I'm kinda monopolizing the rec.video heirarchy today!

Found some info on hacking Sony TRV-series Digital8 camcorders using a LANC
controller (or parallel interface and a piece of software)

Here's an interesting page: http://ns.sps.volyne.cz/set1394/anin/code.html
That one actually linked from one of John Beale's TRV900 pages
http://www.bealecorner.com/trv900/d8/ (at the very bottom).

....and something in French if you're multi-lingual:
http://www.digital8.fr.st/

I know NOTHING about "LANC" (plan to Google it) but I gather the whole buzz
is that you can change the way some registers are set in the camera to
enable certain locked out functions! How about Zebras and Colour Bars for a
TRVx20 camera?

Anyone try this ... without BBQing your camera?

I'm crazy enough to try it - think I'll make a parallel to LANC adaptor and
give it a shot.

Bit leery of messing up my camera though...

C.j

Show quote Hide quote LANC is a communications protocol that used to be popular with camcorders
before firewire.  It couldn't be used to dump video data, but it was a
standardized protocol (with custom extensions) that allowed fairly complete
control of a camera.  LANC is still seen today for things like zoom and
focus controls on tripod handles and the like.

I seem to recall that they can be hacked to do this.  Hacking was popular in
Europe because the tax schemes there required AV-input being disabled on
camcorders -- otherwise they were taxed like VCRs.

Show quoteHide quote

C.J.:

Google "Sony RM-95".  That is the Sony Remote Controller which can also
act as a Lanc "hacker" for the firmware in most Sony Camcorders.  Sony
used to sell them for about $100 a pop.  Any Sony repair shop had one
to enable and/or disable features which were on the camcorder's
firmware chips, but Sony didn't want to enable them all, and to read
the running time clocks for heads, transports, etc.

However, if you do something wrong you can make a doorstop out of your
camcorder quite easily.

I don't know if Sony still sells them to the public.  I found that they
could be used as a "wired" Sony VCR remote in case you were running too
many of them to use the wireless remotes on all of them at the same
time (back in the crash-edit days).  They also come with a 15ft. cable,
so you could set up a remote or a cam on an 8-10ft. tall tripod and
focus, start, stop, pause, zoom, etc. from down below, as long as you
had a small monitor wired in also.

Mike


PTRAVEL wrote:
http://ns.sps.volyne.cz/set1394/anin/code.html
Show quoteHide quote

I have used the software and home made parallel interface to enable analog
passthru on my TRV900.  It works but you have to redo it everytime power is
removed from the camera.

Anthony Gosnell

I was reading something about that!

There's some mention of writing to an "allow changes" memory location,
making changes to other settings, then writing to the above register again
to lock the changes.

I don't know if this applies to all tweaks, if it makes things permenant or
if it's just something you have to do to make temporary changes.

What process did you use?

Thanks!
C.j


Show quoteHide quote

I used the instructions from here.
http://www.bealecorner.com/trv900/rm95.html

I re-read them and it seems that you can save the changes to the non
volatile memory.

Anthony Gosnell

Hey! Thanks for the link - I didn't have that page in my fav's yet.

C.


Show quoteHide quote

In article <KqGdnU9dgoR6CPbfRVn***@is.co.za>,
Show quoteHide quoteYep - I can confirm they're saved...I enabled a swag of handy features
on my old TRV-120E years ago, just be sure to double check the values
that compensate when you "flick the bits". It's not hard but better if
you understand the changes so you calculate your own corrections instead
of blindly following someone else's example.

Mark.

Show quote Hide quote

Show quote Hide quote Note that enabling analog passthru is automatically enabled for
most NTSC (North America, Japan, etc.) camcorders. It is a result
of tax laws and has nothing to do with technology. That is why the
instructions for doing this are generally from servers in Europe, etc.

Of course, there are other parameters you can change with this
method, but none of them are as compelling as enabling the analog
input, so IMHO, they have a negative risk/return ratio.

AH HA!

New development...

See this page: http://www.sps.volyne.cz/set1394/anin/code20.html
The utility entitled "dvin" didn't run for me initially under WinXP and I
gave up on it too soon.

I found a way to run it - File Properties - "Run this program in
compatibility mode for Windows 98."
And voila! It works!

Get this: this little utility is THE killer app for Digital8 cameras.

Build the parallel to LANC adaptor (a 10 minute job with a soldering iron),
hook up the camera to a computer LPT port and turn it on. This little
utility is a Sony RMT95 software emulator that communicates via parallel
port!

It has the ability to do a "firmware dump" from whatever camera is
connected. I don't know entirely what the "emergency" button does but I get
the impression from the web page if you screw something up you can revert to
a ROM stored firmware state and get back to factory settings.

Seems the author has "dumped" a number of memory states from various cameras
and has mapped out the brains of different models.

The page above features a matrix of memory contents - "position E6 set to
zero means zebras off" kind of thing. (i pulled those numbers out of a hat
but you get the idea) I found a few other websites with Sony camera memory
dumps too. A good search turns up lots so apparently people are successfully
doing this!

Now if I didn't have to keep working on this darned reference manual until
it's done I could go play with my camera. Grumble grumble...

Once I try this I'm going to put up my own web page with a hands on
tutorial. Nefarious schemes need instruction manuals!

C.j

camera tricks & secret hidden behind the scene manual stuf...
multiple DVD's to single DVD
Revisited: wide angle converter for vx2100
How can you make someone old? Hoe iemand oud maken?
Just jumping into this
sandbag/shotbag
Re: Sony camcorder as webcam - timeout problem
Re: Just jumping into this
Copy one DVD to a blank DVD on Sony VCR's
Sony - Download photos to computer