Hi;
Thought I'd pass on some information regarding Macrovision and Vertical Retrace lines.

Several months ago I decided to do some research and find the best way of dealing with these EXTREMELY annoying problems that plague most older TV's both color and black and white. Initially I was enticed into buying a "video stabilizer" for about $30.00 that claimed to "fix it all". To my disappointment I found that it really didn't do a very good job of removing the lines and dots, and it also caused the color to shift and the luminance levels to vary. Since it created as many problems as it supposedly "fixed", it was NOT my idea of a cure all.

I read several posts here on AK and discovered in one of them a link to a web site of a German fellow by the name of Darius K. Mottaghian. On that web site Darius posted information about a Universal Video Board (UVB) that he designed and built that can remove both Vertical Retrace Lines and the Macrovision Dots and Dashes. After several e-mails (and many questions) I decided to purchase one of the UVB kits from Darius . It arrived here in NJ in about a week. It took several months before I had the time to actually sit down and assemble the kit. It does requires a 5 volt dc regulated power supply, and in my case, since I wanted to process signal from both my VCR and my DVD player, I needed an RF Modulator as well. All together, I probably spent about $60 to $70.

The results speak for themselves. I now have an absolutely flawless color picture with NO retrace or Macrovision lines and no color shifting. The results for the black and white TV set is just as impressive. I've attached some before and after pictures for you to see. There's also a photograph of the UVB kit module that I constructed. The UVB board is small, as are many of the components that go on the board, so a good eye and a very small tip on your soldering pencil are essential. Darius was very patient, courteous, and forthcoming with information before, during and after my purchase from him.

The TV's I used for the attached pictures are an RCA CTC 9 color set, and a 1958 Philco Predicta Barber Pole set.

I have no affiliation with Darius or his UVB kit other than being a very satisfied customer, but I think when you find a good product and a good person behind it...it deserves some friendly good publicity.


Here's a link to the web site:
[url]http://bs.cyty.com/menschen/e-etzold/archiv/TV/uvb/uvb_e.htm


I would highly recommend the unit for anyone wanting to get rid of those horrible vertical retrace lines and macrovision dots and dashes.

Bob

I have a little black box (about the size of a deck of cards) with video in-video out that does the same thing. It will run on it's 9v battery for about a year. The label fell off long ago and I have no idea where I bought it. I do remember it becoming illegal to import to the US.

Macrovision inserts 140 unit white chips in the vertical interval at random times. Most AGC circuits see this and collapse the video down to the 100 unit standard. At the same time, the sync below 0 units collapses accordingly and the pic cannot hold together for copying. The white chips leak in to the video as retrace lines on old sets that still try to show the image. Even modern sets struggle with it. You can see the video pulsing around while it is doing it's work.

My box senses the chips and inserts it's own grey chip over the Macrovision for the duration and all is well. Saved me many times when the DVD recorder said "not a chance".

And Darius has been around for years with his wizardry. A tip of the rabbit ears to him.

Dave A

I bought a "Macro Scrubber" kit from the back of a (Hot Rod?) magazine in 1986 and one of my co-workers and I built it and used it for perhaps questionable purposes. I guess they were illegal for a reason. I lost interest and gave it away in 1988. A couple of months ago I decided to try to track it down. Believe it or not I found it. The PC board looks very comparable. I'll post a pic shortly. It still works and does exactly what Ampico's results show. I was thinking about trying to reverse-engineer it, as I've not seen anything like it on eBay or around the junk shops -- except I'm probably guilty-as-charged for promoting an eBay "Video Stabilizer" I saw that claimed to do the same thing. Shame they don't work.

Nice to see somebody's way ahead of me, as I'd have never found the time. I'd say "go for it" as it looks like Darius has done his homework.

Hi,
I want to point out that the UVB does not eleminate Macrovision.
Macrovision is still present at the output of the UVB and the macrovision
code will be detected by recording equipment. Macrovision is a copyright
and it is forbidden to replace it like it is done in these illegal copy boxes.:nono:
The UVB is designed to make it possible to watch TV on vintage sets.:)

Attached a screenshot from the oscilloscope.
You can see that Macrovision is present at the output of the UVB.:yes:

Kind regards,
Darius

Hi,

I am hosting Darius' web page about the UVB. Please take care with respect to illegal reproaches. It is enough that we know how it works. I would recommend that those who use the M-word edit their posting and cut it. I will do it in the same manner later.

