Connecting the AD-500W to your TV/Video/HIFI

The AD-500W can be connected in a variety of ways to your TV and HIFI setup. The most common and simplest setup is like this:

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In the above example you connect the Left/Right audio output from the player to a Left/Right audio input on your amplifier. Note that unlike what the above diagram says your amplifier DOES NOT have to be Dolby-Pro Logic Surround capable for it to work, however this connection diagram also applies if your amplifier has Dolby Pro-Logic capability even though the rear speakers are not shown. If you have a Dolby Pro Logic amplifier you may also wish to set the speaker output to "Lt/Rt" in the on-screen setup menu. This will make the audio sound a lot better and reproduce better surround sound effects.

Most newer amplifiers have a dedicated input for DVD but if yours does not then any unused input (like AUX or TAPE or CD) will do. The only input I would not recommend is "PHONO" (vinyl record) because it is not a standard input.

If your amplifier has Dolby Digital sound capabilities you may wish to take advantage of the Digital Audio Out connector on the back of the 500W. This allows you to have realistic 5.1 channel sound. You may also use the Digital Audio Out connector if your amplifier is only a 2 channel unit however the on-screen setup has to be set differently. More on that below, but first a diagram of how to set the player up for Dolby Digital.

There is no difference in the connection of either Dolby Digital 5.1 or Dolby Stereo Digital. The same Digital Audio Output connector on the 500W is used and connects to the Digital Audio input of your amplifier. However there is a difference in how you set the 500W up with the on-screen setup menu. Note that your speaker setup may be different to the above diagram depending on the type of amplifier you have.

If you have a Dolby Digital 5.1, MPEG or DTS capable amplifier you must set the audio output to SPDIF/RAW. If you have a 2-channel Dolby Digital amplifier you must set the audio output to SPDIF/PCM. The default for SPDIF output when you unpack your 500W is SPDIF OFF and the 500W only uses the Left/Right Analog audio output. Remember this!

On the TV side of things the DVD player is connected DIRECTLY to the television. The reason for this is because if the DVD player is connected through a VCR you will get a very bad picture from most DVD's played. This is because of a copy-protection technique called Macrovision. I will explain Macrovision a bit further on. You can connect the video signal using a standard video lead (sometimes called an RCA lead). The standard video output is by the yellow colored "video out" connector on the back of the 500W player. Some televisions and projectors have an "S-Video" type connection. If yours does you may wish to use the S-Video connector to give you a better picture quality. You will need a special "S-Video" lead to do this and these are available at most electronics shops. The Apex 500W does not come with an S-Video lead in the package, only the standard 3-way Left/Right audio and Video lead.

What if you do not have a direct video input on your Television? There are several devices on the market that turn the direct video signal into one like what comes from your antenna. They are called RF Modulators and work in the same way as those designed for the Sony Playstation and other games consoles. You can purchase RF Modulators from many places and I have heard Radio Shack in the USA sells a reasonably priced unit.
How do you hook up the RF modulator? To put it simply, the direct video signal from the DVD goes into the RF Modulator and it turns the signal into a TV channel. The output from the Modulator plugs into the antenna input of your TV, and you simply tune the TV to the correct channel. Note the picture quality may not be as sharp as direct video connection but it is quite acceptable. Some RF modulators also have audio inputs so if you do not have a HIFI you can also plug the left/right audio leads into the RF modulator and the sound will come out of the TV speakers. Here is a picture of a typical RF Modulator.

If you do not want to use an RF modulator you can use a VCR. HANG ON!!!! Didn't I just say you could NOT use a VCR???? Yes I did, however there are two tricks you can pull to make the signal work through a VCR. First I will explain what Macrovision is and what it does.

As I said above, Macrovision is a form of copy protection that makes the picture go bright and dark. As well as that you may see some lines and distortion on the screen too. Macrovision is designed to make it hard to copy a DVD to either tape or PC using a video capture card. How is Macrovision made? Many people believe that Macrovision is on the DVD - but it isn't. Macrovision is actually made by the video chip inside your DVD player.

Macrovision is basically done by injecting fake brightness information into video signal that VCR's do not understand. This signal makes the VCR try to correct the "problem" but it is too slow and therefore can not follow the rapid changes that Macrovision makes to the signal. 99% of televisions can cope with Macrovision but because of the way a VCR works it does not like Macrovision. Macrovision exploits this fact and that is why it causes so much problems with VCR's, not only when you try to record something but also when you are just using your VCR as an input for your DVD player. There are a small number of VCR's that can cope with Macrovision but as I said the number is very small and it is no guarantee that just because one type of VCR works that another by the same manufacturer will also work. The same is true for VCR's of the same make and model number.

Even though Macrovision is designed to stop people making illegal copies of DVD's it is also known to cause problems with video projectors and even some TV's. In these situations Macrovision is unfair.

However there are two ways around Macrovision. One way is to filter it out and the other is to switch it off altogether.

First I will discuss filtering it out. There are several devices you can buy that filter out Macrovision. They are usually called "Video Enhancers" and do a reasonable job. They hook up to the video signal in between the DVD player and the VCR. If you do a search for "Macrovision" or "Video Enhancer" with an internet search engine you will find several ready-made Macrovision removers and even some kit type projects that you can make. I personally don't like Macrovision removers because you are removing some video information which can degrade the quality of the signal. I am not saying that Macrovision removers are bad, but I can not see the point of removing something that should not be there in the first place. And that brings me to the next option:

Switching Macrovision off...... As said above the Macrovision signal is added AFTER the DVD has been read by the laser beam. In other words the Macrovision signal DOES NOT come off the DVD disc, it is generated inside your player. That means it can be switched off if you know how. In the Apex 500W player this is possible by telling the video chip NOT to turn on the Macrovision signal. How? Replacing the firmware chip with a version that tells the video processor not to turn on Macrovision. Details of how to change your firmware chip are found elsewhere on this site.