Redfox (AnyDVD et all) appears to be gone

[Treaties Of Warp]

AnyDVD, AnyStream, CloneDVD, CloneBD, etc...

Their domain - redfox.bz - no longer resolves.

It's been offline now for nearly 24 hours.

No one seems to know anything, so anything could be happening. No one I've talked to so far seems to know if there is any other "official" means of communication outside of redfox.bz (like Telegram or something like that), so I'm not sure how anyone is going to learn anything if redfox.bz doesn't come back.

This is the longest I've seen redfox.bz just disappear like this. There have been some similar instances in the past, but it's always been resolved within a few hours. Again, it's not just not responding, the DNS has been pulled so that it no longer resolves.

.bz is a Belize domain.

The last IP that redfox.bz resolved to is 45.93.138.193. This IP points to the Lithuanian ISP Hostinger, which seems to be where they were hosted. I'm not sure if there was a content delivery network that pointed to servers hosted on other ISPs in other parts of the world.

https://statuspage.hostinger.com/
https://whoisfreaks.com/tools/whois/lookup/redfox.bz
https://whois.domaintools.com/redfox.bz
https://ipinfo.io/ (enter 45.93.138.193)
https://ipinfo.io/products/whois-api (enter 45.93.138.193)

:scared:

[Mark_Venture]

I've been following. Wish we had some news. Speculation is running rampant in a few other forums.

hopefully they come back, and this was just "simple" issue that took long to resolve.

Only time will tell.

[Thundik81]

https://www.virustotal.com/gui/ip-address/45.93.138.193/relations
https://www.virustotal.com/gui/ip-address/178.175.131.140/relations
https://www.virustotal.com/gui/ip-address/178.175.128.25/relations
https://www.virustotal.com/gui/ip-address/185.246.128.167/relations

[Mark_Venture]

https://www.virustotal.com/gui/ip-address/45.93.138.193/relations
https://www.virustotal.com/gui/ip-address/178.175.131.140/relations
https://www.virustotal.com/gui/ip-address/178.175.128.25/relations
https://www.virustotal.com/gui/ip-address/185.246.128.167/relations

sorry, what does that mean?

[WSC4]

It is still down today. Firefox, Chrome and Edge state:

We’re having trouble finding that site. We can’t connect to the server at www.redfox.bz.

I hope this is not serious? I have a lifetime subscription at $$$.

The RedFox forum members started reporting this from April 22 and May 10: Problem connecting to AnyDVD update server! Is AnyDVD currently down?

At the moment, you can still update to 8.7.1.0 (3rd April 2024) https://www.videohelp.com/software/AnyDVD/old-versions

Unfortunately, this did not help. I have several Blu-ray movies, and AnyDVD needs to connect to their server to decrypt. I have even their optional database containing Blu-ray discs, which are not included in the AnyDVD application: AnyDVD Protection Database. The version I have could be too old. Not sure what to do now.

[richardpl]

Seems legit, considering shady business model.

[Mark_Venture]

Not sure what to do now.
Try MakeMKV? it works for me to rip main movie to MKV or make a disc backup to folder on hard drive.

[hajj_3]

Not sure what to do now.

DVDFab Passkey for Blu-ray or makemkv

[xreveal]

DVDFab Passkey for Blu-ray or makemkv

or Xreveal: https://www.xreveal.com (http://www.xreveal.com)

[SamuriHL]

Hadn't seen xreveal before. That looks highly useful. Thanks for posting.

[WSC4]

I installed Xreveal and the installation was quick and easy.

https://www.videohelp.com/software/Xreveal

Just a note, that your Internet Service Provider could issue a false positive and block their site. When I tried to connect to their website, this happened: THIS WEBSITE HAS BEEN BLOCKED.

When I tried to decrypt a DVD or Blu-ray, I got this: Cannot connect to server for cloud decryption

I tried a number of Website Safety & Security Checks, and https://www.xreveal.com/ passed 100% as safe. I had to get the false positive removed from my ISP.

The free version can connect to Xreveal's server for decryption.

[SamuriHL]

Did you put the keydb.cfg file in that directory? Or did you put it in its default directory which is different than what it's looking for?

Sent from my SM-S928U1 using Tapatalk

[WSC4]

Yes, I put it in that directory: C:\ProgramData\aacs\KeyDB.cfg. The author of the program has sent me a PM and I'll work through his instructions later.

//UPDATE//

Just to let you know that it was not Xreveal that was failing. It was my Internet Service Provider blocking his site and it was a false positive. Also, I did not really need KeyDB.cfg. The free version can connect to Xreveal's server for decryption.

Meanwhile, I sent an e-mail last Friday to RedFox. I had all their info from when I purchased the program September 2021. It cost 109.00 EUR for a lifetime licence. I had a sinking feeling it would be futile. This is what came back: Despite repeated attempts to deliver your message, querying the Domain Name System (DNS) for the recipient's domain location information failed.

[SamuriHL]

You're in good hands. I'm sure he'll get you squared away with whatever's going on.

Given that Redfox has been down a week at this point, I'm not super hopeful. I've not seen any statements anywhere from someone that worked there. It's quite sad, really.

[Wishbringer]

Not only AnyDVD HD is gone,

today I looked for a new keyDB.cfg at FindVUK Online Database (https://fvonline-db.bplaced.net/), it's gone too.
Wasn't at 08.06.2024.

So maybe some takedown orders?

[coricopat]

FindVUK Online Database

Seems to work just normal?

[SamuriHL]

Yea works fine for me.

[jpsdr]

Error 404 for me.

[magician]

today I looked for a new keyDB.cfg at FindVUK Online Database (https://fvonline-db.bplaced.net/), it's gone too.

http://fvonline-db.bplaced.net/ does not support HTTPS. You have to load the page without encryption. If your browser automatically redirects to the https:// version, which is a parked page at the domain host, you should edit the URL in the address bar to remove the "s". If your browser upgrades connections to force all pages to load with HTTPS, you'll have to add an exception or turn off the setting as needed.

[SamuriHL]

Or just use FindVUK to sync the keydb and realize it still works...

[WSC4]

Yes, the poster has put in the wrong URL.

https://fvonline-db.bplaced.net

will send you to: Sorry, we can‘t find that page. Error 404

http://fvonline-db.bplaced.net

Is the correct URL

[Wishbringer]

issue was a browser update that activated https-only mode. sorry

[kurkosdr]

I find it weird that they just... disappeared. Not even a hint of what might have happened.

Also, if I have a copy of the installer and the binary license file (lifetime license), can I install and use that version of the software?

[kurkosdr]

Seems legit, considering shady business model.
The DMCA is a US law that applies to the US only. Any other anti-circumvention laws in other countries apply to those countries only. There is no worldwide ban on DRM circumvention.

So, with that out of the way, what is "shady" about the business model?

[Weirdo]

...if I have a copy of the installer and the binary license file (lifetime license), can I install and use that version of the software?
Yes, you can.

[Mark_Venture]

I find it weird that they just... disappeared. Not even a hint of what might have happened.

Also, if I have a copy of the installer and the binary license file (lifetime license), can I install and use that version of the software?
Anystream worked by "calling home" so it wont work.

I'm not sure about AnyDVD or their other software.

[richardpl]

That company have broke multiple international laws and IPs, if it ever got seriously big and threat to big corporations no wonder bigger and stronger players took it down.

[SamuriHL]

You have proof of that statement? Or is that like all the rest, speculation? Because to this date, I've seen no evidence that it was "taken down". The DNS records have been deleted so it's as if the site/company never existed. But who did that and why is not something that to my knowledge anyone outside of Redfox knows. All the speculation in the world is not going to change the simple facts that no one knows and they are in fact gone. No sense worrying about it now unless they pop back up at some point.

As for AnyDVD, I was told that as long as you have the keydb configured, it will still work for new UHD's. AnyDVD never supported the keydb for blu-ray so it's likely those won't work given that the OPD is offline (outside the discs already supported in the latest version, that is). XReveal is a good alternative solution to those who still need AnyDVD's real time decryption functionality.

AnyStream was more complicated and as mentioned required a server connection to work. This was both a benefit and a curse. The decryption was handled on those servers which means when things changed they could often fix it behind the scenes without requiring new versions. The curse is, now that those servers are gone, AnyStream no longer functions in any capacity. If the functionality that AnyStream provided is important to you, there are other solutions out there that may fit your particular usage. Be prepared, however, none of them are cheap.

I for one will miss RedFox. They had excellent products and really good developers. Until we hear from someone that worked there, we'll never know what really caused the company to disappear.

[jpsdr]

Is there some place explaining how to use the keydb files with AnyDVD (if it's something possible) ?

[SamuriHL]

Open the AnyDVD settings, navigate to the UHD options, and then use the browse button to select the keydb.cfg file on your system. To get the keydb you have to download it. Given that it has to be updated regularly for new keys, you should search for FindVUK here on the forum as that'll allow you to synchronize it quite easily to keep it updated.

[WSC4]

Is there some place explaining how to use the keydb files with AnyDVD (if it's something possible) ?

I would not bother with AnyDVD. Try out Xreveal.

https://www.xreveal.com/

How to use it:

https://www.xreveal.com/how-to-use-xreveal.html

I'll have to ask the site owner if he could change the grey font to black, as it is hard to read.

Xreveal is almost a carbon copy of AnyDVD, and the way things are at the moment, his program could replace it.

[Grimsdyke]

My overall setup are the players enhanced by libaacs and libmmbd64 plus keydb.cfg !! Only if there are problems I use xreveal.

But Xreveal is certainly the way to go now because it works perfectly (99,999 %) and is actively developed. Highly recommended if a user wants/needs an alternative for AnyDVD !!!

[jpsdr]

I'll check Xreveal i didn't know.
What about DVDFab ?

Never mind, it seems DVDFab needs mandatory internet connection, so not an option for me...

I've checked Xreveal and buy Pro, it will support the dev.

[WSC4]

The great ability I like about AnyDVD and Xreveal is that they decrypt in real-time and in a few seconds. You can then view the video files in almost any player and sort through rubbish on the discs and use File Explorer to copy over what you want.

I cannot do that with MakeMKV, DVDFab or any of the 15 Decrypters listed at VideoHelp.

[hajj_3]

The great ability I like about AnyDVD and Xreveal is that they decrypt in real-time and in a few seconds. You can then view the video files in almost any player and sort through rubbish on the discs and use File Explorer to copy over what you want.

I cannot do that with MakeMKV, DVDFab or any of the 15 Decrypters listed at VideoHelp.

i'm pretty sure dvdfab passkey does that too.

[m.rup]

Hi Guys, i've purchased Xreveal Pro. When browsing through the settings, I noticed that the location of keydb.cfg is empty. Does the Pro version make no use of this file?

[SamuriHL]

Usually it defaults to C:\ProgramData\aacs but you should point it to wherever you downloaded your KEYDB.cfg file to. For example, if you use FindVUK to synchronize it, which is highly recommended, it'll put it in %appdata%\aacs which is typically your roaming directory in your user profile.

[m.rup]

Thank's for your reply, I will download the file. I was not sure because the how to for the Pro version says something like "install it and use it".

[AndrewB]

Does Xreveal play nicely when installed alongside AnyDVD? Just want to check before I attempt it.

[SamuriHL]

Don't run them at the same time, but sure.

[AndrewB]

Tried to install it, but my antivirus flagged the main executable as a Trojan. I’ve reported it as a potential false positive and am just waiting to hear back.

[kurkosdr]

Tried to install it, but my antivirus flagged the main executable as a Trojan. I’ve reported it as a potential false positive and am just waiting to hear back.

What antivirus was that?

[AndrewB]

What antivirus was that?

Avast

[DrinkLyeAndDie]

Tried to install it, but my antivirus flagged the main executable as a Trojan. I’ve reported it as a potential false positive and am just waiting to hear back.

What antivirus was that?

Avast

ESET also decided to start disliking Xreveal. It only takes issue with xreveal.exe in the install directory which it labels as suspicious.

[ron spencer]

I sent it to VirusTotal

https://www.virustotal.com/gui/file/6479c5d106976ff5c85ee81ad900df06137a601b59192f86d2cdc2d76cd951b1/detection

Looks like overzealous antivirus programs.

[bambam]

Tried to install it, but my antivirus flagged the main executable as a Trojan. I’ve reported it as a potential false positive and am just waiting to hear back.

I have the same problem with Norton AV

[datman]

You have proof of that statement? Or is that like all the rest, speculation? Because to this date, I've seen no evidence that it was "taken down". The DNS records have been deleted so it's as if the site/company never existed. But who did that and why is not something that to my knowledge anyone outside of Redfox knows. All the speculation in the world is not going to change the simple facts that no one knows and they are in fact gone. No sense worrying about it now unless they pop back up at some point.

As for AnyDVD, I was told that as long as you have the keydb configured, it will still work for new UHD's. AnyDVD never supported the keydb for blu-ray so it's likely those won't work given that the OPD is offline (outside the discs already supported in the latest version, that is). XReveal is a good alternative solution to those who still need AnyDVD's real time decryption functionality.

AnyStream was more complicated and as mentioned required a server connection to work. This was both a benefit and a curse. The decryption was handled on those servers which means when things changed they could often fix it behind the scenes without requiring new versions. The curse is, now that those servers are gone, AnyStream no longer functions in any capacity. If the functionality that AnyStream provided is important to you, there are other solutions out there that may fit your particular usage. Be prepared, however, none of them are cheap.

I for one will miss RedFox. They had excellent products and really good developers. Until we hear from someone that worked there, we'll never know what really caused the company to disappear.
Glad I remembered this forum. I was surprised when I discovered last week Anydvd was gone. It looks like Xreveal is the answer to my needs assuming it handles UHD. I'm demoing DVDfab as I have years ago and I either don't know how to fully use it or I just don't like it. I also own Makemkv as I thought it was a solution for UHD. At the time a couple of years ago Makemkv was not handling DV and Atmos audio.

As it turned out I prefer CloneBD it rips a movie only full copy both DV and Atmos work and the file is slightly smaller that a full copy.

For years I've been a fan of BDRB and use it for BD discs. DVDfab seemed to only make MP4 or MKV files. Maybe either would be fine. I'm just stuck with what I know works and keep doing the same process.

[datman]

You have proof of that statement? Or is that like all the rest, speculation? Because to this date, I've seen no evidence that it was "taken down". The DNS records have been deleted so it's as if the site/company never existed. But who did that and why is not something that to my knowledge anyone outside of Redfox knows. All the speculation in the world is not going to change the simple facts that no one knows and they are in fact gone. No sense worrying about it now unless they pop back up at some point.

As for AnyDVD, I was told that as long as you have the keydb configured, it will still work for new UHD's. AnyDVD never supported the keydb for blu-ray so it's likely those won't work given that the OPD is offline (outside the discs already supported in the latest version, that is). XReveal is a good alternative solution to those who still need AnyDVD's real time decryption functionality.

AnyStream was more complicated and as mentioned required a server connection to work. This was both a benefit and a curse. The decryption was handled on those servers which means when things changed they could often fix it behind the scenes without requiring new versions. The curse is, now that those servers are gone, AnyStream no longer functions in any capacity. If the functionality that AnyStream provided is important to you, there are other solutions out there that may fit your particular usage. Be prepared, however, none of them are cheap.

I for one will miss RedFox. They had excellent products and really good developers. Until we hear from someone that worked there, we'll never know what really caused the company to disappear.

I have the same problem with Norton AVI don't have antivirus on my video computer, I only connect for updates. I still got the danger message when I installed Xreveal I installed anyway and it appears to be working just as Anydvd.

[SamuriHL]

Glad I remembered this forum. I was surprised when I discovered last week Anydvd was gone. It looks like Xreveal is the answer to my needs assuming it handles UHD.


Xreveal handles whatever you have in the keydb.cfg file you point it at. It's a very good replacement for AnyDVD for realtime decrypting.


I'm demoing DVDfab as I have years ago and I either don't know how to fully use it or I just don't like it.


It's very versatile.


I also own Makemkv as I thought it was a solution for UHD. At the time a couple of years ago Makemkv was not handling DV and Atmos audio.


DV in MKV was handled first by MakeMKV. ATMOS audio issues have been solved for quite some time.


As it turned out I prefer CloneBD it rips a movie only full copy both DV and Atmos work and the file is slightly smaller that a full copy.


DVDFab can do the same, but, if you use Xreveal and CloneBD you should not have any interruption to your current workflow.


For years I've been a fan of BDRB and use it for BD discs. DVDfab seemed to only make MP4 or MKV files. Maybe either would be fine. I'm just stuck with what I know works and keep doing the same process.

That is incorrect. DVDFab can make pretty much anything, from full copy to movie only to various file formats like mp4 and MKV.

Please note I'm not recommending anything one way or the other as I have no affiliation with any programs. I will say I'm personally using Xreveal and MakeMKV for my own backup needs at this point. But I did want to correct a few misconceptions about DVDFab here.

[rco133]

Hi.

I have also had a look at Xreveal, but either I am doing something wrong, or it doesn't even come close to anydvd when it comes to BD discs.

With Anydvd I have yet to find a BD that it could not decrypt.

With Xreveal, even after using a just downloaded keydb.cfg file, it can't handle very recent BD discs.

Makemkv also just decodes every BD that is thrown at it, no matter how new it is. But unfortunately makemkv doesn't remove region code.

To me it seems like Anydvd and makemkv have something generic built in for BD discs, which can just decode any BD that is thrown at them, while Xreveal seems to depend solely on the keydb.cfg file.

Is this a correct observation, or am I doing something wrong?

Yes, I have of course pointed Xreveal the the just downloaded keydb.cfg file.

I bought two BD's on retail date the other day, and Xreveal was not able to decode any of them. Makemkv just decoded them at once.

rco133

[SamuriHL]

It depends. The free version is likely limited in what it can do (i.e. I think it's looking at the keydb). But the pro version, which is reasonable for a lifetime license, most definitely can handle the latest BD's. I just had one I was playing with that was not in the keydb and the pro version of Xreveal handled it no problem.


https://www.xreveal.com/pro.html


If you look there, you'll see the free version is limited in finding new BD keys. It's worth the upgrade to pro IMO.

[SamuriHL]

P.S. A note about AnyDVD's (future) usefulness as a BD tool. I'm sure right now it'll decrypt everything you throw at it. But there's two problems, both related to whenever a new MKB comes out. Currently as of this writing, v81. It's highly probable the next MKB revokes the host cert that AnyDVD is using for BD's. There are ways around that problem, although AnyDVD changed internally their blu-ray support in recent versions which is a shame. Once they revoke the host cert that AnyDVD is using and your drive's MKB is updated, well....being able to decrypt everything suddenly becomes more of an issue unless you work around that problem. The second is the device/processing key AnyDVD is using is also likely to get revoked. That will prevent AnyDVD from decrypting any future titles even if you work around the host cert revocation problem. Basically, AnyDVD has a shelf life.

[datman]

I guess I'm using the free version of Xreveal. I plan to get the pro version, I thought I was demoing it. Once I get the pro will it update automatically similar to Anydvd?

[SamuriHL]

You still need to keep your keydb.cfg file updated.

[coopervid]

The pro version works very well. They just issued a new version that is digitally signed. Hopefully now the false antivirus alarms are gone.

[datman]

I'm assuming you mean that I need to be connected every time I put a disc in then it automatically gets the key.

Perhaps part of my learning curve with Xreveal. Multiple times when I played my recent movie I got no audio. This was with both dvdfab and Xreveal using bdrb.

Last night I bought the pro and the Xreveal rip appeared to not have audio. Today I reripped it using Xreveal to decrypt and image burn to rip to ISO and presently running bdrb. Hope this works. Maybe I'm missing some setup steps?

[SamuriHL]

I'm assuming you mean that I need to be connected every time I put a disc in then it automatically gets the key.


Please don't assume. Xreveal is NOT going to automatically go get the updated keydb.cfg for you. That's your job to keep it up to date.


Perhaps part of my learning curve with Xreveal. Multiple times when I played my recent movie I got no audio. This was with both dvdfab and Xreveal using bdrb.


Has absolutely nothing at all to do with the method of decryption. So no.


Last night I bought the pro and the Xreveal rip appeared to not have audio. Today I reripped it using Xreveal to decrypt and image burn to rip to ISO and presently running bdrb. Hope this works. Maybe I'm missing some setup steps?

Again, audio has NOTHING AT ALL to do with decryption. Not an Xreveal problem.

[coopervid]

I'm assuming you mean that I need to be connected every time I put a disc in then it automatically gets the key.

Perhaps part of my learning curve with Xreveal. Multiple times when I played my recent movie I got no audio. This was with both dvdfab and Xreveal using bdrb.

Last night I bought the pro and the Xreveal rip appeared to not have audio. Today I reripped it using Xreveal to decrypt and image burn to rip to ISO and presently running bdrb. Hope this works. Maybe I'm missing some setup steps?

Audio depends highly on the way how you want to play it. Maybe you should tell us the chain that doesn't play the audio, e.g. UHD player - AVR. And the codec, e.g Dolby Atmos, DTS.

[datman]

Audio depends highly on the way how you want to play it. Maybe you should tell us the chain that doesn't play the audio, e.g. UHD player - AVR. And the codec, e.g Dolby Atmos, DTS.

My work flow has been the same for years. Decrypt and rip to image keeping protection using anydvd. Mount ISO run BDRB keeping HD audio to movie only backup.

I tried to do the same thing fully in dvdfab and used Xreveal and BDRB. With dvdfab I get audio not supported message from the MP4 backup. With the Xreveal rip + BDRB I get no audio the oppo 203 player says there's a dolby truehd 7.1 track, but no sound.

Just prior to these issues using both dvdfab and Xreveal rips BDRB failed quickly saying failure to extract audio stream.

At least until I figure out what went wrong I can decrypt with Xreveal and rip with image burn then run BDRB. Watching a perfect copy now.

[SamuriHL]

Make sure you update to the latest Xreveal. There were some possible issues with protected ISOs in the previous version that the author fixed. You can run content hash validation on the image to see if it's impacted.

[coopervid]

My work flow has been the same for years. Decrypt and rip to image keeping protection using anydvd. Mount ISO run BDRB keeping HD audio to movie only backup.

I tried to do the same thing fully in dvdfab and used Xreveal and BDRB. With dvdfab I get audio not supported message from the MP4 backup. With the Xreveal rip + BDRB I get no audio the oppo 203 player says there's a dolby truehd 7.1 track, but no sound.

Just prior to these issues using both dvdfab and Xreveal rips BDRB failed quickly saying failure to extract audio stream.

At least until I figure out what went wrong I can decrypt with Xreveal and rip with image burn then run BDRB. Watching a perfect copy now.

WTF are you doing??? Why MP4? Why Imgburn to rip to ISO? Your sequence to do your rips is screwed up and cumbersome.

[datman]

WTF are you doing??? Why MP4? Why Imgburn to rip to ISO? Your sequence to do your rips is screwed up and cumbersome.
MP4 because it was one of two choices using dvdfab. I already have makemkv so it seemed logical.

I used image burn not as a first choice but just experimenting hoping to get a option while I get used to not having anydvd.

