APEX AD-703
Unlike most players
discussed on this site,
there are TWO primary reasons to upgrade the firmware on an Apex
AD-703:
1. To gain access to the
famous "LOOPHOLES" menu
(which allows you to change the Region and Macrovision settings)
2. To get rid of the bug
which turns on the OSD (on-screen display) at the
beginning of DVDs, and chapters on VCDs,.
NOTE: The instructions
on this page assume that you have never upgraded your 703 in the
past. If you have upgraded it in the past, and you cannot figure
out how to alter the instructions accordingly for the upgrade
described here,
join the Shinco
Yahoo Group and ask
for assistance.
The first step in this
process is to open up your 703 and determine what kind of video
encoder chip is on the circuit board. You will probably have
either the "CS4955" chip or the "BT865" chip. The chip is most likely located on
one of the corners of the circuit board.
Here's a close-up of the "CS4955" chip:
If you can't find the "CS4955" chip, look instead for
the "BT865" chip:
Carefully make a note of which chip you have.
IF YOU CANNOT LOCATE EITHER THE "CS4955" OR THE "BT865" CHIP ON THE CIRCUIT BOARD, OR IF YOU HAVE A DIFFERENT TYPE OF VIDEO CHIP, DO NOT CONTINUE. THE INSTRUCTIONS PROVIDED HERE ARE PROVIDED ONLY FOR THE "CS4955" CHIP AND THE "BT865" CHIP. IF YOUR PLAYER HAS A DIFFERENT CHIP, PERFORMING UPGRADES WITH THE FIRMWARE PROVIDED HERE WILL CAUSE YOUR PLAYER TO STOP FUNCTIONING!
Unlike many other players discussed on this site, Shinco-built players (such as the AD-703) do not allow you to simply download firmware and burn that firmware to a CD for upgrading purposes. Instead, you must download the firmware AND a special program. The special program, in conjunction with the firmware you download, will create a separate file which is used for upgrading.
For the purpose of clarity, these instructions assume that all files will be downloaded to the Windows Desktop (i.e., C:\WINDOWS\Desktop) and all folders created will be on the Desktop (i.e., C:\WINDOWS\Desktop\My_New_Folder)
1. Download the "Shinco CD Generator" program by clicking HERE.
2. Based on the video encoder chip in your player
(SEE ABOVE),
download the appropriate file below:
It is
very important to know which video chip you have, and to download
the appropriate corresponding file in the instructions below.
Do NOT get this step wrong!
IF YOU HAVE THE "CS4955"
CHIP:
Download THIS file.
IF YOU
HAVE THE "BT865"
CHIP:
Download THIS file.
DO NOT
DOWNLOAD BOTH FILES!!!
DOWNLOAD ONLY THE FILE YOU NEED!!!
3. Unzip the contents of the
Shinco CD Generator file you downloaded (Shinco_CD_generator.zip)
to the Windows Desktop, into a new folder named "Shincocd".
(i.e., C:\WINDOWS\Desktop\Shincocd).
After unzipping, you should have the following files inside the
"Shincocd" folder:
MakeASD.bat
mce.bin
Readme.txt
rest.bin
SHINCOCD.EXE
subst.bin
4. The file you downloaded in Step #2 will contain a file named readme.txt and a file named ROM.BIN. Unzip the ROM.BIN file to the "Shincocd" directory.
After unzipping, you should now have the following files inside the "Shincocd" folder:
MakeASD.bat
mce.bin
Readme.txt
rest.bin
ROM.BIN
SHINCOCD.EXE
subst.bin
5. Now, double-click on the
SHINCOCD.EXE file. An MS-DOS window will now appear:
6. Enter
"3E", WITHOUT the quotation marks, and push
"Enter" or "Return" on your keyboard.
"3E" is the firmware's "machine code".
7. You should now see the following
sentence added to the MS-DOS window
(without the quotation marks) --
" POIUYTRE.ASD succesfully generated ! "
8. You should now see all of the
following files inside the "Shincocd" folder:
MakeASD.bat
mce.bin
POIUYTRE.ASD
Readme.txt
rest.bin
ROM.BIN
ROMOUT.BIN
SHINCOCD.EXE
subst.bin
9. Right-click on the POIUYTRE.ASD
file and select "Properties" (or do whatever is
necessary to view the Properties.) Make sure that the file size
is EXACTLY 2,276,401 bytes.
