Jaycar's “Dr Video” Macrovision fixer

(Front view.)

This is a $60 kit available from Jaycar (an Australian electronics retail chain), that can repair some of the damage that the Macrovision video protection (anti-copying) scheme does to video signals, causing TV sets to flicker while viewing a film.

Macrovision is supposed to prevent people making copies of a film, but it doesn't; it's quite easy to get around, with devices like this kit.  One thing that Macrovision does often do, is make it difficult to watch the original film, as some TV sets do not like Macrovision-stuffed-up signals.  Necessitating devices, like this.

The “Dr Video” kit doesn't totally repair the damage that Macrovision does to a signal, but it does seem to fix it enough that TV sets which didn't like Macrovisioned video, will now display the picture without annoying flickering and jumping.  Though, because it only partially repairs the signal, that doesn't mean that you will necessarily be able to record from it.  It works by blanking out the much of the main problem signal that Macrovision inserts (a black and white check pattern of varying intensity) during the vertical blanking period (at the top of the picture frame).  But doesn't do anything to alter the signals added prior to the vertical sync.

It runs from a 12 Volt DC power source (not included), you connect the video out of your player to the kit, and the output of the kit to your monitor.  The only adjustment is a “sharpen” switch, if you'd like to sharpen up the picture a bit.  The signal quality is quite good (the simplicity of the circuit probably helps).

The kit isn't hard to build, and only really requires basic soldering skills, and the ability to work out which components belong where (the instructions were explicit enough, that even a complete novice should manage to build it quite okay).


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