Parallel Port Updating

(click button to download  parallel port update utility for the Vision)

Building the cable: For Vision users who have a difficult time getting a serial adaptor cable or want to save the money you can build a parallel port cable to update a Vision. You'll need a DB-25 parallel port cable, a wire stripper, a multimeter and some wire clips at a minimum. A soldering iron and a 10 pin .1"  square pin receptacle (Digikey part #A26478-ND  see Digikey ) will be needed for a better, more reusable cable.

10-pin receptacle to connect to 10-pin Vision header

    Cut off the female end of the parallel port cable as you'll need the male end to plug into the PC. Using a multimeter find the wires that correspond to pins 2,4,5,10 & 25 on the male end of the parallel connector (see diagram below).

Male end of parallel cable

     Strip the wires on the cut end of the parallel cable coming from pins 2,4,5,10 & 25 and solder them to the 10 pin receptacle. The parallel port wires connect to the 10 pin Vision square pin header as shown below. Pin 10 of the Vision header is nearest the green led. When you take the Vision case on/off always slide it out, being careful not to bend back the IR receiver which protrudes slightly out the front of the case. Instead of soldering wires to a 10  pin receptacle you could also use short wire clips to connect the parallel cables wires to the Vision header (this isn't a great way to connect it but should work if you're careful).

   25 pin parallel port    <------------------------------->   10 pin Vision header

     pin  2 ----------------------------------------------- pin 2

     pin  4 ----------------------------------------------- pin 3

     pin  5 ----------------------------------------------- pin 5

     pin 10 ---------------------------------------------- pin 4

     pin 25 ---------------------------------------------- pin 1

Running the update:   Download the utility and unzip it (there are 2 files which need to be kept together). At this time the utility has only been tested to run on a Windows 2000 machine so it might work with other Microsoft OS's but we haven't tried it.

Important: The "io.dll" file looks for a file called "io.sys" in the directory "c:\WINNT\system32\drivers". If when you attempt to run the utility it complains about "io.sys" then your "io.sys" file is located somewhere else. Use the windows find file utility to find it, then create this directory on your c: drive and copy it there to get the utility to work. (We're working on an improvement to eliminate this problem in the future).

The parallel port update will preserve your current settings but you may want to jot them down if you've spent a considerable time calibrating it as a backup.   Connect up your PC and your Vision with your parallel port cable and plug the power supply into the Vision. On the PC double click (run) the downloaded utility named vispp_up020904.exe. It will start updating. If a checksum error occurs try closing the window, check your connections and rerunning the utility.

About the updates:   The most current firmware upgrade for the Vision and VisionPro is revision 020904. You can check your firmware revision by pressing "menu",0,9,0,3 on your remote.

   The updates from 062903 and on fix the ICP and CUE problems mentioned on Secrets of Home Theater and Hi Fidelity website. CUE (chroma upsampling error) is a problem found with many DVD players but not all so this may not be an issue for you. ICP (interlaced chroma problem) is found with all DVD players and can occasionally be seen on highly saturated (strongly colored) edges. (Click here to see more information on these problems)

                             Update History

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