SlySoft AnyDVD and future updates

[Marc]

SlySoft (http://www.slysoft.com) announced that as of January 1st, they're are going to start using an annual subscription for updates. Anyone who purchases their products before then will continue to get free updates for life. So, if you're thinking about using AnyDVD or one of their other products, you may be better off buying them now under their current license model.

In addition, they're having yet another 20%-off sale through the end of the month.

Even though I'm on a Mac, I use AnyDVD inside my virtual Windows system when I need to rip DVDs to put onto my iPod. (I have AnyDVD rip the DVD to my Mac filesystem where I then run Handbrake to do the conversion.)

[Hoffer]

Doesn't Handbrake rip the DVD on Mac?

[Marc]

According to their FAQs, "First off, you should know that HandBrake is not a DVD ripper."

I had gone into this just assuming that Handbrake didn't deal with decryption issues, but I hadn't looked into that before just now.

[mercurial]

I think Handbrake used to decrypt but the latest update specifically mentioned they'd removed that.

[Makita]

In addition, they're having yet another 20%-off sale through the end of the month.
Ummm, Marc? It is the same sale they always hae, they jus tupdate it to correspond with the most 'current' holiday. New Years, Halloween, International Talk like a Pirate day...
:)

Kinda glad I go tit. I like Free for life. :)

Now, if I could only get handbrake to actually WORK to create AVI's after I rip a back-up. :shrug:

[mercurial]

So is there anything of theirs (other than AnyDVD/AnyDVD HD) worth having?

[Marc]

CloneDVD seems like a nice enough product, but that's not something I need. CloneDVD mobile does seem to work, but I prefer Handbrake for this.

[Marc]

In addition, they're having yet another 20%-off sale through the end of the month.
Ummm, Marc? It is the same sale they always hae, they jus tupdate it to correspond with the most 'current' holiday. New Years, Halloween, International Talk like a Pirate day...
That's why I said "yet another". ;)

When I did want to buy AnyDVD, I had missed their previous 20%-off sale and had to wait a month or two for their next one to roll around.

[Makita]

Oh, I thought it was all just one long sale where they changed it's name and overnight, it had a new name.
I moved from a 'Christmas' sale to 'New Years' sale, but did not need to wait.

[trnsfrguy]

I think Handbrake used to decrypt but the latest update specifically mentioned they'd removed that.

The Dark Knight was no match for the updated Hanbrake, so it still decrypts.

[mercurial]

I think Handbrake used to decrypt but the latest update specifically mentioned they'd removed that.

The Dark Knight was no match for the updated Hanbrake, so it still decrypts.

From the Handbrake (http://handbrake.fr) site:


No more internal DVD decryption

Yeah, we know, no one reading this is going "Oh wow, no more DVD decryption--what a great new feature!" but...deal.

HandBrake will dynamically load VLC's copy of libdvdcss if you have it in your Applications folder in Mac OS X, and if you're on Linux, and you want to live on the wild side, you can install libdvdcss on your system and get the same effect.

Translation of the last paragraph from nerdese:


We're not about to stop you from choosing to decrypt DVDs. If you're on a Mac, and you have VLC 0.9.x installed, you won't even notice the internal capability's gone. If you're on Linux, all you have to do is install a library.

[trnsfrguy]

I think Handbrake used to decrypt but the latest update specifically mentioned they'd removed that.

The Dark Knight was no match for the updated Hanbrake, so it still decrypts.

From the Handbrake (http://handbrake.fr) site:


No more internal DVD decryption

Yeah, we know, no one reading this is going "Oh wow, no more DVD decryption--what a great new feature!" but...deal.

HandBrake will dynamically load VLC's copy of libdvdcss if you have it in your Applications folder in Mac OS X, and if you're on Linux, and you want to live on the wild side, you can install libdvdcss on your system and get the same effect.

Translation of the last paragraph from nerdese:


We're not about to stop you from choosing to decrypt DVDs. If you're on a Mac, and you have VLC 0.9.x installed, you won't even notice the internal capability's gone. If you're on Linux, all you have to do is install a library.


Now that you've posted that I do remember having to load VLC 0.9x.
But, however they state it, it still decrypts. I guess they're covering their ass.

[mercurial]

The Dark Knight was no match for the updated Hanbrake, so it still decrypts.

