Pioneer Advanced Plug Mod

After

• Years of development
• 26000 lines of C code
• 1000s of lines of 32bit Assembler code
• 500 lines of Pic Assembler code
• 4000 lines of Visual Basic code
• 6000 lines of PHP code
• 10000 lines of VHDL code
• 1000s of Megabytes of supplementary files
• 1000s of printed pages, notes and pdfs

ChipTech.de and DVDupgrades.ch are proud to announce that the development of the Pioneer Advanced Plug Mod has been completed.
The Pioneer Advanced Plug Mod is a solder and screw driver free Modification requiring only little little PC knwoledge by delivering the most comprehensive modification available. The main features are PAL enable, PAL progressive enable, manual region switch, automatic region switch, User Operation Prohibitions disabled (skip over FBI warnings and ads and other annoying stuff), fair use enable (make a legal analog copy of your movie) and background/startup picture replacement (make a nice gift with your portrait for example).

Supported Players

Our goal is to support all Pioneer and compatible DVD players.

Supported	All Pioneer DVD player and compatible models since the first model (some exceptions apply, read below)
Not supported	Any CAR DVD player and DVD recorder
Supported on request	Portable DVD players
Supported	Various players from Marantz, Teac, Onkyo, Metz, Lexikon, Faroudja and obviously Pioneer
Not supported	The new low cost players using the Omega DVD chipset (please remove the TOP cover of your player and check for a chip called Omega DVD in big letter on the top of the mainboard).
Some features not supported or support uncertain yet	Very early models (released int the first two years) have not been tested yet. We will update this though.

Features

The Pioneer advanced Plug Mod has the following features:

Feature	Description	Supported Player
Manual Region Switch	Changing the region code manually thus making sure that all RCE and otherwise protected disks will play. Please know that it is not possible to guarantee this without manual region switch.	All players using the display-condition functionality; the latest players using a dedicated menu (see pictures).
Automatic Region Switch	A feature for your comfort	Pioneer DV440 and later or players released after spring 2001 do have an automatic switch, elder players do have a pseudo automatic switch called region check disabled.
Fair use / VCR friendly	Allowing you to record your legally owned movies using a DVD burner or VCR according to the terms of fair use.	All
PAL Progressive	Enabling the PAL progressive feature. Progressive will double the frequency of your video output by constructing so called full frames (progressive frames) out of the half frames stored on the DVD. Almost every modern display device could profit from a progressive video signal if it is providing the corresponding inputs. PAL stands for the european video system, NTSC comes from the USA.	All players using the PM033A video encoder chip (namely DV47A, DVS733A, DV747A, DV757Ai, DVS755Ai).
RGB / YUV and Sync switch	Switching between RGB and Component output and changing the Sync between RGBS and RGsB. Some and further Sync options might require additional hardware (for example for a RGBHV signal).	DV757Ai, DVS755Ai. This feature is free if you bought the PAL progressive feature from above.
PAL enable	Allowing PAL playback on players that do not allow PAL playback othwerise. This has nothing to do with region codes so please check PAL capability using a region free PAL DVD before buying this feature. It is not needed for most players. It might be needed for portable and very old NTSC players. This feature does only remove restrictions in the software and not in the hardware. Built in LCD screen might not be able to support PAL; watching on an external screen might be required.	All
Startup and Background picture replacement	Replace the background picture with any picture of your choice. It will be converted to the correct size automatically so it does not matter what resolution you supply. Maximum resolution is around 500 x 250 pixes but we are keeping the ascpect ratio. For example make a picture from your boy-/girlfriend and yourself, we will put it on your player. Then you will have a very nice gift.	DV44, DV45, DV440, DV444, DV656, DV56, DV757Ai, DVS755Ai and maybe others, please ask
UOP disabled	Get rid of the so called user operation prohibitions. They are responsible for blocking all navigation buttons (fast forward, next chapter, menu etc) at their will. UOPs are usually applied in menus, in intros, trailers, ads, copyright warnings etc making sure you can not fastforward or skip them. This is very very annoyning; due to the respnse we had so far we believe this will be the most important feature of this modification.	All players. On the DV656, DV56, DV757Ai and DVS755Ai the UOPs can eveb be turned on and off in a menu.
Plug Mod	The plug mod is a single chip on a small PCB card that will be inserted into the DVD player after having made the software upload using the upload cable.	The Plug Mod is calculating some advanced features available in the new Pioneer players (DV440 and later or players released after spring 2001). We will supply you with such a chip if needed.
Easy Installation	By calling it Plug Mod, it means that it is solder-free. Anyone having access to a Windows PC with a standard RS232 serial port and a modem (or better) internet connection can install it. You will need to be able to make a direct connection on port 80 (as used for viewing web pages) to our update server. Installation will take around 10 minutes on the new players (DV440 and later or players released after spring 2001).	All
Software updates / downgrades	During the modification process, you will be presented a list of compatible software for your player; do an update as you like.	All
Already modified players	If your player is already modified, you will be presented a list with alternative but compatible software to choose from as you can not have an already modified software modified again. We will extract DVD Audio key information from the old file and reinsert that into the new file if necessary.	All
Original Software	If your software has not been modified yet, you should use it to apply all the patches from above because this will guarantee the best compatibility and you can keep all settings you made in your menus. This is a very unique feature of your Pioneer Advanced Plug Mod System and we suggest you use it.	All

