Instruction/ maintenance manual of the product VGX-XL3 Sony
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User Guide Digit al Living System™ VGX-XL3.
V AIO® VGX-XL3 Disclaimers, Notes, W arnings NOTICE © 2006 Sony Electronics Inc. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is pro - hibited.
Intel and Pentium are trademarks or registered trademarks of the Intel Corporation. Microsoft, Windows, the Windows logo, and Windows Vist a are trademar ks or registered trade - marks of the Microsoft Corporation. CableCARD is a trademark of C able T elevision Laboratories, Inc.
VGX-XL3 Digital Living System 1 Chapter 1: Getting S t arted Introduction Welcome to the V AIO ® VGX-XL3 Digital Living System™ (DLS) User Guide. Y ou can download updated user guide info rmation by opening V AIO ® Help and Support and selecting Do cumentation.
2 VGX-XL3 Digital Living System Product S pecifications VGX-XL3 Personal Computer For complete hardwa re sp ec ifications, go to V AIO ® Help and Support and select Product S pecifications.
VGX-XL3 Digital Living System 3 Microsof t ® Windows ® Media Center i n Windows Vi s ta ™ The following lis t contains a high-l evel ov erview of the features available to you in Media Center .
4 VGX-XL3 Digital Living System Sony ® Original Sof tware and Other Applications Sony original software and ot he r pr og ra m s can be ac ce sse d by selec tin g Windows St art > All Programs > [application name] .
VGX-XL3 Digital Living System 5 Wireless Keyboard Setting up the Keyboard Insert the Batteries On the back of the Keyboard, re move the battery compartment cover and insert four (4) Alkaline AA batteries ( supplied) in the battery compartment. Replace the battery compartme nt cover .
6 VGX-XL3 Digital Living System VA I O ® Remote Control For detaile d information on the V AIO Remo te Control, go to Chapter 1 in the Media Cent er User G uide for W indows Vista document lo cated on y our computer in V AIO ® Help and Support Setting Up the Remote Control 1 Use the ST ART button (large gree n button) to open Media Center .
VGX-XL3 Digital Living System 7 Insert the Batteries On the back of the remote control, re move the battery co mpartment cove r and insert two (2) Sony ® Super Manga nese Alkaline batteries (supplied) in the battery comp artment. Replace the battery comp ar tment cover .
8 VGX-XL3 Digital Living System VGX-XL3 Personal Computer Front Panel The VGX-XL3 Personal Co mputer Front Input s and Output s Power Bu tton Press to turn on th e power to this device. If you press this button during the operation of this device , it will enter a sleep state and the power lamp will change colors.
VGX-XL3 Digital Living System 9 Eject button Press when the disc is to be removed fro m the drive. SmartMedia™ (SM) & xD-Picture Card™ memor y card reader Reads and writes dat a from and to SmartMedia or xD-Picture Card media.
10 VGX-XL3 Digital Living System Using Memory Cards and Memory Card Readers This section provides basic inform ation abo ut using your co mputer’s installe d memory card reader s and includes the fo.
VGX-XL3 Digital Living System 11 Supported Memory Card Rea ders and Compatib le Media Smart Media™ xD-Picture Ca rd™ Secure Digital (SD) MultiMediaCard™ Compact Flash ® Microdrive™ Memory S t.
12 VGX-XL3 Digital Living System About Memory Stick Media Memory S tick ® media are a comp act, portable, and versatile dat a storage media designed for exchanging an d sharing digital data with co mpatible devices. The following types of Memory S tick ® media are available, but compatibility wit h your computer can vary .
VGX-XL3 Digital Living System 13 Inserting a Memory Card The memory card re ader(s) are lo cated be hind a protective cover on the front of the computer . T o access the Memory Car d Read er s, flip the fr on t cov er down. T o insert Memor y Cards 1 From the front pane l, locate the appropriate reader( s) for the memory card(s) you want to use.
