BS?

[akio123008]

I've got an old but pretty nice stereo system in my room, which is powered by a Sony TA-V901 integrated amplifier, and I have no problems with the system at all. However, there's something about this amplifier that has been puzzeling me. The display on the unit is one of these old ones with line-based digits. There are also some pre-made words on the display such as "video 1" and "video 2" (for the 2 composite video inputs that it has), which you can read even when these words aren't lighting up on the display. Now here's the thing: right next to "video 2" there's something that clearly says "BS". Obviously I could come up with a possible meaning myself, but I have never known what on earth that actually means. It never lights up, there's also no "BS" input on the back of the amp, there seems to be no condition under which this "BS" light turns on. I've tried finding out what it means on the internet, but without success. Hopefully one of the clever people on this forum knows what it means because I'm SO CURIOUS. Thanks in advance for any replies!

 

[Havardr]

The display might have been a "generic" one that's beeing used in many different receivers where BS actually does something.

[akio123008]

19 hours ago, Havardr said:

The display might have been a "generic" one that's beeing used in many different receivers where BS actually does something.

I suspected that, but I still want to know what on earth it could mean on those other amps.

[KaminKevCrew]

2 hours ago, akio123008 said:

I suspected that, but I still want to know what on earth it could mean on those other amps.

The only thing I can come up with is that it might mean Bad Speaker, in case you plug in a speaker that has too low of an impedance or something?

 

Here's a link to the service manual (in case you haven't taken a look at it): https://www.manualslib.com/manual/1009415/Sony-Ta-V901.html#manual

 

I glanced through and didn't see any references to BS anywhere, but it's also not the user manual (which I can't find) so it doesn't have any reference to BS that I saw. You *may* be able to find the P/N for the screen, and see if it's a generic one or not.

[akio123008]

Bad Speaker is actually quite plausible. I didn't think of that, thanks. I had also found that service manual but it indeed doesn't seem to contain the information I'm looking for. It's also weird that the user manual is so hard to find, I can't find it either. I will keep looking though, I'm determined to find out.

[Kochiha Ichihara]

The closest thing I've been able to find refers to various Sony receivers and home video systems through the ages that use something called a "Digital BS tuner" which I think refers to a TV signal standard of some kind. Doesn't make much sense for an amplifier, but it strengthens the chance that it's a generic Sony display of some kind that's kept the "BS" piece there. Would there happen to be one on there that says "CS" as well?

[akio123008]

2 hours ago, Kochiha Ichihara said:

The closest thing I've been able to find refers to various Sony receivers and home video systems through the ages that use something called a "Digital BS tuner" which I think refers to a TV signal standard of some kind. Doesn't make much sense for an amplifier, but it strengthens the chance that it's a generic Sony display of some kind that's kept the "BS" piece there. Would there happen to be one on there that says "CS" as well?

Sounds like a good theory, only there's no CS to be found on this display.

[akio123008]

I just did some research on BS broadcasting, but it turns out that was released years after this amplifier. The BS tv signal standard was apparently created in 1998 and the amplifier in 1989.

[KaminKevCrew]

3 hours ago, akio123008 said:

I just did some research on BS broadcasting, but it turns out that was released years after this amplifier. The BS tv signal standard was apparently created in 1998 and the amplifier in 1989.

Huh. If they were a year or two off, I'd say the amp could have had that as a future proofing measure, but 9 years in advance means there's no way. 

[akio123008]

7 minutes ago, KaminKevCrew said:

Huh. If they were a year or two off, I'd say the amp could have had that as a future proofing measure, but 9 years in advance means there's no way. 

Exactly what I thought. 

[akio123008]

Also, I just realised the amplifier has 2 surround speaker outputs on the back, about which I can find little to no information online. They're RCA sockets that are apparently for 16 ohm speakers. Perhaps BS has something to do with those outputs, I've never used them for anything, which could explain why BS has never lit up. I'm going to hook up something to them right now and see what happens, after which I will edit this post.

 

Edit: There seems to be no signal coming from that output. I've connected several speakers to it and used a multimeter to determine the voltage, gone as far as using the classic tongue-testing technique for voltage detection purposes, but nothing would detect any amplified signal on those outputs. Also, the BS light stays off.

[JZStudios]

On 9/11/2018 at 8:41 AM, akio123008 said:

Bad Speaker is actually quite plausible. I didn't think of that, thanks. I had also found that service manual but it indeed doesn't seem to contain the information I'm looking for. It's also weird that the user manual is so hard to find, I can't find it either. I will keep looking though, I'm determined to find out.

This is why my dad has bags and folders full of user manuals for just about everything he's ever bought crammed in a closet.

I decided to go through it last year to clean it out (Along with other outdated computer hardware n such) and we had an owners/instruction manual for a Dell monitor from 1996. So... Just a random fun fact I guess. We also keep ALL of our PC related user manuals and spare parts for everything in our PC's in the appropriate and labeled motherboard boxes. Not a whole lot more infuriating than trying to find an owners manual for something made before ~2010.

