Redfox (AnyDVD et all) appears to be gone

[WSC4]

I decided to install DVDFab Passkey and found it was not what I wanted, so I uninstalled it. Now this happens when launching AnyDVD:

http://greyfb.com/Bill/Forum%20Images/Doom9%20Forum%20Error.gif

AnyDVD WARNING No DVD Drive detected

Possible reasons 1 to 3 do not apply as my DVD drive is working fine. 4. - There is a problem initialising the AnyDVD drive.

I have a lifetime licence of AnyDVD which I got some years ago. Not that that matters now that RedFox is defunct. If I uninstall and re-install AnyDVD it will wipe out my licence key, but I would like to keep the program as it was before DVDFab wrecked it. Are there any registry keys that I could try and fix?

[Treaties Of Warp]

I would try to completely wipe the AnyDVD install, then re-install it, using your license key.

Just curious, what was it about Passkey that you didn't like?

[Emulgator]

I am guessing on a DVDFab filter driver still uninstalled.
You may search in registry. Img Burn may help visualising who is interfering.
https://forum.imgburn.com/topic/5414-filter-driver-load-order/
Before any uninstall/reinstall you may want to backup SlySoft registry keys:
On Win64 your key resides in
Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\SlySoft\AnyDVD\Key
On Win32 your key resides in
Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\SlySoft\AnyDVD\Key
Settings are in
Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\SlySoft\AnyDVD\Settings
you would backup Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\SlySoft completely.

[WSC4]

I would try to completely wipe the AnyDVD install, then re-install it, using your license key.

Just curious, what was it about Passkey that you didn't like?

I will only do that as a last resort. My licence key is on an old computer in storage. I didn't say I didn't like DVDFab passkey. Seemed another clone. I've been using AnyDVD and Xreveal for some time and I'm quite happy and used to them.

Before any uninstall/reinstall you may want to backup SlySoft registry keys: On Win64 your key resides in Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\SlySoft\AnyDVD\Key

Thank you. Luckily, I did do a full backup of the registry not so long ago. I'll look through it and see what keys are missing.

[coopervid]

I will only do that as a last resort. My licence key is on an old computer in storage. I didn't say I didn't like DVDFab passkey. Seemed another clone. I've been using AnyDVD and Xreveal for some time and I'm quite happy and used to them.



Thank you. Luckily, I did do a full backup of the registry not so long ago. I'll look through it and see what keys are missing.

Run Imgburn. Select "Tools" "Filter driver load order". Remove the DVDFab driver.

[jayper]

xreveal site seems to be borked and is advertising C/C++ build system...

EDIT: Seems to be back to normal.

[WSC4]

I am guessing on a DVDFab filter driver still uninstalled.
You may search in registry. Img Burn may help visualising who is interfering.
https://forum.imgburn.com/topic/5414-filter-driver-load-order


A previous backed up registry found that this had been changed:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Control\Class\{4d36e965-e325-11ce-bfc1-08002be10318}

In there is the Multi String: LowerFilters REG_MULTI_SZ AnyDVD PxHlpa64 Xreveal

Also, This key had been changed:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Hardware Profiles\0001\System\CurrentControlSet\Enum\SCSI\CDROM&VEN_PIONEER&PROD_BD-RW___BDR-211M

I don't think the SCSI key was at fault, but I imported the LowerFilters key and the SCSI key. AnyDVD is back to 100%

I did this before the knowledge of ImgBurn, which probably would have made the process a lot easier with the Filter Driver Load Order tool. Thanks for letting me know about it.

[infoxtreme]

I tried to use the DVDFab Passkey 9 However, on my system, when I click on RIP, it freezes and does not respond.
my alternative for new blurays, I use makemkv, then I create iso imgburn and then I use anydvd, any problem in using this method?
I can't do it directly with AnyDVD on a new Blu-ray because it asks me to connect to the server.

[SamuriHL]

If the blu-ray has any screen pass protection on it, your method will cause problems because MakeMKV doesn't remove that protection afaik. Once the aacs protection is removed, the proper playlist will be masked by the screen pass protection and you'll end up with a scrambled movie. if there's no screen pass protection then your method should work.