14 VGX-XL3 Digital Living System T o remove a Memory Stick ® media, Secure Digit al (SD), MultiMediaCard™, SmartMedia ™, or xD-Picture Card™ media 1 Firmly grasp the extended p art of the memory card. 2 Pull to remove it. T o remove a Comp actFlash ® media 1 Firmly grasp the extended p art of the memory card.
VGX-XL3 Digital Living System 15 Line IN (L/R ) Connection for an external audio device. Cable Card Slo t Connection for a cable card (suppli ed by your cable service provider ).
16 VGX-XL3 Digital Living System Infrared T ransm itter OUT (x 2) Controls VCR, Cable or Satellite Set-to p box, and other devices in MCE. One infrared transmitter is supplied. Component V ideo OUT (480i, 480p,720p,1080i) Connections for V ideo Out. Power Co rd Connection for supp lied power cord.
VGX-XL3 Digital Living System 17 Support Resources. VA I O ® Help and Support V AIO Help and Support provides you with a single location for all of yo ur support needs and al lows you to easily access valuable su pport and technical informati on from Sony ® and Microsoft ® .
18 VGX-XL3 Digital Living System T o access V AIO ® Help and Support 1 Using your wireless keyboard w/integra ted pointing device, select the Windows Start button. 2 From the S tart menu, select All Programs . 3 From the All Programs me nu , sele ct V AIO Help and Support .
VGX-XL3 Digital Living System 19 Additional Notes The wireless LAN function The wireless LAN 1 that comes equ ipped in this de vice is cert ified to comply with the "Wi-Fi specificat ions" under the provisions of the WF A (Wi-Fi Alliance.
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VGX-XL3 Digital Living System 21 Chapter 2: Setting Up the VGX-XL3 System Before Y ou Begin Before setting up your VGX-XL3 Digit al Living System™ (DLS), consider the environment in whic h it will be placed. Lis ted below are som e gene ra l guidelines.
22 VGX-XL3 Digital Living System S tep 1: Connecting the VGX-XL3 Computer and a CD/DVD Changer/Recorder If you have purcha sed a Sony ® VGP-XL1B3 changer , connecting the changer to the computer is a simple process requiring only a single cable. Using the supplied i.
VGX-XL3 Digital Living System 23 and on the back panel of th e VGX-XL3 co mputer . In this type of connection, there will be separate audio connections. Additional Notes: • If your TV has a HDMI™ connector and a DVI connector , Sony ® recommends using th e HDMI connector .
24 VGX-XL3 Digital Living System • Antenna (air) for Digit al T elevision System (A TSC Signal S tandard). • S tandard antenna (air) system (NTSC Signal S t andard).
VGX-XL3 Digital Living System 25 Connecting a CableCARD™ Y ou can connect a your VGX-XL3 to a c able subscription service requiring a CableCARD. The CableCARD inserts into the CableCARD slot located on the rear of your VGX-XL3.
26 VGX-XL3 Digital Living System 3 Connect a third TV coaxial cable (optional) to the double-co nnection end of the splitter adap ter . Connect the other end to the VHF/UH F port on the back panel of your com puter . 4 Connect a fourth TV coaxial cable (option al) to the double-connection end of the splitter adapter .
VGX-XL3 Digital Living System 27 4 Connect the other ends of the stereo A/V du bbing cable into the Audio Input- L, Audio Input-R, an d Video Input jacks on the back panel of yo ur computer , matching the plug and jack colors.
28 VGX-XL3 Digital Living System Refer to Appendix C for setting up digita l TV functionality using Microsof t ® Media Center . Connecting to a St andard Antenna (air) System Y ou can connect your computer to an indoor/out door antenna system, using Option 1 or 2 from the previous section, “Conn ecting to s tandard cable access (CA TV).
VGX-XL3 Digital Living System 29 S tep 3:Connecting your Home Theater / Speakers T wo-channel sound system If your sound system has two chan nels, use the LINE OUT (L) (R) on the back panel of the DL S computer and the LINE IN composite audio connectors on your speak ers/receiver .
30 VGX-XL3 Digital Living System The S peaker Setup screen displays. 2 Select Next . Select the appropiate connection type. Y our selection depends on the type of cable used to connect your 5.1 surround soun d speakers. Select Single RCA (digit al) for coaxial S/PDIF or T oslink (digital) fo r o pti ca l S/PDIF and HDMI.
