Well I stumbled upon this. Imagine turning your FX1 NTSC in to a FX1 pal or even into a Z1!!! According to this article you can and it’s a secret Sony doesn't want us to know about. You can enable locked features as well.

Check it out.


http://www.dvcentral.org/tricks.html

So cool, now someone just needs to send me the script to enable the stretch black setting on my FX1.

Be very, very aware that messing with this can:
1. Trash your camera forever.
2. void the warranty in any event.

It's illegal in Europe and US but I'm sure there some country like Sri Lanca, or one of channel islands or Linchenstein in Europe, where this could be legal.

It would be great if someone would setup shop there, legally added true CF24 48 Hz to my FX1E.

The cameras may have lot more features, with push of magic button.

Radek

man i wish one of those guys that tore the fx1 apart to mount a 35mm lens on it would try this out...

illegal? how would any one know? it can't be illegal. the purchaser has the right to do what ever he/she wants to with what they purchase. but as spot said void of warranty and possible damage to camera. use at your own risk.

JC

2. void the warranty in any event.

You just have to know trick to change back to original settings.

Once camera is yours, can do whatever you want with it. If you send somewhere where mod is legal, Sony can't do anything about it.

People crack code all time. As long as you do for yourself or in country where the pro Sony laws exist not, you're fine.

Radek

Radek,
It's not about "Pro Sony" laws. Laws like that would be illegal. Sony would LOVE to be able to ship cams that record over firewire to EU.

As far as cracking the code, it's not illegal at all. It's just something that you need to be aware of that if you do this incorrectly and don't know EXACTLY what you are doing, you could code the camera wrong and it's toast. yes, someone might be able to get it back for you, but Sony won't be the one, since it's a non-warrantied experience.

Personally, I think it's great that some folks have the $$ to tear into these cams and see what makes them tick. I just have a problem when they share their results without proper caveats. I feel that's irresponsible on their part. If you follow their instructions but damage your camera, do they pay for it?

But...to each his/her own.

I bought the FX1 last fall, under the impression that it WOULD convert HDV to SD DV 3:4 through the FireWire output. Of course, only the Z1 (and the Sony HDV VCR) will perform that conversion, as I later learned on this forum. I own the Sony programable RM-95 Remote, and I'd love to find the code that would allow me to gain DV SD 3:4 output on my FX1.

If anyone can help, I'd be most grateful.

Ben

Some speculation over here too:

http://www.uemforums.com/2pop/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=HD_for_the_Masses&Number=90833&Forum=,All_Forums,&Words=&Searchpage=0&Limit=25&Main=89492&Search=true&where=&Name=14&daterange=&newerval=&newertype=&olderval=&oldertype=&bodyprev=#Post90833

ben, please let us know if you get it to work!!!!

Once camera is yours, can do whatever you want with it.That's absolutely true, *however* the manufacturer is NOT obligated to fix the thing once you've cracked it open. Thus, the voided warranty.

I'm not sure I understand the point of the original posting in this thread. The article linked-to is almost 10 years old, and doesn't have any reference to HDV that I could see. The article refers to enabling firewire-in on some old Sony PAL MiniDV cameras that were sold in Europe without the ability to record via firewire (because by doing so they would be a "VCR device" under European law and subject to additional taxes, apparently designed to protect the domestic VCR market, and Sony hid the enable-codes apparently because it worried that if record-enable became routine thing, the tax assessors would retroactively declare all their PAL MiniDV cameras as a VCR-device and assess a lot of back taxes.)

If there's anything about HDV devices on that page, maybe someone could point me to it.

This is like one of those messages put out by people who do not know how to write viruses, so they get you to forward stuff and it clogs up the net with a bunch of junk.

The article is old. The FX1 came out before the Z1 so the chances of it having the same capabilities are pretty much nonexistant.

If the Z1 had come first, then the FX1, I would believe there might be dormant, or disabled features hiding from us. But that is just not the case.

Get real folks. Next thing you know you will be sending your banking info to some lawyer in Nigeria!

Next thing you know you will be sending your banking info to some lawyer in Nigeria!Compliment of the day! This letter may come to you as a surprise due to the fact that we have not yet met. As you read this, I don't want you to feel sorry for me, because, I Believe everyone will die someday.

The sad thing is, I actually remember when the DV-In hack really was news. Oy. But to be young again.