From the Handbrake (http://handbrake.fr) site:


No more internal DVD decryption

Yeah, we know, no one reading this is going "Oh wow, no more DVD decryption--what a great new feature!" but...deal.

HandBrake will dynamically load VLC's copy of libdvdcss if you have it in your Applications folder in Mac OS X, and if you're on Linux, and you want to live on the wild side, you can install libdvdcss on your system and get the same effect.

Translation of the last paragraph from nerdese:


We're not about to stop you from choosing to decrypt DVDs. If you're on a Mac, and you have VLC 0.9.x installed, you won't even notice the internal capability's gone. If you're on Linux, all you have to do is install a library.


Now that you've posted that I do remember having to load VLC 0.9x.
But, however they state it, it still decrypts. I guess they're covering their ass.

Well, it decrypts in the same way it does when I run AnyDVD. The other program (or library) has already made the disk readable. They just see it as an unencrypted disk in their application so they're in the clear.

[eddyj]

So will AnyDVD be cheaper when they go to yearly? It should be, but you never know.

[Marc]

I know that AnyDVD releases frequent updates to handle copy-protection that is done other than by CSS. I wonder whether libdvdcss handles that stuff, too, or whether it merely decrypts the content, leaving other copy-protection techniques in place.

[Makita]

slight hijack, sorry.
Does HandBrake work better from the DVD, or from a ripped image on the Hard Drive?

[Marc]

I can't imagine it'd be any different, assuming we're merely talking about a de-CSS'd version, although if by "image" you mean an ISO file, then I don't know whether Handbrake reads those. In my case, AnyDVD rips the DVD and copies the directory tree to my hard drive so I can use Handbrake on my Mac to process the data. When I was running "real" Windows, I used Handbrake straight from the DVD since AnyDVD did its magic behind the scenes.

[mercurial]

I tend to "rip" multiple disks to the HD so I can then queue several up for conversion and let it run without intervention for a day or two until it's done.

[Makita]

yup. 'Rip DVD to HardDisk' (not Rip to Image)
maybe I'll play with it more. I just tend to get a video w/ sound out of sync, or none at all.

[BrettStah]

Kinda glad I go tit.

:huh:

I guess I "go tit" too.

[Otto]

I know that AnyDVD releases frequent updates to handle copy-protection that is done other than by CSS. I wonder whether libdvdcss handles that stuff, too, or whether it merely decrypts the content, leaving other copy-protection techniques in place.

... This kinda makes me wonder what they are releasing, because no new DVD protections have been created since around 2005 that I know of. The last one (Sony's ARccOS) was mostly discontinued, since it broke hardware player compatibility on many discs that used it. Modern movies rarely bother to use anything other than CSS, and some of them no longer even bother with that. The cat is out of the bag, basically.

I've never found a DVD movie that libdvdcss cannot read. And it hasn't been updated since 2005.

Now, I know AnyDVD supports High Def discs and such, so maybe they're dealing out updates for that sort of thing.

[Marc]

As an example, here is what they mentioned for their past four updates. Although bug fixes are a distinct component of each update, there are also additions to handle particular protections/anomalies for DVDs and BDs.

6.4.9.0 2008 12 01
- New (DVD): Added support for new protections
- New (DVD): Improved speed of AI scanner with some discs
- New (DVD): Added warn message if "rip to image" is used with DVD media
- New (Blu-ray & HD-DVD): Performance increase in kernel mode driver
- Change (Blu-ray): AnyDVD will disable itself, if BD+ can't be removed
- Fix (Blu-ray & HD-DVD): Bug reading unencrypted files from encrypted
BD / HD DVD discs
- Fix (DVD): Bug introduced in 6.4.8.5, "CloneMap 2" error with some discs
- Some minor fixes and improvements
- Updated languages


6.4.8.5 2008 11 16
- New: Added option to enable/disable creation of .dvd file to image ripper
- New (DVD): Added support for new protections
- New (Blu-ray): New error code if BD+ can't be removed yet
- New: Updated ElbyCDIO, improved compatibility with 3rd party drivers
- Change (Blu-ray): Memory access of driver, may fix various problems
- Fix (Blu-ray): Sometimes .dvd files were created with wrong media type
- Some minor fixes and improvements
- Updated languages


