Page 1 of Macrovision Disable

I`ve read a lot of conflicting info in various forums re: the disabling of macrovision.

There are those who say that it simply can`t be done, unless you buy the necessary scart lead - others say it can be done by remote hack.

Does anyone know of any DVD players where they know for certain that macrovision can be disabled using the remote control method.

Cheers

This item was edited on Sunday, 22nd May 2005, 15:45

I don`t know of any brand new DVD player models that can be Macrovision hacked. Perhaps someone else can answer that. However, there were quite a number of older DVD players which had a hidden menu to disable Macrovision. Most of them were made before 2002. Since then, it seems the movie studios or maybe Macrovision themselves have clamped down on manufacturers of such players, as the hidden menu has disappeared from modern units.
Here are all the ones I`ve personally tested, by connecting to a VCR or DVD recorder and being able to record from a Macrovision encoded disc:
Dansai DVD852 - remote hack (all remote hacks are listed here on dvd.reviewer.)
Dansai DVD 1010 - remote hack, may require firmware update which I have, ask me if you need it.
Alba DVD104/A - region and MV free out of the box
Afreey LD2060 - remote hack or update firmware to OFFA
Electrohome EH-8191 - serial number 3xxxxxx - MV free out of the box - units with serial number 2xxxxxx can be firmware upgraded by CD
Momitsu V575 - remote hack, same steps as Mustek V520
Wharfedale M5 - firmware update needed - see www.area450.com or install OFFA
NOTE: I have mentioned Firmware Update and OFFA a few times. In case you are wondering, Firmware is like a computer program that runs inside your DVD player every time you turn it on. This program controls your DVD player and determines what it can do. It is stored on a (semi)permanent memory chip, and is thus called Firmware - a combination of hardware and software.
The firmware in some DVD players can be changed by burning a file containing the new version to a CD-R or CD-RW, then inserting it in the DVD player for a minute or two. Hackers discovered that they could change the firmware to remove Macrovision altogether or reinstate the hidden menu that manufacturers had removed. The most notorious firmware is OFFA : One Firmware For All. This file is an experimenter`s dream, as well as allowing Macrovision to be turned off, it can play back many different formats and even enables a hard drive to be hooked up to the DVD player, turning it into a media jukebox.
You can download OFFA for free, and see a list of compatible DVD players at the Yahoo! OFFA Group.
Sadly, all the compatible players are out of production. You can only buy them secondhand, but because new DVD players are ridiculously cheap now, these old ones are available for next to nothing. If you can get one really cheap it might be worth experimenting. You may even be lucky enough to already own a hackable DVD player. Otherwise the Macrovision removing SCART leads are not that expensive and offer a simple plug-in solution for lazy people. They can also be used when recording protected movies from VHS VCRs and Pay TV decoders.