I'm pretty sure SamuraiHL nailed it. In my successful backup I didn't keep the protection. I will check for updates and try it again without image burn.

[SamuriHL]

An FYI about containers while we're here. MP4 by default doesn't support HD audio formats like TrueHD, DTS-HD MA, ATMOS, DTS:X, etc. Streaming services use MP4 because they can throw DD+ based ATMOS tracks in there and it'll work but anything higher than that and it won't without some major screwery. Stick to MKV, even with DVDFab if you go that route.

My workflow is pretty straight forward. Xreveal to make a protected ISO, if MakeMKV supports it, open the ISO and create an MKV. If support has not been added to MakeMKV, mount image with <insert choice of image mounting tools here: VCD, Daemon Tools, etc>, let Xreveal decrypt it, then open with MakeMKV to create MKV. Delete protected ISO when done.

People often ask why I bother creating a full protected ISO if I'm just creating an MKV. The reason is to test the readability of my discs at the time of purchase. They will never get better. They can get worse. I want to know if I need to replace one or not by reading every bit on the disc at least once.

[datman]

My MKV backups don't do DV or Atmos. The audio is 7 multichannel. May be just as good but I still like seeing Atmos. My Oppo 203 every movie I play is presented in DV I like that even though I know it's not actually in DV.

It doesn't matter now but I obviously don't know how to use dvdfab because I was not able to make BD files only MKV or MP4.

[SamuriHL]

My mkv backups do every format...dv and atmos included. I play them in an ugoos am6+ with coreelec. Full fel layer and all.

Sent from my SM-S928U1 using Tapatalk

[datman]

I have read it could be done but not without a learning curve. Even though I've been around a long time here, I'm not that technically savvy.

[coopervid]

My MKV backups don't do DV or Atmos. The audio is 7 multichannel. May be just as good but I still like seeing Atmos. My Oppo 203 every movie I play is presented in DV I like that even though I know it's not actually in DV.

It doesn't matter now but I obviously don't know how to use dvdfab because I was not able to make BD files only MKV or MP4.

I have an Oppo clone M9201 which is basically an Oppo 203 w/o a drive. Other than Sam I always do decrypted ISOs. You could do that with AnyDVD and now you can do it with XReveal by right clicking the program icon and " save as image". No need for Imgburn. Your Oppo should be able to play this ISO directly w/o any further steps. Regarding audio it depends which formats are supported by your AVR. And you should set the output of your Oppo to bitstream. Other than MKVs your player will trigger DolbyVision if playing the ISO.

[SeeMoreDigital]

Your Oppo should be able to play this ISO directly w/o any further steps...
Just so everybody knows, an OPPO UDP-20x player running stock software/firmware can't play DVD or Blu-ray.iso files.

EDIT: it can however play Blu-ray BDMV folder/file-sets when placed within an manually created AVCHD folder accessed via a USB connected HDD or a network connected HDD accessed via SMB or NFS file server.

[SamuriHL]

I have read it could be done but not without a learning curve. Even though I've been around a long time here, I'm not that technically savvy.

If you don't care about the FEL layer, you can get an nVidia SHIELD, install Kodi on it or just use Plex, and it'll play DV and ATMOS from MKV just fine. Pretty easy to set up, especially Plex.

[datman]

I have an Oppo clone M9201 which is basically an Oppo 203 w/o a drive. Other than Sam I always do decrypted ISOs. You could do that with AnyDVD and now you can do it with XReveal by right clicking the program icon and " save as image". No need for Imgburn. Your Oppo should be able to play this ISO directly w/o any further steps. Regarding audio it depends which formats are supported by your AVR. And you should set the output of your Oppo to bitstream. Other than MKVs your player will trigger DolbyVision if playing the ISO.

That is how I initially tried it, as I always have done with Anydvd. Because of the error I was not getting audio. I'm not sure when I'll need to run it again or I may experiment with old movies to see if everything is now working without ripping with image burn.

[datman]

If you don't care about the FEL layer, you can get an nVidia SHIELD, install Kodi on it or just use Plex, and it'll play DV and ATMOS from MKV just fine. Pretty easy to set up, especially Plex.

I have a Shield and have used it for files some years back something about it I still prefer the Oppo. I thought the video looked better. I get stuck doing thing a certain way and just stick with what works. One reason why I still stick with BDRB for BD discs. Plus the size is always 21g and I don't think there is any loss in quality.

For UHD BDclone gave me what I want. Not sure why Makemkv doesn't just give me what you are able to do with MKV.

[coopervid]

I think in your case it would be the easiest to go with folders instead of ISO or MKV or MP4. Your Oppo 203 can play folders via USB and Dolby Vision will work while it will not with MKV. Then you will have to address your audio problem. I guess you have an AVR and if so you should set the audio output in the Oppo to bitstream given that the AVR can handle all formats like Dolby Atmos and DTS MA.

[kurkosdr]

So, 4 pages of text and literally zero information about where Redfox went?

[SamuriHL]

They're gone. No one knows why. No one is likely to ever know why. But it's very clear at this point they won't be coming back.

[AndrewB]

So I’ve finally been able to test out Xreveal now that Avast is no longer flagging the executable as a Trojan.

Initial impressions is that it appears to be better than AnyDVD at decrypting DVDs of different regions to the host drive, like a region 1 disc in a region 2 drive, and the CSS keys it provides work correctly when manually input into AnyDVD. It’ll be interesting to see if AnyDVD gives the same results if I place the disc into my region 1 drive.

I haven’t tested out Blu-ray functionality yet.

[kurkosdr]

They're gone. No one knows why. No one is likely to ever know why. But it's very clear at this point they won't be coming back.
They finally rolled out signed executables this week, which means antivirus software doesn't scan the exe with all heuristics turned up to 11 anymore:
https://www.xreveal.com/changelog.html

Anyway, I think Xreveal should have its own thread.

[kurkosdr]

They're gone. No one knows why. No one is likely to ever know why. But it's very clear at this point they won't be coming back.
Then I guess this thread is 4 pages of off-topic stuff?

Can we keep this Redfox-focused and move the Xreveal discussion elsewhere? I want to enable email notifications on this thread without being bombarded with off-topic posts.

[SamuriHL]

Then just close the thread. Because Redfox is gone. Period.

[kurkosdr]

Then just close the thread. Because Redfox is gone. Period.
How do you know for sure? Remember when they disappeared as Slysoft but came back as Redfox sometime after?

[SamuriHL]

How do you know for sure? Remember when they disappeared as Slysoft but came back as Redfox sometime after?

I'm well aware of the history. RedFox popped up a mere 2 or so weeks after SlySoft was shut down. It's now been 33 some odd days with (and here's the important part) NO COMMUNICATION from anyone that worked for RedFox. NONE. ZERO. ANYWHERE. You can hold your breath if you want, but, they aren't coming back. Do I know this for a fact? Nope. But as a former forum mod, I can tell you, this situation is not normal. And certainly not a "technical issue" at this point. I also don't believe the nonsense that they "sold out" or "took the money and run" like many....people....have speculated. Unless someone that actually KNOWS something pops up with ACTUAL information, this thread is pointless. The simple fact is, they are wiped from the face of the internet.

[kurkosdr]

I'm well aware of the history. RedFox popped up a mere 2 or so weeks after SlySoft was shut down. It's now been 33 some odd days with (and here's the important part) NO COMMUNICATION from anyone that worked for RedFox. NONE. ZERO. ANYWHERE. You can hold your breath if you want, but, they aren't coming back. Do I know this for a fact? Nope. But as a former forum mod, I can tell you, this situation is not normal. And certainly not a "technical issue" at this point. I also don't believe the nonsense that they "sold out" or "took the money and run" like many....people....have speculated. Unless someone that actually KNOWS something pops up with ACTUAL information, this thread is pointless. The simple fact is, they are wiped from the face of the internet.
As I've said above, you don't know for sure that they have no intention to return. Can we have a thread where no new posts are made if no new information surfaces?

[SamuriHL]

Sure you can create one. Then you can wait for all the replies to it with "new information." :)

[WSC4]

AnyDVD, AnyStream, CloneDVD, CloneBD, etc...

Their domain - redfox.bz - no longer resolves.

.bz is a Belize domain.

The last IP that redfox.bz resolved to is 45.93.138.193. This IP points to the Lithuanian ISP Hostinger, which seems to be where they were hosted. I'm not sure if there was a content delivery network that pointed to servers hosted on other ISPs in other parts of the world.

https://statuspage.hostinger.com/
https://whoisfreaks.com/tools/whois/lookup/redfox.bz
https://whois.domaintools.com/redfox.bz
https://ipinfo.io/ (enter 45.93.138.193)
https://ipinfo.io/products/whois-api (enter 45.93.138.193)

:scared:

The OP did some good detective work with these links:

https://statuspage.hostinger.com/
https://whoisfreaks.com/tools/whois/lookup/redfox.bz
https://whois.domaintools.com/redfox.bz
https://ipinfo.io/ (enter 45.93.138.193)
https://ipinfo.io/products/whois-api (enter 45.93.138.193)

The domain - redfox.bz. .bz is a Belize domain. Belize is a nation on the eastern coast of Central America. The last IP that redfox.bz resolved to is 45.93.138.193. This IP points to https://www.hostinger.com which is in Lithuania, and seems to be where they were hosted.

However, at https://www.hostinger.com, if you click the language top left, Belize is not listed in Choose your country. But a search in their domains and redfox.bz is already taken.

This link - https://whoisfreaks.com/tools/whois/lookup/redfox.bz - shows:

Domain Name: redfox.bz
Create Date: 2016-02-28
Update Date: 2024-06-05
Expiry Date: 2025-02-28

Domain Registrar:
Registrar Name: TUCOWS, INC.
WHOIS Server: whois.tucows.com
Website URL: http://tucowsdomains.com

Tucows is a domain registering site and is based in Canada

Registrant Contact:
Name: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
Company: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
Street: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
City: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
State: Charlestown
Zip Code: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
Country Name: Saint Kitts and Nevis

Charlestown is the capital of the islands of Saint Kitts and Nevis.

TUCOWS, INC.
Name Servers
1-you.njalla.no
2-can.njalla.in
3-get.njalla.fo

These name severs all end up in the country of Laos. They are another domain registering site but seem to be adamant about privacy to or almost clandestiness.

TUCOWS, INC.
Domain Status
client Transfer Prohibited
client Update Prohibited

It was first reported that Redfox went offline on the 5th of June. The Tucows Update Date: 2024-06-05. Is this coincidental? Did the site owner of redfox.bz not pay the domain costs and the domain suspended?

https://web.archive.org/web/20240604201025/https://forum.redfox.bz/

This is the last capture on 4th of June 2024. But there is no announcement of closing down or moving.

Tucows state a scenario in which they suspend domain names: When a court order arrives, dictating action, we can be confident that a domain has transgressed the law. A Google search found no AACS lawsuit against RedFox listed on the Internet.

[SamuriHL]

Since we're playing more speculation games...

AACS isn't the only organization that would potentially have a vested interest in shutting redfox down. One might argue that anystream could also be a target for take down, which wouldn't have anything to do with the AACS LA. Now I don't have any idea what really happened, but if I had to guess, I wouldn't say this is an impossible scenario. I can't imagine tools like anystream made certain groups of people happy.

I will also say that a redfox mod posted on Reddit that just before the shutdown they were talking to devs about an upcoming beta of anystream that was going to be released that very week. More speculation would be if that was the case, why shutdown the site? And not just shut down... All dns records were deleted. Which suggests an intentional act rather than a technical issue. Surely they'd not do that if they were still working on a beta would they? Don't know.

But again this is all speculation. I doubt we'll ever know what actually happened.

Sent from my SM-S928U1 using Tapatalk

[coopervid]

Since we're playing more speculation games...

AACS isn't the only organization that would potentially have a vested interest in shutting redfox down. One might argue that anystream could also be a target for take down, which wouldn't have anything to do with the AACS LA. Now I don't have any idea what really happened, but if I had to guess, I wouldn't say this is an impossible scenario. I can't imagine tools like anystream made certain groups of people happy.

I will also say that a redfox mod posted on Reddit that just before the shutdown they were talking to devs about an upcoming beta of anystream that was going to be released that very week. More speculation would be if that was the case, why shutdown the site? And not just shut down... All dns records were deleted. Which suggests an intentional act rather than a technical issue. Surely they'd not do that if they were still working on a beta would they? Don't know.

But again this is all speculation. I doubt we'll ever know what actually happened.

Sent from my SM-S928U1 using Tapatalk
I was told what happened but it doesn't matter. Some institution didn't like it and took severe measures. Not the one you mentioned. But all doesn't matter. Redfox is gone . Most likely only software located in Russia or China will survive in the long run.

[WSC4]

I was told what happened but it doesn't matter. Some institution didn't like it and took severe measures.

What happened does matter and should be in the public domain. Can you let us know please? Can you name the institution or consortium that has shut down https://www.redfox.bz please?

[Treaties Of Warp]

It very much does matter.

What institution or group was involved?

Define "severe measures".

How are you privy to this information?

[ron spencer]

I was told what happened but it doesn't matter. Some institution didn't like it and took severe measures. Not the one you mentioned. But all doesn't matter. Redfox is gone . Most likely only software located in Russia or China will survive in the long run.


Please, if you have information let everyone know. Unless some threats have been made to you or something.

Many thanks

[kurkosdr]

How are you privy to this information?
He isn't, the source of his information is PIDOOMA.

If there were legal threats by some institution, there would be some kind of paper trail. Legal threats usually come with a paper trail.

[SamuriHL]

You all do realize that he was a mod on Redfox right? You should listen to him. And stop pressing him to reveal more than he has.

[ron spencer]

You all do realize that he was a mod on Redfox right? You should listen to him. And stop pressing him to reveal more than he has.

Then he can just say something like "due to legal reasons I can't say anything else."

He opened the door. That would close it.

[SamuriHL]

You are not entitled to more than he was willing to say. No matter how many people demand it.

[ron spencer]

You are not entitled to more than he was willing to say. No matter how many people demand it.

Are you speaking for him? If so even more interesting....

[SamuriHL]

I'm not speaking for anyone. I'm telling you my thoughts. You aren't required to like them.

[ron spencer]

No worries....if more info is given great, if not, then that's the way it goes.

[cartman0208]

Can't believe I didn't find this thread earlier ... Would have been a much more obvious choice than reddit :scared:

[SamuriHL]

ROFLMAO! Well, you found it now. :) Your post on Reddit was helpful.

[Treaties Of Warp]

If some company or institution made any kind of threats of violence or harm, or blackmailed them (i.e. "disappear and we won't do X") then that is illegal as f**k and the information should be made public. Just my opinion.

[cartman0208]

If coopervid says the reason is not for public use, then it is that way. He's been a mod way longer than me.
But I'd really like to stay in touch with the guys because IMO it was a fine community. :cool:

[WSC4]

You all do realize that he was a mod on Redfox right?

No, I did not know that. And I see on this page that you and cartman0208 (reddit posts) were also former moderators at Redfox. That is good to know. I hope you guys can get inside info on exactly what happened as this rolls on.

@coopervid. That institution that didn't like Redfox and took severe measures. Would it be BREIN by any chance? Hostinger in Lithuania could have been ordered to remove the domain.

https://torrentfreak.com/brein-pulled-610-pirate-sites-and-services-offline-last-year-240607/

[coopervid]

If coopervid says the reason is not for public use, then it is that way. He's been a mod way longer than me.
But I'd really like to stay in touch with the guys because IMO it was a fine community. :cool:
Good to see you here! I'm not sharing details to the public and it wouldn't help in any way. I just wanted to state that Redfox didn't shut down intentionally but they needed to. Nobody wants to spend years of his life behind bars.

[LazLong]

@coopervid and @cartman0208

I've seen speculation on VideoHelp and Reddit that the RedFox team sold their AnyStream IP to the StreamFab folks. Any inside info with regards to that?

[SamuriHL]

That rumor is nonsense. Started by people on Reddit who have no clue what they're talking about.

Sent from my SM-S928U1 using Tapatalk

[cartman0208]

I've seen speculation on VideoHelp and Reddit that the RedFox team sold their AnyStream IP to the StreamFab folks. Any inside info with regards to that?

Nope, no info ... I don't even know what would be achieved by that. :confused:

And the hint of coopervid should clarify that nobody from Redfox "took the money and ran" as many on reddit assumed.

[Treaties Of Warp]

Don't people have a right to keep a downloaded backup of titles that they purchased? A digital purchase that stays on remote servers is no guarantee that people will always be able to access their content. For example, the Funimation incident that just recently happened (https://www.pinkvilla.com/entertainment/anime/funimation-shutdown-60000-hours-of-content-goes-missing-in-the-us-deets-inside-1292806).

I also recently was watching a series that had a subtitle issue (which is VERY common on Amazon content). Every other line of dialog was missing, due to overlapping timestamps, on EVERY episode. Downloading the content allows the user to use a tool like Subtitle Edit to automatically fix the issue locally.

I'm pretty sure it's illegal to "blackmail" people into compliance in most countries by threatening to sue unless demands are met. They have to either file a lawsuit, or not. (If that's what happened.)

I thought some of the AnyDVD developers were actually located in China (like James).

When a public resource is taken away due to the actions of some institution or entity, it does serve the public to have the information as to who the entity is, and what they did to cause the loss of the resource. Their actions may not have been legal, and such actions should be reported (even if the actions were legal). This information is important for other developers to know about, so they can take measures to protect themselves and their products.

Again, just my thoughts and opinions.

[cartman0208]

Well, actually ... you don't buy the content or title ... you buy a license to access that content.
The same (or similar) way a streaming provider pays a license fee to the content owner to distribute that content to their customers.
That license can be revoked so you lose access to that content.

[SamuriHL]

^^^

First off, this. You buy a digital "license" and that's only valid as long as the entity you bought it from maintains a license to the content themselves. So no, you don't have any rights. I'm not saying I AGREE with this, just that this is how the law is interpreted. My personal feelings mirror yours for the most part. If you buy a license for something, you should be able to access it either remotely where you bought it or locally. For things you don't own like subscription services, I personally feel that's more "DVR" like. E.G. if I ever used such a product, I would only download things I maintain a subscription to. More convenience than anything else. What other people do is their business. That's just my personal take on those types of products.

Second, and this is the important part, at least in the US with how the DMCA is written, you can possess technology to defeat DRM but you are not allowed to create such technology. Now that law should only apply to the US but the US likes to use its immense economic power to shove those laws down the throats of other countries. I'll save the political discussion for elsewhere on that. So while you aren't likely to get sued for using AnyDVD to back up your legally purchased discs, the maker of said product is most definitely a target. See SlySoft. See the pending case against DVDFab. Etc. Is it right? No, of course not. But the way the laws are written, this cry you have of victimhood of "being threatened" or whatever is simply not true. If an organization targeted them, it's for breaking the percieved laws. Again, I don't think it's ok, either but that's simply the fact. They are enforcing BS laws.

[coopervid]

^^^

First off, this. You buy a digital "license" and that's only valid as long as the entity you bought it from maintains a license to the content themselves. So no, you don't have any rights. I'm not saying I AGREE with this, just that this is how the law is interpreted. My personal feelings mirror yours for the most part. If you buy a license for something, you should be able to access it either remotely where you bought it or locally. For things you don't own like subscription services, I personally feel that's more "DVR" like. E.G. if I ever used such a product, I would only download things I maintain a subscription to. More convenience than anything else. What other people do is their business. That's just my personal take on those types of products.

Second, and this is the important part, at least in the US with how the DMCA is written, you can possess technology to defeat DRM but you are not allowed to create such technology. Now that law should only apply to the US but the US likes to use its immense economic power to shove those laws down the throats of other countries. I'll save the political discussion for elsewhere on that. So while you aren't likely to get sued for using AnyDVD to back up your legally purchased discs, the maker of said product is most definitely a target. See SlySoft. See the pending case against DVDFab. Etc. Is it right? No, of course not. But the way the laws are written, this cry you have of victimhood of "being threatened" or whatever is simply not true. If an organization targeted them, it's for breaking the percieved laws. Again, I don't think it's ok, either but that's simply the fact. They are enforcing BS laws.
Very good statement. And others that only want copies of their legal or not so legal copies should think twice and read it over and over. But most don't care or comprehend. Just let me make that copy....

[Wenny]

So, 4 pages of text and literally zero information about where Redfox went?

Indeed. They've been looking for AnyDVD alternatives for a long time.

[Treaties Of Warp]

And the hint of coopervid should clarify that nobody from Redfox "took the money and ran" as many on reddit assumed.

I would say that there still isn't really any "proof" of anything. The whole situation is very bizarre. If somebody gets taken down by some institution, that institution is typically named. I've been on the Internet since 1995 (yes unfortunately I am old which I don't like!) and in that time I've seen several sites and products "end" due to legal pressure and whoever is applying pressure is always named at some point. Why not name it? If I was "taking the money and running," if I felt compelled enough to say anything to anyone asking what was happening, I might say something like "we have to shut down so we don't get sued!", but if I named who was threatening me, then they would know I was lying.

So, respectfully, we have no information "from the horses mouth", we have hearsay from a former moderator who was "told something" but strangely we don't know what was told, who told it, or anything about who was involved.

What we do know is 1) Lifetime licenses for the main product people were buying (AnyStream) were removed in January 2024 suggesting a revenue problem, and 2) within about 1-2 days of Redfox's disappearance, StreamFab is fixed. That is a notable coincidence, to say the least. Also, even though it isn't known fact, I think it's reasonable to believe that for the 4-5 months that AnyStream worked and StreamFab didn't, that sales for AnyStream probably increased, thus giving a boost of revenue.

In conclusion the fact remains we have no verifiable information as to what happened. It's still possible that someone threatened them, and it's still possible of an "exit scam" type of situation. We just don't know, and probably never will if the RedFox team remains anonymous.

These are just my thoughts, if I offended anyone with my remarks, please know that I didn't intend any.

[SamuriHL]

And you need to come to terms with what I've already said multiple times in this thread. You will never have the information you seem to think you're entitled to. You're not going to get "proof". You're not going to be told what the organization was. You can choose to believe whatever you want. Knowing won't change the simple fact that they aren't coming back.

Sent from my SM-S928U1 using Tapatalk

[SeeMoreDigital]

Me thinks it's time to close this topic...

[kurkosdr]

And you need to come to terms with what I've already said multiple times in this thread. You will never have the information you seem to think you're entitled to. You're not going to get "proof". You're not going to be told what the organization was.

Fine, then it's fair to assume your claims are all hearsay and it was an exit scam.

You can choose to believe whatever you want.
Read the post above yours as to why I choose to believe it was an exit scam.

Knowing won't change the simple fact that they aren't coming back.
And even if RedFox came back under another name, we'd likely still have to buy lifetime licenses again (much like the SlySoft licenses weren't accepted by RedFox). But what I won't do is excuse what is a total disappearance from the web intentionally performed by the website owners themselves by assigning blame to some mythical unnamed organization that can magically get them now in 2024 but couldn't in 2016 or the years in between.

