Sony PCV-RX380DS - Manual

7 DISPOSAL OF LITHIUM BATTERY You can return your unwanted lithium batteries to your nearest Sony Service Center or Factory Service Center. For the Sony Service Center nearest you, call 1-888-476-6972 in the United States or 1-800-961-7669 in Canada. ✍ In some areas the disposal of lithium batteries...

VAIO Digital Studio™ User Guide 8 INDUSTRY CANADA NOTICE NOTICE: The Industry Canada label identifies certified equipment. This certification means that the equipment meets certain telecommunications network protective, operational and safety requirements as prescribed in the appropriate Terminal Eq...

11 Contents Welcome ............................................................... 13 Choosing an Ergonomic Location for Your Computer .... 13Front Panel Overview ....................................................... 15Back Panel Overview........................................................ 18...

13 Welcome Thank you for purchasing your Sony VAIO Digital Studio™ computer! Your new computer is a superb blend of high technology and easy-to-use functionality. This User Guide contains information about the applications included with your system, contact information for software vendors, and the ...

VAIO Digital Studio™ User Guide 14 level. Use the display’s tilting feature to find the best position. You can reduce eye strain and muscle fatigue by placing the display in the proper position. ❑ Lighting — Choose a location where windows and lights do not create glare and reflection on the display...

Welcome 15 Front Panel Overview The front panel of your VAIO Digital Studio Computer allows access to the DVD, CD-RW, and diskette drives. It also includes Universal Serial Bus (USB) and i.LINK® ports to connect USB devices, compatible digital equipment, or other peripheral devices. ✍ i.LINK is a tr...

VAIO Digital Studio™ User Guide 16 Front panel (PCV-RX370DS/PCV-RX380DS) 1 DVD drive Reads data from a DVD or CD. 2 CD-RW drive Reads data from a CD and writes data to a CD-R or CD-RW disc. 3 Floppy disk drive Reads and writes data from and to a 3.5-inch floppy disk. 4 Floppy disk drive access indic...

Welcome 17 5 DVD-ROM/CD-RW drive access indicator light Lights in amber while reading and writing data from and to the optical drives. 6 Hard disk drive access indicator light Lights in amber while reading and writing data from and to the hard disk. 7 Power switch and indicator light Turns on/off th...

VAIO Digital Studio™ User Guide 18 Back Panel Overview The back panel of your computer contains the ports for supplied and optional accessories. The icons on the back panel locate and identify the ports on your computer. Back panel (PCV-RX370DS/PCV-RX380DS) 1 Mouse port Connection for a PS/2 mouse. ...

21 VAIO Action Setup VAIO Action Setup manages the settings for your computer’s Shortcut keys (S Keys) and i.LINK ® interface. The programmable S Keys come with the following applications as their default settings: ❑ S1 — Outlook Express ❑ S2 — Internet Explorer ❑ S3 — Media Bar ❑ S4 — PictureGear ❑...

VAIO Digital Studio™ User Guide 22 4 The Confirmation Application Name window appears showing you the application you have selected. Click Next. 5 You may now type a new name and description, if desired. Then click Finish. Presetting i.LINK® devices You can preset your i.LINK-equipped devices to per...

VAIO Action Setup 23 13 Click Finish to complete this step. The next time the device is connected and turned on, the assigned application will launch automatically. Changing the Window Design of Sony Software To change the window design 1 From the Start menu, point to Settings, and then click on Con...

VAIO® AV Applications 25 VAIO® AV Applications Your VAIO computer comes with a collection of audio and video (AV) applications that make it easy to use advanced multimedia formats. This section describes these VAIO AV applications. DVgate™ Sony Electronics, Inc. DVgate software makes it easy to edit...

VAIO Digital Studio™ User Guide 26 PictureGear™ Sony Electronics, Inc. PictureGear is a digital image management application that allows you to see all the images stored in any directory on your computer. Thumbnail views provide quick reminders of your pictures. Brighten, contrast, enhance, resize, ...

