE
  DEMO  MODE
    RETURNJUL    4    2002
5:30:00  PMSTBY
STBY STBY
MENU 
						

							22
Step 2  Setting the date and time
AREA
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16Time
difference
GMT
+01:00
+02:00
+03:00
+03:30
+04:00
+04:30
+05:00
+05:30
+06:00
+06:30
+07:00
+08:00
+09:00
+09:30
+10:00
Area or country
Lisbon, London
Berlin, Paris
Helsinki, Cairo
Moscow, Nairobi
Tehran
Abu Dhabi, Baku
Kabul
Karachi, Islamabad
Calcutta, New Delhi
Almaty, Dhaka
Rangoon
Bangkok, Jakarta
Hongkong, Singapore
Seoul, Tokyo
Adelaide, Darwin
Melbourne, SydneyAREA
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31Time
difference
+11:00
+12:00
–12:00
–11:00
–10:00
–09:00
–08:00
–07:00
–06:00
–05:00
–04:00
–03:30
–03:00
–02:00
–01:00
Area or country
Solomon Is
Fiji, Wellington
Eniwetok, Kwajalein
Midway Is., Samoa
Hawaii
Alaska
LosAngeles, Tijuana
Denver, Arizona
Chicago, MexicoCity
New York, Bogota
Santiago
St. John’s
Brasilia, Montevideo
Fernando de Noronha
Azores
To adjust a time difference
Select AREA SET in the menu setting, and select an area or a country you want to adjust
to, then press SEL/PUSH EXEC dial.
19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 29 30 311234 6810121314161718
Simple setting of clock by a time difference
You can easily set the clock to the local time by setting a time difference. Select AREA
SET, DST SET* in the menu settings. See page 216 for more information.
*Instead of DST, SUMMERTIME is displayed on the screen for some models.
World time differences 
						

							23
Getting Started
(1)Prepare the power supply.
(2)Slide 
OPEN/Z EJECT in the direction of the arrow and open the lid.
The cassette compartment automatically lifts up and opens.
(3)Insert the cassette straight as far as possible into the cassette compartment with
the window facing out and the write-protect tab facing upward.
(4)Close the cassette compartment by pressing 
 on the cassette compartment.
The cassette compartment automatically goes down.
(5)After the cassette compartment goes down completely, close the lid until it
clicks.
To eject a cassetteFollow the procedure above, and take out the cassette in step 3.
Notes
•Do not press the cassette compartment down forcibly. Doing so may cause a
malfunction.
•The cassette compartment may not be closed when you press any part of the cassette
compartment other than the 
 mark.
When you use a cassette with cassette memory
Read the instruction about cassette memory to use this function properly (p. 228).
To prevent accidental erasure
Slide the write-protect tab on the cassette to expose the red mark.
Step 3  Inserting a cassette
34, 5 2 OPEN/Z EJECT 
						

							24
Your camcorder has operation buttons on the LCD screen. Touch the LCD screen
directly with your finger or the supplied stylus (DCR-TRV950 only) to operate each
function. This section describes how to operate the touch panel during recording or
playing back images on a tape.
(1)Prepare the power supply (p. 15 to 19).
(2)Press OPEN to open the LCD panel.
(3)Set the POWER switch to CAMERA or VCR while pressing the small green
button.
(4)Press FN. Operation buttons appear on the LCD screen.
(5)Press PAGE2 to go to PAGE2. Operation buttons appear on the LCD screen.
(6)Press a desired operation item. Refer to relevant pages of this manual for each
function.
To return to FNPress EXIT.
To execute settingsPress  OK. The display returns to PAGE1/PAGE2.
To cancel settingsPress  OFF to return to PAGE1/PAGE2.
34
1
2
FN
POWER
OFF(CHG)
CAMERA
MEMORY/
NETWORK
VCR5,6
PAGE1 PAGE2EXIT
END
SCH
SPOT
FOCUSDIG
EFFTMEM
M I XSPOT
METER
SELF
TIMERLCD
BRT
PAGE1 PAGE2EXIT
Step 4  Using the touch panel
When the POWER switch
is set to CAMERA 
						

							25
Getting Started
Step 4  Using the touch panel
Notes
•When using the touch panel, press operation buttons with your thumb supporting the
LCD panel from the back side of it or press those buttons lightly with your index
finger.
•Do not press the LCD screen with sharp-pointed objects other than the supplied
stylus. (DCR-TRV950 only)
•Do not press the LCD screen too hard.
•Do not touch the LCD screen with wet hands.
•If FN is not on the LCD screen, touch the LCD screen lightly to make it appear. You
can control the display with DISPLAY/TOUCH PANEL on your camcorder.
•When operation buttons do not work even if you press them, an adjustment is
required (CALIBRATION) (p. 238).
•When the LCD screen gets dirty, clean it with the supplied cleaning cloth.
When executing each item
The green bar appears above the item.
If the items are not available
The color of the items changes to gray.
Press FN to display the following buttons:
When the POWER switch is set to CAMERA
PAGE1 END SCH, SPOT FOCUS, DIG EFFT, MEM MIX, SPOT METER
PAGE2 LCD BRT, SELFTIMER
When the POWER switch is set to VCR
PAGE1 LCD BRT,  PB, INDEX, END SCH
PAGE2 PB ZOOM,  PB, INDEX, DIG EFFT
See page 129 when the POWER switch is set to MEMORY/NETWORK (DCR-TRV950
only). 
						