AnyDVD does work with screen pass protections up to the point where Redfox was closed down but yea, on new discs you're going to need an alternative for screen pass.

[MrPenguin]

... up to the point where Redfox was closed down ...

This is more than I know. The last I heard, RedFox had simply "ceased to be", and no-one is any the wiser about their reasons for disappearing.

[SamuriHL]

This is more than I know. The last I heard, RedFox had simply "ceased to be", and no-one is any the wiser about their reasons for disappearing.

Then you haven't read the last several pages of this thread.

[infoxtreme]

If the blu-ray has any screen pass protection on it, your method will cause problems because MakeMKV doesn't remove that protection afaik. Once the aacs protection is removed, the proper playlist will be masked by the screen pass protection and you'll end up with a scrambled movie. if there's no screen pass protection then your method should work.

AnyDVD does work with screen pass protections up to the point where Redfox was closed down but yea, on new discs you're going to need an alternative for screen pass.

Is there any way to know if the bluray has screen pass protection ?

[SamuriHL]

Is there any way to know if the bluray has screen pass protection ?Depends on the tool you're using to decrypt it. If you look and see a crazy amount of playlists, there's a good bet it's screen pass.

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[coopervid]

Depends on the tool you're using to decrypt it. If you look and see a crazy amount of playlists, there's a good bet it's screen pass.

Sent from my SM-S928U1 using Tapatalk

A good tool to check is CloneBD. You can also play the playlists in it. And it's free unless you want to compress the outcome.

[MrPenguin]

Then you haven't read the last several pages of this thread.

Well, certainly not as far back as #85 and #101 :o:

Some institution didn't like it and took severe measures.

Yikes!

[Yarc]

Hi, I've just been experimenting with backing up the film Soylent Green on Blue-ray. I now have a few tools at hand having been a Redfox/CloneBD die hard for several years and have recently added a licensed version of XReveal to my collection for good measure.
This disc has some interesting protection/backup hassles. I generally prefer having original menu and any extras included in my backups to get the original experience of playing the disc, however, sometimes some backups just won't work this way as I'm sure people know.

For this disc I found that DVDFab can create a fully working backup with menus etc. However, if I try and deselect the copyright messages DVDFab will still include them in the final copy and they will appear when playing the backup. I thought this was a bug so tried removing the message clips using CloneBD from the DVDFab decrypted image, but then I can only play the main feature so realized that keeping the original menu was not going to work. I then re-tried using a CloneBD generated menu and was sure this would work bypassing any menu Java issues, but alas this did not work either. Again, only the main feature would play, so not sure if this is a bug in CloneBD.

I then tried creating a decrypted backup of the disc using XReveal and playing this works including seeing the messages, but using CloneBD to remove these annoying messages I end up with the same problem. This does seem to be a CloneBD issue. Finally, I went back to AnyDVD and created a decrypted ISO but this time, the copyright messages do not appear even though they exist on the backup image. I guess AnyDVD's option to Remove annoying adverts and trailers may be the reason or some other built-in nicety. CloneBD is still unable to create a working backup when removing the messages from the AnyDVD created image, so in this case it's best to leave them in! I guess DVDFab is clever enough to know these messages must remain.

So for discs like this, I have a choice of keeping the copyright messages in and have a working original menu or just have the main feature working. Obviously, I cannot rely on AnyDVD working on newer discs, but DVDFab, XReveal etc. may improve in time. I confess have not yet tried MakeMKV to create a backup. I'll try that next for completeness.

This is just an interesting (to me at least) observation of the difference between XReveal and AnyDVD, but of course it's still early days for XReveal, which already is working well.

Addendum: The other option of course is to just rip the disc and create MKV files and not bother with any menu!

Ray

[SamuriHL]

If you're using Xreveal and run into issues like that, the best course of action is to create a log from the disc and submit it to the author using the support link. Explain in detail the problem you're having. Then the author might be able to improve Xreveal over time.

