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Television Media

Methods for Bypassing Faulty VChips? 51

Posted by Cliff from the liberating-your-picture dept.
corporal_clegg asks: "I bought a Sharp 27" TV a year or so ago to serve as a second TV and PS2 gaming platform. When I recently attempted to play a DVD through the game console, the VChip kicked in and presented a beautifully rendered black rectangle on the screen. No amount of menu manipulation on either the game console or the TV can remove the VChip blocking; both system menus report the VChip as disabled, yet it continues to block all programming: golf, kids shows, everything. This occurs if the game console is attached and operating or completely removed. Of course the operating manuals provide no help on addressing these issues, and the manufacturers' web sites are likewise useless. So the question is: does anyone out there in slash-land know how to identify and remove, bypass or hardware reset the VChip/ blocking technology? I am very comfortable working at the board level and would much rather crack my case and fix this problem myself than take an 80lb TV to a repair shop only to be charged it's replacement cost to address the problem."
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Methods for Bypassing Faulty VChips? More

Methods for Bypassing Faulty VChips?

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  • DMCA violation? (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 03, 2003 @12:02PM (#6106168)
    Will giving out information on how to bypass the V-chip violate the DMCA?

  • SledgeHammer (Score:4, Funny)

    by justanyone ( 308934 ) on Tuesday June 03, 2003 @12:03PM (#6106177) Homepage Journal
    Try the trusty tool available from any Viking Supply House.

  • At least (Score:4, Funny)

    by duffbeer703 ( 177751 ) on Tuesday June 03, 2003 @12:04PM (#6106184)
    the children will be protected from the filth & violence on tv!

  • maybe it isn't the vchip (Score:5, Informative)

    by vancleve ( 115007 ) <twoplustwoisfive @ g m ail.com> on Tuesday June 03, 2003 @12:05PM (#6106203)
    i had a problem like that on a hitachi 52" projection
    what the problem was that the captioning was turned on and was just putting the aformentioned black rectangle on the screen
    i turned off all captioning and it fixed the problem

    • Re:maybe it isn't the vchip (Score:5, Informative)

      by seinman ( 463076 ) on Tuesday June 03, 2003 @12:08PM (#6106227) Homepage Journal
      Same thing with me. If you have the captions set to TEXT mode by mistake, a big black box will cover the screen, but since so few stations actually use text, it'll just be empty. Turn the captions back to CAPTION mode, or turn them off all together, and see if it fixes your problem.
      • Ditto ... this happened to me when I switched to DirecTV from analog cable. I never knew I had it enabled until I turned on my DTV signal, then bang, big black rectangle with words to the effect of "this is a test of the text messaging system" on my TV. Called DTV and they quickly diagnosed it and had me turn off closed captioning. Worked fine.
    • That did it! I thought I had checked all the settings but must have skipped that one in my haste. I know that this post will prolly never be seen by human eyes, but just in case someone has the same problem, it's here. Thanks much for your advice.

  • Are ya gonna want that chip? (Score:4, Funny)

    by the darn ( 624240 ) on Tuesday June 03, 2003 @12:07PM (#6106217) Homepage
    Because if you're not, we could implant it in a potty-mouthed 3rd grader and endow him with super-electro-zappy powers..

  • Seen too much... (Score:4, Funny)

    by jolshefsky ( 560014 ) on Tuesday June 03, 2003 @12:09PM (#6106241) Homepage
    Perhaps you've seen too much already. V-chip knows.

  • Are you sure it's the VChip? (Score:5, Informative)

    by DeComposer ( 551766 ) on Tuesday June 03, 2003 @12:14PM (#6106275) Journal
    A black rectangle? If it was the VChip, the entire signal would be blocked [howstuffworks.com], not obscured by a black rectangle.

    I think you're barking up the wrong tree; you should look at the captioning.