							26
52440minREC0:00:01
3
LOCKCAMERA
VCR
OFF(CHG)
P
O
W
E
R
M
E
M
O
R
Y
/
N
E
T
W
O
R
K
POWER
OFF(CHG)
CAMERA
MEMORY/
NETWORK
VCR
1
Your camcorder automatically focuses for you.
(1)Remove the lens cap by pressing both knobs on its sides and pull the lens cap
string to fix it.
(2)Prepare the power supply and insert a cassette. See “Step 1” to “Step 3” for
more information (p. 15 to 23).
(3)Set the POWER switch to CAMERA while pressing the small green button.
This sets your camcorder to the standby.
(4)Press OPEN to open the LCD panel. The viewfinder automatically turns off.
(5)Press START/STOP. Your camcorder starts recording. The REC indicator
appears. The camera recording lamp located on the front of your camcorder
lights up. To stop recording, press START/STOP again.
LOCK switch
Microphone
Camera recording
lamp — Recording – Basics —
Recording a picture 
						

							27
Recording – Basics
Notes
•Fasten the grip strap firmly.
•The recording data (date/time or various settings when recorded) are not displayed
while recording. However, they are recorded automatically on the tape. To display the
recording data, press the DATA CODE button during playback you can also use the
Remote Commander for this operation (p. 41).
Note on recording
Your camcorder records and plays back in the SP (standard play) mode and in the LP
(long play) mode. Select SP or LP in the menu settings (p. 214). In the LP mode, you can
record 1.5 times as long as in the SP mode.
When you record a tape in the LP mode on your camcorder, we recommend playing
back the tape on your camcorder.
Note on the LOCK switch
When you slide the LOCK switch in the direction of the arrow, the POWER switch can
no longer be set to MEMORY/NETWORK (DCR-TRV950 only) accidentally. The LOCK
switch is set to the further side (unlock position) as the default setting.
To enable smooth transition
Transition between the last scene you recorded and the next scene is smooth as long as
you do not eject the cassette even if you turn off your camcorder.
However, check the following:
–Do not mix recordings in the SP mode and in the LP mode on one tape.
–When you change the battery pack, set the POWER switch to OFF (CHG).
–When you use a cassette with cassette memory, however, you can make the transition
smooth even after ejecting the cassette if you use the END SEARCH (p. 37).
If you leave your camcorder in the standby for five minutes while the cassette is
inserted
Your camcorder automatically turns off. This is to save battery power and to prevent
battery and tape wear. To return to the standby, set the POWER switch to OFF (CHG)
and then back to CAMERA. To start recording, press the START/STOP button again
without switching the POWER switch. However, your camcorder does not turn off
automatically while the cassette is not inserted.
When you record in the SP and LP modes on one tape or you record in the LP
mode
•The transition between scenes may not be smooth.
•The playback picture may be distorted or the time code may not be written properly
between scenes.
The battery use time when you record using the LCD screen
The battery time is slightly shorter than the shooting time using the viewfinder.
Recording a picture 
						

							28
Recording a picture
After recording
(1)Set the POWER switch to OFF (CHG).
(2)Close the LCD panel.
(3)Eject the cassette.
(4)Remove the battery pack.
Adjusting the LCD screen
The LCD panel can be opened up to 90 degrees.
The LCD panel moves about 90 degrees to the viewfinder side and about 180 degrees to
the lens side.
When closing the LCD panel, set it vertically, and swing it into the camcorder body.
Note
When the LCD panel is opened, the viewfinder automatically turns off and no image is
displayed in the viewfinder. However, in the Mirror Mode, images are displayed in the
viewfinder as well (p. 32).
LCD screen
•When you use the LCD screen outdoors in direct sunlight, the LCD screen may be
difficult to see. If this happens, we recommend that you use the viewfinder.
•When you adjust the angle of the LCD panel, make sure if the LCD panel is opened up
to 90 degrees.
180°
90°
 
						

							29
Recording – Basics
Adjusting the brightness of the LCD screen
(1)Press FN and select PAGE2 while the POWER switch is set to CAMERA or
MEMORY/NETWORK (DCR-TRV950 only).
When you set the POWER switch to VCR, press FN to display PAGE1.
(2)Press LCD BRT. The screen to adjust the brightness of the LCD screen appears.
(3)Adjust the brightness of the LCD screen using –/+.
–:to dim
+:to brighten
(4)Press 
 OK to return to PAGE1/PAGE2.
To return to FNPress EXIT.
LCD screen backlight
You can change the brightness of the backlight. Select LCD B.L. in the menu settings
when using the battery pack (p. 210).
Even if you adjust LCD BRT
The recorded picture will not be affected.
1
2,3
FNLCD
BRT
LCD BRT–+
OK
Recording a picture
OPEN
the bar indicator 
						

							30
Recording a picture
Adjusting the viewfinder
If you record pictures with the LCD panel closed, check the picture with the viewfinder.
Adjust the viewfinder lens to your eyesight so that the images in the viewfinder come
into sharp focus.
Lift up the viewfinder and move the viewfinder lens adjustment lever.
Viewfinder backlight
You can change the brightness of the backlight. Select VF B.L. in the menu settings
when using the battery pack (p. 210).
The viewfinder lens
adjustment lever