[cartman0208]

The comments of coopervid #85 and #101 do not leave much room for speculation, at least for me.
Here's an example what I figured from it:
- you do something that is against the law
- you get cought (whatever that means)
- you are given the choice to 1) go to jail or 2) remove everything "unlawful" from the web and never lose a word about it
What would you do?

Of course that is also an assumption... but what would you accept as proof and not say it's scam?

[ron spencer]

The comments of coopervid #85 and #101 do not leave much room for speculation, at least for me.
Here's an example what I figured from it:
- you do something that is against the law
- you get cought (whatever that means)
- you are given the choice to 1) go to jail or 2) remove everything "unlawful" from the web and never lose a word about it
What would you do?

Of course that is also an assumption... but what would you accept as proof and not say it's scam?

The "proof" would be something from the former company itself or official documentation. But then again, this may not be possible with NDAs and all. This is interesting, because one would think who/whomever "caught" them would want to let everyone know they are watching. Then again, operating in the shadows may be the best for who/whomever this entity is, especially if they have access to Redfox customer information. Sometimes the cat and mouse game goes both ways.

Regardless, there is no "proof", just posts on this forum.

[coopervid]

Are you guys nuts or just a bunch who just follow everey conspiracy theory? "Proof", "official documentation", "access to Redfox customer information", "mythical unnamed organization". Hey - they just took everything - everything - down before being caught. Keep on smoking weed and come up with more BS.

[DrinkLyeAndDie]

What we do know is 1) Lifetime licenses for the main product people were buying (AnyStream) were removed in January 2024 suggesting a revenue problem, and 2) within about 1-2 days of Redfox's disappearance, StreamFab is fixed. That is a notable coincidence, to say the least.

Some people conflate things. People in general. Events simply MUST be related because... they simply MUST. No, they simply mustn't. What we do know is that some people like to create/dream up/invent explanations so that they feel that they have an answer to something rather than not actually knowing. An answer makes some people feel better even if it accomplishes nothing.

With the above said, there was a discussion somewhere on Reddit either in the Anystream or StreamFab areas about Redfox shutting down and how quickly StreamFab worked again on Netflix, etc. Mentioned was the absurdity of the claim that Redfox sold their "decryption keys" to DVDFab. An individual went on further to explain how the approaches both companies took to do what they did were not the same. It wasn't just like Redfox could just give DVDFab a key and, voila, StreamFab works now. It would have involved completely rewriting things and there is zero indication that any such event occurred. I don't have a link to share because I read it, found it interesting, and moved on. I honestly don't care enough to spend time looking.

To end this post...

https://compote.slate.com/images/7bebd458-dfe9-4c35-beee-da10caaaa99b.jpg

[SamuriHL]

Fine, then it's fair to assume your claims are all hearsay and it was an exit scam.


Kuel. You feel better? You can sleep now? It has TOTALLY and 100% changed your life believing something that is total BS, right?


Read the post above yours as to why I choose to believe it was an exit scam.


Believe whatever you want. Simply believing something doesn't make it true no matter how hard you try. It's still BS.


And even if RedFox came back under another name


They won't.

[Perenista]

Not saying this is related to anything, but one thing I noticed a while (not long time ago) before this event was that RedFox discontinued lifetime licenses for ALL products, like AnyDVD. Users that got them in the past were able to keep.

[WSC4]

https://forum.doom9.net/showthread.php?t=173234

24th of February 2016. This is Déjà vu and it brought back memories when I was using SlySoft. Both that thread and this are almost carbon copies. But the SlySoft thread has a happy ending. On page 3 post #47, RedFox is born when old staff members were willing to continue the development. That was a long time ago now.



To end this post, I do actually know what happened.



I see you are another moderator at Redfox. Is that 5 in this thread? I've lost count. You also don't have to disclose what actually happened, and I respect your decision on that. But I think it will all come out in the wash eventually. I now don't care if it was the AACS LA, DMCA, BREIN or some other anti-circumvention body that seized the RedFox domain name. What I would like to know, if there is any hint of old staff members willing to continue the development in the future?

[DrinkLyeAndDie]

I see you are another x moderator at Redfox. Is that 5 in this thread? I've lost count. You also don't have to disclose what actually happened, and I respect your decision on that. But I think it will all come out in the wash eventually. I now don't care if it was the AACS LA, DMCA, BREIN or some other anti-circumvention body that seized the RedFox domain name. What I would like to know, if there is any hint of old staff members willing to continue the development in the future?

I have no idea what happened. I hadn't been a moderator for years now and rarely visited the forums in recent years.

My comment on knowing what happened was merely in jest which I hope was obvious given who I did not say was behind it. That said, barring someone proving to me that aliens weren't behind the shutdown just means they actually might have been. :p

Edit: Obviously, it sucks that Redfox is gone. I was a fan of most of their software. It's a big loss to the community but we all have to put our big boy pants on and move forward.

[SamuriHL]

That's really the important part. They had really great products that are now gone. Anydvd will work for a while but AS if completely done. As for some miracle come back, I really rather doubt it. I personally think they're gone for good this time.

Sent from my SM-S928U1 using Tapatalk

[Treaties Of Warp]

Coincidences can definitely happen, I remember a situation with Jim Browning, a YouTuber who exposes and shuts down Indian scammers. You would think it's impossible for someone like him to get scammed, but he got a new phone with a new SIM, then got an e-mail the next day, entirely by coincidence, from a real Gmail address of someone telling him he had to do some stuff to his YouTube account. Jim assumed that was probably due to an entirely new phone and SIM, but it wasn't, and the scammer got control of his YouTube account, and deleted all of his content. Jim very luckily was able to get YouTube to get him his account back and restore all of the videos. But the main thing that tricked him was the coincidence of getting a new phone right when he got an e-mail that wouldn't have fooled him if he hadn't have gotten the new phone.

My point is it definitely could be coincidence that StreamFab was fixed immediately after RedFox disappeared.

Another possibility that I read (I think on Reddit but now I'm not sure) is that both RedFox and StreamFab might have been purchasing the Widevine decryption methodology from someone else.

[Yarc]

Hi, I'm new here but have been a Redfox customer for a long time. It's a real shame that they are gone so we must move on now and use alternative tools. I realize that AnyDVD will likely work for a while, but will ultimately fail as new protections come out. I'm wondering if the option to copy with protection will likely still work for some time considering this is not decrypting, or at least as far as I understand it. The reason I ask this is because I like creating ISO's with original menus and currently trying out DVDFab. This seems to work well although not quite as quick as AnyDVD and also does not support my 4K USB drive. However, I have discovered that by creating a protected Blu-ray ISO with AnyDVD I can then process this file with DVDFab, so this is my current solution. I have also downloaded xreveal which works similar to AnyDVD and the free version of this also allows creating protected ISO's so this is another option. I have to say, the full price for xreveal is very reasonable but I don't currently need on-the-fly decryption for my use case.

[SamuriHL]

As long as your drive is UHD Friendly or supported by LibreDrive (and you have MakeMKV installed, of course) the protected ISO function will still work, yes. Xreveal's protected ISO creation feature works just as well.

[Yarc]

Ok, thanks. My drive is supported by LibreDrive so it looks like I should be okay for a while, unless DVDFab get taken down in which case I will revert to MakeMKV and xreveal.

[SamuriHL]

LibreDrive doesn't really need updates as long as your drive is supported, so creating protected ISOs is always possible now for you.

[Yarc]

LibreDrive doesn't really need updates as long as your drive is supported, so creating protected ISOs is always possible now for you.

That's good to know, thanks for your help.

[infoxtreme]

unfortunately they are gone, the game has become dangerous and the financial return is no longer worth it, simple as that. I just think they could have given an official statement independent of any legal issues

Strangely enough, xreveal is almost a copy of anydvd.

Now a question, what does anydvd do that makemkv or dvdfab can't do?

[SamuriHL]

Real time decryption. And screen pass protection removal.

Sent from my SM-S928U1 using Tapatalk

[Yarc]

Real time decryption. And screen pass protection removal.

Sent from my SM-S928U1 using Tapatalk

Forgive me if I'm wrong but I think DVDFab Passkey decrypts on the fly, but that is a separate product to DVDFab and not sure how it compares to AnyDVD as never used it.

[SamuriHL]

It's very similar to anydvd in how it works. I don't know its full feature set as I don't own it.

Sent from my SM-S928U1 using Tapatalk

[infoxtreme]

I would say that Real time decryption, for me it's not very important, since I think the most important thing is to be able to back up my movies.

screen pass protection as far as i know dvdfab can handle

[DrinkLyeAndDie]

It's very similar to anydvd in how it works. I don't know its full feature set as I don't own it.

Passkey uses "StealthyClone anti-protection" (https://blog.dvdfab.cn/stealthyclone-anti-protection.html) to remove Screen Pass.

With respect to protection removal Passkey offers similar features to AnyDVD HD but I don't know if it works as well. I don't have enough experience with it.


Remove AACS
Remove BD+
- Remove BD+ Firmware warning
Remove RC (Region Code)
Remove Java protection with StealthyClone anti-protection
Remove BD-Live
Remove UOPS (User Operation Prohibitions)
Remove CCI (Copy Control Information)
Hide PS3 update files
Accelerate AACS decryption by using the Intel AES-NI
Remove Blu-ray Country Code

The feature Xreveal needs to add is Screen Pass removal. Until then, unfortunately, it's not quite there and falls short of being a direct replacement for AnyDVD HD or Passkey.

[kurkosdr]

The feature Xreveal needs to add is Screen Pass removal. Until then, unfortunately, it's not quite there and falls short of being a direct replacement for AnyDVD HD or Passkey.
BTW this is why I am slightly annoyed by all those "use Xreveal" / "use MakeMKV" posts. None of those is an "all batteries included" solution (including ability to remove BD-J countermeasures such as Screen Pass), so proposing them as alternatives to AnyDVD HD or DVDFab without any asterisks is insincere.

If you want an "all batteries included" solution, the only remaining solution we are left with is the DVDFab products (DVDFab and DVDFab Passkey). You may not like DVDFab (for example their pricing or their online activation requirement), but these are the facts.

[Grimsdyke]

Then buy one of that and be happy. Geeeez.

[xreveal]

BTW this is why I am slightly annoyed by all those "use Xreveal" / "use MakeMKV" posts. None of those is an "all batteries included" solution (including ability to remove BD-J countermeasures such as Screen Pass), so proposing them as alternatives to AnyDVD HD or DVDFab without any asterisks is insincere.

Xreveal could remove some java based protections,
and that feature is fully functional in the free version.

If you find some discs have issues, please upload the ziplog to https://www.mediafire.com/, PM the download link or mail to support@xreveal.com, thanks.
https://xreveal.com/img/1719651868871.png

[DrinkLyeAndDie]

Xreveal could remove some java based protections,
and that feature is fully functional in the free version.

Is there any indication in the disc information window that Java-based protections have been removed when supported? Or am I blind and not seeing it?

[xreveal]

Is there any indication in the disc information window that Java-based protections have been removed when supported? Or am I blind and not seeing it?

No indication.

Cat-and-mouse games have complicated the Java-based protections, it is difficult to detect whether a disc contains Java-based protections through generic C/C++ code.

[kurkosdr]

Then buy one of that and be happy. Geeeez.
Already did (lifetime license, which I am glad for since DVDFab may raise prices now that they are the only remaining complete solution in town), but this doesn't negate the fact all those "use Xreveal" / "use MakeMKV" posts proposing those tools as a replacement to AnyDVD HD should come with an asterisk to be sincere.

I also have an Xreveal and MakeMKV license, I consider them to be backup tools to DVDFab and DVDFab Passkey (see? I understand I took a risk with tools like DVDFab and DVDFab Passkey that require online activation, still worth it to have a complete solution in my opinion).

[kurkosdr]

No indication.

Cat-and-mouse games have complicated the Java-based protections, it is difficult to detect whether a disc contains Java-based protections through generic C/C++ code.
First time I am hearing about Xreveal being able to remove BD-J countermeasures, it's not even listed as a feature:
https://www.xreveal.com/pro.html

Also, when a BD-J countermeasure is removed, you'd expect the log to tell you about it ("BD-J countermeasure detected and removed") like it says "Removed AACS protection" when Xreveal removes AACS protection.

[xreveal]

First time I am hearing about Xreveal being able to remove BD-J countermeasures, it's not even listed as a feature:
https://www.xreveal.com/pro.html

Also, when a BD-J countermeasure is removed, you'd expect the log to tell you about it ("BD-J countermeasure detected and removed") like it says "Removed AACS protection" when Xreveal removes AACS protection.

Will listed when I think it's as good as AnyDVD's.

It's hard to detect, for example, I don't know when it's raining, but the sunroof closes automatically when it rains. This automatic sunroof auto-close feature is already present in Xreveal. As for whether it is good enough to use, we need users to send more ziplog samples to train it.

[Yarc]

My impressions of DVDFab in the short time of using it are reasonably positive. It certainly does most of want I need for backing up my DVD's and BD's. It's UHD disc backup is not as good for me as the AnyDVD/MakeMKV/CloneBD combo I have been using because for one thing it does not currently use Libre Drive. So as discussed in one of my previous posts, if AnyDVD cannot backup a 4K disc I first have to create a protected ISO and then DVDFab can process this but only if it supports the particular disc of course. This is a working solution and the Fab software works well once this hurdle is overcome. That being said, if I want to customize the 4K content, currently DVDFab is not as good as CloneBD that provides greater options for selecting/unselecting the tracks I want, and it also makes it easier to see the available tracks. For UHD discs, Fab can either copy just a single track or the whole disc. Maybe this will be improved later, I don't know. So once I have a decrypted BD disc, CloneBD is my tool of choice for creating custom ISO images. For DVD's I find DVDFab is fine and possibly just as good as CloneDVD. One thing I have noticed is that for customising a Blu-ray ISO, DVDFab automatically removes most of the copyright messages. In fact, they don't even appear in the list of available tracks. CloneBD on the other hand will list everything. This is only a minor point that I don't think this is either a positive or negative point against the programs.

The other aspect I'm not so keen on with DVDFab is the advertising. An update for example may add more features but these can be trials that need purchasing after the first few uses. The update does not provide an option to reject the trial. Of course, if not needed these trial features can be ignored. On the plus side, Fab's update record shows frequent updates to handle newer protections, so can't complain about that.

Overall, I think Fab is a reasonable alternative for creating ISO backups with original disc menus if that is a requirement. I don't think it's as quick as AnyDVD/CloneBD but that may be down to my settings.

If DVDFab closes down, then it will be a case of using xreveal - which seems to be very good - and MakeMKV. I've downloaded the free version of xreveal but IMHO the lifetime license is not expensive. We just have to hope that the surviving developers of tools such as xreveal and MakeMKV are not hounded by the same organization(s) that scared off RedFox.

[SamuriHL]

A couple notes.

You can possibly save a step in your process and rip to decrypted folder with makemkv and open that with clonebd. Then you can use libredrive. This is course presumes the disc is supported in makemkv when you want to create your backup.

If DVDfab goes away, Xreveal will not be useful for future UHD. This is because it does not contain any keys at all. It's an implementation of the AACS libraries that allow decryption but you provide the keys by downloading the keydb file. So what does that have to do with DVDfab? Search this forum for findvuk to see the answer to that question. It would render anydvd just as useless for future UHD if the keydb is no longer updated, as well.

Sent from my SM-S928U1 using Tapatalk

[Treaties Of Warp]

If DVDfab goes away, Xreveal will not be useful for future UHD. This is because it does not contain any keys at all. It's an implementation of the AACS libraries that allow decryption but you provide the keys by downloading the keydb file.

I don't follow... so you're saying that the FindVUK database (http://fvonline-db.bplaced.net/) will not support any UHD discs from this point forward? Can you please post the source for this? :confused:

[Treaties Of Warp]

Xreveal could remove some java based protections,
and that feature is fully functional in the free version.

If you find some discs have issues, please upload the ziplog to https://www.mediafire.com/, PM the download link or mail to support@xreveal.com, thanks.
https://xreveal.com/img/1719651868871.png

Thanks very much for your efforts, it's extremely appreciated from users like me.

Since AnyDVD is no more, people need to send in their logs for discs that they have issues with, especially screen pass / obfuscated playlist discs. Xreveal basically has to completely start over, so it will take some time for it to catch up. It's already quite far along! :) :D

Xreveal, please consider adding a forum to the Xreveal site (https://www.xreveal.com/)! ;)

[SamuriHL]

I don't follow... so you're saying that the FindVUK database (http://fvonline-db.bplaced.net/) will not support any UHD discs from this point forward? Can you please post the source for this? :confused:

Did you do what I said to do and go search for the FindVUK thread on this forum? If you read it, you will understand why if DVDFab goes away, there will be far fewer UHD keys added to the keydb from that point on.

[Treaties Of Warp]

I am familiar with that thread (https://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=172472), but that thread does not make it clear that the online database (http://fvonline-db.bplaced.net/) is directly tied to DVDFab. (Maybe I'm missing it?) Just that the tool can dump keys from the DVDFab Passkey application, and can also download the latest keydb.cfg from the online database. It does mention that at the end of the FindVUK cycle it uploads to the online database, but again, it didn't make it clear to me that the online database is populated exclusively or mostly from DVDFab Passkey. I also didn't realize that AnyDVD was using this database (as you mentioned), that's very interesting that AnyDVD's UHD decryption was dependent on DVDFab. So if so, then you're right, if DVDFab / Passkey / et all dies, then so does the future of disc decryption. That sucks.

[SamuriHL]

I didn't say ALL key entries were made that way, but the vast majority of KeyDB entries are made by FindVUK, which is tied to DVDFab. Especially for UHD. Blu-ray is a different story until the next MKB is released. Since there are no public AACS 2.x DK/PK anywhere, FindVUK is really the main method of dumping keys. MakeMKV encrypts their hashed keys so dumping them from there is not really possible. AnyDVD relied on the KeyDB for UHD support for the most part. They had some of their own keys which are embedded in the last release but mostly they were coming from the KeyDB and being cached by AnyDVD's OPD once AnyDVD scanned a disc with a KeyDB entry.

If you know of another way to find and upload UHD keys without FindVUK, I'm all ears. I'm sure there are some out there who can do it but I've seen no public AACS 2.x DK/PK posted anywhere so barring that, you need to dump the keys from another source....i.e. DVDFab products.

[Yarc]

This is very interesting as I was not fully aware of this information concerning how the majority of keys were obtained by FindVUK. That does indeed put FabDVD in a good position although a prime target for certain organizations. I hope they survive for the legal right of making backups.

[Yarc]

A couple notes.

You can possibly save a step in your process and rip to decrypted folder with makemkv and open that with clonebd. Then you can use libredrive. This is course presumes the disc is supported in makemkv when you want to create your backup.

If DVDfab goes away, Xreveal will not be useful for future UHD. This is because it does not contain any keys at all. It's an implementation of the AACS libraries that allow decryption but you provide the keys by downloading the keydb file. So what does that have to do with DVDfab? Search this forum for findvuk to see the answer to that question. It would render anydvd just as useless for future UHD if the keydb is no longer updated, as well.

Sent from my SM-S928U1 using Tapatalk

Thanks for the tip, that will save some time I think.
Here's hoping DVDFab is able to stay in business even though the software is quite expensive.

[Treaties Of Warp]

So I take it a new UHD disc in Passkey sends data to DVDFab, they have a custom methodology to generate the decryption keys, and then they send it back to the user running Passkey. And apparently they are the only ones (at least the only ones selling commercial software) that know how to generate these decryption keys. Very interesting, to say the least.

[SamuriHL]

This is very interesting as I was not fully aware of this information concerning how the majority of keys were obtained by FindVUK. That does indeed put FabDVD in a good position although a prime target for certain organizations. I hope they survive for the legal right of making backups.

They are already targeted. I'm unsure of where that particular lawsuit is at right now but they've been in the middle of it for years.

Thanks for the tip, that will save some time I think.
Here's hoping DVDFab is able to stay in business even though the software is quite expensive.

They are most definitely useful.

So I take it a new UHD disc in Passkey sends data to DVDFab, they have a custom methodology to generate the decryption keys, and then they send it back to the user running Passkey. And apparently they are the only ones (at least the only ones selling commercial software) that know how to generate these decryption keys. Very interesting, to say the least.

This is not entirely correct. MakeMKV has their own decryption mechanism. But it's not going to help anyone but MakeMKV users because he encrypts the hashed keys that get downloaded when you run MakeMKV.

NOTE: I don't know about PassKey but presume it'd work how I'm about to describe for DVDFab itself:

DVDFab will download a module (it's configurable in the settings as to whether it does this or not) that basically grabs the VID and collects other data off the disc (AACS directory contents, probably the metadata xml, etc) and sends it to their server. In at about 50% of the cases when I've done this, it'll return the key right then from their server. The other half come back with a "we have the data, it'll be 1 to 2 days before the title is supported". I honestly have no idea how their back end process works and why it doesn't work 100% automagically.

One thing to note here, while DVDFab does work with ISOs, including protected ISOs, it can NOT fully process from an ISO alone. What do I mean? The ISO does not contain the VID and/or any other data retrieved in protected areas of the disc that are required to decrypt it. IOW, DVDFab MUST scan the actual disc at least once before the key can be made available so others that are using an ISO can decrypt it. This is important to understand and why it's highly recommended to have a drive/firmware combination that DVDFab actually supports. I use my BU40N on 1.00 for that.

[DrinkLyeAndDie]

They are already targeted. I'm unsure of where that particular lawsuit is at right now but they've been in the middle of it for years.

As of 2016 they were in violation of a shutdown order which has comically been ignored. Apparently the AACS LA was asking for $10,000 per day until they complied. No idea how that turned out but if approved that means there's like $27,000,000 in penalties piled up on top of anything else.

[SamuriHL]

As of 2016 they were in violation of a shutdown order which has comically been ignored. Apparently the AACS LA was asking for $10,000 per day until they complied. No idea how that turned out but if approved that means there's like $27,000,000 in penalties piled up on top of anything else.

There was more recent news on it than that. I'm not able to go find it right now.

[coopervid]

Will listed when I think it's as good as AnyDVD's.

It's hard to detect, for example, I don't know when it's raining, but the sunroof closes automatically when it rains. This automatic sunroof auto-close feature is already present in Xreveal. As for whether it is good enough to use, we need users to send more ziplog samples to train it.

I'm missing a message that XReveal is done. Right now it just closes and you must hope that it worked.

[kurkosdr]

As of 2016 they were in violation of a shutdown order which has comically been ignored.
Thing is, the shutdown order is from the US government, not the Chinese government, and DVDFab (Fengtao) doesn't have to care what the US government thinks because none of their business is located in the US anymore (they moved to a cn domain after the shutdown order), US laws don't magically apply to other countries.

[coopervid]

Thing is, the shutdown order is from the US government, not the Chinese government, and DVDFab (Fengtao) doesn't have to care what the US government thinks because none of their business is located in the US anymore (they moved to a cn domain after the shutdown order), US laws don't magically apply to other countries.

