Parasound Halo C1 Controller manual Getting Started, Making Connections – A Preview

GETTING STARTED 5

The Parasound C 1 Controller is a complete home theater control center. With it, you can feed signals from any of four analog and digital audio and six audio/video components to your surround sound and video system, simultaneously feeding video and stereo audio (even from a different source) to rooms in a second entertainment zone, and integrate the C 1 into multi-room home-control systems. You can adjust volume, bass, and treble separately for each zone. In the main zone, you can use any of 15 sound patterns, commonly referred to as modes, from 7.1-channel surround (Dolby Digital EX or dts ES) to mono; in the remote zone, only modes that work with two-channel signals are available.

The 7.1-channel analog input allows full surround operation with surround-sound sources having no digital surround output, such as multichannel DVD-Audio or SACD players, which have only analog multichannel outputs, and any future formats with up to eight channels. The output section already has 7.5 channels, including two additional dedicated bass channels and two channels which can be programmed for even more bass functions or a variety of other uses.

A full-color, 5" video screen can display the current video program and operating status for either the local or remote zone. It also speeds and simplifies setting up the C 1 by showing you complete control-menu pages. The front panel screen on the C 1 is particularly convenient for setup if your primary video screen is connect- ed via component video jacks, since component video doesn’t carry on-screen display information. Like the TFT screen on a notebook computer, the C 1 screen should be viewed from directly in front. Its picture qual- ity is degraded when viewed from more than 15° to either side or more than 30° above or 10° below.

An RS-232 serial interface allows the C 1 Controller’s settings to be stored on and modified by a PC; it also allows the software built into the C 1 to be updated as need be. The digital surround processor engine can also be upgraded. And an expansion port allows for technologies that haven’t even been invented yet.

Any product this versatile is complex (which is why this manual is so thick), but we’ve made operation as simple as we can. As you learn more about the C 1, you’ll be able to optimize its performance for your system and your tastes.

You’ll find complete directions further on, but here’s all you need to get started:

Making Connections – A Preview

If you’re installing the C 1 yourself, the following should be helpful; if it’s already been installed for you, you may prefer to skip straight to the chapters on “Using the Main Controls” and “Using the Master and SideKick Remotes,” later in this manual.

Component Video	S-Video	Digital Audio	Balanced Analog Audio
Inputs & Outputs	Inputs & Outputs	Outputs & Inputs	Inputs & Outputs

Component Video Inputs and Outputs

Pr

Y

Pb

CAUTION

C2 Controller

DO NOT REMOVE COVER. NO USER

TO PREVENT ELECTRIC SHOCK,

Input 1

SERVICEABLE PARTS INSIDE,

Parasound Products, Inc.

SERVICE PERSONNEL.

REFER SERVICING TO QUALIFIED

San Francisco, California, USA

Balanced Analog Audio Inputs

Balanced Analog Audio Outputs

Input 2

Left

Right

Left

Right

Center

Subwoofer

Left Surround

Right Surround

Left Back

Right Back

Pro 1

Input 3

Composite

Video Outputs

Output

& Inputs

Red

Green

Blue

H

Sync

V

Coax

Digital Audio Inputs

Composite Video Inputs	Video Outputs		S-Video Inputs	S-Video Outputs				Made In	Expansion Port For
Video 1 Video 3 Video 5	Record	Zone	Video 3 Video 4 Video 5 Video 6	Record	Main	Coax 1 Coax 3		Finland	FutureTechnologies
		Video 1 Video 2				Optical 1	Optical 3
					Digital Out			External Control
								RS-232 Control	IR Inputs	– 12VTriggers –

Video 2

Video 4

Video 6

OSD Main NoOSD

OSD

No OSD

Optical

Coax 2

Coax 4

Optical 2

Optical 4

RS-232 Control

Main

Zone

P1

P2

On-Off

Video 1

Video 2

Video 3

Video 4

Video 5

Video 6

Audio 1

Audio 2

Audio 3

Audio 4

Audio 5

Record 1 Record 2

Zone

Front

Surround

Center

Back

Front

Surround

Center

Back

Pro 1

Pro 2

AC Power

L

L

1

R

R

0

Play/In

Rec/Out

Sub

Sub

Pro 3

Pro 4

Analog Audio Inputs

Tape Monitor

Analog Audio Outputs

7.1 Analog Audio Inputs

Main Analog Audio Outputs

Programmable Out

Control

Jacks

AC Cord

Inlet

						AC Power
Unbalanced Analog	Tape	Zone &	7.1 Channel	Main Analog Programmable
						Switch
Audio Inputs	Monitor	Record	Analog Inputs	Outputs	Outputs
	Input &	Outputs
	Outputs

When you connect the C 1’s audio and audio-video inputs and outputs to the rest of your system (including your second entertainment zone, if you have one), you’ll find it easier if you start with the unbalanced analog audio jacks, which are on the bottom row, then work your way up the panel from there. It’s a good idea to write down which component each jack is connected to, so you can program the C 1 to display each source’s name (see “Adjustments, Menus, and Setup” on page 32) rather than just “Audio 1,” “Video 3,” and so on.