Ben Hardy wrote:-

"I bought the FX1 last fall, under the impression that it WOULD convert HDV to SD DV 4:3 through the FireWire output. Of course, only the Z1 (and the Sony HDV VCR) will perform that conversion".

Ben I'm over in PAL land, but I just connect my FX1 to my NLE (Liquid Edition) via Firewire, set the output from the FX1 to DV and capture the footage. The NLE automatically sees it as SD DV 4:3. Of course the sides of the picture are chopped off, but I've been filming on a "shoot and protect" basis so that's no problem.

It might be possible for me to import the footage in a letterboxed fashion, but I haven't investigated this as I've no need for it at the moment.

If the Z1 had come first, then the FX1, I would believe there might be dormant, or disabled features hiding from us. But that is just not the case.

Get real folks. Next thing you know you will be sending your banking info to some lawyer in Nigeria!

It's not very a far fetched assumption that the FX1 and Z1 are internally very similar. For production reasons Sony would be wise to construct them identical, and then put on some exterior extras on the Z1 (XLR mic inputs for instance), and include some additions in the firmware (black stretch etc). The firmware must be updateable, so Sony can correct bugs in this software. So in theory we can change the firmware and get our cameras to perform in any way we want.

If we know every technical detail of this camera, we could reprogram our FX1/Z1 to get new functions (since most of them are software ones). That however would be extremely difficult. It's not about unlocking something, its about programming something in C++ or assembly language. Which I'm sure took a team of 5 engineers at least year to complete.

If we're lucky Sony has left backdoors open for us, accessable in some way similar to that in the old article. But what would Sony gain from that? What would the reason be for being able to unlock camera features? The most likely thing is that FX1 and Z1 has different firmwares with no unlockable parts. So getting hold of a Z1 firmware and updating a FX1 with it, would maybe turn the FX1 into a Z1 but without the physical differences. Or it would ruin the camera, because the firmware is dependant on some Z1 only physical parts.

i posted this because i thought i was intresting and what "IF" nothing more nothing less. the article is a few years old, but sony is sony. and if there were hidden features then why not now?

I am pretty sure the fx1 can do everything the z1 can from a software perspective. All it would take is a firmware update I would think. But that is one of the things z1 owners are paying for, the extra features -- but there is no reason why those features are not hidden within the fx1 as well and just don't have "boxes checked" for activation.

Actually, there is a reason. Many of these features were added after the FX1 was designed.

As I said, if they had been designed at the same time, or if the FX1 had been a cut down version, it would be different.

Has anyone stumbled across a service manual and/or remote for the FX1? I did some looking, but never found anything. Once my warranty is void, I'd be happy to play around with this kind of stuff. Too many people are afraid of black boxes.

-Steve

Actually, there is a reason. Many of these features were added after the FX1 was designed.

As I said, if they had been designed at the same time, or if the FX1 had been a cut down version, it would be different.

Is that a fact confirmed by Sony, or does it seem that way because the Z1 has more features? Marketing guys can have whatever weird reasons to split releases of two similar products designed at the same time.

To me it seems more likely the FX1 and Z1 were designed at the same time but for two different customer segments. Perhaps they tried the FX1 first to see the general response.

Sony hasn't commented one way or the other. I do know for certain that parts of the hardware inside the camera are different. I can't imagine that Sony would ever want to comment on this subject, would you?
I for one, would really love to get my hands on an FX-1 that someone has actually modified to become a "Z1" minus the audio hardware enhancements. Then, and only then would I believe that possible, but I'd certainly not be willing to risk it on one of my own cams. They're still under warranty.

The lack of Sony presence at places like this is a bit puzzling to me. Of course there are many issues where they can't comment on our speculation. But what a great way for them to get in touch with customers. We could learn from them, and they from our practical experiences. What a goldmine for Sony.

I'm still looking for a book or DVD that covers every detail of this camera (FX1/Z1), both practically and technically. How does it work inside? Exactly how does the software work? I can't imagine how such material could ever be assembled without the help from Sony. I'm the kind of guy that when I buy a car I also immediately get a detalied workshop manual for it.

Douglas, what are the FX1/Z1 differences in hardware inside the cameras that you know of?

Actually, there is a reason. Many of these features were added after the FX1 was designed.

I'm pretty sure they were designed at the same time. Same for the VX2000/PD150.

The fact that one of the cameras can charge a battery, and the other can not, leads me to believe that there are a lot of other hidden differences. Adding 50i probably required some different chips as well.