A special thanx goes to our cooperator and beta-tester Gagliostro from Sat-Net Forum and Info-Sat Forum. He's really one of the most elite italians. He does a lot of researches and tests on our products with no profits just to make Forum's users happy by discovering new tools. Don't forget to visit these italian cool forums!

Introduction

After about 1 year of inactivity Duolabs strikes back with a new powerfull tool for Cas modules such as Magic Module (aka Magic Cam), Universal Cam, Matrix Cam, Digital Receivers with Cas embedded and all the other Cams Sidsa's Chipset embedded.

Here comes a photo of the Cas Interface prototype done by us. This is the first public photo of our interface. Of course i don't remind you that this is just the prototype we used and the final version that will be released around the mid of July 2003 will be something like a cigarette box.

The software will be public by the mid of July.

The question that follows most of the emails we receive is "what's the price?" we don't know it yet, the price will be around 39/49 Euros to the end-customer. If you want to resell this product please email us.

Prototype	Final Version of the Main board
Cas Studio Software	Final Version

What's Cas Interface?

It all started the 1st of april when we received hundred of email asking for repairing service and Flash re-programming. Repairing is essentially chaos. Opening the Cam takes at least 5 minutes to an average technician. Desoldering the Flash memory, reprogramming and soldering the Flash again takes at least 20 mins. Closing the Cam takes 5 mins. That all sounds simple enought, but the reality is more complicated. During all the steps you might encour in many problems.
Furthermore the repairing service does not guarantee the customer that this problem won't happend again.

-> Solution

Surely the manufacturer doesn't make the above procedure. So the question that comes up is how to solve this problem?
After 2 months of a hard job we've been able to discover and break programming routine on the Sidsa's ARM7 Chipset. after 1 month we've been able to do all the procedures on the Flash memories like Erasing, Programming, Verifying etc.

And here comes the new Cas Interface.

This interface is made of 2 parts one is the main unit that connects to the parallel port of your PC and needs and external power supply of 9 Volts. The other part is the Cas Card which is a simple PCB with special connecting pads in order to connect directly to the Sidsa's MCU and program the Flash memory through Sidsa's using a dedicated protocol.
Both parts must be connected togheter with flat cable (normally given in the packaging) and that's all.

How to program a Magic Module or other sort of Cams using the Cas Interface?

You insert the Cas Card into the Cam (like the regual programmer that everybody knows) you connect the cam to the Digital Receiver (this is only to give power supply to the Cam Module) and then with the Cas Interface Studio you can do whatever you want.

What can I program with Cas Interface?

Basically you have the Flash memory under control so you can program just the Loader (from location h000000 to location h09fff) or the Firmware area (from h010000 to the end of Flash memory). You can clear Loader, clear Firmware or both.

What kind of Flash Memory can I program with Cas Interface?

You can program all the Flash memory on the market. On the version 1.0 of Cas Interface Studio only Hynix and Toshiba Flash Memories are supported but in a few weeks time we'll perform algorithms for the other Flash memories that you might find inside. If the flash memory you have is not supported you'll be notified by which kind of Flash memory it is and the ID and manufacturer's code.

How can I program a Cas embedded Digital Receiver?

It's quite easy. with this tool we'll supply in the download area the connecting diagrams for Digital Receivers. We did our tests with Kaon Media's Extreme decoder and with Nextwave Ci 2500 receiver. You just have to connect 5 wires (very easy to solder) and then proceed like a Cam.

What are the system requirements to make this tool work?

Just a simple PC running under Windows 98/ME/2000/XP and a Parallel Port.

What kind of files can i upload into the Flash Memory?

The files are in binary format (*.bin) but you can either upload .mbf (that is like .bin no conversion must be done).

Can I use the Cas Interface instead of a Magic Programmer?

Of course you can! This tool substitutes the classic Magic Programmer. It's a bit slower than a Magic Programmer but it accesses to some Flash areas a Magic Programmer cannot.

Can I program the Loader like Dream Load or other loaders even if the cam is dameged?

Of course you can! If the damage has been done by a fake file you can restore the loader and start again like you have a brand new Cam.

What about project rippers?

There's a common usage from the other competitors to copy product's design by un-protecting microcontrollers and making the exact copy of the original product. We implemented some interesting algos on our PC software and on the PCB itself that make this product very hard to be copied. If you think you can do it we wish you good luck!