Dreamcast Devbox Bios on retail Console!

http://www.dreamcast.es/news.php?readmore=310

A group of Russian hackers have modified a Devbox Bios and flashed it to a retail Dreamcast. Video inside.

 

this is cool i have 5 spare consoles i wish i had the tools to do this it would be cool cheers

 

Would it make the console region free?

<_<

 

:drool:

It's all about that totally awesome boot sequence. I'm well up for modding my DC.

:dance:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWFhMi-lDmw
Look the date I posted that video (that's one of my Dreamcast consoles)

Fellow member of this forum "link83" made it possible first.
Thread progress here: http://www.assemblergames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20622

His version of the BIOS is region free, boots MIL-CDs (Dreamcast software on CD-R) and has the devkit boot animation.

It's the best thing since sliced bread if you want a cool and different DC console.

Devkit bios will not boot MIL-CD as far I know.

 

Cool, thanks!

 

Does this modified bios also boot GD-R's (beta's)?

 

I wondered when I first saw this if it was just the same hack. Apparently though, on dreamcast.es Alex from the russian scene represented that this was not a retail bios with the dev boot logo but instead a devkit bios heavily modified to work on a retail DC...with milCD compatibility added in. Of course that could just be some lost in translation problems.

 

Devikit GD-ROM drives do not check for the 'TRADEMARK "SEGA" PRODUCED BY or UNDER LICENCE FROM SEGA ENTERPRISES, LTD.' barcode ring at the end of the low density area. Therefore, the bios will do nothing for you regarding GD-R discs.

The official unlock/boot disc for GD-R has a special barcode with a different key and a program that boots the GD-R disc when you change the disc. What does the magic is the different barcode.

 

So a retail unit can understand more than one barcode "type" from a GD?

 

Sounds Great. I'd love a region free DC. My Treamcast plays PAL/NTSC games, but its a pain to raise and lower the little screen. Also poor build quality and noisy.

So would this Bios mod be something that would run from CD, or would a new bios need soldering in place?

 

The SEGA bootdisc has an different barcode that tells the drive to do not check the next disc security. Such a disc exists for the Saturn, as well.

 

So in theory we could "write" our own barcode?

 

No because the barcode is made in such a way it cannot be replicated by a CD-R burner. Since it's purpose is prevent copying of discs it must be something robust, eh ?


I think I saw a link to the patent for the barcode technology used by SEGA several years ago at Eidolon's Inn or SegaXtreme....

 

Ok, but I wonder what kind of stuff could we do if there would a way to write such barcode...

 

If it can be read, it can be written. :nod:

Problem is finding the equipment that CAN write such a barcode. Wanna bet it isn't cheap or readily available?

 

The "barcode" is the actual mirror ring in the middle of the disc with some LICENSED BY SEGA text readable in it.

This same ring was present at the outermost part of saturns CD. It's a section of 0xA8 and 0x51 data that creates the letters.

I was able to retrieve this data from both sega sturn and sega dreamcast ring, but as far as I know it can't really be written back to any media correctly.

I know from a "pretty sure" source though, that a team of security testers hired by SEGA was able to crack SEGA CD protection using standard cd-witer and cd-r, but they were really skilled developers with this to do as a full-time job, and they had access to official SEGA docs.

Here's also an interesting page by Pinchy, which made a saturn modchip by reverse engineering this copy protection:

http://www.crazynation.org/SEGA/Saturn/cd_tech.htm

Cheers,

FG

 

This Intro is cool but in Blue...
Is there also a Dev Bios with the Red DC Swirl?
The Red one is much nicer!

 

The development BIOS, like the retail BIOS, isn't one specific color per BIOS. The color changes depending on the region. For the retail console, using an application like DC SWAT's Region Changer with 12V to R512, you can change the swirl color by changing the region. For the development kit, they simplified it by adding a rotary switch that allows you to make that selection.

 

Going a bit off topic, but how hard would be to make a device to plug the saturn disc drive cable to PC, with a software to read ISOs and stream to the saturn?