Page 1 of Philips DVDR70 regional hack

8)
Hi all. Having read the Philips DVDR70 threads, and the Philips 750 hack page I decided to have a go. I must admit to not finding the information as straightforward as it could have been, but in the end I succeeded in accomplishing the task, and thought that perhaps others might benefit from what I learnt.

There are two ways of doing this; one is to use the supplied remote, but as it is well reported that this only allows 25 changes therefore I decided to use the One-For-All remote method. The steps I used are listed below:

1. Switch on the unit using the supplied remote, and with no disk installed open the Systems menu, go to the bottom of the 'User Preferences bar to 'Remote control Settings' (it is not visible you have to scroll down), switch the remote setting from the default Record Mode to Player Mode.
2. First a word about AIO remotes, not all remotes will have the code installed to enable them to control the DVDR70. For £10 OFA will upgrade some older controllers, but as you can get a suitable controller from Argos (item 535/1974) at the moment for £14.75 it's not really worth it.
3. Using the One-For-All remote first set it to control the DVD. To do this press the DVD button, the light will flash, press the 'Magic' button and hold until the light flashes twice, enter 0539 and the light will flash twice. You can check to see if the remote is correctly set by putting the DVDR into standby, and then on again.
4. If this is ok pres 'magic' and then 085 (don't hold down the 'magic' button until the light flashes twice)
5. Enter 121-212-005-255 (you will not be able to see all of the numbers on the display but that's ok) then press the 'Play' button the display will show 'No disk'
6. Using the remote, switch of the DVDR wait a few seconds and then power it up again.
7. Using the supplied remote reset the Remote Setting back to the default record mode, as in (1)
8. Insert a region 1 disk (that's all I had) and hey presto the region warning message is gone and the disk plays perfectly.
9. Take the OFA back to Argos (I didn't say that)

Incidentally as far as I can see the only need for the OFA is to be able to press the 'Magic' button before '085' everything else can be done using the supplied remote.

Good luck Noel

This item was edited on Wednesday, 10th December 2003, 14:34

Thanks man, i`ve been looking for help on how to hack my DVDR70 for ages,
much respect.

It`s hard to be first class when your white trash... roach class all the way.

Dear Noel,

Being a DVD recorder virgin does the hack you`ve described overcome the Copy Protection system that the DVDR70 has?

If No do you know of a way to by-pass it?

Also what do you mean by the supplied remote only allows 25 changes?

Appreciate you offering me some help.

Regards,

Graham.

does the hack you`ve described overcome the Copy Protection system that the DVDR70 has?

No

If No do you know of a way to by-pass it?

You can buy a Macrovision lead to suppress copy protection but remember a) it`s against the law to copy videos and DVDs; b) a DVD copied by this method is a second-generation (digital-analogue-digital) copy and you can`t duplicate menus, etc.; c) it`s against the law to copy videos and DVDs.

Also what do you mean by the supplied remote only allows 25 changes?

You can use the supplied remote to region hack the machine from R2 to R1, but then you have to hack back to R2 to play an R2 disc again. The machine only allows 25 changes of region, then locks the machine to the last region selected. The OFA handset cons the machine into believing you`re a Philips engineer with a Philips Engineering Remote, and you can set the machine to genuine multiregion playback.

Just remember if you do hack your Philips recorder, there is a strong chance that if you upgrade the firmware at a later date, you may find your recorder stops working altogether.

J Mark Oates

This item was edited on Tuesday, 16th December 2003, 02:02

Hi All,

As a complete newbie to all this, I`ve just impulsively bought our first DVD player - a DVDR70. Obviously, this is an interesting thread for me!

Can anyone tell me what`s "Firmware" and why I might want to upgrade it? Also, can the hack be reversed if you want to upgrade the firmware?

Thanks all.

Firmware is the program that runs the functions of your recorder - making the menus and that sort of thing. Every so often Philips issue an update of the firmware on their website to correct problems users have encountered, or to give extra functionality like error recovery or 4x media compatibility. I assume you can reverse the hack (entering the appropriate code for Region 2 rather than the multi-region one).

Upgrading the firmware is a case of downloading the firmware to your PC, then burning a CDR with the data on (there are constraints about compatibility, but they`re covered at the Philips site). You put the disc into your recorder and shut the tray. If it works, it puts a message on the display and about 20 minutes later your machine is fully updated.

J Mark Oates

Hi there. When you mention there is only 25 times to change the region coding, when I apply the hack it works fine and I seem to be able to play region 2 and region 1 dvds with no problems. So I don`t understand why I would need to change the region back to region 2 to play region 2 discs, surely the hack makes the recorder region free? Or is it secretly changing the region each time I put in a disc, and so after playing a dozn or so region 1 discs I`ll be locked out??? I used the original remote for my hack. Please advise.
Have a great Christmas and thanks for your advice

I understand that copying DVDs for gain is against the law. But surly it`s ok for own use. :/

Hi,
:( Having read Noels info I tried it on my DVDR70, but it did not work. The remote suggest from Argos is no longer suitable for this purpose. 8) After speaking to `One4All` they recommended the URC7730 which will work with the setup code `0646` 0539 does not work the DVDR70, or you can use the URC7562 from Argos Item number 535/6209 and the ring One4All to upgrade the O4A-6 over the phone, then enter the code `0646` and following Noel`s guide from item `4` and hey presto you have a multi region DVDR70, and you can take the remote back to Argos as well, but its a handy piece of kit to keep.
There is another remote that can be used, the URC7552 (One4All-5) his too needs upgrading over the phone to make it accept the code 0646.

Hope this helps anybody who have had problems or were unable to set up the region free hack!!

Bill Wilkin

i have tried to do this hack but because i am inept i cannot seem to figure out where exactly i am supposed to enter in the code as it does not appear anywhere on the screen as i type it. can someone please tell me where i enter the 12 digit code 121 212 005 255 as i am technologically retarded.

andy c :/