Various enabling codes for Sony 1st edition D8 camcorders

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Enabling codes for extra facilities on
1st generation Sony D-8 camcorders

You modify camcorder memory values entirely at your own risk!

Procedure for modifying memory values and updating checksums:
(not for the faint hearted, or those who haven't got a clue what is going on)

Dire Warning! - Read this before changing any memory values. The instructions below refer to the use of DVin Lite V1.7, together with a suitable interface cable. Video Pages has used this software together with the interface cable supplied with a Smart DV PC based enabling device to enable non-standard facilities on various Sony camcorders: one example of the DCR-TR7000E (1st edition - Digital-8), three examples of the DCR-TRV320E (2nd edition - Digital-8), a DCR-TRV620E (2nd edition Digital-8), two DCR-TRV120Es (2nd edition - Digital-8), of which one was unsuccessful - see below), two examples of the CCD-TR913E (Hi-8), and on a CCD-TRV65E (Hi-8). It is not known which, if any, element provoked the electrical failure pn the DCR-TRV120E (serial number 1035459). It is possible that the particular example of the TRV120E had a weakness in the area of the of the LANC port which was forced into actual failure by the usage of the port to enable the facilities. However, it is known that the LANC port failed together with the 5 volt output which should be present on the other pole of the 2.5mm connector used for the LANC. It is also possible that neither the camcorder nor any of the other elements of the set-up were at fault. At the time of the failure the port was being "hammered" by incrementing or decrementing page addresses and data values at a rapid rate, possibly a higher rate than it was designed to accept. The software provides the conventional "up" & "down" arrows for incrementing and decrementing values. The intended manner of usage is to left "click" once (using the mouse) on one of the arrows, thus changing the value in the window by 1, then repeating this as necessary until the required value is displayed. This can be time consuming, and it was found to be faster to click once on the appropriate arrow, then use the "enter" key on the keyboard with it's inherent auto-repeat feature to rapidly change the value in the window to the required value. It is thought that this may drive the port at a higher rate than it was designed to run at, thus provoking the failure. In view of this it is strongly recommended that the mouse is used to increment or decrement values one step at a time, and that no attempt is made to use the auto-repeat facility on the keyboard in order to speed up the process.
1)	A suitable adapter (interface cable) must be bought or made to connect the LANC port on the camcorder to the parallel port on the PC. Note that a desktop PC is a better choice than a laptop, as some laptops use 3.3V technology which does not interface well with a camcorder.
2)	A suitable memory management utility such as DVin Lite V1.7, RM95, or RM95EMGY must be downloaded and used for memory examination and/or modification. For users of Windows 95 or later, DVin Lite V1.7 is the preferred option.
3)	To enable changes in memory values, change 00:01:00 to 00:01:01 (Store)
4)	Read and write down the value ("xx") stored in location 02:F0
5)	Modify the data on page 0D(h) in accordance with requirements, from the information given below. (Store each change). Do not make any change to the value stored in 0D:23 which must remain as zero.
5)	Now read and write down the new value "yy" from 02:F0
6)	Using checksum.bas (downloadable from this site), obtain the XOR (exclusive OR) value of xx and yy. This accomplished simply by entering the value xx when checksum requests the first column entry for line 1, and yy when the column 2 entry for line 1 is requested. When checksum asks for the 1st column of the second line, enter the word "calc" in lower case, and hit return. In answer to the following request for a reference value, enter "00" (which is the value stored in OD:23) or simply hit the enter key. Checksum will then default to an assumed value of 00. Make a written note of the value ("zz") which is returned.
7)	Enter value zz into 0D:23 and store.
8)	Check the value stored in 02:F0. It should have changed back from value "yy" to value "xx". If it has changed correctly, disable further changes in memory values, by changing 00:01:01 to 00:01:00 (Store). This completes the procedure. If it has not changed correctly, enter and store value 00 into location 0D:23, then go to step 5 and continue from this point.
A final note: It was stated in (5) above that the value stored in 0D:23 must remain as zero while other modifications are taking place on page 0D. This is to simplify the calculation of the value zz which will be entered into this location to compensate for changes made elsewhere. There is, however, an exception to this rule. Let us assume that some modifications have taken place, but not every possible modification has been made. A value of zz will have been calculated and entered into 0D:23. It is then later decided to add some further modifications, or possibly even remove some of the original modifications. This will necessitate re-calculating and updating the value of zz held in 0D:23. In these circumstances, the old value of zz should be left in 0D:23 (ie it should not be returned to zero). Then, when calculating the new value of zz, the old value of zz, rather than zero, is entered as the reference value. Checksum will then calculate a new value of zz which should be entered and stored into 0D:23.

Checksum - and what to do if it all goes wrong

It is important to note that the camcorder's memory has a checksum which is always tested on start-up when the power source is reconnected after having been disconnected. If the camcorder has been switched off but a power source is still connected - ie there is a charged battery on the camcorder or the mains unit is connected and switched on - switching on the camcorder will not cause the checksum to be tested. For the checksum to be tested the camcorder must be isolated from all power sources for a minute or two, then a power source reconnected and the camcorder switched on. If an invalid checksum is found, the camcorder will be locked. It is not damaged, and it is possible to rectify the situation. The data must be corrected, but the problem is that in these circumstances the camcorder turns off after approx. 5 - 10 seconds, and the LANC port does not work. It is possible that the camcorder may work well enough to give access via the LANC port to the memory for the old data to be rewritten, but ony by continually opening and closing the cassette door. It is highly impractical for one person to do this while rewriting the data, so it inevitably becomes a 2-person job.