We all want to enjoy vintage television without any retrace lines, and I want to keep this informations for future times.

Kind regards,
Eckhard

...

Hi Andy
look at the sync tips! It is present after the sync sep. and will be detected.:yes:

Darius

I'm sorry to have generated such a firestorm of controversy! My only intention was to give a thumbs up to a product that works well. There's an old saying that comes to mind......"No good deed ever goes unpunished."

I stand corrected, Darius' UVB does not remove or elliminate (the "M" word), but if I understand it correctly, it supresses the effects of the dots and dashes on the screen so the picture is watchable on vintage equipment.

I don't really care if (the "M" word) is present, what I care about is being able to watch my antique and vintage TV's uninterupted by some insideous lines and dots all over the screen from DVD's that I have legally bought and paid for.

My apologies to Darius if through my improper description of his UVB unit I've caused him any "grief", but I'm not an engineer and I guess didn't thoroughly understand the operation of his unit. My understanding now is that (the "M" word) is not removed, but the effects are masked for viewing. The anti copy function of (the "M" word) is still present and fully functional.

Once again, my apologies to Darius for stirring up such a controversy, my intentions were honorable.

Bob.

That copy protection is annoying as anything. I have been looking for a way to get the lines off my sets for a while. The original Star Trek DVDs have it and the lines are bad when I watch it on my Zenith roundie. I may just have to order that kit.

Although I fundamentally object to any kind of forced copy protection, I would only want the kit to clear up the picture on my vintage tv sets. When I want to copy a DVD, I use my computer.:smoke:

One thing that really offends me is the concept of software licensing. If I pay retail price for a software program, I own it, period. I don't like the manufacturer telling me I merely have permission to use it and dictating how many machines on which I can run it. Bill Gates started this in the early days of computers.

Sorry to stray off topic but the whole copy protection issue stirred up one of my favorite rants.

Ampico, that CTC-9 is putting out an amazing picture!

...

Ampico, that CTC-9 is putting out an amazing picture!

Hi Bryan;
Yes my CTC-9 is truely an AMAZING performer. The picture may not be quite as bright as some of the later roundies, but from the standpoint of color reproduction I'd stack it up against anything out there.

It looks especially good now that all of those nasty dots and dashes have been removed from the picture.

Bob

I'm having a similar problem...

I'm using a 1988 JVC VCR as a modulator to watch DVDs on my 1976 Philips color set...

I don't see any retrace lines, but the brightness level is "breathing", could it be due to the "M word" ?

Is there a way to fix this problem other than purchasing illegal boxes? (like using a stand alone modulator instead of a VCR, or another kind of VCR, or some other hack)

I must have missed something here. I didn't know it was illegal to remove the Macrovision from a source video for viewing. When I owned a small production company, I contacted Macrovision about using the technology on our dvd's, and tapes. It was not illegal to remove Macrovision for viewing, at least that is what I gathered from our contacts with them, could have been totally wrong though since I am not a lawyer. It is however illegal to encode a tape or dvd with the Macrovision technology if you do not pay the yearly license fee (fee was based on the projected number of copies you would make) to them. Most importantly, and this has nothing to do with Macrovision, it is illegal to make a copy of any copyrighted work period. It has nothing to do with selling the copy or making money, etc, it is just illegal to make the copy. We actually caught a school making illegal copies once. Talk about an embaraced school principal. We didn't make a big deal out of it, but they did have to pay for the copies.

Bill R

I'm having a similar problem...

I'm using a 1988 JVC VCR as a modulator to watch DVDs on my 1976 Philips color set...

I don't see any retrace lines, but the brightness level is "breathing", could it be due to the "M word" ?

Is there a way to fix this problem other than purchasing illegal boxes? (like using a stand alone modulator instead of a VCR, or another kind of VCR, or some other hack)

I had the same problem, and yes as far as i understand it is the m-word, however if you get a cheap rf modulator it wont do that like the VCR will. I picked mine up at WalMart for like 20 bucks and it automatically turns on and off with the dvd player, and is selectable channel 3/4. works good and is about the size of 2 decks of cards side by side, easily hidden.

wouldn't a TBC shred shitvision to pieces and output a clean signal? On some DVDs that have the Shitvision "intro/promo" thing (it has their logo zooming in with the sound of some music in the background) I copy it to Betamax just so i can laugh that beta isn't affected...

