Since there is little or no 'official' English-language documentation for MUSE equipment, I have created English-language user guides (all in PDF form) for the following MUSE decoders :

Sony MST-2000
Sony MSC-3000 / MSC-4000
Victor HV-MD2 / Mitsubishi MD-CZ11

I currently also have manual scans for the Sony MST-1000, Panasonic TU-AHD100, and Panasonic TU-MDC100. Any additional manuals would be welcome. I also have a Victor HV-VMD1, which is quite simple (and similar to the HV-MD2), so that I could create a guide for it readily enough.
If there is a decoder model not listed which you would like a user guide for, please feel free to mention it. I can be bribed — I will accept cash, decoders, Hi-Vision LDs, or Hi-Vision LD players!

Please do let me know what you think about these guides. Are there errors? Is the arrangement usable? Are they clear enough to actually operate your decoders?

publius, your guides are excellent. great work!

Didn't notice your post, the 4000 guide is great, made everything very clear, glad we could do business.

I accidently switched the output format from YPbPr to GBR1 which is not able to be processed by the HDQ at current cable connections. Can I switch it back without looking at the OSD by following the commands in the user guide?

Thank you very much.

This should be possible, but it will be a tricky operation. I might suggest making a second connexion using the second pair of output jacks, if you can, to some kind of monitor which will accept this sort of video, so that you can follow along. If that's not possible, however, you should be able to follow these steps :
MENU (enters root menu)
Down Arrow (selects "MUSE output settings" submenu)
ENTER (first choice in submenu is "video output")
ENTER (allows making selections in "video output")
Up Arrow (moves back one step, from GBR1 to YPbPr)
ENTER (confirms selection) -- at this point you should see results
MENU (exits)

This is very interesting ! My friend has told me that this might be the reason why I do not see anything on my MSC-4000 decoder. Is it possible that this is the reason I don't see any video output from my decoder because it is set to GBR1 ?

confederate: What configuration(s) can your display accept?

I would not at all be surprised. "GBR1" is separate sync, in other words, the line & field synchronization signals travel on separate wires from the video signals. This is how, for instance, VGA works, & it suits some projectors, but of course you have to have all five lines connected. A display which only accepts YPbPr would show something on GBR2 with three wires connected, although it would look very strange. The best way to check is with an oscilloscope, verifying the presence of something resembling a video signal at the output terminals.

Thanks "publius" and whole group of you data contributors.

Long story short, I made it! I used exactly the same trick as specified by "publius" and it works.

MENU
DOWN-ARROW
ENTER
ENTER
UP-ARROW (switch from RGB1 back to YPbPr)
ENTER
MENU

I did connect the second set of video output to my plasma to detect the difference. Unfortunately, OSD is not available on this output which is reasonable as it is supposed to be connected with a video recorder. But, the plasma is smart enough to tell me that the input signal is 1080i@60Hz even if there is no MUSE title being played through back here. Before that it was only said to be COMPONENT.

Now I am able to view everything including the OSD through main output passed in to HDQ then to my plasma.

I also hold strong feeling that a certain combination of (at least) two keys will bring the MSC-4000 back to its factory default or reset the user settings then enter so called "test mode". This is even more tricky.

I try to figure out something useful when I finish my day, normally at midnight

@lons_vex I have no idea what configurations my display can accept. I just checked the manual and it only says "Input2: Component Video".

The TV doesn't show anything HOWEVER sometimes the display will say that there is a signal present but doesnt display anything.

My display is a Pioneer PDP-508XD plasma display. This display has the best colours ever !

It would be great to know how the MSC-4000 could be brought back to its factory default setting by entering a certain combination of keys.
Maybe that would help, too.

TAHNK YOU SO VERY f***ing MUCH !!! IT IS WOORRRRRRRRRRRRRRKIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thannk you !!!!

Unfortunately I cannot play any MUSE disc because I am getting a P5 error on my player What the ??

I tried playing two MUSE discs and I got the P5 error, I tried playing Basic Instinct and it worked however the colours are totally wrong and it is all purple PLUS it looks
like the disc has rot. I dont know. All other NTSC discs I tested are working. It seems to have something to do with laser allignment.

EDIT: Now after pressing the PLAY button several times the CAV MUSE Disc is playing. I guess it is like the U1 error on my CLD-925 player.

EDIT NO. 2: I changed the output to YPbPr how the image is still weird. The colours are OK but it simply looks weird.

Anyway CLV MUSE discs and CLV/CAV NTSC discs are playing. CAV MUSE discs are only sometimes working.

Relax, Basic Instinct looks super weird on MUSE.
That's normal
Or at least that is what I thought when I watched it.
The only good MUSE LD's I ever saw were some of the scenery discs.
Also, you need to adjust the picture for MUSE separately.
Colors etc. are different. Ideally do this using the SONY Test Disc.
Which is also IMHO the MUSE disc with the best picture quality.

I'm glad your decoder is working for you now. Sorry that I can't do anything about the player malfunction, or "weirdness" in the picture (although you might try stepping through the "saturation" choices in the menu).

Thank you for your help so far ! I really appreciate it.

This was a real shock. I checked the same disc 2 weeks ago and it played without any problems. Now after inserting the Suzuki MUSE disc I am getting the P5 error.
There is a different thread on this forum dealing with this very issue. It cannot be fixed easily. I doubt anyone in Germany can actually fix it. This really sucks.
I dont know what happened.

Hi Confederate,

Is it an X9 that you're having trouble with reading muse discs?

Before you get the P5 error does the disc spin up, then slow down, then spin up really fast before stopping and displaying P5?

Hi kencol,

thank you for your reply ! I appreciate it.

It is an X0 I am having the problem with.

Well the problem only happens with MUSE CAV discs. It was working just fine until 2 weeks ago

Actually I am not 100% certain that what you are saying is 100% accurate as I did not open the player but I can tell you
it does spin up and slow down afterwards followed by a P5 error message on the TV and the front panel. I really pray to God
this can be fixed.

I have heard of this error message on both the X0 and the X9. I found two separate threads on the internet with people mentioning it
on their players.

Unfortunately my knowledge of the X0 at this point is very superficial so I can't be sure of the similarities between it and the X9. I can tell you that I had an X9 which would play standard NTSC discs perfectly but refused to play muse discs with the symptoms I described above and resulting in a P5 error. After much trial and error I discovered it was a faulty SYPS board and luckily managed to order a new one from pioneer parts. I checked but the SYPS board for the X0 is no longer available.

If it is due to a faulty SYPS board then it could be that a capacitor has blown/leaked or dried out and it could be repaired by replacing the dead cap? At this stage I'm not sure how you would find out or test if a cap is good or bad. Perhaps someone with more soldering/electronics knowledge can help?