CVS Disposable Camcorder Hacked 182
ptorrone writes "We've been watching this on MAKE closely- and the king of the one-time digital camera hacks/analysis finally got his hands on a CVS Camcorder on Friday, the 24th via someone shipping him one FedEx. Within 18 hours, he had slurped the flash memory and has the unencrypted, XVID codec, 320x240, 30fps movies stored in the camera on his computer."
Hours of crappy goodness (Score:4, Interesting)
Now the obvious answer is "hack the camcorder. Then it doesn't cost so much and you get more value for your money." Hmmmm... I can get a 16 ounce sh*t-flavored milkshake for $3, but with a little trick, I can turn that into a gallon. What a bargain, so long as I don't mind that it's still sh*t-flavored. If I want more sh*t-flavored goodness, then darn, I better learn the trick. If I want a milkshake that doesn't taste like sh*t, I think I'd better save my pennies.
The ONLY reason I can think of getting this is to get a camcorder for your kid. If they break it, big deal.
It also sort of reminds me of that old Mattell video camera that recorded grainy B&W on audio cassettes. Though crappy, it has its own kind of retro cool if you can find one now. Perhaps these cameras have value as collectors items.
- Greg
Re:Hours of crappy goodness (Score:1)
Re:Hours of crappy goodness (Score:3, Informative)
Fisher-Price being part of Mattel, of course.
Anyway, the camera was called "PXL-2000" and the format was called "Pixelvision". Read More... [michaeloreilly.com]
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
PXL (Score:2)
I used to have a few friends down the street with one. I don't think they ever really fully appreciated it. My first impression was : "Wow. On audio tape. Audio tape."
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Hours of crappy goodness (Score:2)
Woohoo! Amateur Pixelvision-pr0n!
Re:Hours of crappy goodness (Score:2)
Size does matter (Score:1)
Re:Size does matter (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Hours of crappy goodness (Score:3, Funny)
Subversion is the way forward!
Re:Hours of crappy goodness (Score:2)
Re:Hours of crappy goodness (Score:3, Interesting)
Huh. I just watched PICT0004.AVI (didn't want to download more so other people might get a change to access his site). I didn't think it was all _that_ bad. In fact, I don't believe it's much (if any) worse than my Sony DCR-PC9. Sure that's an oldy, but fuck, I paid like $900 for it or something.
I think there's use for video of this quality. To bad there's no CVS around here...
Re:Hours of crappy goodness (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Hours of crappy goodness (Score:5, Interesting)
Any other examples of too-damaging-for-a-real-camera photography?
Re:Hours of crappy goodness (Score:5, Insightful)
Wow, if you don't like a deal someone is offering, just don't take it. Show me a store that isn't charging too much for something or that offers something that doesn't present a value proposition that you accept. You're going to have to be self-sufficient if you start boycotting all of 'em.
I'm thinking of getting a weather balloon and tying one of these on to see what happens. $30 sounds good.
Re:Hours of crappy goodness (Score:3, Insightful)
Maybe that kind of quality isn't usefull to you, but for many people that kind of quality is decent enough to be usefull. For someone on a small budget, $30 ($20 with coupon) is actually affordable, where $200-$300 for a real digital camcorder isn't at all.
Re:Hours of crappy goodness (Score:2)
For someone on a small budget, $30 ($20 with coupon) is actually affordable, where $200-$300 for a real digital camcorder isn't at all.
Yeah but you can only use it for 20 minutes unless you steal it from CVS. If you're going to do that, just go to rent-a-center and get a nice camcorder for free.
Re:Hours of crappy goodness (Score:2)
I guess I'm not sure what you mean by "steal it from CVS". Is CVS only renting the camera, and you're expected to return it? I don't see any references to that anywhere. Unless you have to sign something when you buy it saying you'll return it, that camera is yours to do with whatever you please. Don't blame hardware hackers if CVS chose a bad business model.
Re:Hours of crappy goodness (Score:2)
Is CVS only renting the camera, and you're expected to return it? I don't see any references to that anywhere.
According to this article [pcmag.com] you are only renting the camera, and are supposed to give it back when you're done.
Unless you have to sign something when you buy it saying you'll return it, that camera is yours to do with whatever you please.
So if I ask to borrow your car to drive 20 miles, and I don't sign anything, I can take your car on a 2000 mile trip, turn back your odometer, and get away wit
Re:Hours of crappy goodness (Score:4, Informative)
According to this article you are only renting the camera, and are supposed to give it back when you're done.
And an article in todays Star Tribune http://www.startribune.com/stories/535/5475334.ht
So if I ask to borrow your car to drive 20 miles, and I don't sign anything, I can take your car on a 2000 mile trip, turn back your odometer, and get away with it?
