Finally got my Cyberhome DVD miniplayer today. The unit is well built and rather heavy for something this size. A good part of the weight we will remove as it is the DVD optical head and motor. Of course some of it's weight comes from the battery, but you'll be surpised how much that little motor weighs.
http://www.warrantyvoid.us/cyberhomedvdplayer.html
You'll want to remove the battery and open the bottom of the unit first. There are several screws holding both the bottom on as well as the board. This image shows what the board looks like from the bottom. I've removed all the screws holding it into the case so we could get a good picture. The battery would go in that empty space to the right.
This is the same board from the other size. You'll want to remove the three screws holding the optical motor head down. Disconnect all wires and ribbon connections, including a red/white (power) combination I've already removed from near the green LED on the front.
This is what the DVD optic/motor head will look like once it's removed. We'll find some other project for this later. Note the weight.. :)
Once you've removed the DVD optic/motor head, this is what the board will look like. (Only your chip won't look so busted up.) Guess what we are going to do next? Take a razor knife and gently remove the chip labeled MI1389QE from the board. It handles all the data from the DVD, and with it in place we get a signal that we just don't want. Besides, it runs a little warm and uses the power quickly.
With the chip completely removed, your board will look like this. BTW, if you haven't guessed we won't be using DVD's here anymore. :)
If you use a razor to remove the chip, grab some solder braid and flux and clean things up a bit.
Ok, flip the board back over and find the resistor R61. (As indicated in the image.) Tie your video signal to the bottom of this resistor.
The ground side of your signal can be soldered to almost any of the pads next to the screw mounts on the board.
At this point, test an NTSC composite signal into this connection and you should have a very clear color image.
While we are at it, why not take advantage of the stereo audio amp and onboard speakers? Connect your audio R/L signal lines carefully to the connections indicated in the image. Tie the ground side to the same location at your video ground. You'll find tinny, audio with adjustable volume.Here are my own finished connections for the video. I used a a little hot-glue after I soldered the red line to add a little strength.
At this point, test an NTSC composite signal into this connection and you should have a very clear color image.
With the optic/motor removed, I've got a enough room to hide my cable inside when not in use. Perhaps I will hide a Propeller-nano in the next one. :)
While we are at it, why not take advantage of the stereo audio amp and onboard speakers? Connect your audio R/L signal lines carefully to the connections indicated in the image. Tie the ground side to the same location at your video ground. You'll find tinny, audio with adjustable volume.
Finished Project! Here's mine running on the Propeller Microcontroller. (Standard NTSC Composite signal)
If you like the hack, and plan to purchase one, use the link above and I'll get credit from your purchase, your way of supporting continued hacks to be posted on Warrantyvoid.us.
