APEX AD-660

ATTENTION:
POWER SUPPLY DEFECT

Over the life of the 660 I have had increasing reports from people that either the 660 player just suddenly dies or when powered up and eject is pressed the player resets and does not eject the tray. The above symptoms are caused by defects in the power supply and if not fixed BEFORE the above problems are noticed or attended to IMMEDIATELY when the problems are evident there is risk it will damage your player beyond repair or at the very least destroy the DVD drive mechanism.

Taking a look at the power supply from a 660 you will notice I have put arrows pointing to the parts that cause this:

The parts are as follows:

C19: a 470uF 25V capacitor in the +12 Volt line
C22: a 1000uF 16V capacitor in the +5 Volt line
D12: a 1 Amp fast recovery rectifier diode in the +12 Volt line
R29: a 470 Ohm 1 Watt resistor in the +12 Volt line
C1: a 68uF 400V capacitor in the mains input section

Not all of the above parts are a problem if the power supply is upgraded BEFORE problems arise. The only two parts that need immediate replacement are C19 and C22 as these tend to go open circuit. When this happens it causes the +5 Volt and +12 Volt lines to rise and get rather "spiky" which can cause other parts to fail like D12 and R29 and the DVD loader mechanism.

C1 is mentioned because sometimes it too becomes open circuit, however this does not cause any catastrophic problems. The main symptom of C1 being faulty is the +5 and +12 Volt lines being LOWER than they should be and the player behaving erratically. Only if after checkout and replacement of the other parts does not fix the problem the suspect C1.

And please remember: Unplug the DVD player from the wall before working on it. Also if you are not a qualified person who knows what to do then DO NOT attempt the above yourself. Get someone who is qualified to do the work for you. You may also need fixing if you do something wrong!

Unlike most players discussed on this site,
there are TWO primary reasons to upgrade the firmware on an Apex AD-660:

1. To get rid of Region and Macrovision restrictions

2. To fix the infamous "subtitles bug" (which turns on the subtitles by default on any DVD) that plagues earlier versions of the player.

The first step is to determine the firmware version that is currently on your AD-660.

To do this, push the following buttons on the remote:

Eject (open disc tray)
SETUP
STEP ||
Skip Back |<<
Skip Forward >>|

A "VERSION" page MIGHT appear on your TV screen.
It will list one of the following as the firmware version:

660-7
660-8-AM
660-8-MM
660-9-MM
660-C-MM
AD660-C

Make a note of the VERSION which is displayed. Now scroll down to section titled "CHOOSING THE CORRECT FIRMWARE FOR UPGRADING".

If nothing appears on your screen, then your player has version 660-3 or the non-CD-upgradeable version of 660-C. (Players running firmware version 660-7 *may* also fail to show the VERSION page.) You will need to open up your player to determine the firmware version. Look for a rectangular-shaped chip on the green-coloured circuit board. There should be a sticker on the chip noting the firmware version. Here's a photo of a circuit board from a player which has firmware version 660-3 (outlined by the red box) --

Note: This picture was taken from http://psych.tripod.com/apexdvdplayers/

Make a note of what it says on your player's firmware sticker. Now, carefully peel off the sticker so that you can see the writing printed directly onto the chip. Look for one of the following codes printed on the chip:

27C040
29F040

Make a note of which code is on your chip.

Now scroll down to the section titled
"CHOOSING THE CORRECT FIRMWARE FOR UPGRADING".

CHOOSING THE CORRECT FIRMWARE
FOR UPGRADING

Explanations regarding where to get a new firmware chip,
or how to properly upgrade with a CD,
are provided below the chart.

IF THE FIRMWARE ON YOUR PLAYER IS
NOT CD-UPGRADEABLE...

You will need to get a new firmware chip. Click HERE for details. Be sure to specify the type of chip that you need, and which firmware you need.

For example, when opening up the player (see above), if the sticker on the firmware chip said "660-3", and the writing on the chip itself included the code "27C040", then you would specify that you need THIS firmware burned onto a new "27C040 32-pin DIP chip".

If the sticker on the firmware chip said "660-C", and the writing on the chip itself included the code "29F040", then you would specify that you need THIS firmware burned on a new "29F040 32-pin DIP chip".

Once you receive the replacement firmware chip, you can visit THIS PAGE for instructions on how to properly pop out the old chip and put in the new one.