VAIO® AV Applications 27 MovieShaker™ This application can be used to create fun and innovative movies without any knowledge of film editing. In a few simple steps, motion pictures can be combined with special effects, still images, and music files, and then saved in a format compatible with most co...

VAIO Digital Studio™ User Guide 28 Create a Movie using Shaker After adding clip(s) to the Clip tray, you can create a short movie using the Shaker feature. Shaker randomly selects clips from the Clip tray to create a 30-second scene. 1 Click the Shaker tab. 2 Select a mood by clicking a face in the...

VAIO® AV Applications 29 Editing Clips and Scenes You can edit your movie by adding effects and text, adjusting the color and contrast, and modifying the length of clips. Adding effects to a scene or a clip 1 Double-click the clip or scene to move it to the Working Panel. 2 Select the Effects tab fr...

VAIO Digital Studio™ User Guide 30 Saving a Movie 1 Verify that the clip(s) you want to save is on the Product tray. See Help for more details on saving movies. 2 Click Export. 3 Select the format in which you want the document to be saved. 4 Click Next. 5 Locate the folder to which you want the fil...

VAIO® AV Applications 31 PictureGear™ PictureGear is a digital image management application that allows you to see all the images stored in any directory on your computer. Thumbnail views provide quick reminders of your pictures. Brighten, contrast, enhance, resize, crop, and color-correct your pict...

VAIO Digital Studio™ User Guide 32 Using Panorama Maker Panorama Maker stitches a group of still images into a 360 degree panoramic picture. The source images should be the same size and overlap 20%. How to stitch a panoramic picture: 1 Gather the source images into the same folder or collection. 2 ...

VAIO® AV Applications 33 OpenMG™ Jukebox 2.0 OpenMG Jukebox is a software application that utilizes Sony Corporation’s copyright protection technology. OpenMG Jukebox maintains the holder’s copyrights by preventing unauthorized distribution of digital audio files. OpenMG Jukebox software lets you pl...

VAIO Digital Studio™ User Guide 34 Starting OpenMG Jukebox 2.0 1 From the Start button on the Windows taskbar, point to Programs, point to OpenMG Jukebox, and then click on OpenMG Jukebox. The CDDB® Music Recognition Service Registration wizard appears. Follow the onscreen instructions to complete r...

VAIO Digital Studio™ User Guide 36 Recording a CD You can record songs from audio CDs and import them to playlists in OpenMG Jukebox. 1 Insert an audio CD into your system’s CD-RW/DVD-ROM drive. 2 Click the CD tab. 3 Use the drop-down lists to select the Bit Rate, CD drive, and Record To destination...

VAIO® AV Applications 39 For more information about using OpenMG Jukebox 2.0 software, go to the online OpenMG Jukebox Help. You can access the online help file using either of the following instructions: ❑ Click the Start button on the Windows taskbar, point to Programs, point to OpenMG Jukebox, an...

VAIO Digital Studio™ User Guide 40 Smart Capture™ Smart Capture is a Sony-designed application that manages the i.LINK connection between your computer and an i.LINK-compatible digital camera or camcorder. You can capture and enhance video or still images to share with your family and friends over t...

VAIO® AV Applications 41 Using Still mode 1 From the Start button, point to Programs, point to Smart Capture, and then click on Smart Capture. The Smart Capture main window appears. 2 Connect your i.LINK-compatible digital camera or camcorder to your computer with an i.LINK cable. An image appears i...

VAIO Digital Studio™ User Guide 44 Capturing a picture in Still mode 1 Use your digital camera or camcorder to locate the image you want to capture. When you see the desired image in the Smart Capture window, click on the Capture button. The Still Viewer window appears. You can capture one picture o...

