CVS Camcorder Hacked

A few months ago I read an article about a single use digital camcorder that was designed and manufactured by Pure Digital and was being released by CVS Pharmacy in stores on the east coast.  The theory was that you use the camera to record up to 20 minutes of video then return it to the store where they will transfer your videos to a DVD.  Sounds like a great idea but the more you think about it the more you think it's not so great.  At $29.99 plus $12 for processing it's a little on the expensive side for not so great quality video.  The fact that you don't have to worry about a $400 camera getting wrecked when you do stupid things with it makes it only a bit more practical.  I thought it was pretty cool but would be awesome as soon as someone figured out how to get the video off the camera without returning it to the store, that took less than a couple months.  People figured out how to get a USB interface working a while ago but it took more time to get the software portion working.  Last week a usable hack was released, we bought 6 cameras as soon as we found out.  I also ordered some mini USB B connectors and now have a line of people waiting to get their's built.  I just finished the first handfull and they work great.  Now I can put one on the front of the Rincon when we go riding, on the bars of the mountain bike and maybe even on Isis if I can figure out a way to mount it.  I have since ordered another 10 connectors and have a pile of cameras to do.  Here is what I had to do to get the connector mounted and wired into the board.  In case you decide to make one of these for yourself, here are the codec and driver packages that you need to get the video off the camera and here is a wiring diagram that will help you add the USB connector.  Here are a couple sample videos of one of them attached to the front of my electric and gas RC trucks.

Update:  I just finished installing the USB interface on the 26th camera, I think I'm going to retire.  If you need a hand on your camera and you ask very nice, I'll probably help you anyway.  I've also added some videos taken with the camera on the 10.01.2005 ATV Log page, perfect to just throw in your pocket and go.  One of the geniuses that is responsible for most of the developments on this hack released a "mass storage enabler" last week, which makes your camera appear like a disk drive when you run it.  For your enjoyment I have included it here for download.  I ran some tests and it seems to work great, be sure to read the included readme file for installation instructions.

Here it is, just a bit larger than an IPOD but not as heavy

The controls are easy to operate and the instructions are printed right on the back

It takes regular AA batteries and has a 1" LCD display that also acts as a viewfinder

The mini USB connector is about 1/4 the size of a postage stamp, soldering to the tabs was a challenge with their 0.050 spacing

Soldering to the board was actually quite easy

There is the connector wired to the board, ready to be attached

A hole was cut to mount the connector to the case and it was glued in place

Once the glue dried the camera was reassembled and tested you can hardly tell it didn't come with the connector already installed

The list of friends that want them is constantly growing