This isn't an informal "borrow a car from a friend" relationship. This is a storefront where people buy things and if a contract is involved, it's spelled out quite clearly. In this case, they sell you the camera, and then hope you'll bring it back.
A contract doesn't have to be signed in order to be binding.
No it doesn't but you do have to have at least a verbal agreement to have a binding contract. Unless they say whenever you buy one of these things "buy buying this product you agree to return it" then you have no obligation whatsoever to return it.
Sure, you might get away with breaking it, but that doesn't mean you're not stealing.
Gee.. I thought stealing meant someone took something from you without you giving it to them, or selling it to them. Since CVS is actually selling these things to consumers, there's no "theft" involved. If you want to co-opt the word theft to your own personal definition, fine. But don't go around using it that way and expect people to agree with you.
Re:Hours of crappy goodness (Score:2)
There is more than one form of stealing, you know.
But all forms of "stealing" involve someone taking something that doesn't belong to them. In this case the camera is sold to you free and clear. That's a transfer of ownership, and there's no stealing of any form involved assuming you pay for it.
It seems quite clear to me that they aren't selling these things to consumers, which I've already explained in my previous post.
And it's quite clear that you're wrong. Unless you sign an agreement that the
Re:Hours of crappy goodness (Score:2)
But all forms of "stealing" involve someone taking something that doesn't belong to them. In this case the camera is sold to you free and clear.
From my understanding, the camera isn't sold to you free and clear. When you return the camera to get the DVD, you don't get the camera back.
Unless you sign an agreement that the camera isn't yours, it is yours.
Based on what? In order for the title of the camera to change hands, there has to be an agreement. It doesn't have to be a signed contract, but jus
Re:Hours of crappy goodness (Score:2)
Re:Hours of crappy goodness (Score:2)
Oh, wait, there IS no contract and you're not renting it. Not only do you NOT get your $30.00 back, you have to pay them $20.00 MORE to get your video off the camera and onto a DVD.
SO, if you can somehow twist these facts into some manner of "contract" where CVS "owns" the camera that they are merely "renting" to you, well, <Brian the dog from
Re:Hours of crappy goodness (Score:2)
The receipt that the cash register spits out that says "One CVS camcorder@$29.95". THAT'S the contract.
"And when you return your camera, do you get that back? So according to you, you have to pay them $20 and give them a camera which you own, in order to get the DVD?"
Yep. Funny how that works out.If you think it's a good deal to spend US$50.00 to get
Re:Hours of crappy goodness (Score:2)
Re:Hours of crappy goodness (Score:2, Funny)
<verifies that this isn't a children's message board>
Man, the marketing company that came up with a flavor called "sh*t" realls sucks. Honest, but I mean, wow.
Re:Hours of crappy goodness (Score:2)
Re:Hours of crappy goodness (Score:2)
- Greg
oh yeah! (Score:5, Funny)
Taking the day off work to be at home for the Fed-ex delivery... $140 dollars
Spending 18 hours hacking the camera for 30secs of video... Priceless!!!
Re:oh yeah! (Score:3, Informative)
Re:oh yeah! (Score:2)
Huh? Where do you think you are?
Re:oh yeah! (Score:2)
Re:oh yeah! (Score:3, Informative)
Also, yesterday I got the flash re-installed into the camera and it still works.
BTW: agree with gra
FedEx---huh? (Score:2)
You did know you could do that, right? Right?
--grendel drago
Hacking Cameras... (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Hacking Cameras... (Score:5, Funny)
Evidently, nothing is sacred anymore. Not even grammatical rules against double negatives in the English language.
Re:Hacking Cameras... (Score:2)
Re:Hacking Cameras... (Score:2, Insightful)
The question is... (Score:5, Interesting)
Mod Up (Score:2)
Regardless of whether they're formatting, I have a feeling they're not doing a security wipe.
Re:The question is... (Score:4, Informative)
The second still camera (the PV2) has a USB function that sucks out all the important system files out of Flash memory and saves them in SDRAM. It then reformats the memory and copies the files back in. It's a pretty good erase (maybe not NSA secure, but recovery would involve probing the IC wafer), and I don't see why it wouldn't be used.
But, the biggest security risk seems to be the time after development and before sending the cameras back to Pure Digital for recycling. According the people who operate the machines, the development machines don't erase the pictures. They stay on the camera in case something messes up -- they didn't want to have angry customers saying "what do you mean you accidently deleted my prints". It seems that the used cameras stay a while at the stores, so any operator could make prints of your pictures for up to a couple of weeks after you have them developed. But, bad employees is probably about the same risk as with traditional development.
Since the camcorder uses a separate partition with only picture data, I suspect it would be pretty easy to reformat only this section completely. (the PV2 had system and user data in the same filesystem, which is why it had to save the data in ram)
XviD codec? (Score:2)
I also wonder if they paid the MPEG-4 licensing fee too. (probably on that one)
Re:XviD codec? (Score:2)
Re:XviD codec? (Score:2)
But they must offer it to the parties to whom they DISTRIBUTED THE SOFTWARE or devices containing it. That means the companies who bought the camera/development system.
