ELECTROHOME EH-8181A
The picture above is of the Citizen JDVD3818A,
which is a "clone" of the
Electrohome EH-8181A. At this time, there is no picture of the
8181A available.
The EH-8181A (described on this page) is
different from the EH-8181.
Click here
to visit the EH-8181 page.
This page explains how
to make your Electrohome EH-8181A region-free
and Macrovision-free.
You would want to make your player region-free so that you can
play DVDs bought from
anywhere in the world -- not just those in your "region".
You would want to make your player Macrovision-free if you have
to hook it up through a VCR
(or a projector) and the picture constantly fades in and out.
This upgrade gets rid of the fading.
If you just need to
switch the region setting of the Electrohome EH-8181A to a single
region (i.e., NOT the region-free "BYPASS" option),
this can be done with the remote control.
See SECTION 1 below.
However, if you would
like to change the region setting to "BYPASS", or if
you would like to disable Macrovision, or if you would like to
increase the maximum volume level, you will need to upgrade the
player's firmware via CD-R or CD-RW.
See SECTION 2 below.
SECTION 1: Changing the region setting with the remote control
1. Make sure that there is no disc inside the player.
2. Push the following
buttons on the remote control:
SETUP
Stop
|<< (Skip Back)
>>| (Skip Forward)
If this does nothing, try the following instead:
SETUP
Fast Forward >>
|<< (Skip Back)
>>| (Skip Forward)
If this does nothing,
try the following instead:
SETUP
|| Pause
|<< (Skip Back)
>>| (Skip Forward)
This should reveal the "FACTORY CONTROL PAGE", pictured
below:
Change
the region setting as needed.
SECTION 2: Upgrading the firmware to gain a "BYPASS" region option and to disable Macrovision
1. Download the patched firmware by clicking HERE.
2.
Unzip the files -- BANK30.ROM and TEST20MB.TXT
3.
Open your CD burning program. Perform the steps necessary to set
up
the process of creating a new data CD.
4. Burn
BANK30.ROM and TEST20MB.TXT to a blank CD-R/CD-RW.
Be sure to apply these specifications before burning the disc:
Data CD, ISO9660, Mode 1, "Close"/"Finalize"
disc session.
(Note: you may wish to
place the ROM file inside of a subfolder on the disc.
This prevents the upgrade from starting automatically.)
(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 basically the same. Note that the article does
NOT make any mention about
creating a subfolder, or closing/finalizing the disc, so you will
need to figure
out those steps on your own.)
5. After the disc is burned, view the contents of
the disc in Windows Explorer/My
Computer/whatever. Right-click on the BANK30.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!
6. Read the disclaimer:
DISCLAIMER:
USE AT YOUR OWN RISK. I DO NOT OWN THISPLAYER SO I CANNOT TRY
THIS CDR UPGRADE MYSELF. 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 PLAYER!
7. Eject the disc tray on the DVD player.
8. Push SETUP. Enter the PREFERENCES menu. Scroll down to the DEFAULTS option. Select the RESET option and push PLAY. Then push SETUP to exit the menu.
9. Put the CD-R/CD-RW, data side down, on the tray.
10. Close the disc tray.
11. The upgrade process will now begin.
(Note: If you placed the .ROM file
inside a subfolder, the file browser menu will appear -
use the arrow keys on the remote to select the folder and then
push ENTER or PLAY.)
IF YOU SEE
THE MESSAGE "WRITE FAIL" at this point,
scroll down to the "WRITE FAIL error" section
towards the bottom of this page!
You should
see the following screens, in this order:
(with an Electrohome background
instead of a Daewoo background, of course!)
DO NOTHING AT THIS POINT. LET THE UPGRADE PROCEED.
DO NOTHING AT THIS POINT. LET THE UPGRADE PROCEED.
"WRITING" (which
comes on and off about 3 times) and "BANK30.ROM" appear
on your TV screen
(sorry, no picture available)
DO NOTHING AT THIS POINT. LET THE UPGRADE PROCEED.
**DO NOT TURN OFF THE POWER YET!!!**
12. A few seconds after seeing the screen above, the picture will go blank (it may turn blue if you have the unit hooked up through a VCR) and the characters on the player's front display will also go blank (the green lights near the disc tray will remain on, however.)
The disc tray MAY automatically eject. If it does, REMOVE THE DISC!
13. Wait at least 5 minutes. Then, turn
OFF the power using the MAIN POWER SWITCH
(on the back of the player) -- NOT the remote control or front
panel power button.
14. Wait at least 30 seconds. Then, turn
ON the power using the main power switch.
(If the disc automatically ejected in Step #12, then they tray
should automatically close at this point. Skip to Step #15 now.)
As soon as you see the words "DISC LOADING" on the
screen, eject and remove
the disc IMMEDIATELY! If you
wait too long, the player will begin re-upgrading itself...
DO NOT PANIC AND DO NOT EJECT THE DISC IF THE PLAYER IS IN THE
MIDDLE OF THE UPGRADE. Let the player re-upgrade - then repeat
Steps 12-14.
15. Push SETUP. Enter the PREFERENCES menu. Scroll down to the DEFAULTS option. Select the RESET option and push PLAY. Then push SETUP to exit the menu.
16. The firmware upgrade is now complete.
To change the region setting to "BYPASS", perform Step #2 in Section 1 (at the top of the page). The BYPASS option will now be listed at the bottom of the REGION ID menu:
NOTE: "RCE"-coded DVDs may not play if the REGION ID is set to BYPASS; if you find that this is the case, then set the REGION ID to match the region coding of the RCE disc.
To change the Macrovision setting, enter the FACTORY CONTROL PAGE (see Section #1 at the top of the page) and then enter the MACROVISION menu:
Change the setting as needed. Then, exit the menu, turn off the power, and turn the power back on. This is necessary in order for the Macrovision menu change to go into effect.
RETURNING TO THE
ORIGINAL (FACTORY) FIRMWARE
* Click HERE to download the older factory firmware (dated
20 January 2001)
* Click HERE
to download the newer factory firmware (dated 26 March 2002).
This is firmware version "27111170".
Repeat steps 2 through 16 in Section 2, above.
WRITE FAIL error
While performing the firmware upgrade, if you see the message "WRITE FAIL" on the screen, you will need to replace the firmware chip inside the player.
Details
on ordering a replacement chip are available HERE.
You can also order a firmware chip at a very reasonable price
from chipdlx@yahoo.com
Regardless of who you contact to get the chip, specify that you need an "AMD 29f040 or compatible" 32-pin DIP chip, programmed with the firmware located HERE.
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. The chip that you'll be replacing will look similar to the one outlined by the red box in the picture below:
WHERE TO GET HELP
Please Note! I do not own an Electrohome EH-8181A player. All care taken in accurately providing this information which is kindly provided by others who do own these models. Please visit the sites linked above if you require any assistance.
ALSO NOTE I
AM NOT A FIRMWARE PROGRAMMER!!!
So please don't ask me when
other features will be available...