IF THE FIRMWARE ON YOUR PLAYER
*IS* CD-UPGRADEABLE...

Follow these instructions:

1. Download the appropriate file linked under the "THIS IS THE BEST CHOICE FOR UPGRADING" column in the table above.

2. Unzip the contents of the file you downloaded. If necessary, rename the .ROM or .BIN file as stated above. Once again, here are the renaming "rules" --

* If your player currently has 660-8-AM, rename the unzipped file as U660-AM.ROM

* If your player currently has 660-8-MM, 660-9-MM, or 660-C-MM,
rename the unzipped file as U660-MM.ROM

* If your player currently has AD660-C, rename the unzipped file as UAD660.ROM

3. Depending on which file you downloaded, it may or may not include a file named TEST20MB.TXT. If that file is included, be sure to unzip it. If that file is NOT included, download a separate TEST20MB.TXT zip file by clicking here, and then unzip it.

4. Burn the .ROM file, and TEST20MB.TXT, to a blank CD-R/CD-RW.
("TEST20MB.TXT" helps the player find the .ROM file more easily; it has no other function.)
Be sure to apply these specifications before burning the disc:
Data CD, ISO9660, Mode 1, "Close"/"Finalize" disc session.

(If you need help with burning the disc, you might want to check out this excellent article put together by the guys at Area 450. The article references Sampo firmware, but the burning specifications are the same.

After the disc is burned, view the contents of the disc in Windows Explorer/My Computer/whatever. Once again, right-click on the .ROM file that's burned on the disc and select "Properties" (or do whatever is necessary to view the Properties.) Make sure that the file size is EXACTLY 524,288 bytes.
If the file size is NOT 524,288 bytes, DO NOT CONTINUE!

In addition...if the file you burned is named U660-AM.ROM or U660-MM.ROM, make sure that the file name actually appears that way on the disc! If the filename appears as U660_AM.ROM or U660_MM.ROM , the player will NOT accept the upgrade! You must re-burn the disc so that the filename contains the hyphen ... NOT the underscore!

5. Read this disclaimer:

DISCLAIMER: USE AT YOUR OWN RISK. I WILL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE THAT MAY RESULT TO YOUR PLAYER. PERFORMING
THE PROCEDURE DESCRIBED HERE WILL SURELY
VOID THE WARRANTY OF YOUR AD-660!

6. Eject the disc tray on the DVD player.

7. Put the CD-R/CD-RW, data side down, on the tray.

8. Close the disc tray.

9. The upgrade process will now begin.

DO NOT DO ANYTHING UNTIL THE DISC TRAY HAS AUTOMATICALLY EJECTED.

What you see on the screen depends on what firmware you are upgrading from. Some firmwares will cause the screen to change colours, and words or dots may appear on the screen. Other firmwares will show the following words on the screen, either with a scrambled-colour background or a solid blue background:

-- AUTOMATIC UPGRADE --
ERASE/ERASING
WRITE/WRITING
DONE

DO NOT DO ANYTHING UNTIL THE DISC TRAY HAS AUTOMATICALLY EJECTED.

10. Once the upgrade is complete, the disc tray will automatically eject. Remove the disc.
The display may be completely blank, or it may show an assortment of words/characters and icons. This is normal.

11. Turn OFF the POWER on the front of the player (NOT the remote). Wait 10 seconds, and then turn ON the power on the front of the player (NOT the remote).

12. The disc tray should automatically close, and the upgrade should be complete.

A MORE ADVANCED OPTION...

Would you like to view JPEG files on your TV? Or how about hooking up a hard drive to your AD-660 and transforming it into an MP3 jukebox? There's a special version of the firmware from the Sampo 631CF which lets you add these exciting features, and you can upgrade to it UNLESS your AD-660 has firmware version 660-7 (sorry!)

Those of you whose players have firmware version 660-3 or the non-CD-upgradeable version of AD660-C will need to have the firmware programmed onto a new firmware chip. See above for details on obtaining a new chip. And again, don't even try this if your player is running firmware version 660-7 -- it won't work at all.

Here are the steps for applying the Sampo firmware correctly if your player is running 660-8-AM, 660-8-MM, 660-9-MM, AD660-C (the CD upgradeable version), or 660-C-MM:

1. ***VERY IMPORTANT***
If you are already running a previous version of the Sampo 631CF firmware, "flash back" to an AD-660 firmware which is appropriate for your player (see above).
In either case, name the file SAMPODVD.ROM.

