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Methods for Bypassing Faulty VChips?

Posted by Cliff on 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."

16 of 51 comments (clear)

  1. DMCA violation? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Will giving out information on how to bypass the V-chip violate the DMCA?

    1. Re:DMCA violation? by duplicate-nickname · · Score: 3, Funny

      Maybe not the DMCA, but possibly the lesser known AMCA.

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      ÕÕ

    2. Re:DMCA violation? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful
      No.

      Turn on a TV that doesn't have a V-chip and notice that you can see the image. Ergo, there is no "technological measure that effectively limits access" to the work.

    3. Re:DMCA violation? by Tom7 · · Score: 3, Interesting

      No, unless that information is also a circumvention device (like source code, perhaps).
      There are some laws on the books in some states regarding things like cable theft (sometimes slashdot calls these super-DMCA laws), that might, though.

  2. SledgeHammer by justanyone · · Score: 3, Funny

    Try the trusty tool available from any Viking Supply House.

    --
    Unitarian Church: Freethinkers Congregate!
  3. At least by duffbeer703 · · Score: 3, Funny

    the children will be protected from the filth & violence on tv!

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    Conformity is the jailer of freedom and enemy of growth. -JFK
  4. maybe it isn't the vchip by vancleve · · Score: 5, Informative

    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

    1. Re:maybe it isn't the vchip by seinman · · Score: 4, Informative

      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.

  5. Are ya gonna want that chip? by the+darn · · Score: 4, Funny

    Because if you're not, we could implant it in a potty-mouthed 3rd grader and endow him with super-electro-zappy powers..

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    Ceci n'est pas un post.
  6. Seen too much... by jolshefsky · · Score: 3, Funny

    Perhaps you've seen too much already. V-chip knows.

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    --- Jason Olshefsky

    Karma: Poser (mostly affected by adding this line long after everyone else did)

  7. Are you sure it's the VChip? by DeComposer · · Score: 4, Informative

    A black rectangle? If it was the VChip, the entire signal would be blocked, not obscured by a black rectangle.

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

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    Karma
  8. Re:DID YOU CALL SHARP? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    Harsh words from someone who can't spell "TV" correctly...

  9. Re:So let me get this straight... by cgenman · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Right, and why bother upgrading to XP on your existing computer when you should just buy one freshly pre-installed from Dell? Why replace the cracked screen on your PDA when it isn't nearly as fast or as colorful as the latest and greatest? Your car is five years old: It will break down any minute. You should chuck it and buy a new one. Why go through the hassle?

    You don't know how technology works anyway. Even if you did, you wouldn't know how this one would work, so don't bother trying. It's safer and easier to throw it out and get a new replacement than it is to diagnose a problem and improvise a solution. There is a reason electronics ship in black boxes, right?

    (You did buy the extended warranty didn't you?)

    This comment shouldn't be modded "insightful." It should be modded "sad."

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    The ______ Agenda
  10. Oh boy.... by EnVisiCrypt · · Score: 3, Insightful

    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.

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    *everything* is Orwellian to cats.
  11. Nice try, Junior! by L.+VeGas · · Score: 4, Funny

    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".

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    Best Windows Freeware
  12. yay V-Chip by mattsucks · · Score: 3, Funny

    report the VChip as disabled, yet it continues to block all programming: golf, kids shows, everything.

    As it should.