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From the Stanford University page "Macrovision Demystified": The most glaring problem with Macrovision is that compatibility is not guaranteed. Although the Automatic Gain Control circuitry is only supposed to affect the video signal when a Macrovision- protected video stream is recorded, many VCRs activate their video-scrambling chip when a signal is simply passing through the VCR. Since DVD players rarely include RF output (a single round cable with a single pin in the center - it looks like a cable TV connection), and millions of TVs currently in use lack composite video input (3 cables, 1 yellow for video and 2 (red and white) for audio - all have RCA-style connectors at the ends), or have only one set of composite inputs (which is occupied by a VCR, a Sony Playstation, or any of a variety of popular consumer electronics devices), many people discover that the only way to connect their brand-new DVD player to their television is to run the cables through their VCR. While there is nothing illegal about this configuration, due to pour design on the part of VCR manufacturers, quite a few people have been innocent victims of distorted pictures, and as DVD technology grows in popularity, this problem will grow exponentially. Already popular web sites are receiving questions from worried users, asking whether their new DVD player is broken because they are seeing an image that jumps around their television screen. The troubleshooting section of DVD player owner�s manuals rarely mentions this potential problem, incorrectly convincing many people that they own a faulty DVD player. While early adopters have been generally unaffected (due to the nature of early adopters, most own TVs with multiple S-Video or composite inputs, and thus do not need to connect their DVD players to their VCRs), this demographic is insignificant compared to the number of people who will try to connect their DVD players to their VCRs.
How about non-macrovision DVD's (direct video to DVD format, no macrovision encoded) - do they play okay?
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Brian
USN RET 22YRS (Avionics/Cal)
CET-Consumer Repair and Avionics ('88)
"Capacitor Cosmetologist since '79"
When fuses go to work, they quit!
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