For an explanation of why it's important to "flash back" first, see the next section, titled "FOOTNOTES FROM STEP #1 ABOVE".

2. Download the newest Sampo firmware by clicking HERE.
Unzip the SAMPODVD.ROM and TEST20MB.TXT files.

3.

* If your player currently has firmware version 660-8-AM, rename the unzipped file as U660-AM.ROM

* If your player currently has firmware version 660-8-MM, 660-9-MM, or 660-C-MM,
rename the unzipped file as U660-MM.ROM

* If your player currently has AD660-C, rename the unzipped file as UAD660.ROM

4. Follow the instructions in the sections above
for burning the disc and performing the upgrade.

5. After the disc tray has automatically ejected,
REMOVE THE DISC! THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT!

6. Push the main power switch (on the front of the player) to the OFF position.
Wait at least 10 seconds, and then push it to the ON position.

7. If you don't see a picture, listen closely to the disc tray after turning the main power switch on. You will hear it make a sound, briefly. Immediately after hearing this sound, push the Power button ON THE REMOTE. Hopefully you'll see the following on your screen:

If nothing happens, or if you see something weird on your screen (i.e., a Sampo logo with a red or gray background, or a scrambled picture), DO NOT PANIC. Just turn off the main power, and try again until you get it right!

8. Once everything is working normally, you must do the following to ensure that
DVDs play properly:

Push SETUP
Go into the MISSING LINKS PAGE menu
Select the MAXICD MODE menu
Select OFF

(If you select the "ON" option for MAXICD MODE, your player will have the ability
to read MP3s, JPEGs, etc. from a DVD-R(W), but attempting to play a
regular DVD will bring up a file browser menu; thus, you should select the
OFF option in order for regular DVDs to play automatically.)

Here's a list of the features available on this version of the firmware:

New Fixes Patcher V1.3
----------------------

Play files (MP3's, JPGS and others) from a DVD-R(W)
-NotMeGuv's MaxiCD Patch, this must be turned ON/Off from the Missing Links menu
in Setup.

Eject after Firmware upgrade
-I've added the Eject command after the Firmware upgrade is completed so the CD-R(W)
you use to upgrade will be ejected after a Firmware Upgrade. (Note: this will not work the first time you load this firmware; it will start working for any subsequent upgrades.)

Fix ADV7170 Video Encoder Black level output

-The picture brightness is now normal when the player is outputting an NTSC signal; it was too dark before.

Fixed Zoom Text
-Changed the "ZOOM X2" to display as "ZOOM2.0" to keep it looking like the "ZOOM1.5"
fix.

Supports Proper Version Number
-Press 1,2,3,4,5 you should see that it matches the Patcher upgrades. Currently
it should say "2.1-01.3 YourPlayerName". The 2.1 is the source
Sampo 631CF V2.1 software and the 01.3 is the Patched version.

CGMS is not so Destructive
-The old CGMS by-pass routine completely by-passed output of Widescreen data and
CGMS data. This should only remove the CGMS info. Unfortunately there are special
DVDs that seem to have the CGMS info in the video stream (Lord of The Rings) and
these are not disbled by either CGMS by-pass method (New or Old).

New Fixes EZPatch V1.2
----------------------

Fixed ZOOM
-I've fixed the ZOOM while in DVD playback mode so it's no longer blocky. It is
perfect, just like the Haier firmware. I also modified the text display to show
the correct ZOOM setting ZOOM1.5 and ZOOM X2, there is no ZOOM X4 mode.

Hiteker Analog Audio Fixed
-With RichardK's help testing, I've fixed the analog audio output to work properly
on the Hiteker players. No more hissing while playing back MP3, CDDA, VCDs and
SVCDs...

Removed Chinese On Screen Message Selection
-Sakman has removed the Chinese message option in the General/On Screen Display
Setup menu. The Chinese fonts had to be removed to make room for the software
additions and the large MPEG2 background image. So this makes the firmware a
little cleaner.

Auto Alphabetizing MP3/File Mode
-I've got the firmware modified to always alphabetize the MP3/file menus. You can
still press the A-Brt button to do this same function in SUB-Folder playback. I
left this in because the playback filelist is created in sub-folder order and some
people like to hear their MP3's in this order rather then alphabetically. Of
course you can always hit SHUFFLE to randomize the playlist.