I already posted that in #85. Only RU and CN will survive.

[DrinkLyeAndDie]

I'm missing a message that XReveal is done. Right now it just closes and you must hope that it worked.

On all discs or just BD-J discs? I don't seem to be having an issue on any disc that I create a logfile for. I create a log and it tells me it's done with a pop-up like AnyDVD used to do. It also automatically opens the log file location in Windows Explorer.

[Yarc]

One thing to note here, while DVDFab does work with ISOs, including protected ISOs, it can NOT fully process from an ISO alone. What do I mean? The ISO does not contain the VID and/or any other data retrieved in protected areas of the disc that are required to decrypt it. IOW, DVDFab MUST scan the actual disc at least once before the key can be made available so others that are using an ISO can decrypt it. This is important to understand and why it's highly recommended to have a drive/firmware combination that DVDFab actually supports. I use my BU40N on 1.00 for that.

That makes sense, but would this only apply to new titles that have yet to have a key generated? If I have an older title such as The Martian 4K, would FabDVD identify this title and locate the possible keys and try each one until possibly finding one that works? I am unable to test this as DVDFab does not support my 4K drive. I am currently creating a protected ISO to test.

[SamuriHL]

That makes sense, but would this only apply to new titles that have yet to have a key generated? If I have an older title such as The Martian 4K, would FabDVD identify this title and locate the possible keys and try each one until possibly finding one that works? I am unable to test this as DVDFab does not support my 4K drive.It needs to scan each disc once. It does not matter how new or old it is. There are some variants that use the same unit keys. I don't know if DVDfab has logic to try them all or not. Anydvd did. But if they don't have the unit keys then the vid is necessary to calculate the vuk to decrypt the unit keys. That CANNOT be read from an ISO. So what happens in that case is you'll be forever getting a message that the disc will be supported in 1 to 2 days but the reality is until someone scans that variant with a supported drive, it will forever be in that state.

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[Yarc]

It needs to scan each disc once. It does not matter how new or old it is. There are some variants that use the same unit keys. I don't know if DVDfab has logic to try them all or not. Anydvd did. But if they don't have the unit keys then the vid is necessary to calculate the vuk to decrypt the unit keys. That CANNOT be read from an ISO. So what happens in that case is you'll be forever getting a message that the disc will be supported in 1 to 2 days but the reality is until someone scans that variant with a supported drive, it will forever be in that state.

Sent from my SM-S928U1 using Tapatalk

Thanks for all this info. As you can guess I'm not fully aware of all the processes behind the decryption of discs. In the past have been more of a user with Sly/Red Fox tools that just worked.

So if I understand correctly from what you have said is that if I am able to get Fab to decrypt a protected ISO that is because someone has already scanned the original disc and the required vid is already stored on DVDFabs servers? Until I get a supported drive I can never be the source of the required vid for DVDFab to use.

[SamuriHL]

That's right, yeah. AACS is somewhat complex in how it works. The gist of it is like this...

The contents of some parts of the disc are encrypted with AACS. To decrypt the contents you need the unit keys. On UHD there's usually just one but there can be multiple like on Blu-ray. The unit keys are themselves stored encrypted in the AACS directory on the disc. In order to decrypt the unit keys you need the volume unique key (vuk). The vuk is made from two pieces of data on the disc... The volume identifier (vid) and the media key (mk).

To read the vid usually you have to present a host certificate to the drive that allows you to read the protected area of the disc that contain two parts of the vid that are then stitched together. Libredrive bypasses that host certificate requirement and allows you to read the vid. DVDfab uses a different method to read the vid. On certain drives with specific firmware, they can send vendor commands to the drive to bypass the host certificate requirement to read the vid.

To get the mk you have to have a device key or a processing key. The dk/pk is used to decrypt the mk from the mkb (media key block) on the disc which is stored in another file in the AACS directory. The mkb also contains a list of invalidated dk/pk. Without getting too far into the weeds, it basically means those dk/pk are unable to decrypt the mk. Since it's super easy for them to revoke compromised dk/pk, this is why you don't see companies like makemkv or DVDfab releasing the ones they use. This is why you have to email dumps to makemkv and why data is uploaded to the DVDfab server rather than being processed locally. This is why there are no leaked AACS 2.x dk/pk. They are extremely difficult to acquire and if they get revoked no new titles can be decrypted.

Anyway, back to our decryption process. Now that the vid has been read and the mk retrieved, a one way aesg hash is used to combine them into the vuk. The vuk is game over... Once it's known the disc can always be decrypted. The same is technically true of the unit keys, as well but the vuk allows you to decrypt the unit keys.

Hopefully this explanation of AACS helps you understand why it's complicated and why the keydb is so useful. And also why using a protected ISO for a disc that hasn't been scanned at least once by someone will never work.

I also skipped bus encryption which is nasty in AACS 2.x. libredrive disables that for us making it a non issue. Otherwise technically you're supposed to authenticate with the drive to get the read data key (rdk) which is then used to decrypt data received from the drive.

Fun fun.

Sent from my SM-S928U1 using Tapatalk

[Treaties Of Warp]

Yes, I believe that for DVDFab/Passkey/MakeMKV/Xreveal, if the UHD title is known, then a protected ISO can be decrypted.

[Yarc]

Thank you for that detailed explanation! Yes it is complicated but I now have an understanding of the process. I guess popular UHD titles will likely already have been scanned by DVDFab users, and if not its possibly just a matter of time. Unless I get a UHD friendly drive then I will have to wait longer before I can backup my disc or maybe never. I tend to buy second hand 4K titles, so these are likely to be older titles with perhaps more chance of a vuk having been uploaded.

I have just decrypted my disc of TheMatian4K using the protected ISO approach and DVDFab, but this film was very popular and came out in 2015, so plenty of time.

Update:
I've decided to invest in a UHD-friendly drive just for good measure. My PC is of the small variety so have to use external USB drives and finding external UHD-friendly drives is not so easy so opted for an internal SATA (LG WH16NS40) and a USB 3 external enclosure (Vantec NexStar DX2). Hopefully this will work okay with DVD Fab (it is listed as a supported drive) and should keep me going for a while.

[SamuriHL]

Yes, I believe that for DVDFab/Passkey/MakeMKV/Xreveal, if the UHD title is known, then a protected ISO can be decrypted.Right but you need to define what you mean by "is known". If it has an exact match for the disc id, absolutely no problem decrypting the protected ISO. What's less clear to me is if it doesn't have an exact match for the disc id but that disc shares unit keys with another variant that is known whether it would still decrypt. Anydvd has options that would try all the unit keys in the keydb. It was slow the first time but then it cached that entry for the disc id in its OPD. Obviously with the OPD offline that no longer works but the option to try all unit keys in the keydb should still work for UHD for now. What I don't know is if DVDfab and/or makemkv have some similar functionality. Well makemkv only uses vuk so it's unlikely to do anything but a direct match. But maybe DVDfab products do I don't know.

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[coopervid]

Right but you need to define what you mean by "is known". If it has an exact match for the disc id, absolutely no problem decrypting the protected ISO. What's less clear to me is if it doesn't have an exact match for the disc id but that disc shares unit keys with another variant that is known whether it would still decrypt. Anydvd has options that would try all the unit keys in the keydb. It was slow the first time but then it cached that entry for the disc id in its OPD. Obviously with the OPD offline that no longer works but the option to try all unit keys in the keydb should still work for UHD for now. What I don't know is if DVDfab and/or makemkv have some similar functionality. Well makemkv only uses vuk so it's unlikely to do anything but a direct match. But maybe DVDfab products do I don't know.

Sent from my SM-S928U1 using Tapatalk

I think that would be a good suggestion to add to XReveal.

[coopervid]

@xreveal,

Please check and comment posts #156 and #166.

[SamuriHL]

I think that would be a good suggestion to add to XReveal.I already suggested it. It's just not added yet afaik.

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[kurkosdr]

I already posted that in #85. Only RU and CN will survive.
Suyu moved to Brazil to avoid the DMCA anti-circumvention notice that took down Yuzu, so that another potential safe country.

Generally, the laws around circumvention of DRM vary from country to country.

[coopervid]

Suyu moved to Brazil to avoid the DMCA anti-circumvention notice that took down Yuzu, so that another potential safe country.

Generally, the laws around circumvention of DRM vary from country to country.

Not really. Any country that can be pressed by the US will face economical penalties if they allow software that circumvents DRM.

[kurkosdr]

Not really. Any country that can be pressed by the US will face economical penalties if they allow software that circumvents DRM.
Fortunately, there are countries like China and Brazil that aren't pressed by the US.

[Yarc]

Fortunately, there are countries like China and Brazil that aren't pressed by the US.

At the moment at least. We must hope it stays that way.

[coopervid]

Fortunately, there are countries like China and Brazil that aren't pressed by the US.

You are wrong as much as Brazil is concerned. Brazil has trade agreements with the US. The case you mentioned is different. That software Suyu is now open source while Yuzu was commercial.

[infoxtreme]

Can someone explain this situation to me?

a brand new disc, dvdfab why does it show this error

https://i.imgur.com/8e0V4E2.png

I opened anydvd and managed to copy successfully without any reading errors

[George++]

Waiting 5 days to make a comment has rather blunted what I have to say, but what the hey.

Back in 2016 when SlySoft was deliberately destroyed by order of the US government the SS fora were still active, though not fully functional. That allowed us users to get info about what happened. And tell the devs we supported them.

That brought about the resurrection under the auspices of Red Fox - The Project after a delay. I remember RF was going to be immune from what happened to SS because there was no centralized point of contact with RF.

Well, the complete disappearance of the RF website and fora shows otherwise. Hopefully the deletion of the internet routing records also shows the user database went into oblivion as well. The "Power That Be" would dearly love to retrieve those records and prosecute any US member.

[MrPenguin]

Anydvd has options that would try all the unit keys in the keydb. It was slow the first time but then it cached that entry for the disc id in its OPD. Obviously with the OPD offline that no longer works but the option to try all unit keys in the keydb should still work for UHD for now.

If you do discover a disk that is missing from KEYDB but which shares Unit Keys with an existing entry, it might be more practical to create a new KEYDB entry by hand, and then upload it into the findvuk database via "findvuk validateDisc".

You wouldn't need to try every Unit Key in KEYDB either; just those disks with the same(-ish) title and MKB version as your own disk.

And why stop there? Disks that share Unit Keys are also likely to share Media Keys. (That's just a Fun Observation which is obviously outside the AACS spec.) And MakeMKV can tell you what the disk's VID is as well. We already know the algorithm to generate a VUK from Media Key and VID, and we can confirm our new VUK is correct by decrypting the Unit Keys inside Unit_Key_RO.inf to ensure that they're the ones we're expecting.

None of this needs a new option being added to Xreveal.

[SamuriHL]

If you do discover a disk that is missing from KEYDB but which shares Unit Keys with an existing entry, it might be more practical to create a new KEYDB entry by hand, and then upload it into the findvuk database via "findvuk validateDisc".


You misunderstand what we're talking about here. *WE* aren't doing anything. This is all done in the background by code in AnyDVD (and maybe Xreveal if that option is added). So "we're" not discovering anything. The program is.


You wouldn't need to try every Unit Key in KEYDB either; just those disks with the same(-ish) title and MKB version as your own disk.


When the option was designed for AnyDVD it was explained to me that it takes mere seconds to try ALL the unit keys. Besides, what most people fail to understand is that there have been several instances where blu-ray unit keys were shared with UHD's. ;) TRY THEM ALL.


And why stop there? Disks that share Unit Keys are also likely to share Media Keys. (That's just a Fun Observation which is obviously outside the AACS spec.) And MakeMKV can tell you what the disk's VID is as well. We already know the algorithm to generate a VUK from Media Key and VID, and we can confirm our new VUK is correct by decrypting the Unit Keys inside Unit_Key_RO.inf to ensure that they're the ones we're expecting.


Again, we're not talking about people manually doing all this work. Plus the MK has to be in the KeyDB for this to work, and while that's true of some titles, it's not true for all, even when the unit keys are shared.


None of this needs a new option being added to Xreveal.

It does if you're NOT doing this manually! And most users are not going to because they don't really know how.

[George++]

It does if you're NOT doing this manually! And most users are not going to because they don't really know how.

Even if someone knows how to do the work the process works better if done by software. Manual can lead to incorrect results being entered into the DB.

[coopervid]

You misunderstand what we're talking about here. *WE* aren't doing anything. This is all done in the background by code in AnyDVD (and maybe Xreveal if that option is added). So "we're" not discovering anything. The program is.



When the option was designed for AnyDVD it was explained to me that it takes mere seconds to try ALL the unit keys. Besides, what most people fail to understand is that there have been several instances where blu-ray unit keys were shared with UHD's. ;) TRY THEM ALL.



Again, we're not talking about people manually doing all this work. Plus the MK has to be in the KeyDB for this to work, and while that's true of some titles, it's not true for all, even when the unit keys are shared.



It does if you're NOT doing this manually! And most users are not going to because they don't really know how.
100% agree and you explained it much better that I would have could. I was just waiting and stayed mum. Thanks! :thanks:

[coopervid]

Waiting 5 days to make a comment has rather blunted what I have to say, but what the hey.

Back in 2016 when SlySoft was deliberately destroyed by order of the US government the SS fora were still active, though not fully functional. That allowed us users to get info about what happened. And tell the devs we supported them.

That brought about the resurrection under the auspices of Red Fox - The Project after a delay. I remember RF was going to be immune from what happened to SS because there was no centralized point of contact with RF.

Well, the complete disappearance of the RF website and fora shows otherwise. Hopefully the deletion of the internet routing records also shows the user database went into oblivion as well. The "Power That Be" would dearly love to retrieve those records and prosecute any US member.

Don't worry George. You were just a forum member and even I was kept from any insights. I just tried to help forum members but was never a member of the "inner circle".

[MrPenguin]

Even if someone knows how to do the work the process works better if done by software. Manual can lead to incorrect results being entered into the DB.

That is where "findvuk validateDisc" comes in handy: it compares the disk's KEYDB entry with the contents of the physical disk, and then uploads validated information.

[coopervid]

That is where "findvuk validateDisc" comes in handy: it compares the disk's KEYDB entry with the contents of the physical disk, and then uploads validated information.

This is no help for the general user who just wants to have his disc decrypted. Sam already answered accordingly.

[MrPenguin]

You misunderstand what we're talking about here. *WE* aren't doing anything. This is all done in the background by code in AnyDVD (and maybe Xreveal if that option is added).
But now AnyDVD is no more, and Xreveal doesn't have any equivalent functionality. So your only current options are:

Hope that Xreveal does what you ask at some unspecified future time, or
Do something similar yourselves along the lines I've described.

And Xreveal only runs on Windows anyway. As a Linux user, I therefore automatically discount it as any kind of solution. ("Hi!", Mac users... ;))

Also, by the sounds of it, AnyDVD used to upload its results into its own database rather than the KEYDB database. It would be a shame if all the information in that private database has now been lost, but can only hope that it was added to the KEYDB database as well.

When the option was designed for AnyDVD it was explained to me that it takes mere seconds to try ALL the unit keys. Besides, what most people fail to understand is that there have been several instances where blu-ray unit keys were shared with UHD's. ;) TRY THEM ALL.
Sure, for a programmatic solution. But I was describing something that anyone who is so inclined could reasonably do "by hand" - and do right now.

Again, we're not talking about people manually doing all this work.
But I'm sure at least some people would find it educational while they're waiting for a "deus ex machina" to arrive.

Plus the MK has to be in the KeyDB for this to work, and while that's true of some titles, it's not true for all, even when the unit keys are shared.

A manual KEYDB entry containing just DiscID, Title, Date, VID and Unit Key(s) would be perfectly fine. "findvuk validateDisc" would happily upload just that much. Adding a Media Key (if available) and VUK too would just be a "nice to have".

And most users are not going to because they don't really know how.
"Not knowing how" is something that can be fixed. The real barrier here is refusing to learn.

[SamuriHL]

Even if someone knows how to do the work the process works better if done by software. Manual can lead to incorrect results being entered into the DB.

As mentioned it can be validated but why the hell would a user want to go through all the trouble when software can just try all the unit keys and validate a portion of an m2ts and validate the decrypted hash is correct in the blink of an eye, right?

100% agree and you explained it much better that I would have could. I was just waiting and stayed mum. Thanks! :thanks:

We'll get there. :)

That is where "findvuk validateDisc" comes in handy: it compares the disk's KEYDB entry with the contents of the physical disk, and then uploads validated information.

Sure it can do that. But that still requires more knowledge than the user may possess. It's much easier if, e.g. Xreveal can just scan all the unit keys in the keydb, try them, and validate a partial m2ts on the fly.

This is no help for the general user who just wants to have his disc decrypted. Sam already answered accordingly.

Right...which is what most people are after. I am, however, sympathetic to the cause of maintaining the keydb, so MrPenguin's point is NOT lost on me at all. It's just that the majority of users have no knowledge or desire to go down this path.

But now AnyDVD is no more, and Xreveal doesn't have any equivalent functionality. So your only current options are:

Hope that Xreveal does what you ask at some unspecified future time, or
Do something similar yourselves along the lines I've described.

And Xreveal only runs on Windows anyway. As a Linux user, I therefore automatically discount it as any kind of solution. ("Hi!", Mac users... ;))


I did mention I asked for this feature for Xreveal. ;) I've already coded my own solution back when the AnyDVD Scanner was alive but it became unnecessary when AnyDVD implemented their own version of it. The scanner wasn't ever designed to handle protections. It was a tool to scan discs that were unsupported by AnyDVD so the Redfox people could try and add keys for it. And to allow other users with the same disc to know they were in the same boat.

As for the Windows thing, that must have meant you discounted AnyDVD, as well, so this entire discussion is already moot from that perspective. I sympathize but we're trying to replace AnyDVD functionality here.


Also, by the sounds of it, AnyDVD used to upload its results into its own database rather than the KEYDB database. It would be a shame if all the information in that private database has now been lost.


Not exactly. AnyDVD used the KeyDB for most of its UHD support. When it validated a unit key, it uploaded it to its OPD as a sort of caching mechanism for other AnyDVD users that didn't have the KeyDB installed/configured properly. But the data that was uploaded was from the KeyDB. So nothing's really lost from that perspective.


Sure, for a programmatic solution. But I was describing something that anyone who is so inclined could reasonably do "by hand" - and do right now.


Sure, and most of "anyone who is so inclined" with that desire and knowledge already do, right? :)


But I'm sure at least some people would find it educational while they're waiting for a "deus ex machina" to arrive.


No argument there. I'm all for teaching people. But you'd have to make the tutorial on how to do it fairly straightforward and easy to follow in order to get as many people as possible to follow it. This is why automation tends to be better.


A manual KEYDB entry containing just DiscID, Title, Date, VID and Unit Key(s) would be perfectly fine. "findvuk validateDisc" would happily upload just that much. Adding a Media Key (if available) and VUK too would just be a "nice to have".


I would argue that adding the metadata like creation date, title info from the metadata.xml, etc to make it as complete as possible should also be done. Nice to have? Yes, but, we're advocating for being good stewards of the keydb aren't we? VUK and MK are less likely by most end users but the other stuff could be done.


"Not knowing how" is something that can be fixed. The real barrier here is refusing to learn.

Again, don't disagree at all. I'm an advocate of people being able to backup their legally purchased media that costs 3 arms, an eye, and 5 legs these days. Stuff ain't getting any cheaper, and the quality of the discs (the physical quality I mean) has been steadily degrading over time.

[MrPenguin]

As for the Windows thing, that must have meant you discounted AnyDVD, as well, so this entire discussion is already moot from that perspective. I sympathize but we're trying to replace AnyDVD functionality here.
So you're saying your replacement must be Windows-specific, just because AnyDVD was also Windows-specific? That doesn't make any sense. Personally. I consider "Windows-specific" to be a bug rather than a feature.

But the data that was uploaded was from the KeyDB. So nothing's really lost from that perspective.
But was anything new ever uploaded to KEYDB? A disk which is missing from KEYDB but which is discovered to use the same Unit Keys as an existing KEYDB entry sounds like it deserves a new KEYDB entry of its own.

Sure, and most of "anyone who is so inclined" with that desire and knowledge already do, right? :)
No idea. But I'm fairly sure that some people are likely looking for new solutions right now.

I would argue that adding the metadata like creation date, title info from the metadata.xml, etc to make it as complete as possible should also be done. Nice to have? Yes, but, we're advocating for being good stewards of the keydb aren't we?
I recommend trying FindVUK's new "validateDisc" mode, as it creates and uploads a new XML meta-entry rather than a "legacy entry". And yes, this does include the information you describe.

[SamuriHL]

So you're saying your replacement must be Windows-specific, just because AnyDVD was also Windows-specific? That doesn't make any sense. Personally. I consider "Windows-specific" to be a bug rather than a feature.


Nowhere did I say that it MUST be windows only. What I did say is that because I already used AnyDVD, the replacement CAN be windows only in my case. Note the difference here.


But was anything new ever uploaded to KEYDB? A disk which is missing from KEYDB but which is discovered to use the same Unit Keys as an existing KEYDB entry sounds like it deserves a new KEYDB entry of its own.


Not by Redfox, no. They had a strict policy against doing so. I asked. Many times. They said no. Clearly I agree it should be.


No idea. But I'm fairly sure that some people are likely looking for new solutions right now.


Which is why I want to improve the products out there that can be if the author is open to it. That does not preclude other options from being created/documented. IOW, just because if Xreveal adds functionality to try all the unit keys in the keydb with a particular unsupported disc, it doesn't mean other solutions aren't ALSO welcome, especially if they are cross platform.


I recommend trying FindVUK's new "validateDisc" mode, as it creates and uploads a new XML meta-entry rather than a "legacy entry". And yes, this does include the information you describe.

I have used it. Several times now. It's very handy. It doesn't entirely fit my particular use case, unfortunately. It's, admittedly, a very specific use case.

[MrPenguin]

Nowhere did I say that it MUST be windows only. What I did say is that because I already used AnyDVD, the replacement CAN be windows only in my case. Note the difference here.

It's not a helpful difference for MacOS and Linux users. I was almost pulling my hair out in frustration trying to upload new entries into the KEYDB database, back when I started playing with BluRays. Fortunately, I have since discovered that FindVUK works in wineconsole.

Not by Redfox, no. They had a strict policy against doing so. I asked. Many times. They said no. Clearly I agree it should be.
Sounds like there might be a legal subtlety involved. Did you suggest they write a line describing the current disk in libaacs format to Standard Ouput, which the user would need to append to their KEYDB.cfg file themselves? And then execute "findvuk validateDisc" as a separate step?

My understanding of Xreveal is that it advertises itself as a pure implementation of AACS. I suspect they've decided only to read libaacs format and not to write it - for legal reasons. However, since Xreveal is Windows-only their decisions will not affect me either way.

[SamuriHL]

It's not a helpful difference for MacOS and Linux users. I was almost pulling my hair out in frustration trying to upload new entries into the KEYDB database, back when I started playing with BluRays. Fortunately, I have since discovered that FindVUK works in wineconsole.