User Manual

After a successful installation of the Pioneer Advanced Plug Mod (read below), you might need to initialize some of the new menu entries. You also might want to change the menu entries during normal use of your player. Please compare the look of your setup menu with the images below to find out what generation of firmware applies to your player and follow the instructions in the corresponding section.

First Generation:
The only thing you can change is the preferred region code. Please press MENU with no disc inserted to enter the setup screen. Go to initial menu and look for the screen shown below. Make sure OSD SET is highlighted, then press DISPLAY followed by CONDITION or COND or COND_MEMORY (depending on your remote control) and press the region number. If you press DISPLAY again, the changed region code will reappear.
Region Code Menu

Second generation:
The only thing you can change is the preferred region code. Please press SETUP with no disc inserted to enter the setup screen. Leave the setup navigator if required and go the menu entry as shown below. Make sure basic is selected (green color), then press DISPLAY followed by CONDITION or COND or COND_MEMORY (depending on your remote control) and press the region number. If you press DISPLAY again, the changed region code will reappear.
Region Code Menu

Third generation:
The only thing you can change is the preferred region code. Please press MENU with no disc inserted to enter the setup screen. Go to INITIAL SETUP and press ENTER/OK. Then go to LANGUAGE where you can change the region code (please set it to 1 for full RCE1 compatibility). If you have bought the modification with User Operation Prohibitions disabled, please visit the DISPLAY menu and change the menu entry from ALWAYS ACCEPTED to PROHIBITABLE BY DISC once and the back again in order to get that feature working (it won't work otherwise!!!).
Startup Screen (background picture feature applied to put in my neighbour's cat)
Main Menu (no modifications)
New Region Code Menu
New UOP Menu