VAIO® AV Applications 45 ❑ Upload — Send your still images online to the ImageStation Web site to share with your family and friends. ImageStation stores your still images online when you register for this free service. See “Using ImageStation™.” ❑ Mail — E-mail your still images to your family and ...

VAIO Digital Studio™ User Guide 46 4 Click on the Options button to view the available options for your movie capture. The Recording Options window appears. The Recording Options window has three tabs: ❑ Format: — You can adjust the compression rate for your movies in MPEG1 format or choose the AVI ...

VAIO® AV Applications 47 Capturing a movie in Net Movie mode 1 Use your digital camcorder to locate the view(s) you want to capture. When you see the desired view in either the Smart Capture window or your camcorder’s viewfinder, press the Capture button to begin recording your movie. The Movie Play...

VAIO Digital Studio™ User Guide 48 Managing your movie in Net Movie mode From the Movie Player window, you can perform various functions using the task buttons: ❑ Delete — Discard any frame or the entire movie by clicking on the Delete button. The frame or movie is removed from the Movie Player wind...

VAIO® AV Applications 49 2 Select the compression rate and press the Start Compression button. The ImageStation Login window appears. See steps 2 - 4 in the next section, “Uploading with Still Viewer” for further uploading information. Uploading with Still Viewer 1 Click on the Upload button in Stil...

VAIO Digital Studio™ User Guide 50 2 For first time users, the ImageStation registration wizard guides you through the initial registration process. Follow the onscreen instructions. If you are already a registered member, provide your login name and password. The Image Uploader window appears. 3 Fr...

VAIO® AV Applications 51 VisualFlow™ VisualFlow is a Sony state-of-the-art multimedia browser designed specifically for Memory Stick media. It displays any still picture, movie or sound files stored in a Memory Stick media in a visually pleasing, artistic manner. VisualFlow plays a selected movie or...

VAIO Digital Studio™ User Guide 52 DVGate™ Connecting a digital video camera recorder Before connecting a digital video camera recorder to your computer, turn off the power on the camera. After connecting the camera, turn the power back on. You do not need to turn off the computer when connecting a ...

VAIO® AV Applications 53 When recording AVI files to tape ❑ Do not use DVgate software when the connected digital video device is in Timer Recording mode, as this could produce a malfunction in the device. ❑ To avoid recording problems, such as a single frame appearing in multiple frames, close othe...

55 Configuring your VAIO Digital Studio™ Computer Hard Disk Drive Partition In order to improve the performance of the DVgate™ software, the hard disk drive on your computer has been formatted with two partitions, C and D. The DVgate™ software saves files to the D partition. This prevents large vide...

VAIO Digital Studio™ User Guide 56 i.LINK (IEEE1394) Compatibility Your VAIO computer includes a 4-pin i.LINK port on the front of the system and a 6-pin i.LINK port on the back of the system. A 6-pin i.LINK port can ❑ supply power from the computer to the connected device if the device is equipped ...

Configuring your VAIO Digital Studio™ Computer 57 To connect an i.LINK (IEEE1394) device ❑ Use the symbol to locate the i.LINK port. Plug the i.LINK cable connector into this port. Connecting an i.LINK device ✍ Microsoft® Windows® Millennium Edition uses an i.LINK communication standard that is not ...

VAIO Digital Studio™ User Guide 58 Enabling Ethernet Your computer comes with a preinstalled Ethernet interface. To enable faster startup, your computer may ship with this function disabled. You can enable Ethernet connectivity by following the instructions below. To enable the Ethernet connection 1...

59 System, Application and Driver Recovery CD(s) System Recovery CD(s) Sony Electronics The System Recovery CD program allows you to restore the software titles that shipped with your computer if they become corrupted or are erased. It can be used only to restore the hard disk of the Sony computer y...

VAIO Digital Studio™ User Guide 60 To use the System Recovery CD(s) 1 Insert the Sony System Recovery CD in the DVD-ROM drive. 2 Shut down your computer. 3 Wait 30 seconds and turn on your computer. 4 Click OK to signify you have read and accepted the Microsoft End-User License Agreement. 5 When the...

