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  1. Member
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    My old APEX DVD player died which didn't have Macrovision, and I still only have a TV with RF input. So I have to run my DVD player through the VCR into the TV.

    I bought a Philips DVP 642/37 from CC, which supposedly was able to be downgraded to older firmware to remove the Macrovision in the current firmware. But it appears Philips has caught on and blocked this now. The remote codes to show the current firmware rev don't work, the downgrade doesn't work either.

    I'm not trying to make any copies here. Just want to watch movies without fade-in & out.

    Can someone recommend a CHEAP DVD player that doesn't have Macrovision or where I can disable it easily? (through remote, or a CD-based firmware update - not soldering chips

    THANKS
    Brian
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  2. Man of Steel freebird73717's Avatar
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    Buy a RF modulator for $15.00 at your local big box (wal-mart , etc.) and plug any dvd player (your new Philips DVP 642/37) into it. Then hook modulator to your tv. No more fade in/out.
    Donadagohvi (Cherokee for "Until we meet again")
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  3. Man of Steel freebird73717's Avatar
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    Donadagohvi (Cherokee for "Until we meet again")
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  4. Search EBay for a Pioneer DV-505 - or DVL-909 (combo laser disc and dvd player).
    Search the rest of the net for the mod to make them region and macrovision free. It involves opening up the case and making a simple connection on a circuit board - but it works perfectly. If you go for a DVL-909 - be sure to get a black case US version as some gold case and later 909's can't be modified in this fashion.
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    Hmmm, well I hate the idea of buying another "box", something else to clutter things up that needs cablings and power. But if I must I'll go with the RF modulator.

    Are newer Apex's Macrovision free? There must be some "second rate" brand out there that still doesn't enforce Macrovision.

    Brian
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    Macrovision free DVD players are now almost impossible to find. Macrovision is a very litigious company and since in the USA the DMCA would give Macrovision excellent legal grounds for a lawsuit against any DVD manufacturer that allows this on their players, there is nothing at all to be gained by allowing this. Region Codes have no real legal standing. Hollywood doesn't like it at all that some DVD players can be made to ignore them, but there is no legal basis to sue anyone. Most likely a court would rule that the DMCA does not cover this since region codes have nothing at all to do with disc encryption and copy protection. In fact, Hollywood has very good reasons to not use them in a court case because any such case would likely result in a verdict eliminating them.

    I guess you haven't heard, but have you ever wondered why you can't find Apex anymore in WalMart and Circuit City and so on? A few years ago, their CEO went to China on business and got thrown in prison for tax evasion. As far as I know, he's still there. Apex is barely alive as a company. The last time I checked, and it's been a while, they had exactly one model for DVD player for sale and it was for sale via the internet only. The most recent Apex models weren't known for being able to remove Macrovision and it was no longer possible to replace their firmware either.

    Rich86's suggestion is awful unless you are a very experienced electronics guy. I can tell you from personal experience that it is ridiculously easy to destroy electronic components via a soldering iron if you don't have a lot of experience doing this kind of thing.

    You might want to look into a TBC (check the glossary), which one way to deal with Macrovision. If you had a TV that wasn't made in the Stone Age, you wouldn't need to defeat Macrovision. Seriously. Modern TVs do not have that "in out" problem you describe when viewing DVDs.

    Finally, I have the DVP-642 (mine is 3 years old) and although mine has served me well, I don't recommend it. Philips has much better players available for not much more money. It's just about impossible to find any firmware anywhere for the player and the player has a lot of quirks and quality control issues. If you intend to keep it and use it, you must be sure to place it in a space as open to the air as possible. This player is notorious for overheating and reaching the end of its life pretty early. Your only hope of keeping it alive is to keep it in a very well ventilated area like I do for mine.
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  7. Member wulf109's Avatar
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    If you look on ebay,do a search in DVD players for Apex. Macro and DCP free players are being sold. Buzz words used,Black Magic,Bullet Proof,recorder friendly. It' all shorthand for macrovision and DCP free. It takes a little work,but it's still quite possible to them.
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  8. Member Seeker47's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by wulf109
    If you look on ebay,do a search in DVD players for Apex. Macro and DCP free players are being sold. Buzz words used,Black Magic,Bullet Proof,recorder friendly. It' all shorthand for macrovision and DCP free. It takes a little work,but it's still quite possible to them.
    [Added italics mine] I believe there are still several models with this euphemistic description being sold by dvdcity.com -- for example -- but you'll have to read your way down the fine print. Also, if it's just MV you are concerned with, there are a number of much cheaper gizmos than a decent TBC that should cover that. (Video "stabizers" and whatnot.) They are probably still sold online, and even if MV manages to stamp them out, you'd still find them on Ebay.
    When in Las Vegas, don't miss the Pinball Hall of Fame Museum http://www.pinballmuseum.org/ -- with over 150 tables from 6+ decades of this quintessentially American art form.
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  9. Man of Steel freebird73717's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by bxd20
    Hmmm, well I hate the idea of buying another "box", something else to clutter things up that needs cablings and power. But if I must I'll go with the RF modulator.
    Yeah it clutters up but is seriously cheaper and easier than other suggestions. Good solution for an older tv. Most have an auto on feature so you can just hide them behind the tv and never have to look at them.
    Donadagohvi (Cherokee for "Until we meet again")
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  10. [quote="Seeker47"]
    Originally Posted by wulf109
    Also, if it's just MV you are concerned with, there are a number of much cheaper gizmos than a decent TBC that should cover that. (Video "stabizers" and whatnot.) They are probably still sold online, and even if MV manages to stamp them out, you'd still find them on Ebay.
    Heres a cheapo:

    http://www.mcminone.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=MCMProducts&product%5Fid=80%2D4280
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  11. I have an Apex 1500 Dvd player, Macro free, FW version D, with remote. I didn't use it much because it doesn't have closed captions. PM if you're interested in it. It's just gathering dust.
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  12. Yeah. For what you want to do your best bet is to buy a decent DVD player and then just add this device to the mix. It's very small and won't clutter your set-up. In fact, you can just leave it hanging behind everything and you won't even know it's there unless you need to change the battery (every year or so).
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  13. bxd20

    Yopur Quote
    "My old APEX DVD player died which didn't have Macrovision"
    --------------------------------------------------------------



    If you were talking analog MV as in VHS tape, a TBC or its counterpart would help but not on a DVD dick.
    You seem to be talking about digital CP [of any kind], as on a DVD disk but your indications are VHS tape .

    The two Are Not The Same

    I know of no DVD unit sold today that is not compliant with CP
    A number of older DVD Apex units were reported, to be not compliant but this is iffy.
    I have one and many have reported that some units are not compliant
    There are some [OLDER] players. like the Phillips 642. That are reported to be a filter for CP

    I also have a Pioneer Laser Disk
    Laser disks video is record as analog. They are not digital, except for Audio. Also many Laser Disks did not have analog MV as a VHS tape of the same program. [[Cost}}
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  14. Member Seeker47's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by LCSHG
    bxd20

    Your Quote
    "My old APEX DVD player died which didn't have Macrovision"
    --------------------------------------------------------------



    If you were talking analog MV as in VHS tape, a TBC or its counterpart would help but not on a DVD dick.
    You seem to be talking about digital CP [of any kind], as on a DVD disk but your indications are VHS tape .

    The two Are Not The Same

    I know of no DVD unit sold today that is not compliant with CP
    A number of older DVD Apex units were reported, to be not compliant but this is iffy.
    I have one and many have reported that some units are not compliant
    There are some [OLDER] players. like the Phillips 642. That are reported to be a filter for CP
    My circa 2002 Malata 700 is MV free, but it was "chipped" by a dealer. (That is to say, a custom firmware replacement.) You can still buy units so altered, and my earlier post gives an example of where. (They do cost more than off-the-shelf players.) I don't know about any other types of digital CP, but they are advertised as being "VCR friendly", or code words to that effect. This means you should be able to play a disk in them, send the output to a VCR or a DVD recorder, and record it successfully. If not, I would expect they would have to refund your money. But give them a call, and I think they will clarify this for you before you purchase.
    When in Las Vegas, don't miss the Pinball Hall of Fame Museum http://www.pinballmuseum.org/ -- with over 150 tables from 6+ decades of this quintessentially American art form.
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  15. I was not looking to purchase a unit, Just seeking info. as to what specific units will or will not do
    With the units I have, ---If I can see it I can record it
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    "dick" ??? Ummm, not sure who deserved that comment or who it was addressed to.

    But to answer your question, I *WAS* referring to the analog portion of MV, not digital. Re-read my original post, it's all very clear. I explicitly said I did not want to make copies of any kind. I simply had an older TV with only RF input and had to run the DVD signal through the VCR.

    At any point, I went ahead and bought this RF modulator:

    http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=5806345&st=rf+modulator&type=product&id=1067388827858

    Works fine. The rats nest of wiring in my entertainment center grows.