Does it have to go further? If you actually PURCHASE the cameras, I believe so. If ownership remains with the store (and you are merely lea
The blogging applications of this are endless. (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:The blogging applications of this are endless. (Score:1)
Visualbloggery at the next level. (Score:2)
Hey, that's a new one on me! (Score:2)
She: What the fuck?
He: Uh, I see you've stumbled onto my vast drawer full of amateur porn.
She: You've been taping us? Taping ME?!
He: Yes, you see---
She: YOU SICK FUCK!
He: ---it's in case you turn out to be a psycho and accuse me of raping you.
She: Oh. Well, I can totally understand that, and have no desire whatsoever to stab you in the balls with a knitting needle.
He: Thanks, sweetie. You're the best.
--grendel drago
Re:The blogging applications of this are endless. (Score:2)
lets call it voging (video web log) or vogoning (in tribute to hitchikers)
Re:The blogging applications of this are endless. (Score:2)
The first time I actually heard a Scotsman say that "Made in Scotland from Girders" my response was "Girdles? Tastes more like its made from used panties!"
(Non Scots/Englanders will have to appreciate the Scottish accent to understand the confusion).
I prefer the term "videobloggery". (Score:2)
Re:I prefer the term "videobloggery". (Score:2)
We could use Video Diary , Video diarist , much more universal
They already do (Score:2)
"a new craze amongst London youths: slapping random commuters in the face and filming the result on mobile phones with video cameras. The resulting 'Happy Slap TV' clips are then shared amongst friends (via MMS?), causing much hilarity."
ahh, the children of the children of thatcher.
Re:They already do (Score:2)
I myself shall never forgive the women for stealing my school milk , not to mention the poll-tax , the coal miners thing or most of her carrier
but these are still most likely the children of thatcher , but could also be the children of the children of thatcher and the children of thatcher.
Re:The blogging applications of this are endless. (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:The blogging applications of this are endless. (Score:2, Insightful)
Really, I don't care that the bitch at McDonalds gave you attitude, or how your day at work went, or your opinion on anything. And I definitely don't want to see the video.
The few blogs I can think of that are marginally useful (like http://www.artima.com/weblogs/index.jsp [artima.com]>Artima.com ) wouldn't benefit from video anyway.
Blogs are like personal webpages 10 years ago. For a little while, everyone had one. Then they realized other than 2 or 3 of their frien
Re:The blogging applications of this are endless. (Score:3, Funny)
No kidding. I mean, I came across this one blog once that was just a whole ton of dorks sitting around talking about "penguins" (must be code for something) and "hacking" things...What a bunch of losers...
LOL! Rants against bloggery are always funny. (Score:3, Interesting)
Article Text (Score:5, Informative)
Pure Digital's Single Use Camcorder for CVS
[PureDigital CVS camcorder]
Introduction
This web page is a little raw because I just got the camera and I'm leaving on a trip soon. So, I'll be brief and hopefully informative.
If you're not familiar with the camera, here is a good review.
Disassembly
Here's a photo gallery of the disassembly of my unit.
Similar in constructioon to the PV2, this unit is rugged and can be easily recycled.
Preliminary Analysis
Others found that pressing the Record and Delete buttons while turning on the camera yields a special diagnostic page. Mine said:
FW-VERSION: 03.40
CAMERA ID:
6B7051xxxxxx
PCB VER: B2
FLASH Memory Analysis NEW
I was able to get my videos out of the camera and onto my home computer by removing the 128MB flash memory chip and putting it into my home-built flash reader. I originally built the system for the PV2 camera -- here's some more info on it. The only modification I had to make was for the increased memory size of the new part. The reader is nothing special -- just a cheaper (and slower) version of comercially available units.
I've placed my analysis of the camcorder's flash memory on its own page. That page also has sample videos I have recovered from my camera.
Resources
The most current discussion that I follow is on the Camera Hacking message board. There is also discussion on Dakota PV2 discussion board.
contact me: my email address is my first name (john) at my last name (maushammer) dot com.
Is this legal? Yes.
Info on the original most recent still disposable digital camera
other systems I've played with
visit my homepage
Re:Article Text (Score:2)
Yes it was brief.
Server's down.
Oh, the humanity. (Score:1, Insightful)
Is it really too much to ask that people know when to use JPEG and when to use PNG? The person behind this article ought to know, but... I mean, just look at it [maushammer.com], it's the Screenshot From Hell.