Then you need to take that up with the respective tool authors. What do you think I'm going to be able to do about it as an end user just looking for a tool to replace AnyDVD??? DVDFab works perfectly fine on Mac. As does MakeMKV (and linux). But those won't help you with KEYDB functions. The only way to upload to the KEYDB is through FindVUK.


Sounds like there might be a legal subtlety involved. Did you suggest they write a line describing the current disk in libaacs format to Standard Ouput, which the user would need to append to their KEYDB.cfg file themselves? And then execute "findvuk validateDisc" as a separate step?


They didn't use libaacs for anything. So that wouldn't have been an option, either. They just didn't want to deal with pushing keys to the KEYDB. Not that it matters now....they're gone.


My understanding of Xreveal is that it advertises itself as a pure implementation of AACS. I suspect they've decided only to read libaacs format and not to write it - for legal reasons. However, since Xreveal is Windows-only their decisions will not affect me either way.

Writing to the KEYDB requires FindVUK. There's no other way to submit a key. So it's likely more than "legal reasons" but you'd have to ask the author.

[Kju]

P.S. A note about AnyDVD's (future) usefulness as a BD tool. I'm sure right now it'll decrypt everything you throw at it. But there's two problems, both related to whenever a new MKB comes out. Currently as of this writing, v81. It's highly probable the next MKB revokes the host cert that AnyDVD is using for BD's. There are ways around that problem, although AnyDVD changed internally their blu-ray support in recent versions which is a shame. Once they revoke the host cert that AnyDVD is using and your drive's MKB is updated, well....being able to decrypt everything suddenly becomes more of an issue unless you work around that problem. The second is the device/processing key AnyDVD is using is also likely to get revoked. That will prevent AnyDVD from decrypting any future titles even if you work around the host cert revocation problem. Basically, AnyDVD has a shelf life.

I already had my first undecryptable BD. It's the german release of Suzume and uses MKB v81. Decryption with Xreveal works just fine.

I'm missing a message that XReveal is done. Right now it just closes and you must hope that it worked.

There was no such a message on AnyDVD either (for removed BDj protections). But I agree, it would be useful to know, if there is any kind of BD-J protection and if it has been removed. Until a few days ago, I didn't even know BD-J protections exist, except for Screen Pass Playlist Obfuscation, which doesn't matter in case of iso backups. So BD-J protections must always be removed, even if I want to play iso backups in VLC or OPPO Blu-ray Player/Clones, right?

I have done some tests with Xreveal. I noticed that the decrypted m2ts files are different from those created by AnyDVD. But the Xreveal m2ts files are the same as those created by MakeMKV backups. So it seams AnyDVD changes some bits. Does anyone know why?

A big downside of Xreveal for me: It doesn't check the checksums when creating a decrypted iso. So you have to backup a protected iso, check the iso, mount the iso and create the decrypted iso. At least creating the decrypted iso is much faster than with AnyDVD thanks to hardware acceleration.

[walstib]

Not sure if it was mentioned in this thread (searched, did not find), but is DeUHD still around/functioning? IIRC, they were the first to enable UHD backups, before MakeMKV and others. The last major release had added support to work around AACS2.1 which few discs used... In any case if it is still functional, that's another backup option for UHD

[SamuriHL]

Last updates on their website are from 2020. I believe they licensed their technology to DVDFab. Whether it'll still work or not, I have no idea. I never used it.

[DrinkLyeAndDie]

Not sure if it was mentioned in this thread (searched, did not find), but is DeUHD still around/functioning? IIRC, they were the first to enable UHD backups, before MakeMKV and others. The last major release had added support to work around AACS2.1 which few discs used... In any case if it is still functional, that's another backup option for UHD

Last updates on their website are from 2020. I believe they licensed their technology to DVDFab. Whether it'll still work or not, I have no idea. I never used it.

AFAIK it still is fully functioning although I haven't tried any brand new releases with it. It's another program that is internet connected so I don't know if anything has changed enough for it to actually require an update to the installed software.

[Jamie]

Any chance xreveal will block cinavia in the future? I haven't seen cinavia on new discs in a while but I have a number of old discs that contain cinavia

[kurkosdr]

Any chance xreveal will block cinavia in the future? I haven't seen cinavia on new discs in a while but I have a number of old discs that contain cinavia
Cinavia can't be "blocked", it's a form of distortion (or more accurately, distortion carrying modulated data) that is added to the signal at the analog level. Read up on steganography for more details. Also, Cinavia relies on reverb distortion to encode its data, which is very hard to filter without thrashing the audio.

The only way to remove Cinavia cleanly is to replace the audio track with a clean version of the audio track acquired from somewhere else (DVD-Video, IPTV, broadcast TV) which is what DVDFab can do for some Blu-ray titles and some languages (audio tracks). AnyDVD HD also removes Cinavia, but it filters the original signal and hence trashes the audio (RedFox themselves admitted that music present in Cinavia-infested audio tracks would sound weird after performing Cinavia removal using their software). Of course, if you want to remove Cinavia from an Blu-ray-audio track combination not supported by DVDFab, AnyDVD HD is a solution even if it trashes the audio.

But to answer your question, no Xreveal doesn't do Cinavia removal in any way, and since you can't buy AnyDVD HD anymore, you are out of luck if the Blu-ray-audio track combo you want is unsupported by DVDFab, maybe people here know of other Cinavia removal tools. In the past I've heard of a tool called CinEx HD, but don't know if you can still buy a copy (and where from) and how well it works, other people here may know.

[SamuriHL]

Or, you know, they could be referring to the feature in AnyDVD that prevents PowerDVD from detecting Cinavia instead of removing Cinavia, which AnyDVD by itself doesn't do. That only works in combination with CloneBD. The PowerDVD "block" works by modifying the running PowerDVD process I believe. But it's unclear what they're asking for.

[datman]

Sorry about posting off topic. I just wanted to put a pin in it. I have found Xreveal to be the answer for my needs now that anydvd and redfox are gone.

Initially I didn't have Xreveal set up properly I neglected to import the keys afterward it works perfectly the few times I've used.

[Jamie]

Or, you know, they could be referring to the feature in AnyDVD that prevents PowerDVD from detecting Cinavia instead of removing Cinavia, which AnyDVD by itself doesn't do. That only works in combination with CloneBD. The PowerDVD "block" works by modifying the running PowerDVD process I believe. But it's unclear what they're asking for.

Anydvd could block the cinavia signal on the fly in powerdvd decrypted disc without using clonebd . no degradation of audio. i believe that vlc, jriver, ad mpc-be may be able to ignore cinavia so it may not be much of a loss in xreveal

[SamuriHL]

Anydvd could block the cinavia signal on the fly without using clonebd in powerdvd for a decrypted disc. no degradation of audio. i believe that vlc, jriver, ad mpc-be may be able to ignore cinavia so it may not be much of a loss in xreveal

All correct. The PowerDVD feature is what I was referring to. I believe it patched PowerDVD in memory when AnyDVD was running and that feature was enabled. Better to use a non-cinavia compliant player IMO. Then it just ignores it.

[kurkosdr]

Anydvd could block the cinavia signal on the fly in powerdvd decrypted disc without using clonebd . no degradation of audio. i believe that vlc, jriver, ad mpc-be may be able to ignore cinavia so it may not be much of a loss in xreveal
Yeah, I didn't even know that feature even existed because I never use PowerDVD to watch titles that are infected with Cinavia. For Cinavia-infected titles, I just use PowerDVD to look around the menus and the extras, and then the main movie can be watched on any player that can play M2TS and the relevant codecs.

Cinavia is an issue mainly on standalone players.

[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.

Sent from my SM-S928U1 using Tapatalk

[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.

Sent from my SM-S928U1 using Tapatalk

[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.

Sent from my SM-S928U1 using Tapatalk

[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?

[Morku]

mount the protected iso and make an unprotected rip.


How do you do? After creating a protected ISO with content check, I have trouble to decrypt.
Using onboard Msft Virtual drive, it says "No protection found" and when try to copy, that "the drive is not activated" (but is).

So In installed WinCDEmu and it decrypt with keydb.db fine, but also say: "Drive doesn't support AACS-Auth!" which could become also a problem for other Discs.

[coopervid]

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?

Unfortunately no. I asked the author tectpro but he didn't save the pictures. I think about recreating the guide but it might take some time.

[coopervid]

How do you do? After creating a protected ISO with content check, I have trouble to decrypt.
Using onboard Msft Virtual drive, it says "No protection found" and when try to copy, that "the drive is not activated" (but is).

So In installed WinCDEmu and it decrypt with keydb.db fine, but also say: "Drive doesn't support AACS-Auth!" which could become also a problem for other Discs.

Use VCD:

https://www.elby.ch/de/download.html

[Morku]

Use VCD:

https://www.elby.ch/de/download.html

Shows the same alert:
Drive doesn't support AACS-Auth!

[WSC4]

Unfortunately no. I asked the author tectpro but he didn't save the pictures. I think about recreating the guide but it might take some time.

Thank you for the speedy reply.

That is a real shame that those images files were never saved to a backup drive.

There are 34 PNG images there. If you are thinking about recreating the guide, it will be an enormous task and quite time consuming.

In the meantime, at the RedFox thread, the Pioneer tools on the Pioneer webpage directed me to the firmware update for my Pioneer. I have never updated the firmware on this drive and will give it a go to see if it corrects BD-R DL discs. I'll keep you posted.

[Kju]

How do you do? After creating a protected ISO with content check, I have trouble to decrypt.
Using onboard Msft Virtual drive, it says "No protection found" and when try to copy, that "the drive is not activated" (but is).

So In installed WinCDEmu and it decrypt with keydb.db fine, but also say: "Drive doesn't support AACS-Auth!" which could become also a problem for other Discs.

I use Virtual CloneDrive to mount the protected isos. It's exactly the same as it was with AnyDVD protected rips. Never had any issues with that.

[SamuriHL]

Shows the same alert:

Drive doesn't support AACS-Auth!That alert is meaningless on a virtual drive. It's a correct message but does not prevent decryption.

Sent from my SM-S928U1 using Tapatalk

[WSC4]

I have never updated the firmware on this drive and will give it a go to see if it corrects BD-R DL discs. I'll keep you posted.

It did not help. The firmware update fine, but burning still fails.

[coopervid]

Thank you for the speedy reply.

That is a real shame that those images files were never saved to a backup drive.

There are 34 PNG images there. If you are thinking about recreating the guide, it will be an enormous task and quite time consuming.

In the meantime, at the RedFox thread, the Pioneer tools on the Pioneer webpage directed me to the firmware update for my Pioneer. I have never updated the firmware on this drive and will give it a go to see if it corrects BD-R DL discs. I'll keep you posted.

DO NOT UPDATE YOUR PIONEER FIRMWARE!

Just send me a PM here.

[coopervid]

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?



I have created a compact version of the "spare area guide" without all the test results.

You can download it here:

https://mega.nz/file/3EJUQQCb#zWko4LjSVh0w1s3naQc-HdQTwf_SXHESr5e_ymINR1o

[WSC4]

DO NOT UPDATE YOUR PIONEER FIRMWARE!

It is too late. I only just read your post this morning. The firmware was 1.50. It is now firmware 1.54 dated updated May 8, 2023. It states: Once updated to version 1.54, this drive will not revert to older firmware versions.

I did hesitate about this, and I do remember reading a long time ago that updating firmware will wreck AnyDVD, Xreveal et cetera.

Is this true?

[SamuriHL]

Yup. Anything newer than December 2022 is no longer LibreDrive enabled. And no, you can't downgrade it.

[coopervid]

It is too late. I only just read your post this morning. The firmware was 1.50. It is now firmware 1.54 dated updated May 8, 2023. It states: Once updated to version 1.54, this drive will not revert to older firmware versions.

I did hesitate about this, and I do remember reading a long time ago that updating firmware will wreck AnyDVD, Xreveal et cetera.

Is this true?

You just ruined your drive regarding ripping UHDs. If you look for a reasonable priced replacement then read your PM.

[Lessee]

Is it possible to install AnyDVD and Xreveal in parallel? I'd like to test Xreveal but don't want to remove Any as I'm not sure if a reinstallation would succeed.

[Kju]

Is it possible to install AnyDVD and Xreveal in parallel? I'd like to test Xreveal but don't want to remove Any as I'm not sure if a reinstallation would succeed.

Yes, but only one program should run at the time.

[Lessee]

Yes, but only one program should run at the time.
Thank you.

[WSC4]

You just ruined your drive regarding ripping UHDs.

You are correct. I got out a 4K UHD movie from my library and now this from AnyDVD:

AACS MKB version 61
UHD Blu-ray disc.
Drive supports bus encryption!
Disc wants bus encryption!
DRIVE NOT SUPPORTED BY MAKEMKV LIBREDRIVE!
ERROR: AnyDVD bus decryption failed! Please reinsert disc!
ERROR processing Blu-ray disc!

And this from the latest MakeMKV:

Error 'Scsi error - ILLEGAL REQUEST:COPY PROTECTION KEY EXCHANGE FAILURE - KEY NOT ESTABLISHED' occurred while issuing SCSI command AD010..080002400 to device 'SPTI:\Device\CdRom0'
Can't read AACS VID from disc - most likely current AACS host certificate is revoked by your drive
LibreDrive compatible drive is required to open this disc- video can't be decrypted.
Failed to open disc.

I could just cry. That stupid firmware upgrade has just cost me $160. I have seen your PM and will think about it.

[SamuriHL]

It's a hard lesson. People should NOT, under ANY circumstances unless instructed to by someone who knows EXACTLY what they are talking about, install a firmware for a Pioneer drive. At all. it's a really ugly situation to be sure.

[jayper]

If I have some unprotected ISOs, created with AnyDVD, is there a way that I can extract the backed up AACS folder and use it to perform a hash check of the files?

[SamuriHL]

Unlikely that any tools would support it at present. Technically probably possible as they contain hashes of both encrypted and decrypted blocks from what I understand. But if you restore the AACS folder, then most protection removal programs will assume it's encrypted and try to decrypt it, thus corrupting the streams. I don't know this for sure, I'm guessing here, but, it seems highly likely it works like I just described. You'd need a tool that can accept that there's an AACS directory and also check the decrypted hashes.

[jayper]

Unlikely that any tools would support it at present. Technically probably possible as they contain hashes of both encrypted and decrypted blocks from what I understand. But if you restore the AACS folder, then most protection removal programs will assume it's encrypted and try to decrypt it, thus corrupting the streams. I don't know this for sure, I'm guessing here, but, it seems highly likely it works like I just described. You'd need a tool that can accept that there's an AACS directory and also check the decrypted hashes.
Ah, that makes sense. Appreciate it!

[SamuriHL]

Alternatively, after thinking about this some more, if Xreveal's hash tool could recognize the renamed AACS directory, it might be able to perform that. You should email the author and ask him if this is a use case he could cater to.

[Kju]

[...]Technically probably possible as they contain hashes of both encrypted and decrypted blocks from what I understand.[...]

I don't think, that's true. Look at chapter 2.3.2.1: https://aacsla.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/AACS_Spec_BD_Prerecorded.921.pdf

A hash value for each hash unit of Clip AV stream is calculated using the SHA-1 hashing function as defined in
the below equation. If the data is encrypted, the encrypted data itself is used as an input to the hashing function,
so that the player needs not to decrypt the data before calculating a hash value.

So it is not possible to check the integrity of a unprotected rip with the Content Hash Tables. You can only validate the encrypted data you read. You can assume, your decrypted data is correct, if the decryption happens right after reading and validating the encrypted data from disc. Errors in decryption process may happen, but are unlikely if your PC works reliably.

I store a file hash with my iso rips. AnyDVD can create a md5 hash while it is ripping your disc. For Xreveal you have to create your own hash.

[Treaties Of Warp]

̶B̶u̶t̶ ̶w̶h̶y̶ ̶"̶R̶e̶m̶o̶v̶e̶d̶ ̶o̶p̶t̶i̶o̶n̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶r̶e̶m̶o̶v̶e̶ ̶B̶D̶+̶"̶?̶

̶W̶o̶a̶h̶,̶ ̶w̶h̶a̶t̶'̶s̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶?̶ ̶I̶s̶ ̶X̶r̶e̶v̶e̶a̶l̶ ̶n̶o̶ ̶l̶o̶n̶g̶e̶r̶ ̶h̶a̶n̶d̶l̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶B̶D̶+̶?̶ ̶W̶h̶y̶?̶ :scared:

[Treaties Of Warp]

Edit - the below contains information that I misinterpreted. I apologize for my confusion!

https://i.imgur.com/ubzxsRS.png

V̶e̶r̶y̶ ̶d̶i̶s̶a̶p̶p̶o̶i̶n̶t̶e̶d̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶s̶e̶e̶ ̶X̶r̶e̶v̶e̶a̶l̶ ̶g̶o̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶r̶o̶u̶t̶e̶.̶ ̶I̶ ̶w̶a̶s̶ ̶h̶o̶p̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶w̶a̶s̶ ̶t̶r̶u̶l̶y̶ ̶g̶o̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶b̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶r̶e̶p̶l̶a̶c̶e̶m̶e̶n̶t̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶A̶n̶y̶D̶V̶D̶,̶ ̶b̶u̶t̶ ̶I̶ ̶g̶u̶e̶s̶s̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶i̶s̶n̶'̶t̶ ̶g̶o̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶b̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶c̶a̶s̶e̶.̶

N̶O̶T̶I̶C̶E̶ ̶T̶O̶ ̶E̶V̶E̶R̶Y̶O̶N̶E̶,̶ ̶i̶f̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶ ̶n̶e̶e̶d̶ ̶a̶n̶y̶ ̶B̶D̶+̶ ̶d̶e̶c̶r̶y̶p̶t̶i̶o̶n̶ ̶d̶o̶n̶e̶,̶ ̶e̶i̶t̶h̶e̶r̶ ̶s̶t̶i̶c̶k̶ ̶w̶i̶t̶h̶ ̶X̶r̶e̶v̶e̶a̶l̶ ̶2̶.̶6̶.̶8̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶d̶o̶n̶'̶t̶ ̶u̶p̶d̶a̶t̶e̶,̶ ̶o̶r̶ ̶g̶o̶ ̶w̶i̶t̶h̶ ̶P̶a̶s̶s̶k̶e̶y̶,̶ ̶o̶r̶ ̶M̶a̶k̶e̶M̶K̶V̶.̶

[SamuriHL]

I don't think, that's true. Look at chapter 2.3.2.1: https://aacsla.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/AACS_Spec_BD_Prerecorded.921.pdf



So it is not possible to check the integrity of a unprotected rip with the Content Hash Tables. You can only validate the encrypted data you read. You can assume, your decrypted data is correct, if the decryption happens right after reading and validating the encrypted data from disc. Errors in decryption process may happen, but are unlikely if your PC works reliably.

I store a file hash with my iso rips. AnyDVD can create a md5 hash while it is ripping your disc. For Xreveal you have to create your own hash.

I'll read the document I have again when I get a free minute (won't be soon) but I could have sworn they had hashes for both encrypted and decrypted stored. The encrypted hashes to be used exactly as you describe but I was pretty sure they had decrypted hashes, as well. I could very well be misremembering.

[SamuriHL]

https://i.imgur.com/ubzxsRS.png

Very disappointed to see Xreveal going this route. I was hoping this was truly going to be the replacement for AnyDVD, but I guess that isn't going to be the case.

NOTICE TO EVERYONE, if you need any BD+ decryption done, either stick with Xreveal 2.6.8 and don't update, or go with Passkey, or MakeMKV.

There are NO new BD+ discs being released. AnyDVD dumped all the BD+ stuff into an external database that you could download, that's how dead BD+ is. So this isn't some major issue where you're no longer going to be able to deal with BD+ discs....if you have AnyDVD, you already can deal with all the BD+ discs there will be.

[Treaties Of Warp]

Edit - the below contains information that I misinterpreted. I apologize for my confusion!

̶N̶o̶t̶ ̶e̶v̶e̶r̶y̶o̶n̶e̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶u̶s̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶s̶o̶f̶t̶w̶a̶r̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶w̶a̶y̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶ ̶a̶r̶e̶.̶ ̶N̶o̶t̶ ̶e̶v̶e̶r̶y̶o̶n̶e̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶d̶e̶c̶r̶y̶p̶t̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶o̶n̶l̶y̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶l̶a̶t̶e̶s̶t̶ ̶d̶i̶s̶c̶s̶.̶ ̶J̶u̶s̶t̶ ̶b̶e̶c̶a̶u̶s̶e̶ ̶B̶D̶+̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶n̶o̶t̶ ̶b̶e̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶u̶s̶e̶d̶ ̶a̶n̶y̶m̶o̶r̶e̶ ̶d̶o̶e̶s̶n̶'̶t̶ ̶m̶e̶a̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶n̶o̶b̶o̶d̶y̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶g̶o̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶e̶v̶e̶r̶ ̶w̶a̶n̶t̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶d̶e̶c̶r̶y̶p̶t̶ ̶a̶ ̶d̶i̶s̶c̶ ̶w̶i̶t̶h̶ ̶B̶D̶+̶.̶ ̶I̶ ̶c̶l̶e̶a̶r̶l̶y̶ ̶s̶a̶i̶d̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶i̶f̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶ ̶h̶a̶v̶e̶ ̶d̶i̶s̶c̶s̶ ̶w̶i̶t̶h̶ ̶B̶D̶+̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶'̶d̶ ̶l̶i̶k̶e̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶d̶e̶c̶r̶y̶p̶t̶,̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶n̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶ ̶s̶h̶o̶u̶l̶d̶ ̶s̶t̶i̶c̶k̶ ̶w̶i̶t̶h̶ ̶X̶r̶e̶v̶e̶a̶l̶ ̶2̶.̶6̶.̶8̶,̶ ̶o̶r̶ ̶m̶a̶k̶e̶ ̶s̶u̶r̶e̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶ ̶h̶a̶v̶e̶ ̶P̶a̶s̶s̶k̶e̶y̶ ̶o̶r̶ ̶M̶a̶k̶e̶M̶K̶V̶,̶ ̶b̶e̶c̶a̶u̶s̶e̶ ̶A̶n̶y̶D̶V̶D̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶d̶e̶a̶d̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶i̶f̶ ̶i̶t̶ ̶n̶e̶e̶d̶s̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶c̶o̶n̶t̶a̶c̶t̶ ̶a̶ ̶s̶e̶r̶v̶e̶r̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶a̶n̶y̶ ̶r̶e̶a̶s̶o̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶n̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶'̶r̶e̶ ̶g̶o̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶b̶e̶ ̶S̶O̶L̶.̶

̶Y̶o̶u̶ ̶m̶a̶y̶ ̶b̶e̶ ̶f̶i̶n̶e̶ ̶w̶i̶t̶h̶ ̶X̶r̶e̶v̶e̶a̶l̶ ̶r̶e̶m̶o̶v̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶B̶D̶+̶ ̶d̶e̶c̶r̶y̶p̶t̶i̶o̶n̶,̶ ̶b̶u̶t̶ ̶I̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶o̶n̶e̶ ̶w̶a̶s̶ ̶h̶o̶p̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶i̶t̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶b̶e̶ ̶a̶ ̶t̶o̶t̶a̶l̶ ̶s̶o̶l̶u̶t̶i̶o̶n̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶r̶e̶p̶l̶a̶c̶e̶m̶e̶n̶t̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶A̶n̶y̶D̶V̶D̶,̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶I̶'̶m̶ ̶d̶i̶s̶a̶p̶p̶o̶i̶n̶t̶e̶d̶ ̶w̶i̶t̶h̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶d̶i̶r̶e̶c̶t̶i̶o̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶a̶u̶t̶h̶o̶r̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶t̶a̶k̶i̶n̶g̶.̶ ̶I̶f̶ ̶h̶e̶'̶s̶ ̶r̶e̶m̶o̶v̶e̶d̶ ̶a̶ ̶n̶e̶c̶e̶s̶s̶a̶r̶y̶ ̶f̶u̶n̶c̶t̶i̶o̶n̶,̶ ̶I̶ ̶h̶a̶v̶e̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶w̶o̶n̶d̶e̶r̶ ̶w̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶g̶o̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶b̶e̶ ̶r̶e̶m̶o̶v̶e̶d̶ ̶n̶e̶x̶t̶.̶

̶P̶e̶o̶p̶l̶e̶ ̶s̶h̶o̶u̶l̶d̶ ̶b̶e̶ ̶a̶w̶a̶r̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶X̶r̶e̶v̶e̶a̶l̶ ̶c̶a̶n̶ ̶n̶o̶w̶ ̶n̶o̶ ̶l̶o̶n̶g̶e̶r̶ ̶h̶a̶n̶d̶l̶e̶ ̶a̶n̶y̶ ̶d̶i̶s̶c̶s̶ ̶f̶r̶o̶m̶ ̶2̶0̶1̶7̶ ̶o̶r̶ ̶e̶a̶r̶l̶i̶e̶r̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶h̶a̶v̶e̶ ̶B̶D̶+̶ ̶p̶r̶o̶t̶e̶c̶t̶i̶o̶n̶,̶ ̶a̶s̶ ̶i̶t̶ ̶m̶a̶y̶ ̶a̶f̶f̶e̶c̶t̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶i̶r̶ ̶d̶e̶c̶i̶s̶i̶o̶n̶ ̶a̶s̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶w̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶s̶o̶f̶t̶w̶a̶r̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶y̶ ̶c̶h̶o̶o̶s̶e̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶i̶r̶ ̶n̶e̶e̶d̶s̶.̶

[Kju]

https://i.imgur.com/ubzxsRS.png

Very disappointed to see Xreveal going this route. I was hoping this was truly going to be the replacement for AnyDVD, but I guess that isn't going to be the case.