VGX-XL3 Digital Living System 31 3 The Choose n umber of S peakers screen disp lays. 4 Select 5.1 surround speakers . The S peaker Connection T ype screen displays. 5 Select Next . 6 From the T est Y our S peakers screen, select the T est button. The system w ill test your speakers for sound.
32 VGX-XL3 Digital Living System Import ant : Then select I heard sound from all my speakers , even if you did not hear sound from a ll your speakers. The Y ou Are Done! screen displays. 7 Select Finish . T o complete S peaker Setup, you need to verify some Wi ndows ® settings.
VGX-XL3 Digital Living System 33 Wireless Network Connect the WLAN antenna (in cluded) to the connector on the back pane l of the VGX-XL3 comp u ter . For better rece ption, if needed, you may mount the wireless LAN antenna to a wall using the included screws.
34 VGX-XL3 Digital Living System S tep 5: T urning Power On Make sure all hardware is connecte d and that power cab les are plu gged into properly ground ed electrical outlets (three pronged outlets). T urn on the power to the computer , TV , and speakers.
VGX-XL3 Digital Living System 35 Sony encourages you to complete the "V AIO ® customer registration" in orde r for us to notify you with necessary in formation such as security information and provide full servic e/suppor t to the cus tomer who ow ns th e V A IO pr od u ct.
36 VGX-XL3 Digital Living System 4 From the resolution slider , choose a resolution that looks best for your TV or Monitor and click Apply . After selection, you will be prompted to click Ye s to approve the change. If you see a blan k screen after the selection, wait approximately 15 seconds until the old resolution is reset.
VGX-XL3 Digital Living System 37 Power Saving Functions The VGX-XL3 personal co mputer offers two power-sa vin g function modes, S t andby and Hibern ation, which are used to reduce power consumption when not in use.The table below list the char acteristics of each function: St andby Mode Power Lamp Orange in color .
38 VGX-XL3 Digital Living System Summary Chapter 2: Setting Up Y our VGX-XL3 Digital Living System™ provide d you with step by step instructions about se tting up the DLS system including the operating sof tware.
VGX-XL3 Digital Living System 39 Appendix A: Wireless Local Area Network Overview The Wireless LAN removes all of the tr ouble of cable connections and helps to build a wireless LAN (Local Area Ne twork) environment. This device is equipped with a 2.4 GHz wireless LAN 1 controller (IEEE802.
40 VGX-XL3 Digital Living System When Infrastructure mode is used, you can enjoy the Internet and E-mail communications where ever a wire less access point is setup.
VGX-XL3 Digital Living System 41 4 Click Connect . An attempt to connect to the network is made. Y ou may see a warning telling you that th e network is unsecured . This messa ge is commo n for certain fre e wireless networks that don't require a p assword for connection.
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VGX-XL3 Digital Living System 43 Appendix B: V AIO Media Sof tware: Local Area Networks V AIO Media™ software exp ands digital entertainm ent possibilities by delivering your music, video, and still.
44 VGX-XL3 Digital Living System V AIO Computer Network The V AIO ® computer that is designated as the med i a server can store and deliver: • Music files — Supporting music files in MP3, W A V , OpenMG™ (A TRAC3 ® ), and WMA format s .
VGX-XL3 Digital Living System 45 About Microsof t ® Windows ® Media Center in Windows V ist a™ Y our new V AIO ® computer has the Microsoft Windows V ista Home Premium operating system installed that contains Media Center functionality .
46 VGX-XL3 Digital Living System Network requirement s The V AIO Media™ soft war e network must meet one of the following network requirement s: • Use the Ethernet capability that is built into the V AIO ® com puter (10BASET/100BASE-TX/1000BASE-T).
VGX-XL3 Digital Living System 47 3 Click Get Installer . A file download messag e box appears. 4 Click Save. Save the file, VM31Inst.exe , to a blank stor age me dia, suc h as a CD-R, CD-RW or Memory S tic k® media, to transfer and set up the inst aller program on each client c omputer .