System, Application and Driver Recovery CD(s) 61 You must be in Windows to run the Application Recovery CD utility. If you have any questions on using the Application Recovery CD(s), contact Sony Customer Support. To use the Application Recovery CD(s) 1 Turn on your computer. If your computer is alr...

VAIO Digital Studio™ User Guide 62 To reinstall drivers with the Driver Recovery CD 1 Turn on your computer. If your computer is already on, close all applications. 2 When the Windows desktop appears, insert the Driver Recovery CD in the DVD-ROM drive. Use My Computer or Windows Explorer to view the...

VAIO Digital Studio™ User Guide 64 Using the Quick Fix Wizard The Quick Fix Wizard automatically checks your system when a problem occurs and brings your software back to a previous working state. 1 Click the Quick Fix Wizard button. 2 When the Welcome screen appears, click Next. 3 If you know which...

Using the VAIO Suppor t Agent 65 Using Common Solutions Common Solutions offers automated, One-Click Fixes to repair common software problems. These solutions can integrate information such as knowledge base articles and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). You can run One-Click Fixes directly from VA...

VAIO Digital Studio™ User Guide 66 Using Support Central Support Central uses Internet resources to help you self-service your software. Support Central searches the Internet for answers to your questions, additional information from knowledge-based systems, and the latest software updates for your ...

VAIO Digital Studio™ User Guide 70 Software Applications protected by VAIO Support Agent In addition to the software listed below, your system’s drivers, basic network settings and modem settings are protected by the VAIO Support Agent utility. Utilities ❑ VAIO Action Setup Applications ❑ Adobe® Pho...

Troubleshooting 71 Troubleshooting This section describes how to solve common problems you may encounter when using your computer. Many problems have simple solutions, so try these suggestions before you call Sony Customer Support. Topics Topic: My computer does not start ❑ Check that the computer i...

VAIO Digital Studio™ User Guide 72 Topic: My computer or software program stopped responding 1 Press Ctrl+Alt+Delete to close the application that has stopped responding. 2 In the Close Program dialog box, scroll down until you locate the message “Not responding” next to an application. 3 Select thi...

Troubleshooting 73 Topic: How do I change the parallel port type to ECP, EPP, or bi-directional? You can change the parallel port type using the System Setup utility (CMOS Setup Utility). To access System Setup: 1 From the Start menu, select Shut Down. From the drop-down list, select Restart. 2 When...

VAIO Digital Studio™ User Guide 74 ❑ Make sure the software is installed according to the program’s instructions. ❑ If your drive reads some CDs, but not others, check the shiny side of the disc for dirt or scratches. You may also need to clean the disc drive lens with an appropriate cleaner. Topic:...

Troubleshooting 75 Topic: I want to play a CD with Microsoft Windows Media Player™ When you insert a music CD, the Media Bar™ software automatically launches to play your CD. When the Media Bar is running, the Windows Media Player does not have access to the CD. Close Media Bar to use Microsoft Wind...

VAIO Digital Studio™ User Guide 76 3 Move the Display area slider to change the resolution. 4 Click OK. Topic: Why is there no sound in any application? There are independent controls for your system volume. ❑ Check that the speakers are plugged into the HEADPHONES jack. ❑ If the speakers have a mut...

Troubleshooting 77 ❑ If you are having a problem connecting with your Internet Service Provider, check that the ISP is not experiencing technical problems. ❑ If you have a second phone line available, try connecting the modem to this line. Topic: My modem does not work ❑ Check that the phone line is...

VAIO Digital Studio™ User Guide 78 4 Select the Tone dial or Pulse dial option next to “Dial using.” 5 Click OK. Topic: My microphone does not work Check that the microphone is plugged into the MIC jack. Topic: My microphone is too sensitive to background noise If you find there is too much backgrou...

