Hiteker/Apex AD-1000 firmware

Hiteker/Apex AD-1000

Note: If you are looking for the instructions for upgrading your AD-1500 player, please visit the new Apex AD-1500 page HERE.

Note for "newer" Australian Hiteker GK-1000 and Digitrex GK-1000 owners:

There seems to be a "newer" version of the Hiteker GK-1000 and also something known as a Digitrex GK-1000. These units LOOK the same as the CDR upgradable version the the AD-1000 but the CDR upgrade WILL NOT WORK.

So far, because the firmware chip is soldered on the board, no one has come forward to accept my challenge to have the firmware chip removed and read so either myself (or someone just as capable) can determine the filename the firmware is looking for. If anyone is up for the challenge or knows what the filename the firmware looks for is called please EMAIL ME.

Until then before anyone else asks if I can help the answer is unfortunately no. To be able to help I need a copy of the firmware. This is the missing link.

WARNING!!!!

There is more than one version of the Apex AD-1000!!

There is a CDR flashable version as described further down this page, and there is a non-CDR upgradable version which uses an APEX 500W mainboard and a non-flashable chip (but no front panel display like the 500W, of course). You CANNOT tell the difference externally - they look identical.

If you wish to upgrade your AD-1000 with AD-500W internals you can, however bear in mind that there are some differences (explained below) and also that the chip MUST BE CHANGED. You cannot re-program the current chip or CDR upgrade it.

FIRMWARE CHANGING A NON-CDR UPGRADABLE 1000

You have a choice of two here. Both have good and bad points:

1. Using Apex AD-500W firmware. This firmware works fine but you will lose MP3 playback. The Region 1/Region 0 with Macrovision disabled APE-500W-4 firmware is the best of the 500W firmware to use. The AD-500W firmware is available on the AD-500W webpages.

2. Using Conia M-100 firmware. This firmware also works (even MP3) and is Regionless, RCE Immune and Macrovision disabled but you will lose the front panel buttons (except power). The remote control works fine, however. The Conia M-100 firmware is available on the Conia M-100 page (use CONIAM100.BIN file).

Remember as stated above that the AD-1000 with AD-500W internals is NOT CDR UPGRADABLE and the firmware chip must be changed. If you need a chip programmed then look on THIS PAGE for details. The non-flashable AD-1000 requires a DIP package 27C040 or 27C4001.

All further information (below) relates to the CDR UPGRADABLE version of the AD-1000 NOT the recently discovered AD-1000 with AD-500W internals as mentioned above.

If you have any further questions please direct any queries to the Apex Forums as the 1000 models sold here in Australia are all CDR upgradable. The information above has been obtained from kind people reporting their findings, although every effort has been made to verify the above information is accurate.

CDR UPGRADABLE 1000 models

Two of the same! One black and one silver!

The DV-R320 remote as used with the New Zealand version of the AD-1000

Rear of the New Zealand AD-1000 showing the various outputs.

Inside showing there is not much these days! Note that the AD-1000 (and AD-1500 too) DO NOT use a standard IDE interface DVD-ROM loader, whereas most other Apex/Hiteker players do.

This picture is two shots of the main circuit board. I have split it in two halves because the board has two functions:
1. DVD-ROM loader "brains" (left side) and 2. Audio/Video processing (right side).

The Hiteker AD-1000 is the same as the following DVD players:

American Apex AD-1000
American AD-1500 (see notes below)
Australian Hiteker GK-1000
European Hiteker GK-1000

Therefore the CDR upgrade will work in these players too, making them Region Free, RCE immune and Macrovision disabled.

Notes:

* The AD-1500 is slightly different because it has an LCD display (which the 1000 models lack). However for the purposes of firmware upgrading it works fine because the internal parts are the same. After upgrading the LCD display still works fine.

* The European Hiteker GK-1000 has been noted as loading VCD discs a little differently after upgrading. After upgrading when a VCD is inserted the player just sits there until you press PLAY. When you press PLAY the message "PBC ON VERS 2.0" will appear on screen. Then you must press the PBC button on the remote to turn PBC OFF. Then the VCD plays fine.