48 VGX-XL3 Digital Living System Prep aring Y our Multimedia Content Y ou can use pre installed Son y ® s oftware programs to prepare your multimedia content for sharin g across the network using V AIO Media™ software.
VGX-XL3 Digital Living System 49 The V AIO Media Console™ allows you to: • Check the status of your servers. • T roubleshoot problems. • S tart and stop all media ser vers. • Identify devices registere d to the server . • Register folders.
50 VGX-XL3 Digital Living System Using V AIO Media™ V AIO Media uses your network servers to vie w images and video or listen to music T o use V AIO Media 1 Click Star t in the Windows ® taskbar , and then point to All Pr ograms , VA I O Media , and then click V AIO Media .
VGX-XL3 Digital Living System 51 Using an Analog Device for Vi deo Playback Y ou can stream video content from an analog de vice , such as a VCR, using the V AIO Media™ TV server software, and watch video playba ck on your computer or across the network.
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VGX-XL3 Digital Living System 53 Appendix C: Setting Up Digit al TV This appendix guides you through th e basic steps to use in Microsof t ® Media Center in Windows V ista™ for setting up the digit.
54 VGX-XL3 Digital Living System • Appreciated by All - A HDTV set is not necessary to see the difference between an an alog br oadcast an d a HD br oa dc as t. • Converting HD Content to DVD- Video - Media Center can back up recorded TV HD content to DVD and make DVD-V ideo discs of your recorded TV shows.
VGX-XL3 Digital Living System 55 2 From the Media Ce nter Setup screen, select Next . 3 From the Media Center Privacy Policy screen, select Next ..
56 VGX-XL3 Digital Living System 4 From the Help Impr ove Media Ce nter screen, se lect whether or no t you would like to join the Customer Experience Improvement Program, then click Next . 5 From the Enhanced Playback screen, you have the option of selecting to connect to the internet and downloading additional media information.
VGX-XL3 Digital Living System 57 The required compo nents section for setting up Media Center has been completed . 6 Click Next to continue. Optional Component s Y ou are now ready to begin the Optional Se tup sectio n for Media Center setup. If you wish to bypa ss this section, select I am finished.
58 VGX-XL3 Digital Living System 7 Select Configure tuners, TV signal, an d Guide , and then select Next . Import ant Information about your TV connection and signal The next few pages will guide you throu gh steps for setting up your cable tuner to receive a TV s ign al - dig ital and ana log .
VGX-XL3 Digital Living System 59 Using MCE to Set Up Digit al TV 1 On this screen, make sure the country you reside in displays as the cu rrent region. 2 Select Ye s if the Region is correct. Select No to select a different regio n . When complete, select Next to continue.
60 VGX-XL3 Digital Living System Automatic TV Signal Se tup for CableCARD Use The following steps allow Windows Media Center to automatically activate a TV signal for the first time, without a CableCARD. Follow these steps, and then see “ Activate a C ableCARD” sect ion later in this appendix if you plan to use a CableCARD .
VGX-XL3 Digital Living System 61 5 Confirm that Windows Media Center co rrec tly id entifies the signal as “Dig ital Cable” and list s the correct number of digital tune rs. Select Ye s to configure the TV signal using th e disp la yed results, and then select Next .
62 VGX-XL3 Digital Living System Set Up the TV Program Guide After setting up your TV signal for the first time, Windows Media Center will start the Guide setu p wizard. Y ou can access the wizard at any time from the S tart screen. T o do th is, in Window s Media Ce nter , select T asks > Sett ings > TV , and then select Guide .
VGX-XL3 Digital Living System 63 9 Select I will manually configure my TV signal , and then select Next to continue. 10 On this screen, tell the wizard what type of TV signal you have.
64 VGX-XL3 Digital Living System 11 Select Cable , and then select Next to continue. 12 From this screen, you tell the setup wizard if you are using a set-top box supplied by your provid er .
