Pioneer HTD-540DV/XV-HTD540 Region Unlocking Hack Needed

[Phantom and Valjean]

Is this possible without taking the player apart? Can I either use its supplied remote, a special remote, or a program CD/DVD? If this issue was already discussed, then I appologize. I have searched everywhere on the internet and all I could find are units that are sold with the modification already performed. Maybe due to the fact that I am blind, I might have missed something somewhere. However, I would like to do the modification myself if possible. Not that I want to spend hundreds of dollars on a Palm Pilot, but also, will the Palm Pilot hacks for the DV-575A/470/454/275 unlock the HTD-540DV?

[Phantom and Valjean]

It has been about two months and still no progress. I am an Andrew Lloyd Webber and Cameron Mackintosh contemporary musical theatre fan. I have all their DVDs except ALW's "By Jeeves" and the two DVD set for "Les Miserables" because they are encoded for Region 2, Europe, and I am in Region 1, North America. I agree with the legal issues as far as region assigning for movies goes, but not for concerts and stage productions! Now let's work together, crack this thing, and throw a party afterwords!--LOL! I would like to begin with the information I know. In the service manual, all you can do is check what region the player is set at. Using the service remote (not available to consumers), separately pressing ESC, AUDIO,and a single digit between 1 through 6. If you enter an incorrect digit, the tray opens. The following was found at this forum in one of the DV-575A topics. With the supplied remote, it is possible to check the firmware by pressing HOME MENU. Using the arrow keys, select INITIAL SETTINGS. Press ENTER. Select OPTIONS, but don't press ENTER. Press DISPLAY (SHIFT and the number 8 both at the same time). The firmware and current regional setting appear. I tried the hacks for the HTZ-55DV and HTD-510DV/XV-HTD510 as they appear on the DVDHACKS section of this website and they did not work. I cannot try the 510 hack because the supplied remote does not have a CONDITION MEMORY button. Will the Palm Pilot hacks for the stand-alone DV-275/454/470/575 work on this North American Region 1 player? Also, the DV-275/578A, HTD-645DV, and HTZ-740DV/940DV are of the same generation as this model. The HTD-530DV/630DV are their predecessors. So if we only crack one of the above, we might really cover a lot of ground!

[Phantom and Valjean]

[Big C]

A few have confirmed that the remote control signal sent with a Palm Pilot, Philips Pronto TSU3000, Pocket PC, WinLirc, SmartPhone, Etc. does the trick. Now that my warranty has expired, I would like to try some other means. Will the firmware for the DV-470/575, DV-383/585, or DV-393 found at http://www.pioneerfaq.info be compatible with this HTIB system? If so, should I use the one for the 575, 585, or 393? Thank you.