THE FIRMWARE

This firmware has been taken from an Australian Hiteker GK-1000 and is Region Free, Macrovision disabled and RCE immune. It is also possible to CDR upgrade with this firmware.

Note: The New Zealand Hiteker AD-1000 and Australian & European GK-1000 are usually sold as Region Free BUT Macrovision is enabled. This CDR upgrade will fix that!

Click HERE for the Regionless and Macrovision Off firmware ready for CDR upgrading. This ZIP file contains TWO files called U1000AM.ROM and U1500AM.ROM.

NEW! As of September 2002 you can now download the Apex AD-1000 version of the firmware. This has been modified Region Free and Macrovision off. It is also reported to be RCE proof. WARNING: This is experimental firmware as the person who modified it does not own an AD-1000. Use at your own risk! Download the Apex AD-1000 firmware HERE

To make your CDR for upgrading firmware:

1. Unzip the downloaded file.

2. If you have an Apex AD-1000 or Hiteker AD-1000 or GK-1000 then add the U1000AM.ROM file to the project. If you have an AD-1500 add the U1500AM.ROM file to the project. DO NOT ADD BOTH ON THE SAME CDR!

3. Burn disc ISO9660, Mode 1, Track at once, closed CD. With Nero use ISO 1 MODE 1 and click DOS in the Character set.

4. Turn on player and insert CDR. Screen will go weird and the name of the file will appear on the upper left then "writing" will flash 3 times and finally "done", screen will blank and the tray will come out. The machine may power off at this point. Pull the disc out and power back on. Don't worry if you don't see the "words" on the screen, just let the process finish.

When the player is turned back on this will be your new background image:

If you don't like this image you can change the background (The procedure is explained below)

What if you don't see the upgrade happening?

If you see an "MP3 ROOT" menu and you have used the correct filename the most probable reason is because you have a non- upgradable AD-1000 or AD-1500. There have been reports that some machines have a non-flashable firmware chip. For information on upgrading a non-CDR upgradable AD-1000 please read the top section of this page. For information on upgrading a non-CDR upgradable 1500 please visit THIS PAGE.

If, however, you get a "write fail" message then most likely you need to add a 20MB to 40MB "dummy" file on the CDR. This is because sometimes the DVD-ROM cannot "spin up" fast enough to transfer the data. Just use something like WinZip to make a large file (your entire "windows" folder will make a rather large zip file!) and include that on the CDR and try again.

What if you do not like the new firmware?

If you have an Apex AD-1500 you can download the original (Region1/Macrovision on) firmware HERE. Before you burn the firmware to a CDR (using steps 1, 3 and 4 above) you MUST rename it to U1000AM.ROM otherwise it will not work!

If you have an Apex AD-1000 you can download the original (Region1/Macrovision on) firmware HERE.

CHANGING THE BACKGROUND IMAGE

If you want to change the background you can! This procedure can be used on the original (AD-1500 only) or Regionless/Macrovision off firmware.

Click HERE for the Regionless and Macrovision off firmware as a .bin image of the chip.

Click HERE for the original Region 1/Macrovision on (AD-1500 only) firmware as a .bin image of the chip.

Use either .bin file (above) with ApexLogo to change the background image. Click HERE for instructions on how to do that. Alternativey you can use the CDR version of the firmware (further up the page) BUT you will have to change the .ROM file extension to .BIN before ApexLogo will recognise it.

Remember!!! once you have changed the picture with ApexLogo, change the new file to have the following filename before writing to CDR:

U1000AM.ROM for 1000 models
U1500AM.ROM for 1500 models with original AD-1500 firmware
U1000AM.ROM for 1500 models already flashed with AD-1000 firmware

Please Note! I do not own an Apex/Hiteker 1000 player. All care taken in accurately providing this information which is kindly provided by others who do own these models. Please visit the Apex Forums and go to the "AD1000/AD1500" page 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...