GRUNDIG 133S

This page explains how to make the Grundig 133S region-free, RCE-immune, Macrovision-free, and UOP-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".

"RCE immune" means that the firmware will play "RCE" DVD's
even though the firmware is region-free.

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.

UOP-free means that you can skip past the screens at the beginning of a DVD,
by pushing the NEXT >>| button on the remote control or front panel.

If you just need to switch the region setting of the player,
this can be done with the remote control.
See SECTION 1 below.

However, if you would like to disable Macrovision and/or UOP, 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. Open the disc tray:

2. Push SETUP on the remote control.
You will see a screen resembling the following:

3. On the remote control, push the following buttons:

X 3 0 1 0
(where X = your choice of Regions 1 through 9;
Region 9 = BYPASS/REGION-FREE)

STEP
SHUFFLE
NEXT

4. There will be nothing shown on the screen as you perform Step 3.
The only way to verify that the region actually was changed is to do the following:

a) Open the disc tray
b) Push the following buttons on the remote control:

SETUP
SHUFFLE
STEP >|<
NEXT >>|

This will reveal the following "secret menu" screen:

5. Push the down-pointing arrow on the remote
until the DEBUG menu appears:

6. If the check-mark on the right column
matches the number you chose for "X" in Step 3
(your desired region choice), then you are done!

In the example illustrated above, "9" (Region 9)
was chosen for "X" in Step 3.

THE DEBUG MENU DOES NOT ALLOW YOU TO
CHANGE THE REGION SETTING. IT ONLY LETS YOU
CHECK THE REGION SETTING. YOU MUST PERFORM
STEP #3 ABOVE IN ORDER TO CHANGE THE REGION SETTING.

NOTE: The firmware is "RCE-proof", so selecting Region 9
should play ALL DVDs without problems, including
RCE-encoded discs.

SECTION 2: Upgrading the firmware to disable Macrovision
and to disable UOP

(NOTE: You can still change the region with the remote, as described in Section 1 above,
even if you upgrade the firmware to disable Macrovision & UOP.)

UPDATE 7/7/2003: This is new firmware which includes the following enhancements:
1- No macrovision, no uop, region free and now CGMS/A disabled
2- No line on any Pal color( line showed across the screen near the bottom with old firmware)
3- Increased size of the Splash Screen to 31595 Bits (allows for better resolution backround pictures)
4- After flash this new firmware will automatically default to NTSC

To upgrade do the following:

1. On the remote control, push the following buttons:

SETUP
VOLUME +

2. You should now see a screen
which resembles the following:

IF THE FIRST LINE DOES NOT MATCH WHAT YOU SEE ABOVE,
DO NOT CONTINUE. Instead, go to the Daewoo forum on Nerd-Out.com
(the link is at the bottom of this page) and ask for assistance.
(The Grundig 133S is very similar to Daewoo 5700 and 5800.)

3. Download THIS file.

4. The .zip file you downloaded in the section above contains three files:

TDVD-001.ROM
TEST20MB.TXT

Unzip the two .ROM files and TEST20MB.TXT.
It is not necessary to unzip README.TXT
(although you probably should read it!)

5. Open your CD burning program. Perform the steps necessary to set up
the process of creating a new data CD.

6. Burn TDVD-000.ROM, TDVD-001.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.

(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.)

7. After the disc is burned, view the contents of the disc in Windows Explorer/My Computer/whatever. Right-click on each of the .ROM files that are burned on the disc and select "Properties" (or do whatever is necessary to view the Properties.)

Make sure that the size of each file is
EXACTLY 524,288 bytes.
If the file size is NOT 524,288 bytes, DO NOT CONTINUE!

8. Read the disclaimer:

DISCLAIMER: USE AT YOUR OWN RISK. I DO NOT OWN THIS PLAYER SO I CANNOT TRY THIS UPGRADE MYSELF. I WILL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE THAT MAY RESULT TO YOUR PLAYER. PERFORMING
THE PROCEDURE DESCRIBED HERE MAY
VOID THE WARRANTY OF YOUR PLAYER!

9. Eject the disc tray on the DVD player.

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

11. Close the disc tray.

12. The upgrade process will now begin. You should see a
screen which resembles the following.
It may say either TDVD-001.ROM (as shown below) OR TDVD-000.ROM.

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

The VFD (front display) will display "LOAD" for the duration
of the upgrade.

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

Once the upgrade is complete, the disc tray will automatically eject. Remove the disc.
The VFD will either continue to display "LOAD", or it will show a bunch of symbols and "garbage" characters, or it will go entirely blank.

13. Push the ON/STANDBY button on the front of the player. NOTHING WILL HAPPEN FOR AT LEAST THREE SECONDS, SO DO NOT PANIC. After at least three seconds, the screen shown above will disappear. The red standby light on the player will come on.

14. Wait at least another 10 seconds, and then push ON/STANDBY again.
The disc tray will automatically close.

Macrovision and UOP are now disabled.

HEARING "POPPING" NOISES?

Some people have reported hearing "popping" noises after upgrading the firmware.
If this is the case for you:

1. Push SETUP on the remote control.

2. You should automatically be taken to the AUDIO menu. Push the down-pointing
arrow on the remote to select the S. DIGITAL ("DIGITAL OUT") option.

3. Change the S.DIGITAL setting from OFF to BITSTREAM or PCM. (Even if you are not using the digital audio out connection.)

4. Push SETUP to exit the menu.

ORIGINAL (FACTORY) FIRMWARE

Repeat the steps in SECTION 2, substituting the following for Step 3:

Download the original firmware HERE.

WHERE TO GET HELP

Daewoo forum on Nerd-Out.com
(Grundig 133S is very similar to Daewoo 5700/5800)

TYT Clones Yahoo Group

Please Note! I do not own this DVD 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...