6.4.7.9 2008 10 31
- New (DVD): Added support for new protections
- New (Blu-ray): Added option to disable BD-Live
- New (Blu-ray): Added removal of region locks from menus
- New (Blu-ray): Added support for new version of the BD+ copy protection
- Fix (Blu-ray): Playback issues with ArcSoft TMT
- Fix (Blu-ray): Issues with some titles, e.g. "American Gangster"
- Some minor fixes and improvements
- Updated languages


6.4.7.6 2008 10 17
- New (DVD): Added support for new protections, e.g.:
"Leatherheads", US, "You don't mess with the Zohan", US
- New (DVD): AnyDVD ripper handles invalid navigation packs, e.g.
"Stargate SG-1, Vol. 32", Region 2, UK,
"Bob & Doug McKenzie's Two-Four Anniversary", Region 1, Canada
- New (DVD): AnyDVD ripper supports invalid packet start codes (PS10 error),
e.g. "Romance & Cigarettes", Region 2, Switzerland
- New (DVD): New strategy for removing unwanted cells
- New (DVD): Improved fixing of incorrect DVD structures
- Fix (DVD): FluxDVD protected discs couldn't be copied with CloneCD
- Some minor fixes and improvements

[Mysteryman]

I downloaded anydvd last night with the intent to try then buy.

I worked great on two movies. I'm looking forward to trying WallE which I own, but can't play in a PC because of their damn schemes.

One thing that surprised me was how little CPU it took. About 10% of a Turion 1.6Ghz dual core for the 40 minute rip. I suspect the bottleneck was my DVD drive.

[bsnelson]

... This kinda makes me wonder what they are releasing, because no new DVD protections have been created since around 2005 that I know of.They keep coming up with new ways to do "structure protection" and related strategies to fool the copy programs. Take a gander at the uproar over "The Dark Knight" at the SlySoft forum (http://forum.slysoft.com/forumdisplay.php?f=18) (take your pick from several threads); there's definitely plenty to be done on an ongoing basis.

Brad

[Marc]

I don't know about your DVD drives, or those in general, but I have discovered since running AnyDVD on my virtual Windows on my iMac that it runs slowly because Apple "locked down" the SuperDrive to discourage DVD ripping. Apparently, when it's playing movie DVDs, it caps its read speed at some relatively low value. Thus, it takes me about half an hour to rip a disk straight to the hard drive. Fortunately for me, I'm not in any hurry and it still gets the job done.

[Marc]

They keep coming up with new ways to do "structure protection" and related strategies to fool the copy programs. Take a gander at the uproar over "The Dark Knight" at the SlySoft forum (http://forum.slysoft.com/forumdisplay.php?f=18) (take your pick from several threads); there's definitely plenty to be done on an ongoing basis.
I wouldn't be surprised if much of this has more to do with people copying DVDs (and then playing the resulting DVD±R's on DVD players) rather than having the DVDs played in software players, especially those that tend to be far more flexible about not necessarily abiding by the disc-mandated playback rules (can't skip or fast-forward during previews, etc.).

[mercurial]

I don't know about your DVD drives, or those in general, but I have discovered since running AnyDVD on my virtual Windows on my iMac that it runs slowly because Apple "locked down" the SuperDrive to discourage DVD ripping. Apparently, when it's playing movie DVDs, it caps its read speed at some relatively low value. Thus, it takes me about half an hour to rip a disk straight to the hard drive. Fortunately for me, I'm not in any hurry and it still gets the job done.

Wow. That is totally asinine.

[Marc]

Ah, it turns out that this has a name... Riplock (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riplock).

[mercurial]

Ah, it turns out that this has a name... Riplock (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riplock).

That's fascinating. I'll have to look to see if I can disable that on my drives. It takes about 20-25 minutes to rip most DVDs to the HD so I'm not sure it's one but that's stupid. Of course I never realized this existed- I just assumed ripping was an inefficient process.

Of course about 85% of my collection is converted now so it's not really that big a deal any more for me either.

[Marc]

I read elsewhere that a Google search for "dangerous brothers" is interestingly relevant.

[Mysteryman]

Ah, it turns out that this has a name... Riplock (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riplock).

Okay this makes more sense. My Laptop took quite a bit longer than my old desktop with 8X DVD+RW/DVD drive. The specs on my desktop are tiny compared to the laptop.