Troubleshooting

When	Problem	Fix
Ordering	I do not know wheter my player is supported.	Please contact us for further information.
Running the Internet DVD Update Kit software	Internet connection breaks.	Just restart our Internet DVD Update Kit. We have spent a lot of time making sure that our software is reentrant meaning that it can be restarted anytime without loosing data.
Writing data to your player	Power loss or sudden reboot of the operation system etc; FLASH SUM or FLASH SIG will show in the player display	We will have to tell our server where to start over, then try again.
Starting the update process	Connection timed out	As we have changed servers, please download this file craxesv.bin and put it into your internet updater installation directory. A new setup will follow.
Starting the update process	Connection refused	Please try reconnecting with your firewall disabled or allow our software to make outbound connections. We do open a connection on port 6666 to the server www.dvdupgrades.ch.
Starting the update process	Connection refused	The updater kit does not work on japanese, chinese and korean windows versions. This is a bug caused by Micrsofot in Visual Studio. Unfortunately we could not create a workaround for it. Please use an english or any other windows version. Changing the character set / language in windows will not help.
Writing data to your player	Power loss or sudden reboot of the operating system etc; player locked up (very very rare but still fixable).	Send us the mainboard of your DVD player for a physical chip replacement (not possible on portable players using BGA flash chips). We will do the work and the shipping back to you by air mail for free. This might only be possible if you did not skip the read out process on purpose when modifiying your player.
Running the Internet DVD Update Kit software	No alternative software presented for your player but required.	Please contact us, we will update our database if possible so you can resume there.
Running the Internet DVD Update Kit software	A feature you paid for can not be implemented.	If you contact us before applying that software to your player; then we can either give you back the money for that feature or fix the feature for you. If you apply the software before talking to us, there will be no refund for that feature.
Using your modified player	One of the features does not work as described or as it should.	Please contact us asap (before sending back the cable) so we can change our software allowing you to apply a fixed software again. If a fix is not possible, we will give you back the money for that feature.
Defective player	If you want to send in your player for warranty repairs and you feel that they will deny a warranty repair if the player is modified.	Please contact us to send you a cable. Then you can reinstall the original software for free. We will not refund the money for the modification though we will give you a big discount when remodifying your player. Applying the original software is only possible if you did not skip the read out process on purpose when modifiying your player.
After a complete software update	The player seems to be "dead".	Send us the mainboard of your DVD player for a physical chip replacement (not possible on portable players using BGA flash chips). We will do the work and the shipping back to you by air mail for free. This might only be possible if you did not skip the read out process on purpose when modifiying your player.

Installation instructions

PC requirements

• RS232 compatible serial port
• Real TCP/IP Internet connection, capable of opening a direct connection on port 80 (that's the port used for surfing)
• Windows 95, 98, ME, NT, 2000 or XP (maybe you will have to install some service packs)
• Please download and install the Internet DVD Update Kit Software (press the right mouse button over the link and selct save as)
• As we have changed servers, please download this file craxesv.bin and put it into your internet updater installation directory. A new setup will follow.

Connection requirements

• The updater cable you borrowed from us (please send it back within five days after completing the upload)
• A Pioneer or compatible DVD player (not based on the Omega DVD Chipset)
• The service connector on the back of the player. It is a small slot. If you can not find it, please contact us. If there is more than one connector, pleae contact us.
• If you bent your service connector or if the updater cable does not seem to fit into the slot, please remove the top cover and use the other hand to control the service connector.
• Usually the parts on the cable have to be looking to the ceiling. Some players are the other way round. Basically the pins inside of the slot will have to make contact with the golden pads of the updater cable.
• Do never insert or remove both plug mod and updater cable while your DVD player is powered on.

Updater cable
Marantz DV8400
Some old players
Pioneer DV444
Pioneer DV7300
Pioneer DV747
Pioneer DV757
Pioneer DV868 (use the connector in the middle)

Internet DVD Update Kit: Start

Select your language


Enter username, licence key and player name. You should have received that information from us by email now. If not, please contact us.



If you have received a black box with a button on it (required for DV868, 668, 969, 69), make sure you have a 9V Battery connected. Then press and hold the button for five seconds in front of the infrared (IR) receiver with a distance of ten centimeters. This will have your player entering a special programming mode. Otherwise the updater software will complain about bad communication. Please note that pressing the button twice will exit the special programming mode (it's toggling on and off).
Select the com port and press start

Internet DVD Update Kit: Reading your software

Dear customer Thank you for buying licences of our internet DVD updater kit for Pioneer, Marantz, Teac, Onkyo, Metz, Lexikon, Faroudja and others. As only Pioneer based players are supported, we do not support all Models of these brands. Even low cost Pioneer players using the Omega DVD chipset are not supported. For more information please contact us.

