Hi,
My project is VFD Clock, you provided the links yourself 
Here is the proper link though: http://atmega.magictale.com/projects/vfd-magiclock/
and the final video: VFD MagiClock - A DVD Player Hack - YouTube
Everything is opensource - please use it.
By the wayI've got one more faulty DVD based on TORPO chip and 7 segment VFD display which looks similar to yours yet there are some differences. Slightly modified code from VFD clock project is already talking to the VFD panel - I just need to make changes to the charset. It should be almost identical to what you need for your project so I don't mind to share. If you're interested, of course.
Regards,
Magictaler