Re:Oh, the humanity. (Score:5, Interesting)
Check the file sizes:
-rw-r--r-- 38000 Jun 24 21:09 PICT0001-info.png
-rw-r--r-- 13343 Jun 25 12:36 PICT0001-info.jpg
-rw-r--r-- 10958 Jun 25 12:38 camcorder-icon-full.jpg
-rw-r--r-- 2334 Jun 25 12:38 camcorder-icon.jpg
-rw-r----- 4547 Jun 25 13:02 index.html
-rw-r----- 23960 Jun 25 13:25 flash.html
My low-res pictures are 13k vs 38k, and 2.3k vs 11k. Overall, loading flash.html is 40k instead of 73k. That means (roughly) 80% more visitors for the same bandwidth!
I also tried GIF and TIFF - they were pretty close in size to the original PNG.
Re:Oh, the humanity. (Score:2)
Re:Oh, the humanity. (Score:2)
Apple had a lot of decoration in the window - antialiasing, plus textured background, plus multi-colored candy buttons that ate up colors. Normally I would have thought PNG would have been better, but guis are getting more picturesque all the time.
Re:Oh, the humanity. (Score:2)
Max Zoran and Mayday are gonna get ya! (Score:3, Funny)
COACH
COACHWare 1.0
2002:01:13 12:06:00
Better call in 007 for protection on this one!
Interesting.. (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Interesting.. (Score:5, Funny)
And the fact that it only works for 30 seconds is perfect for Slashdot users!
Re:Interesting.. (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Interesting.. (Score:2)
On Sale in two weeks (Score:4, Informative)
The ExtraBucks print from the register 2 days after the qualifiying purchase and although you do need your own ExtraCare card, the information you provide can be as false as possible. ExtraBucks are good on anything in the store excluding tobacco, alcohol and prescriptions.
Re:On Sale in two weeks (Score:2, Funny)
But that doesn't leave anything! Hmmm .. wait, chocolate!
Re:On Sale in two weeks (Score:2)
Re:On Sale in two weeks (Score:2)
Re:On Sale in two weeks (Score:2)
Do I really, or can I use the cashier's? Yesterday at CVS I told the checkout guy that the dog ate my card, and he just scanned his.
Re:On Sale in two weeks (Score:2)
Re:On Sale in two weeks (Score:2)
I was wondering how long this would take.
Re:On Sale in two weeks (Score:2, Informative)
Re:On Sale in two weeks (Score:2)
Re:On Sale in two weeks (Score:2)
I hate to break it to you but that song was released ten years ago. In the pop world that's an 'oldie' and not what people listen to today.
Re:On Sale in two weeks (Score:2)
The sad thing is that Alanis was a whole lot better than the garbage people are listening to today. I tune into an alternative station and the rock that is coming out these days is so bad it makes me want to cry. Since most things on the rock side of music have been done to death by the late 70s and early 80s (even punk was dead by then) I can appreciate the lack of new frontiers to pursue, but this crap that is coming out now all just sounds li
Re:On Sale in two weeks (Score:2)
Good thing this person isn't in high school (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Good thing this person isn't in high school (Score:2)
Light, breakable cameras (Score:5, Informative)
http://www.xkcd.com/kite/ [xkcd.com]
I was so confident of my engineering skill and my insistence on multiple safety measures that I sent my nice, $150 digital camera up the kite line. It worked for a few hours after the 70-foot fall, but hasn't since.
Re:Light, breakable cameras (Score:2)
A good use for redundant statements: They're redundant. That is, if you say the same thing two or three different ways, they still all convey the same message.
Re:Light, breakable cameras (Score:3, Funny)
WTF is CVS? (Score:4, Informative)
For the rest of us, CVS is a chain of pharmacies, they're selling a small, locked, one-time use digital video camera for $30 and charging $13 to get the data off it and onto DVD.
Re:WTF is CVS? (Score:3, Funny)
Re:WTF is CVS? (Score:2)
Re:WTF is CVS? (Score:2)
I haven't heard of them either (Score:2)
Site is slowing... here's a Coral Link (Score:3, Informative)
Hmm... I'm really starting to like Coral.
Re:CVS sucks (Score:2, Insightful)
There is another topic curren
Re:CVS sucks (Score:2)
Re:CVS sucks (Score:2)
Re:CVS sucks (Score:2)
They could, but they don't. To be honest, the cost/benefit on it just isn't worth it. The challenge of correlating purchases with individuals is so low-fidelity and ultimately so worthless (to them) that it just doesn't make sense to do it.
Wal-Mart deals in macro trend analysis. They record every single purchase made at any of their stores. Specifically, they not only reco
Re:Way to go... (Score:2, Interesting)
Once they run me out of their stores, they never hear from me again.
I always hear businesses complain that Wal Mart kills their business. As a former customer of many of those businesses I hear complaining, I only wanted to say why, because I often never go in their stores anymore.
Example, I haven't been to a Sav-On drugs now in years... and it was a prime