Sent from my SM-S928U1 using Tapatalk

[Yarc]

If you're using Xreveal and run into issues like that, the best course of action is to create a log from the disc and submit it to the author using the support link. Explain in detail the problem you're having. Then the author might be able to improve Xreveal over time.

Sent from my SM-S928U1 using Tapatalk

Good idea.

[Yarc]

I sent a message to XReveal and they replied very quickly indeed. It seems AnyDVD's options to remove annoying clips from DVD menus, removing intro and outro clips from DVD menus, removing annoying adverts and trailers from Blu-rays and removing titles shorter than a specified time are planned but they need to work out how AnyDVD managed this!

[jpsdr]

@Yarc
Maybe you shoud test DGDemux (for the removing part) combined with XReveal (for the decryption part).

[Katie Boundary]

I sent a message to XReveal and they replied very quickly indeed. It seems AnyDVD's options to remove annoying clips from DVD menus, removing intro and outro clips from DVD menus, removing annoying adverts and trailers from Blu-rays and removing titles shorter than a specified time are planned but they need to work out how AnyDVD managed this!

Someone should just run AnyDVD through a decompiler and post the results to Github. It's not like Redfox will complain or file a DMCA takedown.

[Yarc]

@Yarc
Maybe you shoud test DGDemux (for the removing part) combined with XReveal (for the decryption part).

Thanks for the tip, I will have a look.

[UPDATE]
I've had a look but it's not helping in my particular case, unless I'm missing something which is possible because not used demuxing/muxing tools. The annoying messages are part of the playlist and if removed the BD menu does not work properly. I suspect Java code is detecting the removal. For troublesome discs it's best to just rip the titles I want and bypass the Java menus and this can be done easily with MakeMKV, CloneBD etc.

[Yarc]

Someone should just run AnyDVD through a decompiler and post the results to Github. It's not like Redfox will complain or file a DMCA takedown.

I don't know but maybe they will be/are doing that. I'm not knowledgeable on this process but do know that it can be difficult if the code to be decompiled is obfuscated.

[infoxtreme]

Someone should just run AnyDVD through a decompiler and post the results to Github. It's not like Redfox will complain or file a DMCA takedown.

exactly, if redfox doesn't plan on coming back that would be the best thing

[Yarc]

exactly, if redfox doesn't plan on coming back that would be the best thing

I suspect that unfortunately it's probably very unlikely for Redfox to come back. But even if they did I think many people would be very wary of buying again in case of them being forcibly shut down a third time. In that case it may not be viable for them even if they wanted to. So in that respect it's probably safe for someone to reverse engineer the code.

It's also possible that the developers of XReveal are clever enough to work out for themselves how to implement the AnyDVD methods.

[Prospere]

Someone should just run AnyDVD through a decompiler and post the results to Github. It's not like Redfox will complain or file a DMCA takedown.

Heh, good luck with that :)

[Yarc]

Heh, good luck with that :)

Yes, not a five minute job. The output from disassemblers although readable is not like looking at the original source code, so there are no comments in the code and often no meaningful names of functions apart from any operating system functions being used, thus making it a hard job to tackle even for a good programmer, but not impossible.

I would think anyone keen enough to tackle this job will already be working on it by now, but that's not me!

[SamuriHL]

The code is obfuscated. They had to protect it from people trying to crack the license. "Not a 5 minute job" is quite an understatement.

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[Yarc]

The code is obfuscated. They had to protect it from people trying to crack the license. "Not a 5 minute job" is quite an understatement.

Sent from my SM-S928U1 using Tapatalk

Yes, I was trying to stress that it would take a very long time to do!

Also, I suspected the code would be obfuscated so making the task even less practicable. I think XReveal developers will have to work out how AnyDVD did some of it's additional magic for themselves. This may prove much quicker!

