I think that there's a chance that the navi can not read "+R" disks (what everyone's tried) but can only read "-R" disks.

Is there any application that can tell us what type of media the OEM nav disk is (+ or- R )?

 

Yeah, the original will be -ROM. It is pretty likely that this drive is not capable of reading +R (has anyone verified this with a 4.7 +R?) Many older DVD drives cannot read +R disks, and unfortunately, there is no such thing as a 9GB -R. Now if there is someone on the forum who has the ability to press -ROM disks...

Also, the idea about replacing the drive with a newer DVD reader could potentially work. Usually if a DVD drive can't read a +R disk, it has nothing to do with copy-protection; it is most likely just an antiquated drive. I haven't looked into the details - has anyone else investigated what would be involved in replacing this drive?

 

I think that I might try burning half the disk onto a single layer "-R" disk, and see if that may work...however, i'll have to get a DVD burner first...

 

doesn't the 2000 TL use hard drive?

 

No the '99's have a hard drive. The 2000's have DVD.

 

Not quite. There is such a thing as a DL (DVD-9) -R disc. This is relatively new, however, and few drives (any?) are out that can write them yet. (I believe the Plextors may have a firmware upgrade that allows them to.)

http://www.meritline.com/verbatim-95...-layer-11.html

The prices seem to be comparable to DL +R discs..

 

Someone went to a great deal of effort to get me an image of the Acura 2.20 NAV DVD. I burned it using Nero 6.x on a Verbatim _R DL DVD. It has booted in my car every single time and works without issue. So it can be done. The program itself still has minor glitches but they aren't related to the image/media - just programming flaws.

After testing it for a couple of weeks I can say it is an improvement to my original DVD but after testing it, I don't think it would have been worth $180. I think about $50 would have been reasonable at the highest. They'd probably make a fortune on them if you could buy them for about $30. I'd probably upgrade every year.

I made a promise to the person who was kind enough to send it to me that I would not copy it or give it to anyone else so I cannot let anyone else have it. I just thought I'd let you know that it was a nero image that was sent to me. Beyond that I don't know if they did anything special to bypass any security/protection - I will not ask/bother them any further since they put a great deal of effort into getting the image to me. I will not tell who sent me the image - they read the acura worldforum so if they want to send it to you they will contact you if you post there.

 

I hadn't heard about that yet. Good to know. And it sounds like that is probably the solution.

 

Sorry I meant to say verbatim +R DL DVD

 

I just bought a Sony DRU-800A DL Burner, it burns DL -R discs.

As soon as I can get my hands on some discs (Staples should carry them soon), I'll give this a shot. I've never burned DL media, so I'm not sure if there is any difference with 4.7GB media. At $280 (CDN) for a disc, I really want a backup.

 

Hi, I'm new to this forum. I'm interested in burning a backup DVD copy of my 2005 Acura TSX Navi disc.

I tried copying it using Nero's "DVD Copy" setting and with my new NEC ND-3520A DVD DL burner. Using those expensive Verbatim disks, I tried using the DVD+R DL with no luck. I was able to burn it completely but the Alpine unit would not recognize it in my car.

Today I got my hands on some DVD-R DL Verbatim disks, so I will try again using Nero. If you think I should be using another program like Alcohol or CopyDVD or whatever... please let me know what you suggest, and then I will post my results back here after I have tried it.

Would appreciate your help and advice!

 

I don't know what program they used to create the image I received but it was definitely nero in the end. You might want to use something like cloneDVD to find out what protection the program has on it.

 

Well shucks, so far I tried both DVD+R DL and DVD-R DL which burned just fine using the lastest update of Nero Burning Rom and my new NEC DL burner.

The problem is still, that it won't be recognized by the Alpine player in the car. On my computer though, no problem accessing the files. Next step is to try using "Clone DVD" as suggested to find out what protection program it has. I did notice the bar coding on the original DVD that is very suspicious looking, as to why it's there in the inner groove?

But other than that, I wish I knew what the player needed to see to activate the DVD? It had no problem loading a regular CD-R to change my nag screen and modify the initial display screen picture. More to follow.

 

Did you try bit-setting the disk to fool it into thinking it was a DVD-ROM instead of a DVD-R?

 

FlameNPie, what brand of DVD-R DL did you use? Verbatim is the only one they'll be getting locally (at the Staples stores near me) in the next few days... I know these drives are picky on media quality sometimes.... Hope this works.

 

Sounds like the Burst Cutting Area.

Check here : http://www.dvdburning.biz/terms/bca-...tting-area.htm

Copy protection. I have no idea if it's hardware or software looking for the bar code. No way for me to look, I haven't bought the car yet.