[Otto]

They keep coming up with new ways to do "structure protection" and related strategies to fool the copy programs. Take a gander at the uproar over "The Dark Knight" at the SlySoft forum (http://forum.slysoft.com/forumdisplay.php?f=18) (take your pick from several threads); there's definitely plenty to be done on an ongoing basis.
Everything I see over on their forums says that there's nothing new there and it works fine with AnyDVD. All the problems people are talking about is because the disk is too big to burn copies of it to other DVD's without removing the extra audio tracks.

Remember, on Linux boxes, libdvdcss decrypts the disc and presents it to the system as a block device. So if there was a movie that libdvdcss could not decrypt, Linux systems would be unable to even play it back, much less rip the contents of it. Which means it would get fixed pretty darned fast, I'd say, if found and reported by a Linux user. The VLC guys are pretty good at what they do.

No, I'd say that there's not a lot of actual new DVD protection methods out there, but there are a lot of issues doing that sort of thing on Windows systems that Linux systems just don't have problems with. The updates to AnyDVD sound more like bug fixes and compatibility issues to me.

They also have a Sticky over there that I found interesting, which ties back into the discussion above about Riplock. "Playing" and "Reading" are not two different things. They are identical on a Linux system, for example, because you just have a big block device full of data either way. You copy the data or you don't. Makes no difference. That's a uniquely Windows-driver distinction that no other system makes as far as I am aware. Although this "Riplock" sounds like the drive firmware itself merely limits data transfer speed when it recognizes a DVD video disc.

[Makita]

I think when ripping with AnyDVD (not burning) I have had more problems with Disney films than any other, some others that can cause problems are new releases as well. When I have trouble with an older DVD it is often quite scuffed or scratched up (too bad-off to have anyDVD be able to rip it to 'fix' it for the kids).

Are these decryption/protection errors, cheap disks being used from the studios?
Dunno. Somethimes I think it is a little bit of both.

[njchris]

I use DVD43 (on pc). It's free, but I don't know if it can handle as much as anydvd. Then again, Anydvd is wayyy too expensive, IMHO.

[Mysteryman]

I use DVD43 (on pc). It's free, but I don't know if it can handle as much as anydvd. Then again, Anydvd is wayyy too expensive, IMHO.

$33 is too expensive?

[njchris]

I use DVD43 (on pc). It's free, but I don't know if it can handle as much as anydvd. Then again, Anydvd is wayyy too expensive, IMHO.

$33 is too expensive? Where do you get $33 from? On their site with the 20% discount it's $57 US dollars.

Still, $33 compared to $0....

[Makita]

49 Euros, $33.76USD (for any DVD)

Since I don't have the HD but might in the future, should I get/upgrade to HD?
Plans to purchase BlueRay is at least a year or more off, seems silly to get it and not use it for a year, plus.
Thoughts? ($43.85 does seem kinda steep)

[Marc]

Actually, €49 = $69.87. With the 20% discount, that brings it down to $55.90.

They offer cheaper prices if you buy more than one product, but for AnyDVD by itself, that's the price today.

[Makita]

huh Web-site check-out said $33.76 USD

[njchris]

Here's what the web site says for me:

http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w225/njchris65/cart.jpg

[mercurial]

Montana has a better exchange rate than Jersey.

[Mysteryman]

I see what it is. When purchased with every other product they do a volume discount down to the $33. Otherwise njchris is right, it's $39 by itself.

[Makita]

I must have had other items/boxes re-check themselves.
If you un-check boxes too fast (like using the ignore thread option here) and the page is not allowed to refresh after un-checking, the items return.
my bad.

edit
I can't repeat the price again. Guessing my lysdexia kicked in...

[Makita]

bump.

Last day is today.

edit:
Thinking I am going to pass. Just don't see myself getting BlueRay anytime in the near future and can think of other things to use $41 on.

[Hoffer]

I've gone back and forth on this, but I'm going to pass. I have both a Blu-ray and HD DVD drive that will work on my PC. So, I would probably pick up the HD version. It looks like that is $90!! I rarely rip DVDs and don't see doing it anymore in the near future.

[Makita]

Extended Offer (http://www.slysoft.com/en/)
Based on tremendous customer response SlySoft management has decided to extend both the current 20% promotion and lifetime free updates until Sunday, January 11 2009 to give everybody a chance to sneak a peak at 2009 prices and subscription fees for better comparison.

[smak]

Does anybody know how the Blu Ray ripping works. After you rip the blu ray disk to your pc, then what? Do you convert it a format to play back on say an Apple TV?

-smak-