Video Stabilizer/MacroVision Removal

Have you ever attempted to copy a commercially produced video only to end up with a distorted and jumpy image? If so, then you have run afoul of MacroVision. MacroVision is the most popular copy protection scheme used on the majority of content distributed on VHS cassettes. Like all copy protection, it does nothing to discourage the real pirates and only annoys the user who may wish to create a legal copy for backup and archival purposes. This circuit can eliminate MacroVision encoding in both NTSC and PAL recordings.



Parts

• R1, R2, R3, R4, R5, R7 -------- 6 68K 1/4W Resistor
• R6 ---------------------------- 2 75 Ohm 1/4W Resistor
• R8, R9 ------------------------ 2 100 Ohm 1/4W Resistor
• R10 --------------------------- 1 2.2K 1/4W Resistor
• R11 ---------------------------- 1 1.5K 1/4W Resistor
• R12, R17 ---------------------- 2 470K 1/4W Resistor
• R13, R16 ---------------------- 2 33K 1/4W Resistor
• R14 --------------------------- 1 6.8K 1/4W Resistor
• R15 --------------------------- 1 22K 1/4W Resistor
• R18 --------------------------- 1 47K 1/4W Resistor
• C1 --------------------------- 1 15uF Electrolytic Capacitor
• C2 --------------------------- 1 220uF Electrolytic Capacitor
• C3 --------------------------- 1 220pF Ceramic Disc Capacitor
• C4 --------------------------- 1 0.0022uF Ceramic Disc Capacitor
• C5, C7, C8, C9, C10, C11, C12, C13 7 0.1uF Ceramic Disc Capacitor
• C6 -------------------------- 1 0.47uF Ceramic Disc Capacitor
• D1-D9, D10-D18, D19-D27, D28, D29, D30, D31, D32, D33, D34, D35 35 1N4148 Diode
• Q1 --------------------------- 1 BC548 NPN Transistor
• Q2 --------------------------- 1 BC558 PNP Transistor
• U1 --------------------------- 1 4040 12-Bit Ripple Counter
• U2, U3 ------------------------ 2 4027 Dual J-K Flip Flop
• U4 ---------------------------- 1 4011 Quad Two Input NAND Gate
• U5 --------------------------- 1 TL802 Dual Op Amp
• U6 --------------------------- 1 4053 Triple Two Channel Multiplexer
• U7 --------------------------- 1 4069 Hex Inverter
• J1-J9, J10-J18, J19-J27 ------- 27 Jumper
• J28, J29 --------------------- 2 RCA Jack
• MISC ---------------------- 1 PC Board, Wire, Sockes For ICs

Notes

• The circuit was submitted via email by Jari Ekstrom. Jari noted that the author is Antti Paarlahti and that the circuit originally came from the author's website. This website is no longer accessible. However, some searching revealed that the author of the circuit also wrote The MacroVision FAQ. The email address listed for the author in the FAQ is invalid and the FAQ was last updated in late 1996. This circuit reproduced here without permission.
• Before use, the circuits's jumper need to be set. Take a look at the table below:

MacroVision Type
Upper Start Line
Upper End Line

Lower Start Line
PAL 0x05 0x0F 0x126
NTSC 0x06 0x0E 0xFB

• To set the jumpers, first convert the line numbers to binary. You will end up with three binary digits, one for each set of line numbers. Bit 0 is least significant, bit 8 is most significant. Now simply open the jumpers at the 0 bits and close the jumpers at the 1 bits.
• Connect your video source to "Composite Video In". As the label suggests, this circuit accempts composite video signals only. The corrected video signal is sent to the "Composite Video Out" jack.
• With the two "Video" terminals disconnected the circuit passes video through without modifying it. Jumping the "Video" terminals enables the MacroVision removal.
• As with all circuits involving CMOS (4000 series) ICs, you must tie the unused inputs of those ICs to ground. This is not shown on the schematic for clarity.
• Supply voltage is 12V.