Pics of the old (1986) m-word scrubber. Sorry for the blur.

The "Breathing" (slow rise and fall) of brightness is one of m-word's symptoms. This thing was marketed to cure it.

As I recall, the ad said it wasn't illegal to use it for improving your viewing pleasure. But that was 20 years ago. It wasn't illegal to drive without seat belts then either.

I tried it out on the Admiral Roundie From Hell and it took all the jitters and lines out and gave me a rock. The pics of my Zenith color roundie were also taken with it in play. It's a good tool for us technodorks and our hobby. I stand by using mine for its intended purpose. If it's easy to abuse, then the crime is in the abusing -- not the using. My 2 cents. I'm definitely NOT a lawyer.

Bob, regarding the kit, what do you get if you order one?
Does it come with all the components so you just have to put it together?
The 5v supply is extra?

BTW I was also going to comment on the stunning picture on your 9!
Does it have the 21CYP22 tube?

There are a couple of other ways to get around Macrovision on DVDs.

A copy of a DVD made on a PC the copy will play without Macrovision. I find it quite amusing that the act of copying defeats a system intended to prevent copying in the first place.

Macrovision can be disabled on many cheap off brand DVD players either by entering a code to change a "hidden" setting or by installing modified firmware. The modified firmware usually has additional benefits of being region free and allowing you to skip warnings and ads that are normally unskippable.

On some DVD players Macrovision is not present on the RGB output (those that don't take sync for the RGB output from the composite video output). Feed the RGB output into an NTSC/PAL encoder (such as the Jrok video board) and you composite video without Macrovision.

Sadly, my nice Kenwood DVD player cannot be hacked or updated... apparently, this player's OS is stored on a ROM chip and cannot be modified...

Sadly, my nice Kenwood DVD player cannot be hacked or updated... apparently, this player's OS is stored on a ROM chip and cannot be modified...

It's unfortunate, but it always seems that the better quality DVD players are often the least flexible. I have a Loewe and a Pioneer player that I rarely use anymore. They are both much nicer than the cheap flimsy chinese players and have outlasted several of them, but they are not user friendly at all.

That's not the 'm word'. It's those large positive square pulses that start just after the center line on the scope screen. ....

The pseudo-sync (http://209.85.135.104/search?q=cache:xbVpPQVRcj4J:gauss.ffii.org/PatentView/EP256753+Macrovision+sync+tip&hl=de&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=de)is.
Thus the UVB is the only solution (as far as I know) to watch m-word protected DVDs etc. on vintage equipment
without eliminating the m-word.

Fuji has the old way to beat this. You can always copy to an old Betamax and play that. Betamax strips off incoming sync and replaces it with it's own new sync on recording. Loop-through does not work though.

No Betamax tapes? You can use Betacam oxide tapes. Not SP. Same shell.

Most DVD players set themselves to the region being played after a few plays and are tough to change after that.

Dave A

Bob, regarding the kit, what do you get if you order one?
Does it come with all the components so you just have to put it together?
The 5v supply is extra?

BTW I was also going to comment on the stunning picture on your 9!
Does it have the 21CYP22 tube?

Ordering the kit will get you the UVB (Universal Video Board) and all of the hardware needed for that board. The 5 volt DC power supply is not included. I took an LM7805 along with a couple of caps, and an old 6 volt plug in style power transformer and made a regulated 5 volt DC supply.

Yes, the tube in my CTC-9 is a 21CYP22. For a tube that's almost 50 years old, it's capable of producing a beautiful picture.

Bob.

...

Hi;
Thought I'd pass on some information regarding Macrovision and Vertical Retrace lines.

Several months ago I decided to do some research and find the best way of dealing with these EXTREMELY annoying problems that plague most older TV's both color and black and white. Initially I was enticed into buying a "video stabilizer" for about $30.00 that claimed to "fix it all". To my disappointment I found that it really didn't do a very good job of removing the lines and dots, and it also caused the color to shift and the luminance levels to vary. Since it created as many problems as it supposedly "fixed", it was NOT my idea of a cure all.