NOTICE TO EVERYONE, if you need any BD+ decryption done, either stick with Xreveal 2.6.8 and don't update, or go with Passkey, or MakeMKV.

That's not what that means! They only removed the option to not remove BD+. Now BD+ protection is always removed together with AACS protection! (what makes sense, I guess)

You can still specify the path to your BD+ Fixup Table and if you insert a BD+ disc it still shows "Removed BD+ protection."

[Kju]

I'll read the document I have again when I get a free minute (won't be soon) but I could have sworn they had hashes for both encrypted and decrypted stored. The encrypted hashes to be used exactly as you describe but I was pretty sure they had decrypted hashes, as well. I could very well be misremembering.

I would be surprised if this were the case. At least it can not be in the ContentHash.tbl

I took an iso and compared the size of the STREAM dir with the expected and actual ContentHash.tbl file size:

STREAM dir size: ~22,1GiB = 23766153216B
ContentHash000.tbl: 967276B

Calculation (ignoring non checksummed "stream padding" [less than 96 sectors] and ContentHash.tbl Header):
( [STREAM size] / [Sector size] / [sectors per hash] ) * [Bytes of Hash]
( 23766153216B / 2048B / 96 ) * 8B = 967047,25B

That is a very good estimate and there is no space for more hashes in the file.

If there is another file with actual hashes of the decrypted data, please let me know. I would be very happy to write a tool to check the integrity of unprotected isos. :)

[SamuriHL]

I would be surprised if this were the case. At least it can not be in the ContentHash.tbl

I took an iso and compared the size of the STREAM dir with the expected and actual ContentHash.tbl file size:

STREAM dir size: ~22,1GiB = 23766153216B
ContentHash000.tbl: 967276B

Calculation (ignoring non checksummed "stream padding" [less than 96 sectors] and ContentHash.tbl Header):
( [STREAM size] / [Sector size] / [sectors per hash] ) * [Bytes of Hash]
( 23766153216B / 2048B / 96 ) * 8B = 967047,25B

That is a very good estimate and there is no space for more hashes in the file.

If there is another file with actual hashes of the decrypted data, please let me know. I would be very happy to write a tool to check the integrity of unprotected isos. :)

I'll have a look when I get a free minute at the docs I had kicking around on this topic. Like I said, it's VERY possible I'm misremembering how it works. It's been a while since I last looked at it.

[SamuriHL]

Not everyone is using the software the way you are. Not everyone is decrypting only the latest discs. Just because BD+ is not being used anymore doesn't mean that nobody is going to ever want to decrypt a disc with BD+. I clearly said that if you have discs with BD+ that you'd like to decrypt, then you should stick with Xreveal 2.6.8, or make sure you have Passkey or MakeMKV, because AnyDVD is dead and if it needs to contact a server for any reason than you're going to be SOL.

You may be fine with Xreveal removing BD+ decryption, but I for one was hoping for it to be a total solution and replacement for AnyDVD, and I'm disappointed with the direction the author is taking. If he's removed a necessary function, I have to wonder what is going to be removed next.

People should be aware that Xreveal can now no longer handle any discs from 2017 or earlier that have BD+ protection, as it may affect their decision as to what software they choose for their needs.

As mentioned above, clearly he didn't. Can I ask a question? Did you actually TRY a BD+ disc with the new version before you raised the war flag? I don't deal with BD's anymore so I didn't.

[Grimsdyke]

Some people are to smart to test ...

[Treaties Of Warp]

That's not what that means! They only removed the option to not remove BD+. Now BD+ protection is always removed together with AACS protection! (what makes sense, I guess)

You can still specify the path to your BD+ Fixup Table and if you insert a BD+ disc it still shows "Removed BD+ protection."

Before I came back here I was thinking that that might have been what he meant. I'm pleased to find out that I screwed up and that was indeed the case!

I apologize for my confusion! :o

[SamuriHL]

All good! At least we know the product is improving rather than devolving. The author of Xreveal is a really good guy so I don't see him screwing customers over. He's genuinely trying to make Xreveal better.

[jayper]

I'll have a look when I get a free minute at the docs I had kicking around on this topic. Like I said, it's VERY possible I'm misremembering how it works. It's been a while since I last looked at it.
Following on to this. I heard back from the Xreveal author about my question, which was:

I was curious if there might be a possibility to add a feature to the Content Hash Verifier application (standalone or integrated in Xreveal).

I have a collection of unprotected/decrypted ISO files. They were created with AnyDVD. Is there a way that I might be able to use the Content Hash Verifier app to validate the ISOs?

This is how they replied:

It's possible only when:
1). ANY!/FAB!/XRVL folder is exists to read content hash info.
2). The UKs (unit keys) are known to do RE-AACS (encrypt decrypted m2ts to encrypted m2ts).
3). It's possible to restore decrypted m2ts back to original encrypted m2ts
1. The disc doesn't contain the BD+ protection (because after patched by FUT, it's impossible to restore back to original encrypted m2ts).
2. The CCI (copy control information) is not removed (because after removed CCI, it's impossible to restore back to original encrypted m2ts).
3. No Blu-ray subtitle processing (subtitle position or transparency)

I had checked AnyDVD's settings, it seems there is no option to disable "Remove CCI (copy control information)". If AnyDVD is forced to remove CCI, it's impossible to verify content hash of ISOs created by AnyDVD anymore.

Sharing with the group in case this is helpful. Does anyone know of a way to re-encrypt? Seems like a lot of work, but it's likely faster than re-ripping all of my collection, just to verify rip integrity.

[Kju]

lol, I actually created a short program yesterday, which reencrypts the m2ts files and sets the encrypted bit. I used the keydb file to get the VUK. The process to decrypt and encrypt the m2ts is described in my linked pdf in post #273. Chapter 3.9 and 3.10.
The encrypted m2ts matches the original m2ts file from the protected disc, as long as the decrypted m2ts file was created by Xreveal or Makemkv.

As the Xreveal author noticed too, AnyDVD always removes CCI. That's why I noticed some differences in my unprotected rips when I tested Xreveal:

I have done some tests with Xreveal. I noticed that the decrypted m2ts files are different from those created by AnyDVD. But the Xreveal m2ts files are the same as those created by MakeMKV backups. So it seams AnyDVD changes some bits. Does anyone know why?


I thought about skipping those MPEG Transport packets with embedded CCI when validating the data, but I don't like that idea. Also, I still don't know how to decode the payload of the MPEG transport packets to identify those packets containing CCI. Looking for the 0x88 descriptor tag is not enough.

[SamuriHL]

Well ain't that fun. :)

[jayper]

Noticed this on the Xreveal site today:

[2024-08-26 supplemented]
We made two small utilities to encrypt/decrypt m2ts: https://www.xreveal.com/download/encrypt_m2ts.zip
If the disc contains more than more unit keys, you need to determine which one the right unit key. It can be determined by checking the first content hash of m2ts.

[jayper]

Also... should we create an Xreveal thread?

[Shinobi]

coopervid, could you please be so kind to send me a PM as well?

[Shinobi]

lol, I actually created a short program yesterday, which reencrypts the m2ts files and sets the encrypted bit. I used the keydb file to get the VUK. The process to decrypt and encrypt the m2ts is described in my linked pdf in post #273. Chapter 3.9 and 3.10.
The encrypted m2ts matches the original m2ts file from the protected disc, as long as the decrypted m2ts file was created by Xreveal or Makemkv.

That's exactly what I was trying to achieve as well in the last weeks.
Unfortunately it seems I did not manage to read this very pdf as carefully as you seem to have done. ;)

Would it be ok for you to send me your source code so that I can see where I took a wrong turn? :)

As the Xreveal author noticed too, AnyDVD always removes CCI. That's why I noticed some differences in my unprotected rips when I tested Xreveal

I truly loved AnyDVD and I can't thank it's programmers enough for what they've achieved, but that's the one thing that was always bugging me about it:
That the program was doing more in the background than just decrypting. I do not doubt in the slightest that the AnyDVD team had the best intentions at heart, however IMHO it made validating an unprotected rip more or less impossible.

(Of course, you could make a protected rip first, test it and then make an unprotected rip, but that's a lot of extra-work and it still leaves a very slight risk of data corruption going unnoticed ...)

I thought about skipping those MPEG Transport packets with embedded CCI when validating the data, but I don't like that idea. Also, I still don't know how to decode the payload of the MPEG transport packets to identify those packets containing CCI. Looking for the 0x88 descriptor tag is not enough.

Yep, that's something I've been trying to achieve in the past weeks as well. ;)
Hopefully a solution can be found in the not so distant future! :)

[Shinobi]

So I have now tried twice to post a more lengthy reply to this thread but failed again. :confused:

Not sure if I should hope that both messages resurface as they more or less contain the same message but with rather different wording ...

[coopervid]

coopervid, could you please be so kind to send me a PM as well?

Test message sent.

[Shinobi]

I've indeed received your Test-PM, but it seems that I'm unable to reply to it? (Again I failed twice in this.)

[coopervid]

I've indeed received your Test-PM, but it seems that I'm unable to reply to it? (Again I failed twice in this.)

Some forums - and I think this is alike - require that you have a minimum number of posts before you are allowed to send PMs.

[Shinobi]

This may well be, though in the forums I was active in a long time ago this was rather a non-issue, as it might encourage mindless post-slutting. ;)

Guess I'll find out when I'll be able to post longer texts and/or send PMs! :)

[coopervid]

This may well be, though in the forums I was active in a long time ago this was rather a non-issue, as it might encourage mindless post-slutting. ;)

Guess I'll find out when I'll be able to post longer texts and/or send PMs! :)

Just do some dummy posts to find out.

[Shinobi]

lol, I actually created a short program yesterday, which reencrypts the m2ts files and sets the encrypted bit. I used the keydb file to get the VUK. The process to decrypt and encrypt the m2ts is described in my linked pdf in post #273. Chapter 3.9 and 3.10.
The encrypted m2ts matches the original m2ts file from the protected disc, as long as the decrypted m2ts file was created by Xreveal or Makemkv.

That's exactly what I was trying to achieve as well in the last weeks.
Unfortunately it seems I did not manage to read this very pdf as carefully as you seem to have done. ;)

Would it be ok for you to send me your source code so that I can see where I took a wrong turn? :)

As the Xreveal author noticed too, AnyDVD always removes CCI. That's why I noticed some differences in my unprotected rips when I tested Xreveal

I truly loved AnyDVD and I can't thank it's programmers enough for what they've achieved, but that's the one thing that was always bugging me about it:
That the program was doing more in the background than just decrypting. I do not doubt in the slightest that the AnyDVD team had the best intentions at heart, however IMHO it made validating an unprotected rip more or less impossible.

(Of course, you could make a protected rip first, test it and then make an unprotected rip, but that's a lot of extra-work and it still leaves a very slight risk of data corruption going unnoticed ...)

I thought about skipping those MPEG Transport packets with embedded CCI when validating the data, but I don't like that idea. Also, I still don't know how to decode the payload of the MPEG transport packets to identify those packets containing CCI. Looking for the 0x88 descriptor tag is not enough.

Yep, that's something I've been trying to achieve in the past weeks as well. ;)
Hopefully a solution can be found in the not so distant future! :)

[Shinobi]

Allright my first lengthy posting worked out now, sending PMs still seems to be blocked.
I'll try to increase my Posting count. ;)

[coopervid]

Allright my first lengthy posting worked out now, sending PMs still seems to be blocked.
I'll try to increase my Posting count. ;)

I received 2 PM's from you. So issue seems to be resolved.

[Kju]

Would it be ok for you to send me your source code so that I can see where I took a wrong turn? :)

As a big open source fan, I'm good with that. What steps are you particularly interested in? My code is mostly a mess because i've done a lot of testing. Maybe I'll do some code cleanup this weekend and post a complete example on Github.


[...] however IMHO it made validating an unprotected rip more or less impossible.

(Of course, you could make a protected rip first, test it and then make an unprotected rip, but that's a lot of extra-work and it still leaves a very slight risk of data corruption going unnoticed ...)

AnyDVD validates the content even in an unprotected rip, so this workaround isn't necessary for AnyDVD. However, for Xreveal you have to do that.

But if you want to check your rips later, it's not that easy. That's why I save a md5 hash with all my ISOs. Also everything is stored on a filesystem with builtin checksums.



Yep, that's something I've been trying to achieve in the past weeks as well.
Hopefully a solution can be found in the not so distant future!

Well, there isn't much we can do. Actually it's even worse, because you can't just skip those MPEG Transport packets with embedded CCI. You need to skip the rest of the Aligned Unit from that point. Everything that comes after the changed part doesn't transform into the original ciphertext, due to how AES-CBC works. After a short calculation that's up to 4-5% which can't be checked.

[jayper]

lol, I actually created a short program yesterday, which reencrypts the m2ts files and sets the encrypted bit. I used the keydb file to get the VUK. The process to decrypt and encrypt the m2ts is described in my linked pdf in post #273. Chapter 3.9 and 3.10.
The encrypted m2ts matches the original m2ts file from the protected disc, as long as the decrypted m2ts file was created by Xreveal or Makemkv.


That's exactly what I was trying to achieve as well in the last weeks.
Unfortunately it seems I did not manage to read this very pdf as carefully as you seem to have done. ;)


Just a heads up in case it is helpful to you two. The Xreveal author created applications to encrypt and decrypt. I posted this yesterday, but sharing in case it was missed:

We made two small utilities to encrypt/decrypt m2ts: https://www.xreveal.com/download/encrypt_m2ts.zip
If the disc contains more than more unit keys, you need to determine which one the right unit key. It can be determined by checking the first content hash of m2ts.

[Shinobi]

Just a heads up in case it is helpful to you two. The Xreveal author created applications to encrypt and decrypt. I posted this yesterday, but sharing in case it was missed:

Seen and already tested, thank you very much for pointing this out! :)

As a big open source fan, I'm good with that. What steps are you particularly interested in? My code is mostly a mess because i've done a lot of testing. Maybe I'll do some code cleanup this weekend and post a complete example on Github.

That would be awesome!
Honestly I don't know where exactly I messed up, so I'd really love to hava a look at a working code and see what's wrong. Maybe it's just a stupid little error, maybe it's the whole code. With this encryption/decryption stuff you never know how close you actually are as long as you haven't got it to work!

AnyDVD validates the content even in an unprotected rip, so this workaround isn't necessary for AnyDVD. However, for Xreveal you have to do that. Excellent to know!

But if you want to check your rips later, it's not that easy. That's why I save a md5 hash with all my ISOs. Also everything is stored on a filesystem with builtin checksums. Similar here. ;)

Well, there isn't much we can do. Actually it's even worse, because you can't just skip those MPEG Transport packets with embedded CCI. You need to skip the rest of the Aligned Unit from that point. Everything that comes after the changed part doesn't transform into the original ciphertext, due to how AES-CBC works. After a short calculation that's up to 4-5% which can't be checked.

The way I see it there must be a way to identify these MPEG Transport packets, fix the CCI values and go on with it.
Otherwise it will indeed be impossible to validate anything after such a packet in an aligned unit!

[Shinobi]

I received 2 PM's from you. So issue seems to be resolved.

Now that's interesting as according to my profile I actually never sent any PMs at all (even though I did). :confused:

Now that it seems to be working, Could you be so kind and send me a PM with a bit more "content"? :)

[Kju]

Just a heads up in case it is helpful to you two. The Xreveal author created applications to encrypt and decrypt. I posted this yesterday, but sharing in case it was missed:

Yes, I saw that. But it only encrypt and decrypt m2ts files. And it looks like you have to supply the Unit Keys (there can be many different Unit Keys in one Blu-ray) and they need do be decrypted already. And it's closed source, so it's difficult to use in your own projects. :)

My script reads the complete Unit_Key_RO.inf file and automatically selects the correct Unit Key for each file and decrypts it by using the VUK. After that it iterates over the available m2ts files and encrypt or decrypt the files sector by sector. That allows me to compare the data with the hash from the hash table without saving the encrypted m2ts file again.

After writing about it, I think, I will complete the program with automatically getting VUK from keydb file and do the actual hash comparison (haven't implemented that yet). I still don't know, if I need this script, because I can't check AnyDVD dumps with it, but it was a fun side project until know and I learned a lot about AACS. :)

[Kju]

The way I see it there must be a way to identify these MPEG Transport packets, fix the CCI values and go on with it.
Otherwise it will indeed be impossible to validate anything after such a packet in an aligned unit!

I don't know, if this is possible. I was trying exactly the same. This is a hex diff of one MPEG Transport packet with embedded CCI:

< 000000d0: 00f0 01f0 0c05 0448 444d 5688 040f fffc .......HDMV.....
---
> 000000d0: 00f0 01f0 0c05 0448 444d 5688 040f ffff .......HDMV.....
16c16
< 000000f0: 82f1 00f0 00fc 1824 9aff ffff ffff ffff .......$........
---
> 000000f0: 82f1 00f0 00ec 5ee1 3bff ffff ffff ffff ......^.;.......


The first change is just the changed CCI flag: 00 vs 11.
The second change is a bit more complex and I don't think it will be possible to revert that change. But I haven't been able to decode the data yet, so maybe it's possible to guess how the original data might have looked like. Then you could try to validate a few guessed variations and if the hash matches, you found the original data. But that is only feasible if there aren't many possible variations... And I highly doubt that this is the case.

[Shinobi]

Hopefully with sufficient data, patterns emerge and it will be possible to undo these changes.

Also these changes have a specific reason and - if I understand this correctly - influence the behavior of the software playing these files.
So this should give additional leverage to finding a solution as well. ;)

We'll see ... :)

[coopervid]

Now that's interesting as according to my profile I actually never sent any PMs at all (even though I did). :confused:

Now that it seems to be working, Could you be so kind and send me a PM with a bit more "content"? :)
PM me.I don't know what kind of content you expect. My crystal ball seems to be dull. :)

[Shinobi]

Message sent, though I don't know if it worked.
I still cannot find any messages in my sent folder ...

[coopervid]

Message sent, though I don't know if it worked.
I still cannot find any messages in my sent folder ...

I replied.

[Shinobi]

Thank you very much, you should have a reply! :)

[coopervid]

Thank you very much, you should have a reply! :)
U2. Check and reply.

[coricopat]

Uhm... not sure if I got the above conversation right... is anyone working on an (opensource) Content Hash Table verifier? I would actually not mind if it would need the encrypted files.

[Shinobi]

Uhm... not sure if I got the above conversation right... is anyone working on an (opensource) Content Hash Table verifier? I would actually not mind if it would need the encrypted files.

If this is in regards to the PM thing, that's more or less just me trying to figure out how these boards work! ;)

Working on a sort of Content Hash Table verifier for an an unencrypted m2ts-files is a long term goal of mine, but given my spare time and my programming skills this won't be happening too soon I fear.

Others may be faster, though I don't know if it would be safe to publish this as open source? Can indeed all information be gathered from the official pdfs or is inside knowledge necessary to complete the task? I don't know.

[coricopat]

The algo is - from what I can see at a first glance - fully explained on page 22, ff. https://aacsla.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/AACS_Spec_BD_Prerecorded.921.pdf , but so far I've been too lazy to write a parser O:-)

I've never really looked into whether it would work or not, to check decrypted files - if the decryption is reversible (which I'd guess it should be) then probably yes.

[Kju]

Uhm... not sure if I got the above conversation right... is anyone working on an (opensource) Content Hash Table verifier? I would actually not mind if it would need the encrypted files.

Yeah, I think I'll do that. My prototype is already working as I mentioned a few days ago. Since it's only an implementation of a part of the AACS algorithm, I don't see any problems to publish it.


I don't know, if this is possible. I was trying exactly the same. This is a hex diff of one MPEG Transport packet with embedded CCI:

< 000000d0: 00f0 01f0 0c05 0448 444d 5688 040f fffc .......HDMV.....
---
> 000000d0: 00f0 01f0 0c05 0448 444d 5688 040f ffff .......HDMV.....
16c16
< 000000f0: 82f1 00f0 00fc 1824 9aff ffff ffff ffff .......$........
---
> 000000f0: 82f1 00f0 00ec 5ee1 3bff ffff ffff ffff ......^.;.......



I think the 4 changed Bytes at the end are the CRC32 of PSI. So actually only the CCI Flag/bit has been changed. I may be able to verify AnyDVD rips too.