Press continue on the welcome screen

Your original software is incomplete or has not been read out yet. You can either press 'read missing parts' to complete your firmware or if that does not help, select 'read everything (again)' to start from scratch. You should not select the 'skip readout' button unless you know exactly what your are doing (read documentation). If you think that you have ended in an endless loop, please contact customer support. One of our unique features is backing up your original software before overwriting it. This is required or recommended because: Our server will be able to apply all the required patches to YOUR software. This will guarantee a 100% fit. All your settings will be preserved. You can restore your original software at a later time if you decide to send your players to repairs unmodified. DVD players with DVD Audio capability have so called DVD Audio Keys; it is absolutely required to read out the software on such a player because every DVD Audio Key is locked to exactly one player. If you want to modify more than one unit of a particular model or if you do not want to read out the software at all, please contact us and we can provide you with a compatible software for your player if possible. Reading out a software on a player manufactured after about april 2001 takes around five minutes, it could take up to one day on older players. During that time, a sustained internet connection is required for our software to operate. Nethertheless we have spent all the effort in making sure you can resume the operation of our software after loosing power, rebooting your computer or disconnecting/reconnecting your player without loosing the parts already read from the player. The only exception is when writing the new software what takes around five minutes on all players: If you have a power loss there, you will have to contact us for a physical (soldering) fix.

select read missing parts



Wait till dumping has finished; it will take around five minutes on models released after spring 2001, up to one day on earlier models. If a checksum error message appears, select read everything again. If it fails again, please contact us.

Player firmware complete and verified ok. You will have to make a very important decision now. If your DVD player software has been altered in any way already, please selct 'modified' below. This is certainly the case if you have bought a code free modification for your player, if you had your player modified by someone of if you bought your player modified. If the software of your player is still original, please select 'original'. If you are not absultely sure what to select, please contact customer support.

Please decide carefully.

Internet DVD Update Kit: Picture selection

Picture selection On the players released after april 2001, it is possible to replace the startup screen and background logo with a picture of your choice. The maximum resolution is about 500 times 240 pixels and 64 colors. The color used most in your picture will be taken as the black background color. Please make sure the background of your picture is using one unique color: black. If the picture is bigger than allowed, it will be resized. If it is smaller than the maximum, it will not be resized though. The amount of colors will be adjusted if required. We do accept PNG and JPEG pictures only. Please choose one of your pictures. If you want to add more pictures, please do that here and select 'rescan' below.

The image shown does not show a possible list of pictures. Pictures can be uploaded here. Pictures will only be applied if that feature has been paid for.

Internet DVD Update Kit: Firmware selection

Firmware selection Please consider the following points: If your player firmware is already modified ('code free'), an attempt to patch/modify again will fail most likely. Multiple patches on the same code segments could render your player unusable. If your firmware is already modified, please select a file from our customer_firm of original firmwares. We suggest you selected a firmware with the same version and VYW number if possible. If your software is modified and no alternative software is supplied in the list below, please contact us by email or phone. Please consider the comments supplied with each firmware (for example 'do not use', 'bugfix ...'). Although the latest software should have (small) improvements, we can not give you a 100% warranty wheter it will work When taking a different software you will have to change back all the settings in the setup menu of your player. There is a small chance of something going wrong. We are keeping your original software for that purpose so you can revert back to it. In very rare cases (when a valid firmware from another player model (incompatible) is downloaded or when the firmware downloaded to your player was interrupted at a very bad moment) a physical chip replacement will be required. We can and will do this for free except on portable players. We do not cover the freight though. We are limiting our liability to this free chip replacement. We do not take over the warranty of your DVD Player Please return the cable within seven days, otherwise we will charge you EUR 75 or $80 for it. You can ask for a cable for a free restoration of your original software though we will not refund the money for the modification. We will ready to talk about the conditions for a remodification of your player. If you have any questions, please contact us.