[kurkosdr]

Let's be realistic here, if there was interest in reverse-engineering AnyDVD HD, there would already be interest in producing a FOSS tool similar to Xreveal or MakeMKV (which is a simpler task), and such a FOSS tool would already exist. Such a FOSS tool doesn't exist (despite the existence of libraries such as libdvdcss, libaacs, and libbdplus). My guess is that the fact you have to be residing/headquartered in certain countries to not be sued for violation of "anti-circumvention" provisions (that exist in the local laws of some countries) reduces the potential contributor pool.

[Yarc]

Let's be realistic here, if there was interest in reverse-engineering AnyDVD HD, there would already be interest in producing a FOSS tool similar to Xreveal or MakeMKV (which is a simpler task), and such a FOSS tool would already exist. Such a FOSS tool doesn't exist (despite the existence of libraries such as libdvdcss, libaacs, and libbdplus). My guess is that the fact you have to be residing/headquartered in certain countries to not be sued for violation of "anti-circumvention" provisions (that exist in the local laws of some countries) reduces the potential contributor pool.

Indeed, and any programmers in one of the possibly safe countries able to develop such software are in a niche position and can benefit from developing the tools. In the case of XReveal, I don't know where they reside but although charging for the program, I think it's a very reasonable price for a lifetime license (however long that is).

There is also MakeMKV which is free whilst in beta and that has been for quite some time now, although we have the option to buy it.

[SamuriHL]

The thing that makes Xreveal unique and not in the same category as MakeMKV, DVDFab, AnyDVD, etc is that it doesn't provide any keys. It's really no different then VLC in this regard. The end user has to supply the keydb.cfg for it to actually decrypt anything.

[Yarc]

The thing that makes Xreveal unique and not in the same category as MakeMKV, DVDFab, AnyDVD, etc is that it doesn't provide any keys. It's really no different then VLC in this regard. The end user has to supply the keydb.cfg for it to actually decrypt anything.

Yes except for the option allowing it can search online for a key but that still means it doesn't provide keys itself, so maybe this makes it less prone to being hounded by organizations?

[Lessee]

Hello everybody. I'm new here and it's also a bit nostalgia that I've registered as a member of this forum. I've been using AnyDVD for many years and have always been very satisfied with the results. I intend to use it occasionally in the future and here is my question: which restrictions will I encounter as Any has no longer a connection to its server? I've installed the Database 1.0a published by the Redfox Team in March 2020. Thank you in advance and have a nice Sunday.

[SamuriHL]

You didn't specify what type of discs you're planning on using and that very much informs the answer.

For UHD, as long as you provide it an up to date keydb it should continue to work, AACS 2.1 not withstanding. This is course presumes using a libredrive compatible drive.

For Blu-ray it's a little more complicated since anydvd doesn't use keydb for Blu-ray. It should continue to work for mkb v81 and lower, for now. Once a new mkb is released that revokes the host cert and device key that it's using, it's game over for Blu-ray support in anydvd. Once your drive updates to the new mkb, you'll no longer be able to decrypt new discs, and old Blu-rays that are bus encrypted will also fail to open... Meaning you'll lose access to some older discs, as well. This is because they stopped using libredrive for Blu-ray. The workaround for older discs will be to make a protected ISO after enabling libredrive and decrypting the mounted ISO. Alternatively you can enable libredrive yourself before enabling anydvd and it should detect the lack of bus encryption. This will not help with new discs if the device key they use is revoked.

The short version is for Blu-ray it has a shelf life. For UHD as long as you have a libredrive and an updated keydb it should continue to work.

Sent from my SM-S928U1 using Tapatalk

[Lessee]

Many thanks for your reply. I decrypt primarily blu rays and based on your explanation I hope that Any will continue to support this medium for a while.

[SamuriHL]

It'll work until a new mkb.

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[coopervid]

New beta of XReveal available.

[Kju]

Added read errors info in rip window
Added content hash verifier while ripping to protected ISO files or folders
I haven't tested the new version yet, but it sounds like you no longer have to manually check your protected isos. You still have to do two rips (protected and after that unprotected from protected iso), but hopefully this will be tackled next. :)

[SamuriHL]

Yea I'm testing out the new beta myself and it looks nice. The author did a very nice job with the improvements!

