Question RIP AnyDVD HD from Slysoft/Redfox

[Golgatha]

Looks like the end of an era for optical discs. First RedBox is in bankruptcy and now tools to rip your library are going out of business as well. A quick Google search shows the servers for the website and related downloads shut down in June 2024. The last version is being mirrored on Techspot, which is 8.7.1.0. I went looking for updates after a recent Win11 upgrade.

AnyDVD & AnyDVD HD

Working download link for AnyDVD HD which comes with same functionality as AnyDVD, but with additional features for full Blu-ray disc support.

www.techspot.com

Random factoid: My license file for the original AnyDVD is dated 8/25/2007, so just shy of 17 years covered for my lifetime license!

 

[mindless1]

At first I thought, okay then maybe just keep using latest version as long as possible, but does it check the update server on every launch and fail to work if it can't contact it, which it can't when that server is shut down?

If that is true then can people roll back to a prior version that didn't have the phone home requirement and if so, anyone know which version and what OS support it has?

 

[bigboxes]

I used to use ConvertXtoDVD and DVDFab back in the day. I think I went diskless in 2014. I've got stacks of DVD that I will never use. I ripped all my DVDs and put their images on my server. Are you actually making DVDs (movies) any longer?

 

[Golgatha]

At first I thought, okay then maybe just keep using latest version as long as possible, but does it check the update server on every launch and fail to work if it can't contact it, which it can't when that server is shut down?

If that is true then can people roll back to a prior version that didn't have the phone home requirement and if so, anyone know which version and what OS support it has?

There is no phone home. They provide a software key that's authenticated locally. Now that Bluray was cracked fully, one should be able to rip any regular Bluray disc. Now for 4K Bluray, those lists had to get updated. Personally, I don't own a UHD drive, so functionality has effectively been the same for years in my case.

 

[Golgatha]

I used to use ConvertXtoDVD and DVDFab back in the day. I think I went diskless in 2014. I've got stacks of DVD that I will never use. I ripped all my DVDs and put their images on my server. Are you actually making DVDs (movies) any longer?

No, not really. Once digital copies became almost universally available with disc purchases, I largely quit ripping optical discs altogether. These days, there are few films I own on disc that I don't have a digital copy of on Vudu, etc. For those few cases where a digital copy isn't included or it's not Movies Anywhere compatible, I rip, recode, and put them on my Plex server.

 

[chane]

Now that Bluray was cracked fully, one should be able to rip any regular Bluray disc. Now for 4K Bluray, those lists had to get updated. Personally, I don't own a UHD drive, so functionality has effectively been the same for years in my case.

What I don’t get is that if BD is now as cracked as DVD has long been why did IP police even bother to close down Redfox? Is it because AnyDVD HD made it so easy for dummies like me to rip BDs?

In any case, while I downloaded the trial, I never got around to buying a license. But while I eventually wanted to rip some TV episodes from DVDs, I never wanted to rip BDs; the files are too large to save to a NAS, among other reasons.

My plan was simply to install AnyDVD HD to enable JRiver-or other Windows players like VLC-to play 1080p BDs via my pc’s BD drive. I only have one 4K BD in my collection that someone had gifted me.

So, is there now any alternative software to do this?

 

[Golgatha]

What I don’t get is that if BD is now as cracked as DVD has long been why did IP police even bother to close down Redfox? Is it because AnyDVD HD made it so easy for dummies like me to rip BDs?

In any case, while I downloaded the trial, I never got around to buying a license. But while I eventually wanted to rip some TV episodes from DVDs, I never wanted to rip BDs; the files are too large to save to a NAS, among other reasons.

My plan was simply to install AnyDVD HD to enable JRiver-or other Windows players like VLC-to play 1080p BDs via my pc’s BD drive. I only have one 4K BD in my collection that someone had gifted me.

So, is there now any alternative software to do this?

Without some hacked firmware on very specific drives, it's not feasible to rip 4k BR discs. Not to mention the file sizes are huge. Me personally, if my disc doesn't include a digital copy, I'll fire up my VPN and go web surfing instead of trying to rip and recode on my own. Ripping is illegal due to the DMCA, so I'm an ethical criminal at best if I tried to rip my own files anyway and always have been since I've been ripping and recoding since the days of DVDs.

 

[dainthomas]

Without some hacked firmware on very specific drives, it's not feasible to rip 4k BR discs. Not to mention the file sizes are huge. Me personally, if my disc doesn't include a digital copy, I'll fire up my VPN and go web surfing instead of trying to rip and recode on my own. Ripping is illegal due to the DMCA, so I'm an ethical criminal at best if I tried to rip my own files anyway and always have been since I've been ripping and recoding since the days of DVDs.

I have a lifetime DVDFab subsctiption I got a while ago that I still use to rip old shows or movies from the library that aren't on streaming. They keep trying to push me to upgrade to their 4k BR ripping software, but as you said the file sizes are absolutely massive. And besides that, no one I know buys 4ks so if I have one in my hands it's because I bought it anyway.