[coricopat]

Yeah, I think I'll do that. My prototype is already working as I mentioned a few days ago. Since it's only an implementation of a part of the AACS algorithm, I don't see any problems to publish it.


Nice,... please tell, should you provide any source repo :-)

[magician]

Since first coming across this forum I have always relied on BlurayTestAndDecrypt (https://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=173796) (aka BTAD) to test my protected ISO rips for issues due to disc errors, write corruption, bit flips, and other likely or unlikely causes. Thus far I believe it has never failed to identify a broken rip. Nevertheless, it is great to have available another easily accessible tool like Xreveal's Content Hash Verifier to do verification of encrypted units on Blu-rays, despite neither one being open source.

I usually use mode 2 "advanced test" or mode 6/7 "dump and test" of BTAD. I don't know if that does the same thing as the Xreveal utility but I know it's still early days for the latter and there may still be some bugs in there. So I very much support the work to build another tool with the potential to open source it later. Maybe one of you can reach out to @nalor for input since they seem to be quite familiar with these algorithms.

[Shinobi]

I think the 4 changed Bytes at the end are the CRC32 of PSI. So actually only the CCI Flag/bit has been changed. I may be able to verify AnyDVD rips too.

Awesome you've seemingly figured this out as well! Congrats! :)

I'm very much looking forward to reading your source code once it's finished!

[Kju]

Since first coming across this forum I have always relied on BlurayTestAndDecrypt (https://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=173796) (aka BTAD) to test my protected ISO rips for issues due to disc errors, write corruption, bit flips, and other likely or unlikely causes. Thus far I believe it has never failed to identify a broken rip. Nevertheless, it is great to have available another easily accessible tool like Xreveal's Content Hash Verifier to do verification of encrypted units on Blu-rays, despite neither one being open source.

I usually use mode 2 "advanced test" or mode 6/7 "dump and test" of BTAD. I don't know if that does the same thing as the Xreveal utility but I know it's still early days for the latter and there may still be some bugs in there. So I very much support the work to build another tool with the potential to open source it later. Maybe one of you can reach out to @nalor for input since they seem to be quite familiar with these algorithms.
BlurayTestAndDecrypt works differently. I think it checks if the Sync Bytes of the Transport Stream Header are correctly set (every 192th byte). It doesn't validates the files against the Hashtable. I don't think it can reliably detect bit flips, because how AES-CBC decryption works. A changed Bit only changes a maximum of 32 Bytes in the decryption result. (16 Byte decryption, 16 Byte Xor) But it should detect sector errors, if the complete sector contains garbage. And I think this is the most common error.


Awesome you've seemingly figured this out as well! Congrats! :)

I'm very much looking forward to reading your source code once it's finished!
Yeah, took me way to long. I shouldn't look at hexdumps with a bottle of beer. It only took so long because I always overlooked adding 4 Bytes from the beginning when calculating the crc. :)

[Shinobi]

Yeah, took me way to long. I shouldn't look at hexdumps with a bottle of beer. It only took so long because I always overlooked adding 4 Bytes from the beginning when calculating the crc. :)

It's always these little things / oversights that take ages to puzzle out ... ;)

But if it makes you feel better: I probably wouldn't have figured out that CRC thing at all (or at least not that fast) even though I never drink at all. ;) :)

[nalor]

BlurayTestAndDecrypt works differently. I think it checks if the Sync Bytes of the Transport Stream Header are correctly set (every 192th byte). It doesn't validates the files against the Hashtable. I don't think it can reliably detect bit flips, because how AES-CBC decryption works. A changed Bit only changes a maximum of 32 Bytes in the decryption result. (16 Byte decryption, 16 Byte Xor) But it should detect sector errors, if the complete sector contains garbage. And I think this is the most common error.



Yeah, took me way to long. I shouldn't look at hexdumps with a bottle of beer. It only took so long because I always overlooked adding 4 Bytes from the beginning when calculating the crc. :)

But I started thinking and maybe I'll add the hashtable validation in addition (wasn't aware of this hashtable until the discussion here started :D )

[Kju]

But I started thinking and maybe I'll add the hashtable validation in addition (wasn't aware of this hashtable until the discussion here started :D )

That would be cool! :)


I'll need a bit more time to release my implementation. It's only a side project for fun and I have a few other more important tasks currently. :)

[rco133]

Hi.

Anyone know if Xreveal will also remove region lock on UHD discs?

AnyDVD didn't do that per default, but had a regkey that needed to be set for it to do it.

Yes, I know that UHD discs are not supposed to have region lock. But never the less there are quite a few discs in the wild, where studios by mistake, or for whatever reason, have made UHD discs with region lock.

Thanks in advance

rco133

[jayper]

Hi.

Anyone know if Xreveal will also remove region lock on UHD discs?

AnyDVD didn't do that per default, but had a regkey that needed to be set for it to do it.

Yes, I know that UHD discs are not supposed to have region lock. But never the less there are quite a few discs in the wild, where studios by mistake, or for whatever reason, have made UHD discs with region lock.

Thanks in advance

rco133
This was added in version 2.6.8: https://www.xreveal.com/news?id=81

[Shinobi]

Jeez, where has all the discussion gone in this thread?

I'll need a bit more time to release my implementation. It's only a side project for fun and I have a few other more important tasks currently. :)

Same with me when I'm doing a programming project. ;)
Do take your time, real life always comes first! :)

[SamuriHL]

Nothing more to this story. They're gone. And unlike all the stupid predictions they didn't come back under a new name and charge everyone more. They're gone.

Sent from my SM-S928U1 using Tapatalk

[infoxtreme]

for me on the DVD and BLURAY issue the only that can replace anydvd is dvdfab Passkey and for 4k disk makemkv is the king.

Now since what happened to AnyDVD, I imagine that they should sell the code to someone like DVDFab, MakeMKV, XReveal, or if no one wants it, why not release the source code for someone to continue with? Since it's been in development for many years. I think it's a shame, something that took so many years to disappear like this.

[ikarad]

for me on the DVD and BLURAY issue the only that can replace anydvd is dvdfab Passkey and for 4k disk makemkv is the king.

.

xreveal doesn't work ?

[infoxtreme]

xreveal doesn't work ?


My opinion is that XReveal is not yet up to the level of AnyDVD and DVDFab, in terms of removing protections, it is good and could actually be a replacement in the future and I hope so, of course everyone needs to help by sending logs, AnyDVD and DVDFab have been around for several years, but that is just my opinion, by the way I am a paid user, AnyDVD, MakeMKV and now DVDFab, and I will definitely support XReveal.

[billqs]

So, I was using AnyDVD HD to process blu-rays and ran across the error that it could not check it's online database. This is the first time I've hit a BD that it could not decrypt since Redfox ended. I've downloaded the Anydvd database from 2020 and also the most recent keydb.cfg, but have had no luck.

What worries me is a dialogue box that says "You need to restart in order to finish setting up':F Pioneer [Friendly drive]'". I want to make sure my system is not trying to sneak in a firmware update that would brick the Pioneer drive for backing up my UHD blu-rays. Once beyond this I will look into XReveal to go along with my MakeMKV license. Just hoping drive is ok and not about to be overwritten.

[ikarad]

My opinion is that XReveal is not yet up to the level of AnyDVD and DVDFab, in terms of removing protections, it is good and could actually be a replacement in the future and I hope so, of course everyone needs to help by sending logs, AnyDVD and DVDFab have been around for several years, but that is just my opinion, by the way I am a paid user, AnyDVD, MakeMKV and now DVDFab, and I will definitely support XReveal.

The problem is that redfox seems dead and in a future more or less near, it's possible that anydvd won't works anymore.

It will stay xreveal or dvdfab.

[Jamie]

So, I was using AnyDVD HD to process blu-rays and ran across the error that it could not check it's online database. This is the first time I've hit a BD that it could not decrypt since Redfox ended. I've downloaded the Anydvd database from 2020 and also the most recent keydb.cfg, but have had no luck.


For brand new Blueray disks redfox used their own online key database ODB. Only UHD disks used the keydb.cfg file. You may have been lucky and the bluray disks you ripped before today were stored in anydvd

xreveal has been working well for me so far. I try to avoid dvdfab because it seems way too expensive to me and their multiple different versions seem too confusing. I did use passkey the last time anydvd was taken down. passkey at that time couldn't decrypt some of my disks and I was happy when redfox came online again

[kurkosdr]

For brand new Blueray disks redfox used their own online key database ODB.
Is there a way to use a local key database with AnyDVD HD?

[billqs]

I downloaded xreveal and it removed AACS but not screen pass protection. This led Handbrake to see 310 playlists all with the running time of the movie. I retried it with Ripbot 264 and it apparently recognized the correct playlist and I was able to rip it to save. This is odd as all this effort was made for a BD of a movie from the 1940s that airs all the time. I will have to test what came out of Ripbot to see if it is correct.

[jayper]

Is there a way to use a local key database with AnyDVD HD?
IIRC, AnyDVD will use the keydb file for UHDs but not BDs.

[SamuriHL]

Correct. This is why I've said repeatedly that AnyDVD has a shelf life. It'll work for UHD as long as you have an updated KeyDB.cfg but it will not do anything for you with new BD's. it MAY continue to work while the current MKB isn't changed but it may not.

[GiorgioV]

Like all of you, I'm a Redfox orphan. Namely, I've been using AnyDVD(HD) for over a decade, purchased two lifetime licenses, etc... I used to rip the occasional video Blu-ray but, most of all, to rip the hi-res/surround audio from Blu-ray discs, both audio and video.
I keep reading here and there suggestions of DVDFab Passkey as a valid replacement and I beg to differ. Here's my experience with those guys.

Without first testing the software (I'll admit that was very stupid of me, but I never had a single issue with AnyDVD so that probably made me careless), in the aftermath of Redfox's disappearance I purchased a DVDFab Passkey lifetime license. Well, the very first Blu-ray I tested it with (SDE's Wham! 'Make it big'), it wouldn't load. Reading error.

I contacted their customer 'service', who gave me the usual series of questions/tests that never solve a thing. Then they asked me to send me a series of files from the disc. And the waiting started.
Meanwhile, I could see that MakeMKV (for which I purchased a license a lifetime ago) could load that very same disc without any issue whatsoever.
Later on, I decided to buy the Xreveal Pro license. Surprise! Xreveal could also read that Wham! disc.

So I got in touch with DVDFab customer 'service' again, informed them about my findings, and, with the occasion, I also told them that Passkey could not read two more recently released blu-ray discs that I had meanwhile purchased: Fish 'Vigil in a wilderness of mirrors' and 'Internal exile'. But, guess what?, Xreveal and MakeMKV could read those too. No issue. Again. So I send them the files from those two discs too.

Time has passed (I'm talking months); Passkey has had several new releases but those three discs remain unreadable by that junk software. And hear this: when I tried to ask DVDFab for an update on my ticket I found out that... I could not! Somehow they had blocked the 'reply' feature within my still pending ticket. I made sure of that since I tried with other PCs / browsers. Now, that was a stroke of genius. I was officially baffled.
What I did was to open a new ticket (I know, why bother?) to inform them (like they wouldn't know) that those three Blu-ray discs still wouldn't load, and that I had realized they had blocked me from replying.

Bottom line: as long as there's an alternative, I would not consider DVDFab software as a Redfox replacement. It's junk. It may work, but then again it may not. Be advised.

[prozistka]

it seems that start from 2.6.x, xreveal will not support aacs-auth on free version.
PS: I tried new version, and it asked for online decryption while I can use VLC with the same keydb.cfg to play the disc, so I rolled back to old version

I've already puchased makemkv, so I think I will stick with 2.6.0 in case of blu-rays containing BD with MGVC.

[magician]

I think I will stick with 2.6.0

I think the free program has a timebomb so at some point you will have to adjust your system clock back to keep using the old versions.

[DrinkLyeAndDie]

I think the free program has a timebomb so at some point you will have to adjust your system clock back to keep using the old versions.

For the free version, the official releases expire 90 days from release. Beta versions expire 30 days from release. After the expiration the latest release needs to be installed.

[coopervid]

For the free version, the official releases expire 90 days from release. Beta versions expire 30 days from release. After the expiration the latest release needs to be installed.

And that information is available where?

[DrinkLyeAndDie]

And that information is available where?

The website: https://www.xreveal.com/pro.html

[prozistka]

I think the free program has a timebomb so at some point you will have to adjust your system clock back to keep using the old versions.

I've noticed that, so I rolled back to 2.5.0 which does not have a timebomb, and it works fine for MGVC blu-rays.

[chris198810]

If RedFox is no longer available or functioning, you might consider alternatives like MakeMKV, which you're already using, or tools like DumboFab, which offers similar functionality for ripping and bypassing encryption on DVDs and Blu-rays. HandBrake, combined with MakeMKV for decryption, also works for a lossless DVD-to-MP4 conversion process.

[George++]

I am not a power user, neither am I concerned with backing up my rather meager collection of 4K/UHD discs for whatever reason or usage. All I am concerned with is being able to do what AnyDVD did. Decrypt a disc and rip so I can either burn it to a blank, or if need be do some processing of the disc to remove streams I don't want on my back up. The AnyDVD feature to automatically remove annoying titles and clips from menus I really like for Blu-ray discs. I have manual tools I can use on DVD for finer grained processing of DVDs. Making a protected ISO is not something that concerns me.

I tried the free version of Xreveal and liked it enough to make a lifetime purchase. So the current Xreveal version doesn't have the remove titles/clips features yet. I've only used Xreveal with newer Blu-ray discs I purchased after RedFox disappeared. I tried AnyDVD to decrypt the discs and obviously it failed. Fire up Xreveal and and bingo-bango-bongo! Success with decrypting!

As a "let's see what happens" curiosity test I decided to mount the ripped ISOs and see if AnyDVD would now process the decrypted BDs. Well, hosannas! AnyDVD happily "decrypted" the mounted BDs, doing the "remove annoying stuff" magic. Reripped the ISO to another ISO and now I have a BD rip the way I want. I have yet to try using Xreveal to deal with a BD that has cinavia. I may make a test on a disc I know that has cinavia to see if Xreveal/AnyDVD/CloneBD can still work.

I am currently using AnyDVD to rip some DVDs without using Xreveal. So far no problems. The "single license usable on 3 PCs" will hopefully never need to be needed. If at some future date there is a DVD that AnyDVD can't successfully decrypt but Xreveal does buying an additional new lifetime license is an option. The pricing for a lifetime license is quite reasonable IMO.

[kurkosdr]

Like all of you, I'm a Redfox orphan. Namely, I've been using AnyDVD(HD) for over a decade, purchased two lifetime licenses, etc... I used to rip the occasional video Blu-ray but, most of all, to rip the hi-res/surround audio from Blu-ray discs, both audio and video.
I keep reading here and there suggestions of DVDFab Passkey as a valid replacement and I beg to differ. Here's my experience with those guys.

Without first testing the software (I'll admit that was very stupid of me, but I never had a single issue with AnyDVD so that probably made me careless), in the aftermath of Redfox's disappearance I purchased a DVDFab Passkey lifetime license. Well, the very first Blu-ray I tested it with (SDE's Wham! 'Make it big'), it wouldn't load. Reading error.

I contacted their customer 'service', who gave me the usual series of questions/tests that never solve a thing. Then they asked me to send me a series of files from the disc. And the waiting started.
Meanwhile, I could see that MakeMKV (for which I purchased a license a lifetime ago) could load that very same disc without any issue whatsoever.
Later on, I decided to buy the Xreveal Pro license. Surprise! Xreveal could also read that Wham! disc.

So I got in touch with DVDFab customer 'service' again, informed them about my findings, and, with the occasion, I also told them that Passkey could not read two more recently released blu-ray discs that I had meanwhile purchased: Fish 'Vigil in a wilderness of mirrors' and 'Internal exile'. But, guess what?, Xreveal and MakeMKV could read those too. No issue. Again. So I send them the files from those two discs too.

Time has passed (I'm talking months); Passkey has had several new releases but those three discs remain unreadable by that junk software. And hear this: when I tried to ask DVDFab for an update on my ticket I found out that... I could not! Somehow they had blocked the 'reply' feature within my still pending ticket. I made sure of that since I tried with other PCs / browsers. Now, that was a stroke of genius. I was officially baffled.
What I did was to open a new ticket (I know, why bother?) to inform them (like they wouldn't know) that those three Blu-ray discs still wouldn't load, and that I had realized they had blocked me from replying.

Bottom line: as long as there's an alternative, I would not consider DVDFab software as a Redfox replacement. It's junk. It may work, but then again it may not. Be advised.
Back when the Redfox forums existed, I had come across the exact opposite: Someone complaining that AnyDVD HD couldn't decrypt a DVD (yes, DVD, it would spin the disc but nothing would happen), while DVDFab could, to the point the RedFox mods called him "an infomercial for our biggest competitor".

None of those tools are guaranteed to work with every disc, and any talk about refunds can be best summarized with "hahaha... good luck with that".

This is why I am still sad Redfox is gone, it's pays to have multiple tools just in case your favorite doesn't work. Now we are one less tool.

[DaveO88]

@coopervid

well then here is another mod from the RedFox Guild:D

[cubicibo]

Back when the Redfox forums existed, I had come across the exact opposite: Someone complaining that AnyDVD HD couldn't decrypt a DVD (yes, DVD, it would spin the disc but nothing would happen), while DVDFab could, to the point the RedFox mods called him "an infomercial for our biggest competitor".


VideoHelp is plagued by ghost users who reply "xyzFab" to random question, even users register to just recommend DVDFab before disappearing in oblivion. Their infomercial practices are definitely real.

[kurkosdr]

VideoHelp is plagued by ghost users who reply "xyzFab" to random question, even users register to just recommend DVDFab before disappearing in oblivion. Their infomercial practices are definitely real.
Sure, but the guy in the RedFox forums sounded genuinely frustrated, in a way that's hard for your average DVDFab shill to replicate (especially if they are an ESL speaker from China).

But anyway, my point is, no tool is guaranteed to work with every disc.

[DaveO88]

How could it be otherwise, since no software, no matter how good, can handle structural errors such as pressing errors or other errors that occur during production

[coopervid]

How could it be otherwise, since no software, no matter how good, can handle structural errors such as pressing errors or other errors that occur during production
Hi Buddy! Read my PM.

[hajj_3]

updated versions of clonebd, clonedvd and virtual clonedrive have been released: https://www.elby.ch/products/clonebd.html

[walstib]

Question about XReveal and playlist obfuscation (largely Lionsgate): for full backups to Folder, MakeMKV doesn’t “fix” this problem. AnyDVD did. And it appears that DVDFab does as well. Curious if xreveal does? So locating the appropriate playlist (.mpls) doesn’t help as I do full backups. I would assume that AnyDVD and DVDFab modify some java class file and/or removed/change some other file(s) to fix this.

EDIT:

Testing this now w/XReveal Pro (figured in any case, $45 to support a good cause is worth it) - testing on The Hunger Games BD which from MakeMKV full disc bacup throws up the copyright thing around the 8 min mark.

Will also test DVDFab to see if they deal with it (they dealt with John Wick just fine, so fingers crossed...)


EDIT 2:

XReveal Pro removed ScreenPass/Playlist Obfuscation for The Hunger Games :) Excellent!

[DrinkLyeAndDie]

updated versions of clonebd, clonedvd and virtual clonedrive have been released: https://www.elby.ch/products/clonebd.html

Merely a security update although CloneDVD has a nebulous "Some minor changes and improvements" line in the changelog.

On one hand this is a good sign that Elby updated the software but on the other hand I figured they were long dead and buried already. No real releases in forever even before RedFox ceased to exist. No CloneBD update in over a year and the previous update was a beta with the last official release dating back to 2022. No CloneDVD update in 5 years. No Virtual CloneDrive in 5 years.

[SamuriHL]

And yes CloneBD still can't beat MakeMKV for handling Dolby Vision titles...

[coopervid]

And yes CloneBD still can't beat MakeMKV for handling Dolby Vision titles...

I think CloneBD is still a great program if you want to just rip the main movie to folder or ISO or if you want / need to compress the video. Sadly their original developers are not with the company anymore and the new guys just lack knowledge to modernize or upgrade the software. In addition the market for CloneBD has shrunk since more and more people don't burn discs anymore and store on hard disks. Furthermore the company is working mainly on other projects which are more profitable. I tested their latest beta and it was truly a mess. Finally Redfox removed all Elby software links from its site because they were also frustrated. This happened shortly before Redfox ceased to exist.

[SamuriHL]

Yea, it's a shame because I truly loved CloneBD and really waned it to succeed. After years of asking for one feature that they continuously failed to deliver, I gave up even trying. I shared Redfox's frustration even though I believe the core technology they had was superior to anything else on the market. They just couldn't deliver a finished product, unfortunately.

[kurkosdr]

Furthermore the company is working mainly on other projects which are more profitable.
What other projects? AFAIK, all their paid software is CloneDVD and CloneBD and they haven't announced any upcoming products.

[kurkosdr]

And yes CloneBD still can't beat MakeMKV for handling Dolby Vision titles...
Can you elaborate? Haven't edited any UHD BDs yet, so I am curious.

[SamuriHL]

Can you elaborate? Haven't edited any UHD BDs yet, so I am curious.

It's a very specific use case. I want Dolby Vision in MKV container and CloneBD can't handle that. MakeMKV does. As do other tools. But unfortunately CloneBD could never get it right. As it's a VERY big use case for me, it prevented my continued use of CloneBD as my go to backup solution.

[coopervid]

What other projects? AFAIK, all their paid software is CloneDVD and CloneBD and they haven't announced any upcoming products.

Nothing related to discs. Completely other areas where their guys are now concentrate on.

[kurkosdr]

Nothing related to discs. Completely other areas where their guys are now concentrate on.
Like what areas?

[coopervid]

Like what areas?

I don't know and I don't care. Why do you?

[Revolutrix]

It's nice that the Redfox forum is still represented. I was always helped a lot there. Anydvd still runs flawlessly, with new database from here.

[kurkosdr]

It's nice that the Redfox forum is still represented. I was always helped a lot there. Anydvd still runs flawlessly, with new database from here.
Huh? How is it represented? It closed down. Do you mean that some people from RedFox forums happen to be here?

[kurkosdr]

I don't know and I don't care. Why do you?
Then how do you know they are working mainly on other projects which are more profitable?

[coopervid]

Then how do you know they are working mainly on other projects which are more profitable?

The former Redfox admin told me.

[kitahoshi]

Thank you for the speedy reply.

That is a real shame that those images files were never saved to a backup drive.

There are 34 PNG images there. If you are thinking about recreating the guide, it will be an enormous task and quite time consuming.

In the meantime, at the RedFox thread, the Pioneer tools on the Pioneer webpage directed me to the firmware update for my Pioneer. I have never updated the firmware on this drive and will give it a go to see if it corrects BD-R DL discs. I'll keep you posted.

Hi, I happened to find this post and recall that exact guide you are referencing.