The image above does not show the list of firmware that will be present in the actual software.

Internet DVD Update Kit: Patch result

Patch Result: Please decide wheter the patch made is acceptable to you. You can either accept, choose another firmware or abort in order to continue later on. If you previously decided not to read out your software, you have the chance to do it. Explanation: Requested means that we tried to apply the corresponding patch. Implemented means that the corresponding patch was applied successfully. Paid for means that you paid for this patch and that should contact us if the corresponding patch was not applied successfully. Required means that you will not be able to proceed using that firmware if the patch failed. Please contact us or select another firmware.

The image shown does not show the patch result.
Please check carefully wheter the patch is ok. If you have any doubts, please contact us.

Internet DVD Update Kit: Download the software to your player

Downloading software; please wait. Do not power off your equipment! Do not break the connection! Otherwise your player might need physical chip replacement!

After around three to ten minutes, the software should be downloaded and installed. Please turn off the player, insert the plug mod if you received one from us and turn the player on. Please test all features.

If you want to reinstall the original software (please read above), just reenter your userid and key and press start again.

Installation of the Plug Mod

After a successful download, your player might require installing the so called plug mod depending on the short instructions supplied to you with the updater cable. The plug mod has to be inserted into the same slot where you put the updater cable.

Ordering

If you want to order this product, there are two ways to do it. If your player is already listed in the table below, please order that modification from the product navigator to your left.

Remember: We do support almost all players, please ask if your one is not listed!

Product

Advanced Plug Mod Lexicon RT-10

Advanced Plug Mod Marantz DV-8400

Advanced Plug Mod Pioneer DV-414

Advanced Plug Mod Pioneer DV-444

Advanced Plug Mod Pioneer DV-505

Advanced Plug Mod Pioneer DV-515

Advanced Plug Mod Pioneer DV-525

Advanced Plug Mod Pioneer DV-535

Advanced Plug Mod Pioneer DV-59

Advanced Plug Mod Pioneer DV-59

Advanced Plug Mod Pioneer DV-646

Advanced Plug Mod Pioneer DV-656

Advanced Plug Mod Pioneer DV-668

Advanced Plug Mod Pioneer DV-717

Advanced Plug Mod Pioneer DV-727

Advanced Plug Mod Pioneer DV-7300

Advanced Plug Mod Pioneer DV-737

Advanced Plug Mod Pioneer DV-747

Advanced Plug Mod Pioneer DV-757

Advanced Plug Mod Pioneer DV-868

Advanced Plug Mod Pioneer DV-919

Advanced Plug Mod Pioneer DV-939

Advanced Plug Mod Pioneer DV-989

Advanced Plug Mod Pioneer PDV-LC20 (on request)

Advanced Plug Mod Pioneer XV-Htd50

Advanced Plug Mod Pioneer XV-S100d

Total lines: 26

If it is not listed, please buy the generic article.

Feature	Contents	Description
Set 1	Region switch (auto + manual)	If you just need manual and automatic region switch
Set 2	Region switch (auto + manual), UOPs disabled	Features from set 1 plus the removal of the very much hated user operation prohibitions (see above).
Set 3	Region switch (auto + manual), UOPs disabled, PAL progressive (+YUV/RGB/Sync switch where applyable)	Features from set 2 plus PAL progressive (see above).
Fair Use	Fair Use	Fair use will allow you to make backups of your legally owned media. Although fair use is granted almost all around the world, that right has been narrowed down recently by DMCA like laws prohibiting the people from circumventing a copyright measure. If you have such a law in your country, you can not buy the product with this feature.
PAL enable	PAL enable	Enables PAL playback on some 'special' players (see above).
Picture replacement	Replace the background picture	Make a nice gift out of your DVD player (see above).