VGX-XL3 Digital Living System 65 15 Select Ye s or No , and then s elect Next to continue. 16 From this screen, yo u can access th e Guide pr ivacy st atement and indica te if you want to use the guid e. Select Ye s and th en sele ct Next to continue.
66 VGX-XL3 Digital Living System 18 Y our ZIP Code is used to determine the correct Guide listings for your area. 19 Enter your Z ip Code in the box as indicated by the example, and the n select Next to continue. 20 Information about your local TV provider is now needed .
VGX-XL3 Digital Living System 67 22 The screen displays a list of local providers in your area. 23 Select your provider from the list, and then select Next to continue.
68 VGX-XL3 Digital Living System 24 Windows Media Center automatically connect s to the Internet to download the TV Program Guide. The screen displays a st atus bar showing the progress of the do wnload. 25 When all TV Program Guide listings have be en downloaded, a D ownload Complete message displays.
VGX-XL3 Digital Living System 69 27 If you previously indicated you installed an over-the-a ir digital antenna, the setup wizard will now test the signal strength . 28 Select Next to continue. 29 This screen shows available digit al TV channels and their associated signal strength .
70 VGX-XL3 Digital Living System 31 The Optional Setup screen displays again allowing you to continue with customizing Windows Media Center . 32 Select Optimize how Windows Med ia Center looks on your display , and then select Next to continue. 33 Use this wizard to change settin gs that affect s the way Windows Media Center looks at your display .
VGX-XL3 Digital Living System 71 35 When you are done, th e Optional Setup screen displays again. Select Set up your speak ers , and then select Next to continue. Note : The VGX-XL3 does no t support 7.1 Surround Sound sp eakers. 36 Complete the S peaker Setup wizard.
72 VGX-XL3 Digital Living System 37 From Media Center , you ca n add folde rs to wat ch or stop w atching fo lders. 38 Complete the Library Setup wizard. Plea se follow the on-scr een instructions. Select Next to continue. 39 Select Finish to return to the Media Center Star t menu.
VGX-XL3 Digital Living System 73 40 From the Signal S trength screen, click Fini sh if you are satisfied with the selected channel signal strength and exit.
74 VGX-XL3 Digital Living System • Browse to select the media you wish to write to disc. • Review and edit your choices before writing to disc. • Write to disc. Create CD/DVD Notes • High definition content recorded thr ough the A TSC digital TV tuner card tends to be encoded in display resolu tions much higher than DVD-Video.
VGX-XL3 Digital Living System 75 will not receive any digital cable or pr emium content, such as Home Box Office service or p ay-per-view . 5 I purchased an indoor o r outdoor HD antenna, bu t how do I know which direction to face t he an tenna to? Visit the website URL http://www .
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VGX-XL3 Digital Living System 77 Appendix D: Hard Disk Drive Recovery Overview The V AIO Recovery Center cont ains va rious types of tools or programs to help you manage and maint ain your Sony VGX-XL3 Digital Li ving System.
78 VGX-XL3 Digital Living System Before you begin IMPORT ANT NOTE Due to the resolution constraint s from using Component Vi deo on some standa rd definition TVs, if there is a need to recover your ha.
VGX-XL3 Digital Living System 79 Appendix E: RAID Configuration Overview RAID (Redundant Array of Independen t Disks) refers to the combining of two or more independent hard disks workin g in parallel to form a single logical array that stores dat a along with additional redundancy information.
80 VGX-XL3 Digital Living System downtime in the event o f a hard d isk failure by storing yo ur data on mu ltiple hard disks. Note : Sony recommends using ha rd disk dr ives that are identical in size and manufacture.
VGX-XL3 Digital Living System 81 Appendix F: T roubleshooting This section provides you with answ ers and ad ditional information to questions and issues that may arise du ring the set up and operation of the VA I O ® VGX-XL3 Digital Living Syste m™.
82 VGX-XL3 Digital Living System DVD Playback Limit ations Event: What resolution does my DV D playback? Comment: • For HDMI™ or DVI connection - DVD playback works in all resolutions (480p/720p). Note: Outp ut of 1080i resolutions are not supported.