I read several posts here on AK and discovered in one of them a link to a web site of a German fellow by the name of Darius K. Mottaghian. On that web site Darius posted information about a Universal Video Board (UVB) that he designed and built that can remove both Vertical Retrace Lines and the Macrovision Dots and Dashes. After several e-mails (and many questions) I decided to purchase one of the UVB kits from Darius . It arrived here in NJ in about a week. It took several months before I had the time to actually sit down and assemble the kit. It does requires a 5 volt dc regulated power supply, and in my case, since I wanted to process signal from both my VCR and my DVD player, I needed an RF Modulator as well. All together, I probably spent about $60 to $70.

The results speak for themselves. I now have an absolutely flawless color picture with NO retrace or Macrovision lines and no color shifting. The results for the black and white TV set is just as impressive. I've attached some before and after pictures for you to see. There's also a photograph of the UVB kit module that I constructed. The UVB board is small, as are many of the components that go on the board, so a good eye and a very small tip on your soldering pencil are essential. Darius was very patient, courteous, and forthcoming with information before, during and after my purchase from him.

The TV's I used for the attached pictures are an RCA CTC 9 color set, and a 1958 Philco Predicta Barber Pole set.

I have no affiliation with Darius or his UVB kit other than being a very satisfied customer, but I think when you find a good product and a good person behind it...it deserves some friendly good publicity.


Here's a link to the web site:
[url]http://bs.cyty.com/menschen/e-etzold/archiv/TV/uvb/uvb_e.htm


I would highly recommend the unit for anyone wanting to get rid of those horrible vertical retrace lines and macrovision dots and dashes.

Bob

Hi Bob,
thank you very much for your reply.
Very nice pics . You make me very happy.:banana:

Kind regards,
Darius

wouldn't a TBC shred shitvision to pieces and output a clean signal? On some DVDs that have the Shitvision "intro/promo" thing (it has their logo zooming in with the sound of some music in the background) I copy it to Betamax just so i can laugh that beta isn't affected...

TBC re-inserts sync pulses only, and will cure picture tearing & jitters.
The nifty item I used to use was a Tektronix VITS200 inserter.
Unit allows you to block, pass, or insert test signals on any line in the VBI.
Also has TBC & ghost cancellation.

A bit off topic in a way ..but re DVD ....the fight over HD or Blu Ray in the hidef dvd format wars leaves me cheering for HD DVD ...no anti consumer region coding to deal with ...as for the rest of the DRM stuff ....well my comments are unprintable!!

The nifty item I used to use was a Tektronix VITS200 inserter.
Unit allows you to block, pass, or insert test signals on any line in the VBI.
Also has TBC & ghost cancellation.

Tell me more about what kind of signals you can block in a PM :d

This kit looks like the answer to alot of playback problems we have when using vintage tv's and i look forward to purchasing one soon. One question i have though since it hasnt been asked so far...does one of these help with playback when using a VCR also? Just curious as some of us have some vintage tv shows on vhs and of course using a VCR at least for me hasnt been the best experience when playing it on a vintage tv. As far as the m-word i could care less as i never had the interest to duplicate tapes or dvd's anyway, i just want a decent picture when i fire up my roundie :) whether its old tv shows or a new movie.
-Tony

I found the "secret" menu on my Digix Media DVD player, and it does have a "defeat" settibg as well as region-code settings. I am going to try it with a test DVD on my CTC-5, then buy a DVD of early color Bonanza episodes to play on it.

This kit looks like the answer to alot of playback problems we have when using vintage tv's and i look forward to purchasing one soon. One question i have though since it hasnt been asked so far...does one of these help with playback when using a VCR also? Just curious as some of us have some vintage tv shows on vhs and of course using a VCR at least for me hasnt been the best experience when playing it on a vintage tv. As far as the m-word i could care less as i never had the interest to duplicate tapes or dvd's anyway, i just want a decent picture when i fire up my roundie :) whether its old tv shows or a new movie.
-Tony

It depends on what problem you are having. Trash in the blanking interval on VHS will cause white lines, just as it does with DVDs. It also contributes to instability, however..... There is another separate problem with VHS. There are rather severe timebase errors that are the root cause of instability in the picture.