  • Oh boy.... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by EnVisiCrypt ( 178985 ) <groovetheorist@nOSpam.hotmail.com> on Tuesday June 03, 2003 @12:41PM (#6106557)
    I am usually a vigorous defender of ask slashdot, but christ-on-a-crutch is this ever dumb.

    You've got text mode captioning on, man. Turn it off and watch the amazing pictures flashing in the magic box again.
    • Ok, I'm sure the "christ-on-a-crutch" bit was a tad offensive, but a troll? Come on, he really probably does have captioning on.
      • I think somebody was modding today looking for anything nasty and calling it a troll.

        Even I thought, dumbass has the captioning turned on. Poor guy, maybe next time he'll ask a 12 year old for help first. Of course, his shame is no lesser, just kept out of public view.

    • Re:Oh boy.... (Score:3, Informative)

      by tomhudson ( 43916 )
      ... how about vchips for bypassing defective users?

      seriously, ... unplug tv for 24 hours, replug ... usually returns to factory defaults, so cc would be turned off/reset - problem solved (this is an el cheapo tv w/o battery backup, etc.).

      after all, if a cold reboot is good enough for M$, should be good enough for everyone :-)

  • Nice try, Junior! (Score:5, Funny)

    by L. VeGas ( 580015 ) on Tuesday June 03, 2003 @12:54PM (#6106670) Homepage Journal
    We know you're really 9 years old. You're going to have to wait a few years before we'll let you watch "The View".

  • Ok, so he doesn't have a real problem (Score:3, Interesting)

    by cgenman ( 325138 ) on Tuesday June 03, 2003 @12:56PM (#6106695) Homepage
    But it does pose an interesting technical question: how does one bypass the V-Chip? Assuming the V-chip only blocks audio and video transmissions, a simple bridge might suffice. However, the industry might have come up with a few more difficult technical hurdles, despite having to retain backwards compatability.

    Does anyone have a pinout diagram for a V-Chip? I can't seem to google one.
    • Why would they bother to make it hard to by-pass the V-chip? This isn't some DRM technology designed to enslave the masses, it's just a parenting tool. If your child is tech saavy enough to open the case, and flip so much as a dip switch, he is probably mature enough to watch Jenna Jameson dipping somebody else's switch. This is most likely to prevent 5 year olds from watching mom n' dads late night subscription to PBTV or getting violent bad mouthing ideas from HBO.

  • yay V-Chip (Score:4, Funny)

    by mattsucks ( 541950 ) on Tuesday June 03, 2003 @02:06PM (#6107286) Homepage
    report the VChip as disabled, yet it continues to block all programming: golf, kids shows, everything.

    As it should.

  • rtFm (Score:1, Troll)

    by pagercam2 ( 533686 )
    Good thing all these techies are saving you from "reading the F****** manual" I'll send you a bill for the time wasted reading your post.

  • hmm (Score:1)

    by XO ( 250276 )
    When I first read this, I thought "wow, a beautifully rendered black triangle???"

    Then I realised that it was actually a RECTangle not a TRIangle, and that I needed to sleep. And, the question asker needs to adjust his closed captioning settings.

    Oh, and that Slashdot does occasionally need a "Delete Story" button when someone makes a mistake that seems that moronic. I'm not saying that the person who didn't realise it was CC was a moron, that letting this story stay in the light of day is moronic.
  • Is it true that your leg is made of wood?

  • Revocation of Acceptance (Score:3, Interesting)

    by mbstone ( 457308 ) on Tuesday June 03, 2003 @09:01PM (#6111039)
    Under the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) a buyer can revoke his acceptance of purchased goods if there is an undiscovered inherent defect that significantly impairs the value. (Google "UCC revocation acceptance" for more info.) Then, write to the mfr. and/or retailer citing the UCC and stating that you are hereby revoking your acceptance of the TV set, and you are hereby requesting a full refund and a prepaid RMA number. If after receiving the letter they do not accept return of the goods, take them to small claims court.

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