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.

Schematic

Parts

Part Total Qty. Description Substitutions 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

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. With the two "Video" terminals disconnected the circuit passes video through without modifying it. Jumping the "Video" terminals enables the MacroVision removal.
5. 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.
6. Supply voltage is 12V.