 

TRK9, I am using Verbatim DVD-R DL & Verbatim DVD+R DL. I tried various programs that searches for what kind of protection scheme is being used, but they all report back as none found.

TBnDFW, I think you're on to something re: "Burst Cutting Area"
There may be a way to duplicate the bar coding from the original DVD onto a clear plastic transparency, then cut it out and attach it onto my burned DVD? Worth a try? BTW, I paid $26,895 for my TSX w/Navi, but I'm in CA.

Beoshingus, bit-setting the disk to fool it into thinking it was a DVD-ROM instead of a DVD-R did not work for me.

 

You certainly shouldn't attach a transparency to the data side of the disk. If the read head catches it the drive would be toast.

 

Rats, I spent part of the day trying to make this work. I was going to attach my clear plastic copy of the barcode right onto the "top" of the DVD.

I copied the barcode using a Cannon copier and a 3m clear plastic transparency. Then I cut out the exact image portion I needed and attached it to the top of the already burned Verbatim DVD+R DL.

What I noticed, is that the original DVD has some clear space allocated on it for this barcode to reside, the Verbatim recordable disk does not, because the data begins to early on the disk. So the bar code has no empty (clear) place to reside without bumping into data. Makes sense?

IMO, I am now "convinced" of the following points:

1. The data on the original Navi DVD is not protected. It is not using any type of encryption. It doesn't need to.

2. Duplicating the bar code located in the "Burst Cutting Area" (thank's for the tip TBnDFW) to the exact spot it's needed to be read, is exactly what's stopping us from playing back our image on the Alpine player. It's looking for the bar code in the burst area of the DVD to initiate the startup, which we can't re-create on available recordable DVD's.

"Players read the code by rotating at a constant angular velocity (1440 rpm), moving the optical pickup to the burst area, focusing on the information surface, and using a special decoding circuit (decoding the much lower frequency barcode signal than a normal DVD HF signal). The marks are detected as a drop-out in the HF signal."

I nomally don't give up this easy but I am out of options.
A post in another thread said to consider changing out the Navi player to something that would play our burned disks but I'm not ready to the spend bucks to do that at this point. Maybe someone out there can find another solution.
Cheers!

 

To any Acura engineers that may be reading this forum, feel free to PM and maybe we can work out something.

 

looking for a back up copy of version 2.20. Please help! Running version 2.03 now. I need some serious updates. Also willing to get in touch with anyone to just talk about cars or hang out. I have a navi conversion and a few other electronic goodies on my 02TLS PM me Thanks!

 

wouldn't it be easy to test this theory by covering up the bar code on the original disk. If it doesn't work, we know its def the bar code. I'm not sure what material would be safe and non-permanent, but there's gotta be some way to prove this for sure.

 

Version 2.20 (Alpine Black DVD) for 2001-2003 CL/TL is available here.... Don't know if it works or not yet but hopefully I will know in a few days.

Honda.Pilot.Navigation.Black.Label.DVD.2003-05.USA.Version2.20.zip


**** Before you click on that link go to http://www.emule-project.net

Install the emule client and then come back to this thread and click on the link above to start the download. I am not the originator of the image so I have no idea if it works or not. Also, its going to take a while for the entire download to finish as this is a ratio based peer to peer network, so people who don't contribute files will get the file they are trying to download even slower. You might want to read about how to open the windows XP firewall and your router/wireless router ports to enable uploads so you can download things at a higher priority than people who don't enable uploads.

 

Is it possible to incorporate the Real time traffic monitoring sytem in the TL with new software change? or it is all hardware?

 

How about using a whiteboard marker. It should wipe off with a damp cloth.

Vic

 

Just used a green marker and completely masked the etched barcode on the data side of the disc.

I placed it back in the DVD drive and the navi system loaded up fine!

Vic

 

FYI, anyone thats trying to download the file I linked above for 2000-2003 TL/CL you might want to wait because my download finally finished and it says the file is corrupt. Will post more info as I find something out.

 

Here is some info that may help others, or at least save you some time. I'm trying to copy an '03 NAVI DVD from MDX. I tried DVD+R DL and would not read it. I re-burned making sure to set booktype to DVD-ROM, still not readable.
My MDX dvd-movie player in the car only plays DVD-R, so I bought a new plextor px-716a and some DVD-R DL media. Still did not read. The booktype shows DVD-R. After some research, it seems that DVD-R DL cannot be set to DVD-ROM. (seems to be a limit of that media type only).
It looks like there is no media available to make a good copy. Has anyone -ever- made a successful copy ?

 

Sorry. We cannot support copying of copyrighted materials.