    If anyone wants my Apex 703 send me a private message, make me an offer. It only stuttered on certain movies.

    Thanks for the advice guys!!

    Brian
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  17. nerd-out.com if youwant more info on Apex, lots of info on how to get them going again too.
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  18. bxd20

    I did not notice. !!!The word was a miss type that wasn’t good [period].!!!
    I’m sorry it was offensive to you. It was not meant to be.

    As to your original Post. I did not feel it was explicit or clear.
    -----------------------------------
    Your Quote’s
    “My old APEX DVD player died which didn't have Macrovision,” ---- And

    “Can someone recommend a CHEAP DVD player that doesn't have Macrovision or where I can disable it easily? (through remote, or a CD-based firmware update - not soldering chips
    -----------------------------------

    The reference to a DVD use is not consistent with analog MV as it does not exist on a DVD Disk and my post was to clarify the issue. I did not feel or imply that you were making any illegal copy’s

    Again I did not notice the word dick instead of disk and I apologize.
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  19. What happened to your Apex? What does it do? Did you try to unplug it for a minute?
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  20. Member
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    I had old Apex 1500 with modded chip. But it wouldn't play DivX etc so I got old Philips 642, which did everything. It began giving read errors 2 months ago, so I bought another (latest) Philips 642, but alas, it has MV CP.

    Here's the odd thing: some of my Netflix DVDs play just fine, but most show MV.

    I DO have need to record them to VHS so I need analog to analog setup (RCA out on Philips to RCA in on VHS recorder)
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  21. I'm a little curious about this subject, too. I'm currently using a miniDV camcorder as a cheap analog-digital bridge solution and would like to record a number of short clips to a miniDV tape from several commerial DVDs. The problem is, many of these DVDs have the macrovision bit turned on, so the camera will not record them.

    I realize I could rip these DVDs instead, but I'm not interested considering I don't have a huge amount of free HD space and really only need about two minutes of footage from each DVD.

    The question is, would a cheap video stabilizer like the one linked above solve my problem, considering that it's gotten very hard to find macro-free DVD players?
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  22. Originally Posted by Mike Toole
    I'm a little curious about this subject, too. I'm currently using a miniDV camcorder as a cheap analog-digital bridge solution and would like to record a number of short clips to a miniDV tape from several commerial DVDs. The problem is, many of these DVDs have the macrovision bit turned on, so the camera will not record them.

    I realize I could rip these DVDs instead, but I'm not interested considering I don't have a huge amount of free HD space and really only need about two minutes of footage from each DVD.

    The question is, would a cheap video stabilizer like the one linked above solve my problem, considering that it's gotten very hard to find macro-free DVD players?
    Use DVDShrink ->Re-Author->Start/End.Rip each clip to a folder and reauthor or convert to another format.
    It's free,fast and you get a perfect copy.
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  23. For just copying a clip from a commercial DVD to a DVD recorder or capture card, the device I listed above from MCM won't do it. That box will only mask Macrovision from analog recording devices like a VCR. Most DVDs not only have Macrovision, but another form of copy protection called CGMS/a. This protection was designed to prevent digital copying to a DVR or DVD recorder.

    This device...

    http://www.stardevelopment.com/videomagicdvd.htm

    ...will supposedly remove both Macrovision and CGMS/a, but I have had not experience with it. I have a few friends that use a device from Facet Video that did the same thing this one does and it worked like a charm. Unfortunately, the Facet Video website seems to be gone.
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  24. Member Seeker47's Avatar
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    Originally Posted by Mike Toole
    The question is, would a cheap video stabilizer like the one linked above solve my problem, considering that it's gotten very hard to find macro-free DVD players?
    No, it hasn't gotten that hard to find them -- not if you look around online.

    Originally Posted by MOVIEGEEK
    Use DVDShrink ->Re-Author->Start/End.Rip each clip to a folder and reauthor or convert to another format.
    It's free,fast and you get a perfect copy.
    Yes, this works quite well for clips, and is easy to do. (The harder part is assembling the clips into a clips collection DVD with menus, which involves authoring. For that, I still need other software and to follow a decent guide.) This alone proves the continuing value of SHRINK. It seems no re-encoding is involved in extracting the clip. The thing that really surprised me is that -- for most source DVDs -- you can extract the clip directly, without even having to rip the dvd first to deal with the protections, using something like Fab Decrypter.
    When in Las Vegas, don't miss the Pinball Hall of Fame Museum http://www.pinballmuseum.org/ -- with over 150 tables from 6+ decades of this quintessentially American art form.
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