Hiteker Front Buttons Fixed
-I fixed the front panel buttons so they now work on the Hiteker AD-700 version
with the DV-R320.

Fixed Remote buttons
-Capncybo has mapped out the remote scan code table in the AD-700 DV-R320. So I
took this data and under his suggestions we re-arranged the DVD-Digest and the
PBC OFF buttons (they had the reverse function using the Sampo firmware). Also
made the Vol+ button do the Mark function (set points in the DVD movie to jump to.
Also made the Vol- button do the CF function (jumps to the Compact Flash or Hard
drive without having to remove the DVD/CD in the player.

AD600 ADV7175 bug fixed
-hmpho has found out a small problem with the AD-600 AD7175 mods. This bug would
set the player into black and white mode after it goes to sleep. It has been fixed
now.

AD660 Front Panel Display
-Dano has given me all the data needed to get the front panel display working
properly on the AD-660 and the AD-500. This was broken when I ported everything to the latest
Unofficial Sampo firmware EZPatch.

Older fixes V1.0 and before
---------------------------

Goto Button does the Return Function
-I patched the GOTO button to work like the Return button while in MP3/filemode
allowing you to select the types of files you want to playback.

Large Random Playlists mods
-I modified the Sub-T (sub-folder) mode to work so that whenever you hit shuffle
it now creates a large Random playlist and forces the player into ALL continous
playback mode. Press SUB-T again to go back to normal.

UOP - disabled
-Old hack thanks to Morbo

Increased number of files in SUB-T playback mode
-NotMeGuv increased the number of MP3's (9999) and other files (1396) in the
sub-folder playback mode.

Increased file counter in MP3/Filemode
-NotMeGuv fixed the MP3 file mode to show 4 digit numbers now to allow better
handling of large numbers of files.

SCART Menu Option
-NotMeGuv's SCART output (Menu option) has been added.

5.1 Analog audio speaker selection
-NOTMEGuv's other speaker output selection (Menu option) this is mainly for
Hiteker owners.

MP3/Filemode Sub-folder playback Handling
-Me

Analog Volume control during MP3/MPG playback
-I added in extra code so MP3/MPG Playback now has analog volume control.

Sorting option with A-Brpt Button
-I added file mode Sorting

Boot to On - No More Standby mode
-Indigonose's Boot-up to On patch (no more hitting the remote power or Open/Close
button).

VFD doesn't blink anymore
-Indignose's No more Blinking when turned on patch

Fixed Front Panel Display
-Indignose has fixed the Front panel display.

Remote control works properly
-I copied the remote code table into the Sampo firmware
-Note that the Sampo firmware doesn't support volume control
or Muting during DVD playback so these features wont work.

Front Panel Buttons work perfectly.
-I copied the front panel button table into the Sampo firmware

Analog audio output works on APEX machines
-I fixed the Analog audio output.

Check the OneFirmwareForAll Yahoo Group to find out if additional features are available. You can always upgrade from the Sampo firmware you just loaded to a newer version by following the instructions posted on the Yahoo Group.

Here's what the Sampo 631CF firmware looks like when playing MP3s...

FOOTNOTES FROM STEP #1 ABOVE

Here's why it's necessary to flash back to the Apex 660 firmware first:

Previous versions of the Sampo firmware do NOT automatically eject the disc tray after the firmware is upgraded. The Apex/Hiteker firmware DOES eject the disc tray.

And why is it important for the disc tray to eject? Because this allows you to REMOVE THE DISC before cycling the main power switch. You definitely DO NOT want the disc to still be in the player after cycling the power. The player may start re-reading the disc, and re-upgrading the firmware, but you may not know it...if you turn off the power while the firmware is re-upgrading, your firmware chip will get ruined!

The reason you won't know if the firmware is re-upgrading: the previous Sampo firmware does NOT automatically output a picture after cycling the main power.

In order to get a picture, see Step #7 above.

WHERE TO GET HELP

AD-660 forum on Nerd-Out.com

OneFirmwareForAll Yahoo Group (if you're using the Sampo firmware).

I AM NOT A FIRMWARE PROGRAMMER!!!
So please don't ask me when other features will be available...