[Lady Fitzgerald]

21 minutes ago, JZStudios said:

This is why my dad has bags and folders full of user manuals for just about everything he's ever bought crammed in a closet...

I only keep a physical user manual for a short time (at most, the length of the warranty, in which case I keep it with the box which I keep only until the warranty runs out). As soon as I get something, I either download or scan the manual and keep it on my computer. I can pull them up more quickly that way, they don't get damaged or lost, are easily culled, and they take up no additional physical space. If I should ever need a print version of part of one (which is rare), I can easily print out what I need.

[akio123008]

1 hour ago, JZStudios said:

This is why my dad has bags and folders full of user manuals for just about everything he's ever bought crammed in a closet.

I decided to go through it last year to clean it out (Along with other outdated computer hardware n such) and we had an owners/instruction manual for a Dell monitor from 1996. So... Just a random fun fact I guess. We also keep ALL of our PC related user manuals and spare parts for everything in our PC's in the appropriate and labeled motherboard boxes. Not a whole lot more infuriating than trying to find an owners manual for something made before ~2010.

That's what I tend to do, but I haven't been the owner from the start. My parents bought the amplifier and stopped using it about 15 years ago. After that it collected dust in a loft for a few years, and after that they gave it to me. Unfortunately they have no idea where the original manual is.

[Lady Fitzgerald]

2 hours ago, akio123008 said:

That's what I tend to do, but I haven't been the owner from the start. My parents bought the amplifier and stopped using it about 15 years ago. After that it collected dust in a loft for a few years, and after that they gave it to me. Unfortunately they have no idea where the original manual is.

Have you tried searching for it online?

[Dttocs]

I am fairly sure i had a pioneer amp pre-hdmi that had a BS 

I think its bit stream  !

If the amp receives a signal that has not already been converted from digital to analog it either wont play and the BS will light up or the BS will light up and audio will play meaning the amp has its own DAC 

[akio123008]

12 hours ago, Lady Fitzgerald said:

Have you tried searching for it online?

Of course I have

 

7 hours ago, Dttocs said:

I am fairly sure i had a pioneer amp pre-hdmi that had a BS 

I think its bit stream  !

If the amp receives a signal that has not already been converted from digital to analog it either wont play and the BS will light up or the BS will light up and audio will play meaning the amp has its own DAC 

No, the amplifier has an optical audio input, which is 100% digital. It's connected to a dvd player which also definitely outputs a digital signal. When I use that dvd player, the BS light doesn't turn on.

[kasugatei]

On 9/12/2018 at 9:02 PM, akio123008 said:

I just did some research on BS broadcasting, but it turns out that was released years after this amplifier. The BS tv signal standard was apparently created in 1998 and the amplifier in 1989.

BS is the old standard for broadcasting in Japan. I believe that your model was made for Japanese market so that is why it has BS. BS stands for broadcasting satellite.

 

On 9/12/2018 at 9:02 PM, akio123008 said:

I just did some research on BS broadcasting, but it turns out that was released years after this amplifier. The BS tv signal standard was apparently created in 1998 and the amplifier in 1989.

first BS satellite was launched in 1978 so....

[akio123008]

2 hours ago, Niksa said:

BS is the old standard for broadcasting in Japan. I believe that your model was made for Japanese market so that is why it has BS. BS stands for broadcasting satellite.

 

first BS satellite was launched in 1978 so....

That model is definitely not made for the Japanese market, if it were, I wouldn't be able to use it on a 230V power grid, it has a 230V rating and EU power plug coming out of it. Also, there's no input that would work with BS video broadcasting. The amplifier only has RCA audio inputs, an SPDIF optical input, and a composite video input. No coax/TV cable input whatsoever.

[kasugatei]

20 minutes ago, akio123008 said:

That model is definitely not made for the Japanese market, if it were, I wouldn't be able to use it on a 230V power grid, it has a 230V rating and EU power plug coming out of it. Also, there's no input that would work with BS video broadcasting. The amplifier only has RCA audio inputs, an SPDIF optical input, and a composite video input. No coax/TV cable input whatsoever.

OK , sorry, I misread your original text. Connections are indeed not present, however, when Sony was making those devices, having a special display for Japanese and non Japanese marked would not make sense financial wise. It is a common practice to use one part for many devices. What I believe is that one of the models from the same series made for Japanese market had BS input and you could select it. Or maybe it was just one additional input like video which you have, but it was used for BS receiver.

[akio123008]

23 hours ago, Niksa said:

OK , sorry, I misread your original text. Connections are indeed not present, however, when Sony was making those devices, having a special display for Japanese and non Japanese marked would not make sense financial wise. It is a common practice to use one part for many devices. What I believe is that one of the models from the same series made for Japanese market had BS input and you could select it. Or maybe it was just one additional input like video which you have, but it was used for BS receiver.

That makes sense. I guess it's the best explanation of BS so far.