[m.rup]

But why "Removed option of remove BD+"?

[coopervid]

Yea I'm testing out the new beta myself and it looks nice. The author did a very nice job with the improvements!

I agree.All suggestions taken.

[Morku]

By all great improvement with Xreveal, I had 2 Blu-ray in short time who copied without any issue. However, the movie have some distortion moments. Visible as a glitch or aborting the playback.
AnyDVD always show reading errors during copy when there is so that I never had a bad result without knowing.
Also an option to limit the reading speed for SL discs would make my drive more stable.

[Kju]

By all great improvement with Xreveal, I had 2 Blu-ray in short time who copied without any issue. However, the movie have some distortion moments. Visible as a glitch or aborting the playback.
AnyDVD always show reading errors during copy when there is so that I never had a bad result without knowing.
Also an option to limit the reading speed for SL discs would make my drive more stable.

As I said before, you need to do a protected rip first, check the rip with the verifier (probably not needed with new beta anymore, not tested yet), mount the protected iso and make an unprotected rip.

Verify content hash when ripping is already on their Todo-List.

The checksums on the disc are calculated from the encrypted content. Because of that, you can not check a decrypted rip.

[Morku]

Thank you. I will try and do it this way next time. Last bad copy was already done with 2.6.8.4 Beta. I like the new copy dialog, but didn't show any error.

[Kju]

Thank you. I will try and do it this way next time. Last bad copy was already done with 2.6.8.4 Beta. I like the new copy dialog, but didn't show any error.

Yeah, they don't verify unprotected rips yet. Luckily decryption from a protected iso is way faster than with AnyDVD, due to hardware acceleration, so it doesn't take that much more time. Also, I'm not sure if hash verify is active in the free tier as it's listed as pro feature.

[m.rup]

You still have to do two rips (protected and after that unprotected from protected iso), but hopefully this will be tackled next. :)

Is this also true when you rip to a folder structure?
I recently ripped some Blu Rays this way, processed them with BD-Rebuilder and converted them to ISO with ImgBurn. All the ISOs have been played flawlessly from NAS on my jailbreaked Oppo.

[Kju]

Is this also true when you rip to a folder structure?
I recently ripped some Blu Rays this way, processed them with BD-Rebuilder and converted them to ISO with ImgBurn. All the ISOs have been played flawlessly from NAS on my jailbreaked Oppo.

I think so, but I did my tests only with rip to iso. You only have to do the verify if you want to be absolutely sure your ripped data (actually only media files are checksummed) is correct. I also don't know how Xreveal handles read errors from the drive. I think both of my drives have Jamless Play, so unfortunately they don't report errors on they own.

When your ISO plays flawlessly there may still be errors in the files. e.g. in audio or subtitle tracks you didn't played or errors that where not visible.

But after all: I ripped almost 2000 discs with AnyDVD and only had read errors on maybe 10 discs. So decide yourself if you want to check every ISO.

[m.rup]

Ah, ok, thanks for your explanation. I was misunderstanding your posts, assuming that you necessarily have to double rip a disk to get a decrypted ISO or folder structure. And yes, you are right, there could be errors in parts not yet watched, but as long as the main feature is error free, I'm satisfied.

[WSC4]

After using AnyDVD or Xreveal to decipher, I have been trying to burn a 30 GB file to a Blu-ray double layer disc. These are Ritek BD-R DL, and I'm using a Pioneer BD-RW BDR-211M optical drive. The burning software is Nero Burning ROM. After the burn, all the discs freeze up about half way when playing and are faulty.

I found this RedFox forum using the Way Back Machine: The long-lost feature or how to get better burn results with 50GB/100GB BD-R DL/TL

http://web.archive.org/web/20221228081238/https://forum.redfox.bz/threads/the-long-lost-feature-or-how-to-get-better-burn-results-with-50gb-100gb-bd-r-dl-tl.86133/

This is exactly the information I need. Unfortunately, all the image files in that thread were not archived. Some of the moderators mentioned in that thread are here. Is there anyway I can find those images please?