Hacking your CVS disposible digital camcorder.

UPDATE (12-2007): 09 Keys etc can now be cracked. Burning Man is available here

Other useful files can be found here.

Here is a link telling you how to identify your camera and how to connect it.

How to nerve pinch your camera.

Procedure below works on all M200, M220, and M230 cameras as of August of 2006.

Step one is to get your camera physically hooked up to your computer. There are a lot of methods. I prefer using a modified palm cable, but there are all kinds of methods. This page gives a pretty detailed howto on making the connector, but here are some others

Check out the forums on camerahacking.com if you need help!

Step two is to download this program. LINK

After the install:

Once you do the install, the rest is simple:

1. First, click the "open camcorder" button.

2. Next, click the "unlock" button.

It will tell you that your camera can't be unlocked. This is normal.

3. Now, disconnect and reconnect your camera. Close OPS and open it again.

4. Repeat steps 1 and 2 again.

Ops will report that your camera was unlocked with the "pandora key"

Now your camera can be reused.

In order to use your camera on another machine, it helps to copy the pandora key to the camera itself.

You can do this by clicking "view/change cam settings" and selecting the "reset cam key" option.

Now, your camera can be opened on any computer with OPS.

What can you do with it?

You'll find that for $25, the CVS digital camcorder is a great deal.

To get your movies off of it, click the "download all movies" button and select where on your computer you want them.

There are also all kinds of modifications that can be done. Read more at camerahacking.com

Other useful files can be found here.