Our older sets were designed to play NTSC spec video, over the air. It was assumed that the transmitter would be extremely stable, because the FCC required it to be. The sync sections in the old sets were designed with a "flywheel effect". If a few sync pulses were lost to interference, the picture would not destabilize. The watcher may not have even noticed.

VHS on the other hand, is not extremely stable, quite the opposite. The video is recorded in diagonal slices across the tape, and while there is nothing inherently wrong with that method, the slices do have to be put back together on playback. In the case of VHS, it doesn't get done very accurately.

When the slices get put back together, the time between the sync pulses does not always come out right. An old set will display exactly what VHS gives it, a picture that waves all over the place.

Modern sets use a different method. They do not have the flywheel effect. If a sync pulse comes, a line or frame starts. This has the effect of putting the beginning of each line more or less where it belongs. The playback is much better. This is not because the set is more stable, but because it is less stable.....

I am using a JVC VCR with a timebase corrector. As far as I know they are the only company that offers this on a consumer grade VCR. I haven't looked lately but usually their TOTL model has it. All of the instability goes away when you hit the TBC button. One thing you might not expect is that the color improves too. The difference is staggering, even on modern sets.

John
.

It depends on what problem you are having. Trash in the blanking interval on VHS will cause white lines, just as it does with DVDs. It also contributes to instability, however..... There is another separate problem with VHS. There are rather severe timebase errors that are the root cause of instability in the picture.

Our older sets were designed to play NTSC spec video, over the air. It was assumed that the transmitter would be extremely stable, because the FCC required it to be. The sync sections in the old sets were designed with a "flywheel effect". If a few sync pulses were lost to interference, the picture would not destabilize. The watcher may not have even noticed.

VHS on the other hand, is not extremely stable, quite the opposite. The video is recorded in diagonal slices across the tape, and while there is nothing inherently wrong with that method, the slices do have to be put back together on playback. In the case of VHS, it doesn't get done very accurately.

When the slices get put back together, the time between the sync pulses does not always come out right. An old set will display exactly what VHS gives it, a picture that waves all over the place.

Modern sets use a different method. They do not have the flywheel effect. If a sync pulse comes, a line or frame starts. This has the effect of putting the beginning of each line more or less where it belongs. The playback is much better. This is not because the set is more stable, but because it is less stable.....

I am using a JVC VCR with a timebase corrector. As far as I know they are the only company that offers this on a consumer grade VCR. I haven't looked lately but usually their TOTL model has it. All of the instability goes away when you hit the TBC button. One thing you might not expect is that the color improves too. The difference is staggering, even on modern sets.

John
.

Right on John ! I also have a JVC VCR with TBC (Time Base Correction) and it works fantastic. Without it the VHS picture is unstable, waving and jittering all over the place. With the TBC turned on the picture is rock solid with no fluttering, waving, tearing, or jittering at the top of the picture.

The things we have to go through to watch our vintage TV's !

Bob

...

The modifications for various 70s TVs were listed in the Serviceman column of Electronics Australia magazine, I have those issues around somewhere. Perhaps a similar magazine covered the modifications for some vintage NTSC sets?

Several manufacturers included TBCs in their high end consumer VCRs. I have JVC and Loewe (built by Hitachi?) S-VHS VCRs with TBCs. I've seen at least one Panasonic consumer S-VHS VCR with a TBC. With so many people abandoning VHS some very nice VCRs (including pro editting decks) are being sold very cheaply.

Thanks guys for a very informative explanation. Luckily alot of the old shows are now beginning to be released on DVD so this kit will come in very handy. The thing i like about it also is that its an external fix so no modification needs to be done to the sets themselves and they can be left in their original state.
-Tony

Hey guys I dont know why this is working so well, but I have a cheap-o RCA VHS VCR. Newer one and it's taking the retrace out of every DVD I play on my ctc-16. I use an RCA DVD player. Go figure. The Pic looks great too, no flashing and no retrace lines or instability issues at all!

At the formal opening of our museum in Windsor CT last Saturday we had a CTC-11, a CTC-9 (anniversary model), and a completely restored and operating CT-100. The 9 did not get along at all with the DVD encoded with Macrovision, but the 11 was more tolerant. The CT-100, however, showed a splendid display with no "jitters" or fading. The lines in the upper left corner were present, but did not make a difference in picture stability, or brightness, etc.
The CT-100 is cabinet # 827.
Kevin G.