If the
file size is NOT 2,276,401 bytes, DO NOT CONTINUE!
10. Burn the POIUYTRE.ASD file 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 don't know how
to apply these specifications, or if you need any other 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.)
11. Read
this disclaimer:
DISCLAIMER: USE AT
YOUR OWN RISK. I DO NOT OWN AN AD-703, 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 WILL SURELY
VOID THE WARRANTY OF YOUR AD-703!
12. Eject the disc tray on the DVD player.
13. Put the CD-R/CD-RW, data side down, on the tray.
14. Close the disc tray.
15.
Within a few seconds, the screen will start changing colours, and
a message that says the following will appear:
READY TO UPDATE CODE.
YES: PRESS PLAY.
NO: PRESS STOP.
(If you got a different message,
scroll down to the bottom of this page for links to other sites
that may be able to help.)
16.
Push PLAY on the remote control (Pushing PLAY on the front panel
will not work.)
17. Now
the screen will read as follows:
FILE ID IN PROCESS...
SCREEN WILL BE ABNORMAL
DO NOT SWITCH OFF
PLEASE WAIT 4-6 MINUTES
18.
Soon the screen will say this:
WRITING
SCREEN WILL BE ABNORMAL
DO NOT SWITCH OFF
PLEASE WAIT 4-6 MINUTES
NOTE: The above screen
may say "WRITING MX"
instead of "WRITING". Or, you may see a "WRITING
MX"
screen in addition to the one shown above.
19. Eventually,
you will see:
DONE
SCREEN WILL BE ABNORMAL
DO NOT SWITCH OFF
PLEASE WAIT 4-6 MINUTES
IT IS POSSIBLE THAT THE
SCREEN WILL GO
BLANK EITHER WITHOUT SHOWING THE SCREEN
ABOVE, OR AFTER SHOWING THE SCREEN ABOVE.
20. The VFD (digital display) will go blank.
21. BE PATIENT! It says to wait 4-6
minutes, but wait 10 minutes just to play it safe. After the 10
minutes have passed, listen closely and make sure no sounds are
coming from the player. If you are hearing sounds, continue to
wait until they are gone.
22. Put the Power switch back in
the "OFF" position. Now, turn it "ON". LET THE PLAYER READ THE DISC.
INSTEAD OF RE-UPGRADING, A BLUE "VCD" SCREEN WILL
APPEAR. ONCE YOU SEE THIS THIS BLUE "VCD" SCREEN, IT
WILL BE SAFE TO EJECT THE DISC. PUSH OPEN/CLOSE ON THE REMOTE
CONTROL
IN ORDER TO EJECT THE DISC.
23. Push "SETUP" on the
remote control. If the menu looks like the following -
congratulations, you have applied the upgrade correctly:
24. Here's a sample of what you'll
find in the "LOOPHOLES" menu (if you have the "BT865"
chip, and of course used the corresponding file, you will also
have "CSS", "AUTOMUTE", and "DITHER"
options in the menu) --
RETURNING TO THE
ORIGINAL
(NO LOOPHOLES MENU) FIRMWARE
IF YOU HAVE THE "CS4955"
CHIP:
To remove the Loopholes Menu on a "CS4955"-chipped player, repeat the 24 steps above, EXCEPT for these changes:
* In Step
#2, download THIS file instead of the one linked in the main
instructions.
IF YOU
HAVE THE "BT865"
CHIP:
To remove
the Loopholes Menu on a "BT865"-chipped player, repeat
the 24 steps above, EXCEPT for these changes:
* In Step #2, download THIS file instead of the one linked in the main
instructions.
WHERE TO GET HELP / ADVANCED OPTIONS
To learn about other
modifications you can make to the firmware,
join the Shinco Yahoo Group and the EZPatch
Yahoo Group.
Please Note! I do not own an Apex AD-703. 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...
