Since I don't live in California (who has recently ruled it to be ok to discuss how to bypass copy protection), I can technically be a heap of trouble for saying this... but f-em. Macrovision basically puts a signal in the vertical sync pulse that confuses a VCRs auto adujustment circuitry. Normal VCRs (almost any that you can buy today) will adjust for weak or strong signals to "normalize" a video. Macrovision writes artificially strong or weak signals in that pulse, so the "normalizing" distorts the image. This is transparent on most systems during playback, as the adjustment occurs at record time. But good high quality equipment, and many projection TVs adjust on playback as well... causing the Macrovision to kick in, preventing you from watching the video at all. It will effect any system that depends on signal adjustment based on the sync pulse. Basically VHS. They have also begun to macrovise DVD and Satallite (which is going to start pissing off more people, as Satallite owners are more apt to also own high end equipment that will be distorted on playback). Things like 8mm, Beta, UMatic, won't be effected, because they look elsewhere for adjustment (but if you dupe a macrovised movie to 8mm, and then back to VHS, it will still kick in, as the sync has been carried over, but the 8mm copy will be clean). To bypass it, you just need to either adjust the sync, or write a new one. External macrovision defeating boxes tend to flatten out the signal. Or you can use a TBC (time base corrector) to write a brand new pulse. Or, in the case of what I do, my computer does it as a side effect. When I dupe thru it, I am not actually copying the video, but rather recording an NTSC conversion of what my computer screen is displaying. So the original sync is never passed thru (so I get the same net result as a TBC, without the benefit of being able to do A/B roll without gen lock problems). Now... to go a bit more off topic... I can be fined/jailed for sharing this with you, because it is a violation of the DMCA. However, there is NOTHING that I discussed here that I had to learn from "pirate" sites. EVERYTHING I learned in collage during my assorted TV production classes (I majored in TV/Theater production, well, at least until I dropped out of school). If you have a half way decent understanding of TV production, how macrovision works becomes an almost obvious no brainer, and how to defeat it becomes an absolute joke.... but I can still go to jail... but the MPAA/RIAA want you to believe the DMCA is a fair, just, and "good for you" law! -chris <http://www.mythtech.net>