The latest version of DVin lite (version 1.7) has an "emergency" button. If the camcorder is locked, the emergency mode may be invoked so that the data may be easily rewritten. The locked camcorder must be switched off and the power source(s) removed. This means physically removing the battery and unplugging the cable from the mains unit (if connected). The camcorder must then be connected to the PC's parallel port using a suitable interface (adapter) cable, and DVin lite V1.7 started. When the message: "Check cable ..." appears, click on "YES". Connect a power source (either a charged battery or the mains unit) and then press the "Emergency" button. Wait approx 20 seconds untiil the next message appears, and and the camcorder should then be able to accept the correct data.

A few comments on the objectives and procedures

The following codes are for 1st generation Sony D8 camcorders, .eg. TRV110E, TRV210E, . . .TR7000E only and should not be tried on any other type of camcorder, not even a Sony D8 camcorder of a different generation. To change memory values from the original to the new, bit manipulation is required. When using DVin Lite or an alternative Sony RM95 emulator to access the camcorder's memory, values are returned (and new values must be entered) in hexadecimal. It is therefore necessary to convert the returned value from hex into binary, change the specified bit(s), and then convert back into hex before updating that memory location with the new value. For this a binary/decimal/hex conversion facility would be useful. The Windows calculator included with Windows ME (and possibly also other versions of Windows) is ideal for this, as conversion may be carried out on any entered value at the click of a mouse button.

Note that the bit assigments are:

bit 7 (msb) . . . bit 0 (lsb)

Consequently for a given hex value of FF or less, bits 0 to 3 are represented by the right hand character of the 2 character pair, and bits 4 to 7are represented by the left hand character. All camcorder memory values encountered to date by Video Pages have been of the 2 hex character (8 bit) type, ie FF(h) or less.

It would be prudent to make a note of the original value in case it becomes necessary to revert to it at any time. When all the new data has been entered, it is mandatory to update the checksums, or the camcorder will be locked, ie will fail to start, when the power source is next disconnected and reconnected. See above for the necessary remedial action if this occurs. Unless specified, all changes are to memory values on page 0D(h), 13 (dec), except that "memory write enable" and "checksum update enable" are on page 00, and the dynamic checksum "running total" kept by the camera as changes are made is on page 02, at location F0. There is a proper procedure for the updating the actual checksum which is at 0F:FF, but the procedure outlined here circumvents the necessity to go through this rigmarole by putting a calculated value into 0D:23 which compensates for changes made elsewhere. Effectively the camcorder is "hoodwinked" into believing that no changes have been made at all.

At all times retain a HAND-WRITTEN list of the original values in any memory locations changed, so that the original values can be restored if the control system crashes.

Memory write must first be enabled before changes can be made to any other memory location. It is also essential to disable memory write after all the required changes have been made, so that memory data is not subsequently corrupted.

The new memory values given in the table below and the functions thus enabled have been verified on only one example of the TR7000E. This model has a colour viewfinder, but no side mounted LCD screen. It is possible that the TRV110E and higher models (all of which have an LCD screen) may differ in the exact values stored in each location.

Memory Location on page 0D(h)	Action	From	To	Effect
14	Set bit 1 to 1	A1	A3	Enables VTR mode (for recording from an external source).
17	Set bit 7 to 1	77	F7	Enables aperture and gain readout in the viewfinder (manual mode only)
18	Set bit 5 to 1	40	60	Enables zebra pattern over-exposure warning.
1E	Set bit 1 to 1	88	8A	Enables manual white balance.
23	Enter calculated value	00	zz	Checksum compensation (see above).
24	Set bit 3 to 1 Set bit 4 to 1	01	19	Enables frame and interval recording.
25	Set bit 0 to 1 Set bit 7 to 1	00	81	Enables colour bars.
27	Set bit 0 to 1	22	23	Enables DV-in mode

Video Pages attempted to enable the following additional facilities, using information obtained from various Internet sources. All of these facilities failed to work on the test example of the TR7000E. However, some or all of them may work on a different example of the TR7000E, or any of the higher models in the range - TRV110E; TRV210E; TRV310E; TRV410E; TRV510E. Proceed with caution when experimenting with these modifications, and note that modified values are deliberately not given in the list of failed modifications:

Add SP and LP recording modes menu item (the TR7000E ex-factory does not have LP recording facility)
Add viewfinder brightness and backlight controls (this actually crashed the viewfinder, but did not completely crash the camera)
Add auto TV on/off and TV input menu items
Add playback zoom
Add gain shift
Add DV editing facility

There were other modifications which were not tried, either because of previous bad experience when attempting to enable similar functions on second series D8 models, or because they just appeared to be inappropriate on a consumer-market camcorder of this type. Examples are (but not limited to) manual mic. level control, AE shift, and moving Program AE options and picture effects to the menu. It is possible that some of these modifications may work, but it is doubtful. Again, proceed with extreme caution if attempting any of these modifications.

Page last updated: 30 November, 2006