Troubleshooting 79 3 Turn the mouse upright, and drop the mouse ball into your hand. 4 Using a piece of tape, remove any dust or dirt on the mouse ball and inside the mouse ball socket. 5 Return the mouse ball to the socket, and replace the mouse ball cover. Secure the cover by turning the ring coun...

VAIO Digital Studio™ User Guide 80 Topic: My i.LINK ® device does not appear on the desktop 1 Turn off and disconnect your device. 2 Reconnect your device. 3 Then turn on the power. Topic: My connected printer doesn't function after the computer resumes from a power saving mode When this occurs, fol...

Troubleshooting 81 Topic: How do I install a printer? 1 From the Start menu, select Settings > Printers. 2 Click Add Printer. 3 Click Next. 4 Select Local Printer and click Next. 5 Select the appropriate manufacturer and model and click Next. 6 Select LPT1 and click Next. 7 Click Yes to have Wind...

VAIO Digital Studio™ User Guide 82 Notes on Use On the Power Source ❑ Your computer operates on 100–120 V AC 50/60 Hz only. ❑ The total power draw of installed add-on cards must not exceed the specifications for the power supply. Do not overload the system by installing add-on cards that draw excess...

Troubleshooting 83 ❑ Unplug your computer from the wall outlet if you will not be using the computer for a long time. ❑ Before touching anything inside the computer, turn the system off and let it cool for ten minutes. This will ensure that the processor heat sink will not be hot. ❑ Do not attempt t...

VAIO Digital Studio™ User Guide 84 ❑ Provide adequate air circulation to prevent internal heat build-up. Do not place your computer on loose surfaces (such as rugs or blankets) or near materials (such as curtains or draperies) that may block its ventilation slots. Leave a space of at least 8 inches ...

Troubleshooting 85 On Moisture Condensation If your computer is brought directly from a cold location to a warm one, moisture may condense inside your computer. In this case, allow at least an hour before turning on your computer. If any problem occurs, unplug your computer, and contact your Sony Se...

VAIO Digital Studio™ User Guide 86 ❑ A residual image may appear on the screen if the same image is displayed for a lengthy period of time. The image disappears after a period of time. You can use a screen saver to prevent residual images. ❑ The screen becomes warm during operation. This is normal a...

Troubleshooting 87 For Answers to Your Software Questions Sony Service Center For the Sony Service Center nearest you, call 1-888-4SONYPC (1-888-476-6972). This service is free of charge for 90 days after the original date of purchase. Acrobat® Reader, Adobe PhotoDeluxe® Home Edition, Adobe Premiere...

VAIO Digital Studio™ User Guide 90 Resources Sony provides several support options for your Sony computer. When you have questions about your computer and the preinstalled software, check these sources for answers, in the following sequence: Quick Start Contains information on how to set up your com...

93 Specifications Model PCV-RX370DS PCV-RX380DS Processor 1.30 GHz * Intel® Pentium® 4 1.50 GHz * Intel® Pentium® 4 Hard Disk DriveC / D Partition (Approximate) 60 GB † C = 16GB / D = 44GB 80 GB † C = 16GB / D = 64GB Standard Memory 128 MB PC-800 Rambus RIMM, expandable to 512 MB Video RAM 16 MB 32 ...

97 Index A adding additional hardware precaution 83 adjusting voltage settings 82air circulation 84Application Recovery CD 59,60applications launching problems with 75 B battery disposing 83 C cables 84CD tray opening problems with 73 CD-RW drive 17CD-RW drives troubleshooting 73 cleaning computer 8...

VAIO Digital Studio™ User Guide 100 U upgrading your computer 85UPS (Uninterrupted PowerSupply) 82 V VAIO Action Setup 21VAIO AV Applications 25VAIO Support Agent 63ventilation 13, 84viewing the taskbar problems with 79 VisualFlow 26voltage settings 82 W window design 23Windows taskbar problems view...