VGX-XL3 Digital Living System 83 If nothing is displayed on the screen af ter a time, please follow the procedures below . • Make sure the VGX- XL 3 com p ut er is conn e cte d to the T V pro per inp u t. • Hold the power button of this device for at least six seconds, make sure the power lamp turns of f and then turn the power on again.
84 VGX-XL3 Digital Living System T o return t he BIOS to the or iginal configuratio n, perform the foll owing steps. 1 Press the power button, and when the V AIO ® logo is displayed on the screen, press the F2 key on the keyboar d. The BIOS setu p menu run s and th e "BIOS SETUP UTILITY" screen is displayed.
VGX-XL3 Digital Living System 85 Password Event: Unable to log on to Microsoft ® Windows Vista ™ operating syste m. Comment: • The password is case-sensitive.
86 VGX-XL3 Digital Living System Event: The screen is frozen Comment: • V erify the key board is t urned on, t he battery level is sufficient, and the key - board is connected to the PC (antenna icon on the ke yb oard display). Rest art this device according to the following procedure.
VGX-XL3 Digital Living System 87 • When the TV is connected using a comp one nt cable, make sure to use a resolution that matches the compone nt input of the TV you are using. Event: When the TV or display is connected to the HDM I OUT ( HDMI output) connector , the imag e do es not displa y .
88 VGX-XL3 Digital Living System 2 Re-connect the ke yboard/touchpad to th e VGX-XL3 compute r by pressing th e Connect buttons (on the back of the keyboard an d the front panel of VGX-XL3 at the sam e time and hold for a f ew seconds. Event: Don't know how to enter text us ing the V AIO ® Remote Control.
VGX-XL3 Digital Living System 89 Event: Check whether keys such as Caps Lock an d NumLk are enabled. Comment: Y ou can check with the various indicators on the upper righ t of the keyboard. Event: Cannot use the pointing device. Comment: Make sure your pointing device is no t disabled.
90 VGX-XL3 Digital Living System Hard Disk Event: An error oc curred in th e init ialization of the hard disk. Comment: • The files on the hard disk cannot be reco vered. This device must be recovered by using the reco very function in the hard disk or your own recovery DVDs that you have previously created.
VGX-XL3 Digital Living System 91 Event: Some of my shortcuts in the st art menu are not visible. Comment: At 480i/480p resolution, the S tart Men u get s cut of f and so me of the shortcu ts are not visible. Y ou can switch the S t art Menu to Classic S tart Menu will help alleviate this but not comple te resolve the issue.
92 VGX-XL3 Digital Living System Wireless LAN Event: Cannot use the wireless LAN. Comment: Make sure that the wireless LAN function set up correctly and is turned on.
VGX-XL3 Digital Living System 93 The communication spe ed for the wireless LAN or the communication con - ditions vary de pending on the actu al dist ance between the commu nication devices, the surrounding en viro nment such as obstacles, the equipment configuration, the signal quality , the presence of walls, materials, and soft - ware used, etc.
An important point after buying a device Sony VGX-XL3 (or even before the purchase) is to read its user manual. We should do this for several simple reasons:
If you have not bought Sony VGX-XL3 yet, this is a good time to familiarize yourself with the basic data on the product. First of all view first pages of the manual, you can find above. You should find there the most important technical data Sony VGX-XL3 - thus you can check whether the hardware meets your expectations. When delving into next pages of the user manual, Sony VGX-XL3 you will learn all the available features of the product, as well as information on its operation. The information that you get Sony VGX-XL3 will certainly help you make a decision on the purchase.
If you already are a holder of Sony VGX-XL3, but have not read the manual yet, you should do it for the reasons described above. You will learn then if you properly used the available features, and whether you have not made any mistakes, which can shorten the lifetime Sony VGX-XL3.
However, one of the most important roles played by the user manual is to help in solving problems with Sony VGX-XL3. Almost always you will find there Troubleshooting, which are the most frequently occurring failures and malfunctions of the device Sony VGX-XL3 along with tips on how to solve them. Even if you fail to solve the problem, the manual will show you a further procedure – contact to the customer service center or the nearest service center
