DVD playback on a PS2 debugging station

[mdmx]

It's not possible to play a Video DVD on a PlayStation2 debug unit. However I remember the very first PS2 model SCPH-10000 had no built-in DVD player aswell. You had to download the DVD player onto memory card from the supplied Utility Disc.

I'm just curious would this work on a debugging station as well?

[hl718]

Wouldn't this fail due to the fact that the player executable is encrypted and the TEST won't have the correct decryption keys?

In order to get the player working, you would need to completely decrypt the player software and then repack it.

-hl718

[l_oliveira]

Don't the DTL-Hx001x units support Magic Gate and then be capable of decrypting such ?

Decrypting is possible ! :thumbsup:

I know that you just need to talk to the right people or do a lot of reverse engineering yourself.

[mdmx]

oh what a pity. I didn't know that the DVD player software is encrypted :(

[SilverBull]

oh what a pity. I didn't know that the DVD player software is encrypted :(

All executable code stored on memory cards or the HDD is encrypted using some kind of hardware encryption, OSD updates and DVD player included. That's why it took so long for something like Free McBoot to be developed. We don't have a means to perform decryption outside of a PS2 (the algorithm is unknown, as are the region-specific keys), and encryption seems to be completely out of reach right now. Nobody has figured out yet how to make the system encrypt a certain chunk of bytes, let alone whether the necessary "forward" direction of the cipher is present at all.
Luckily, encryption is not even necessary, as there is a loophole in how Sony encrypted certain official files (like the DVD player on ROM): these files contain an encrypted stub that unpacks the actual program from its data section. The data section is neither encrypted nor signed, so it can be replaced by homebrewn software after figuring out how the unpacker works. Credits for this work go to Neme from psx-scene.
There is more to FMCB, though, as an encrypted file from ROM won't start when simply copied to MC. Certain key material needs to be "signed" for that particular MC, and that's what the FMCB installer does. Jimmikaelkael from psx-scene reverse engineered the special SECRMAN module delivered on Sony's utility disks, as it is the only (semi-public ;-)) code capable of "signing" encrypted files for MC.

The TEST units are able to decrypt a file if it matches their target region; I know there exists certain Sony code (pre-installed on special memory cards) a TEST can boot from. Therefore, their BIOS needs to contain at least the check for an OSD update; however, as l_oliveira wrote, only DTL-x010x units support running the utility disks. The mechacon CPU responsible for decryption and signing of other (regular) TESTs does not support the additional commands from the special SECRMAN, so software installation to MC is not possible.

If you want to experiment, you could try running the DVD player update disk on a retail console and install to MC; if your TEST uses the same MagicGate region as your retail (I don't know whether this is possible at all, as they might use completely different region sets/keys), it might be able to start it afterwards.

[mdmx]

If you want to experiment, you could try running the DVD player update disk on a retail console and install to MC; if your TEST uses the same MagicGate region as your retail (I don't know whether this is possible at all, as they might use completely different region sets/keys), it might be able to start it afterwards.

unfortunately I don't own the Utility Disc nor a SCPH-10000. I was just interested if anyone ever tried that.

[Keberasky]

I have a few PS2 Debug (Test) Consoles (all slightly different models) and my experience has been that some of the newer debug consoles can start the utility discs but none can actually install or use the DVD driver on the memory card. The DTL Hx010x models indeed can boot the utility discs as well as all DTL-H5000x models. This is to allow the HDD software (and browser) to be installed to a hard drive on a debug station. However anytime you attempt to install the DVD driver it acts like a retail console does when the region doesn't match.

[mdmx]

However anytime you attempt to install the DVD driver it acts like a retail console does when the region doesn't match.

what a pity:(

[dickibow]

I tried this on my debugging station using all the different version numbers of the DVD driver disc and it starts installing on the memory card but always failed before completing.

[l_oliveira]

Doesn't work because even the debugging stations that do support magic gate have instructions on their ROM to not allow the use of the DVD player software.

If it's a older unit like DTL-H30001, all you will get is a nifty black screen after the Playstation 2 logo. (it's not capable of decrypting the disc main ELF file.)

If it's the newer unit DTL-H30101, you might get up to the install screen and even if the install is successful, the ROM OSD will not start the DVD player when you put a DVD video disc.

[defor]

^ dead on.

I can personally guarantee that doing the DTL/SCPH-10000 memorycard boogie doesn't give any worthwhile results.