I found it useful at the time and saved it with an html page capture tool. It has the full thread and all images. I'm not sure how to upload it here, so instead here are images of the file.


https://i.imgur.com/tgEyE66.png
https://i.imgur.com/V7rRn8p.png
https://i.imgur.com/TLGhR3E.png
https://i.imgur.com/75IjF2K.png
https://i.imgur.com/p5juQyg.png
https://i.imgur.com/ns0ATXY.png
https://i.imgur.com/lopjQHn.png
https://i.imgur.com/XRl53vm.png
https://i.imgur.com/A8Lsteg.png
https://i.imgur.com/hiy6GtK.png
https://i.imgur.com/WEcLCgB.png
https://i.imgur.com/Gn6Ueti.png
https://i.imgur.com/gZQlugM.png
https://i.imgur.com/M3DAQOy.png
https://i.imgur.com/jPWIsRr.png
https://i.imgur.com/J9ivu5D.png

[cartman0208]

I think I never had to scroll so much for a single post :D :goodpost:

[spotter]

I'm a little surprised no one has leaked a lifetime key for anydvd, its not like they are coming back and the key would be banned in future releases . Their java rewriting was 2nd to none and would be useful for older discs.

It be cute if one could combine anydvd with makemkv to 1) generate the VUK (and have it inserted into a place AnyDVD can use) 2) created a protected ISO (i.e. encrypted with the VUK, but not bus encryption). and then use anydvd to decrypt the iso (I've done this many times, so I know it works for blurays, doesn't work for DVDs). I even had situations where i was the first user to ever decrypt the bluray with anydvd, so when I first went to decrypt the ISO it failed (as need disc in drive to calculate VUK), but if I inserted the disc into the drive, it calculated the VUK, cached it, and then was able to decrypt with the ISO (and you might ask, why go iso if I could decrypt directly from optical image, 1. it was faster 2. sometimes optical images were scratched and the way I got a good image was by using ddrescue on multiple copies of the optical disc).

[SamuriHL]

Not realistic unfortunately. Yes, they could generate a VUK for blu-ray back when they were active because they constantly updated the AACS 1.0 host cert and device/processing key required to do so. As of now, there is no known public host cert for AACS 1.0 MKB v82, so AnyDVD has passed its usefulness from that perspective. AnyDVD doesn't use KeyDB for blu-ray.

None of that was true for UHD as they relied on KeyDB entries in the end. Before that they had other methods for getting keys but it was not something they generated themselves as they didn't have an AACS 2.x device/processing key of their own. We'll leave it at that.

[spotter]

I mean, didn't anydvd work offline to calculate VUKs and store them locally (as in the example I gave of it not being able to decrypt an iso I created until I loaded the disc and had it scan it). If that's the case, it had to have the ability to store VUKs locally, even if not a normal keydb mechanism. Unless I'm wrong and it wasn't offline?

I know for bd+ it required it to be online, but I thought for regular blu-ray aacs it didn't.

It they have a keydb equivalent locally, one would just have to reverse engineer it. I wonder how it would behave with optical disks if it already had the VUK. Presumably even in those cases not having a current mkb key, it should still be able to decrypt the disc (should vs could, even if it should be able to, doesn't mean it can, because it might have not seen the point to rely on a VUK database only code path when it knows it can always calculate the VUK)

[SamuriHL]

No, it wasn't offline. It uploaded the data to their server which then returned the key. They weren't stupid enough to expose their device keys and host certs to end users. (EDIT to clarify: They did download and cache all known blu-ray keys with each new version of AnyDVD, which is why you probably think it worked "offline")

The key database AnyDVD used was already reverse engineered. But who cares? Why would you need/want it? It's highly outdated at this point. Anything that's in it can already be generated with other tools. E.G. there's a perfectly capable public device key for MKB v82. Use LibreDrive to bypass bus encryption and off you go, generating your own KeyDB entries.

I really don't understand the insistence on sticking with something that is completely and totally dead. Yes, it USED to handle screen pass better than anything else, but that's also because they actively updated it to handle new versions. No one's updating that anymore.

AnyDVD is NOT a viable program going forward.

[spotter]

As a simple example. For PBS BRs, they really weren't java BRs, even they used a screenpass like protection. The menus were basically just HDMV, what they did with java (and they used GBs of junk data to do it), was simply setup a handful of GPRs that contained the correct playlist for each episode. What this meant, after you ran it through anydvd, you could actually delete the junk java data as the jar would never be used as anydvd totally bypassed it. I haven't seen anyone else do that.

I think you think I'm talking about "new" BRs and using AnyDVD for them. I'm talking about using it for historical BRs that it did better on than existing programs today (as well as for BRs that don't have screenpass like protections).

[RetsimLegin]

Unless anyone can convince me otherwise (or unless I fall into a "hole" - which I haven't yet) I would suggest AnyDVD HD users simply switch over to XReveal plus an up to date KEYDB.cfg (for the free version; Pro [paid] users don't need this).

https://www.xreveal.com/
http://fvonline-db.bplaced.net/

[spotter]

the main thing that prevents me from moving to xreveal is that I don't believe I can't test its screenpass support at all (i.e. with anydvd I was able to test that).

Without screenpass support (and the resulting java support). I don't see much value in it. Non java blurays are easy to handle with makemkv (perhaps with a run through bdedit to redo PSR20 usage). Java BluRays with region coding one can either ignore (as long as your player is set to the correct region or can change it easily enough), or many times don't even define the region in the java code itself, but in properties file that are easy to edit with any text editor and therefore make region free). The primary thing I value then for my personal use is handling playlist obfuscation and unless I'm wrong, that's not something free users can ever test for themselves? (with that said, later today I'll experiment for myself and see).

[SeeMoreDigital]

@spotter,

Are you backing up and playing the entire disc? Personally I only back-up the main movie which can easily be re-muxed into a blu-ray compatible .iso file using TSmuxer GUI. And if there's anything interesting to see on the rest of the disc I'll back it up separately as an .mkv file...

[SamuriHL]

the main thing that prevents me from moving to xreveal is that I don't believe I can't test its screenpass support at all (i.e. with anydvd I was able to test that).

Without screenpass support (and the resulting java support). I don't see much value in it. Non java blurays are easy to handle with makemkv (perhaps with a run through bdedit to redo PSR20 usage). Java BluRays with region coding one can either ignore (as long as your player is set to the correct region or can change it easily enough), or many times don't even define the region in the java code itself, but in properties file that are easy to edit with any text editor and therefore make region free). The primary thing I value then for my personal use is handling playlist obfuscation and unless I'm wrong, that's not something free users can ever test for themselves? (with that said, later today I'll experiment for myself and see).

It's right there in the change log for the latest version:


Improved ScreenPass support


My recommendation since Redfox went away has been to use XReveal. The author is very good and very responsive if you have issues. It's worth supporting his work as it's a very reasonable cost.

[SamuriHL]

Unless anyone can convince me otherwise (or unless I fall into a "hole" - which I haven't yet) I would suggest AnyDVD HD users simply switch over to XReveal plus an up to date KEYDB.cfg (for the free version; Pro [paid] users don't need this).

https://www.xreveal.com/
http://fvonline-db.bplaced.net/

No reason to convince you otherwise. This is the right approach. The paid version does all the work for you. Highly recommended.

[spotter]

@spotter,

Are you backing up and playing the entire disc? Personally I only back-up the main movie which can easily be re-muxed into a blu-ray compatible .iso file using TSmuxer GUI. And if there's anything interesting to see on the rest of the disc I'll back it up separately as an .mkv file...

Both, though in practice for personal use I've mostly moved to MKVs.

It's right there in the change log for the latest version:

yes, but how well it works is the Q for me

My recommendation since Redfox went away has been to use XReveal. The author is very good and very responsive if you have issues. It's worth supporting his work as it's a very reasonable cost..

I'm going to experiment with it, dont' get me wrong, I just dont want to sink money into it, if its somewhat of a downgrade (in ways that matter to me) over AnyDVD, In practice, what I need it for (right now), is recovering from a data loss and doing reripping from cold storage disc archive, and I'm somewhat sad if I can't rip them as well as i used to.

[SeeMoreDigital]

Both, though in practice for personal use I've mostly moved to MKVs.

So... What has Java got to do with anything?

[infoxtreme]

No reason to convince you otherwise. This is the right approach. The paid version does all the work for you. Highly recommended.

I'm a longtime SlySoft > Redfox user, a fan of AnyDVD and its products. Then for 4K discs, I switched to Makemkv (I thought LibreDrive was amazing), and after AnyDVD's demise, I switched to DVDFab and its products.

For 4K discs, I honestly don't see anything better than Makemkv, my opinion.
For Blu-ray, DVDs, and streaming, DVDFab is serving me well (I honestly don't like their support), but the programs work and, having been on the market for so long, seem reliable.

I haven't bought a lifetime license for XReveal yet, not even because of the price, which is really low, but it's almost identical to AnyDVD. When I saw it, I was expecting some Redfox ad, now it's XReveal, lol.

[SamuriHL]

I'm a longtime SlySoft > Redfox user, a fan of AnyDVD and its products. Then for 4K discs, I switched to Makemkv (I thought LibreDrive was amazing), and after AnyDVD's demise, I switched to DVDFab and its products.


I bought a MakeMKV license very close to the beginning. DVDFab products I bought after the demise of Slysoft as insurance.


For 4K discs, I honestly don't see anything better than Makemkv, my opinion.
For Blu-ray, DVDs, and streaming, DVDFab is serving me well (I honestly don't like their support), but the programs work and, having been on the market for so long, seem reliable.


It depends on the use case. If you want real time decryption, XReveal is the way to go. If all you're doing is backing up MKV's to your NAS, MakeMKV is enough. My workflow falls into the latter category as I'm watching all my movies on an Ugoos for Dolby Vision these days. But XReveal has its place for when MakeMKV doesn't natively support a title and the VUK isn't yet known in the KeyDB.


I haven't bought a lifetime license for XReveal yet, not even because of the price, which is really low, but it's almost identical to AnyDVD. When I saw it, I was expecting some Redfox ad, now it's XReveal, lol.

It's clear the author of XReveal was inspired by AnyDVD. But afaik there was no association between them. They work fundamentally different. AnyDVD provided keys in an internal database (or for UHD an online only database). XReveal does not. It's a bring your own keydb kind of situation.

[SamuriHL]

yes, but how well it works is the Q for me


If only there were some way to find out.... ;)

I'm going to experiment with it, dont' get me wrong, I just dont want to sink money into it, if its somewhat of a downgrade (in ways that matter to me) over AnyDVD, In practice, what I need it for (right now), is recovering from a data loss and doing reripping from cold storage disc archive, and I'm somewhat sad if I can't rip them as well as i used to.

We're not talking about a lot of money here. For the cost of a movie you have a license. I get that you're re-ripping old titles now and for that particular use case AnyDVD may or may not be fine.

But here's the big problem...Once the host cert that AnyDVD uses for blu-ray is revoked in an MKB, once your drive sees that MKB version, AnyDVD stops working. It'll work fine for UHD's that have a keydb entry because it uses LibreDrive for UHD support. But IIRC, they opted to use their own host cert for blu-ray support which means as soon as the host cert is revoked, it'll no longer work on blu-rays with bus encryption. That's not all of them by any means. But as you're ripping through all your old discs, if that host cert is revoked and the disc supports bus encryption, it'll fail. And you won't necessarily know why. That seems like a huge waste of time to me. But it's your time to waste I guess.

[spotter]

dumped $45 on xreveal, it doesn't handle screenpass nicely for PBS blurays.

It might play correctly (cursory check seemed to indicate it was fine), but it doesn't remove the java code nor displayed the correct playlists.

[SamuriHL]

Email the author and work with him. He may be able to improve it to your liking. He might not but he's very responsive and it's worth opening that dialog.

[spotter]

Submitted a dump with my feedback. Might follow up in a few days

[SamuriHL]

Awesome. Hopefully he's able to do something to improve it for you. The work around for bus encrypted blu-rays in the meantime for you is this:

Rip to protected ISO with XReveal
Mount the protected ISO with whatever (Virtual CloneDrive, Daemon Tools, or my new favorite ImgDrive)
Use AnyDVD to rip it screenpass free

Just remember that this is only going to help you process your older titles. And is only (potentially) needed for bus encrypted discs. Non-bus encrypted discs can always be processed as long as you have the keys.

P.S. I personally recommend using CloneBD if you're keeping the full disc structure. That should clean it up.

[coopervid]

Sam, I agree 100%. The only question I have: Why rip to protected ISO instead of decrypted ISO?

[spotter]

Would work if I had a valid copy of anydvd at the moment, which I don't anymore (hence my surprise/sadness that no one had leaked a key).

But yes, I used to create bus unencrypted copies with my ddrescue method of imaging multiple discs by using makemkv to instantiate libredrive first.

[spotter]

Sam, I agree 100%. The only question I have: Why rip to protected ISO instead of decrypted ISO?

I'm not sure anydvd will java deprotect a disc that is decrypted (might not even be able to correctly as the protections could depend on the encrypted contents on disc)

[SamuriHL]

Sam, I agree 100%. The only question I have: Why rip to protected ISO instead of decrypted ISO?

How do you propose to fix screenpass on an unprotected ISO???

[SamuriHL]

I'm not sure anydvd will java deprotect a disc that is decrypted (might not even be able to correctly as the protections could depend on the encrypted contents on disc)

Correct, it can't. This is exactly right.

[coopervid]

How do you propose to fix screenpass on an unprotected ISO???
Interesting. I have never come across any screenpass problems playing decrypted ISOs on my Oppo clone.

[SamuriHL]

Interesting. I have never come across any screenpass problems playing decrypted ISOs on my Oppo clone.

Were they decrypted, oh, I don't know, just spitballing here, BY ANYDVD???? lol

[coopervid]

Were they decrypted, oh, I don't know, just spitballing here, BY ANYDVD???? lol

Yes. In the past always by AnyDVD. I'm now using XReveal and had no such issues since.

[SamuriHL]

Yes. In the past always by AnyDVD. I'm now using XReveal and had no such issues since.

Then you understand the point and why it (luckily) worked for you. The ONLY way to make an unprotected ISO of a screen pass title that actually works is with something that fixes the java on the disc to bypass screen pass when the disc is unprotected. The whole point of screen pass, from what I understand which is to say very little, is that it runs java commands before the disc is decrypted to ensure the integrity of the disc. IOW, it's like following a map to the correct playlist but the map can only be navigated on the correct trail (i.e. the aacs encrypted trail with all protection in place). The minute you decrypt the disc, if the screen pass isn't patched correctly, that decrypted ISO is pretty much useless. AnyDVD also added a disc.inf to the disc to let certain players that knew about it what playlist to actually use. ;)

XReveal does handle screen pass. It just may not be quite as robust as AnyDVD was at the moment.

[spotter]

random thought. VLC probably handles screenpass correctly for an encrypted DVD when it has the vuk in its local keydb (well, assuming libbluray's java support is sufficient, which many times it isn't, have run into many blurays that don't work and it seems development is dead on it).

less random thought, for my PBS bluray case, it does seem like Xreveal handles it fine, but less because its doing anything very screen pass like specific (i.e. it doesn't seem to know this is an obfuscated playlist bluray), just that it can handle it like any other java disc with a few shims and then the java code does the right thing to setup the GPRs and then never runs again.

However, since the hdmv code is a) relatively simple b) libbluray provides the ability to trace all the opcodes executed by the HDMV vm, I was able to manually duplicate what anydvd did automatically, by seeing what GPRs the java code changed (due to different paths it went down before and after executing the java code) and what playlist is played (which it got out of 3 GPRs depending on the episode being played). It be interesting if it was possible to do something similar with java code, but I doubt it is. This would be then an easy way to figure out playlists (if my random thought above is correct), just don't deprotect the content, just provide the VUK to vlc, have it decrupt the m2ts files as needed and just record what playlists are played.

so I just replaced the java title on the bluray with bdedit with my own title that set up the 5 needed GPRs appropriately and then like the java code, just jumped back to first play playlist (title -1/65535), just like the java code did, and it worked. able to excise the junk java data and it all works perfectly.

as a total aside, for those who remember the old sigma based player (neotv, dune et al), they had a major bug that never got fixed with blurays that did the above (jump back to first play title). Any BluRay that did that (such as these PBS blurays or very common for BD+ blurays), the player would just hang and die when that happened. I tried to convince AnyDVD devs to have a checkbox to duplicate the first play title and have any jumps to it (be it in java or hdmv code) to instead jump to the alternate duplicate title. i don't think they ever did it because they didn't view it as their job to fix buggy players, though at one point those sigma based players were very common (I still have my dune and neotv sitting in storage, long ago replaced by the clone oppo which didn't have any of these problems).

[kurkosdr]

I'm a little surprised no one has leaked a lifetime key for anydvd, its not like they are coming back and the key would be banned in future releases . Their java rewriting was 2nd to none and would be useful for older discs.
Because the AnyDVD HD license file is an encrypted binary file that includes the license holder's name and who knows what else?

If someone has an AnyDVD HD license file they bought with a fake name and an anonymous Bitcoin wallet (created directly on the blockchain, not via a crypto exchange), they might share it, but I bought my license using my real name and using Bitcoin from my Coinbase account, so I won't leak it.

[petran79]

There are plenty of fake AnyDVD licenses to unlock the program anyway

[kurkosdr]

There are plenty of fake AnyDVD licenses to unlock the program anyway
An important clarification: All of them unlock the program as AnyDVD, not as AnyDVD HD.

[spotter]

DVD decryption is basically a solved problem, especially if willing to live with ISOs, even with bad blocks, one doesn't need a good logic of how to avoid them, one can just create an iso (say with ddrescue to move past them) and then decrypt the css protected blocks in place. Heck, vlc will play such an iso without a problem and decrypt it in real time using decss.

[kurkosdr]

DVD decryption is basically a solved problem, especially if willing to live with ISOs, even with bad blocks, one doesn't need a good logic of how to avoid them, one can just create an iso (say with ddrescue to move past them) and then decrypt the css protected blocks in place. Heck, vlc will play such an iso without a problem and decrypt it in real time using decss.
Or, you know, use DVD Fab HD Decrypter (aka the freeware part of DVD Fab) or PassKey Lite (if you want on-the-fly decryption), which are still free:
https://www.dvdfab.cn/free.htm

Back in the day, I used DVD Fab HD Decrypter (without a license for the paid stuff) and it never let me down. And since they aren't making any new DVD copy protections now, it should be good for all DVDs. The only caveat is that I personally recommend disabling the Path Player feature (since it was caught removing playable stuff in the past) and only enable it when needed (aka when a DVD shows up as larger than 7.96GB in size). But otherwise, no problems with it.

This is why I added the important clarification above: AnyDVD HD unlocked as AnyDVD doesn't have much value unless you are really tied to the UI of the software or have some other special preference, the value of AnyDVD HD is in the "HD" part, for which no leaked license exists as far as I know.

[spotter]

I've actually had issues with dvdfab in the past where it messed up my DVDs by trying to be "too smart", which is why I simply went to the ISO mechanism for my backups with a small modification to the region code stored in the VMG_MAT. Go the simplest way that changes the minimal amount of data and everything just works as you dont try to change anything in ways that can actually break if you get it wrong.

[SeeMoreDigital]

DVD decryption is basically a solved problem, especially if willing to live with ISOs, even with bad blocks, one doesn't need a good logic of how to avoid them, one can just create an iso (say with ddrescue to move past them) and then decrypt the css protected blocks in place. Heck, vlc will play such an iso without a problem and decrypt it in real time using decss.Hmm... Good old fashioned DVD Decrypter (created by the same developer who brought us ImgBurn) would still be my go-to software for backing up DVD's. Not that I back-up DVD's anymore!

[spotter]

Hmm... Good old fashioned DVD Decrypter (created by the same developer who brought us ImgBurn) would still be my go-to software for backing up DVD's. Not that I back-up DVD's anymore!

yes and no. its what I used to decrypt ISOs (to produce ISOs) and I think its great for that, but its not as good anymore if a) one wants a file structure b) one has to deal with DVDs with purposefully corrupted blocks on disc. I was ok without "a" and worked around "b" by creating an ISO with ddrescue that dvd decrypter was able to decrypt.

as an aside, back in that day, if one mounted these encrypted ISOs with a mounting tool, had anydvd enabled and tried to use DVD Decrypter, it wouldn't result in a good time. AnyDVD wouldn't brute force these mounted encrypted DVDs (and this they refused to change, even though they had the ability to do it, as they needed it for cross region decryption), but (IIRC) they also modified the contents so that they removed the "flag" that denoted if each 2k byte block was aacs encrypted or not, so dvd decrypter wouldn't actually do anything. messed up a few rips that way/

[SeeMoreDigital]

So when it comes to backing-up new DVD releases, what's the problem using say, MakeMKV in 'back-up' mode?

[spotter]

So when it comes to backing-up new DVD releases, what's the problem using say, MakeMKV in 'back-up' mode?

MakeMKV can't "backup" DVDs (as far as I remember, been awhile since I tried). It can only make MKVs out of them.

[SeeMoreDigital]

MakeMKV can't "backup" DVDs (as far as I remember, been awhile since I tried). It can only make MKVs out of them.Actually No... MakeMKV can indeed back-up DVD's (as .iso files) if you visit: File -> Backup.

Cheers

[spotter]

Actually No... MakeMKV can indeed back-up DVD's (as .iso files) if you visit: File -> Backup.

Cheers

if true, somewhat "new" - see thread

https://forum.makemkv.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=21524

as I said, based on memory, which I think is accurate, just might not be true to today.

edit: so tried with latest makemkv, and you're right, it now can create a decrypted iso, seemingly similar to what I described above I was doing manually. It still can't handle damaged DVDs though. Provided a suggestion to the XReveal author that if a user got the CSS keys cached, it be nice if XReveal could decrypt / deregion / demangle DVDs as well. Right now it treats encrypted ISOs as not encrypted as the mounting tools report it as non encrypted.

[SeeMoreDigital]

Perhaps you should give MakeMKV a try, especially as it's free ;)

[spotter]

Perhaps you should give MakeMKV a try, especially as it's free ;)

If you've paid attention to the use cases I've mentioned I care about, you'd realize its not sufficient for it. I've communicated back and forth with Mike over the past 15 years since MakeMKV's inception, and obviously he's taken some of my feedback to improve it, just some things are out of scope.

[SeeMoreDigital]

Out of interest...

What's the latest DVD you've had issues with?

[spotter]

Out of interest...

What's the latest DVD you've had issues with?

It's been a while sine I had to rip anything from my DVD collection (though i remember ABC TV shows, Lost, Fringe, Once Upon a Time come to memory as always being problematic that the rippers had to be updated for), but as I said, my issue was less with the mechanisms protecting DVDs (though that has played an issue in the past), and more with the fact that DVDs get damaged. In fact, the DVD I took out to test MakeMKV backup functionality right now was the first in a few years probably (and not damaged).

My method for backing them up when damaged was to use ddrescue to recover as much as I could from one dvd (and rereading bad sectors repeatedly, sometimes for days) or fill in the blanks from other DVDs of the same type (many times also damaged) that I could borrow from the library or buy cheap elsewhere.

This way I could get a complete "encrypted" copy and just have other tools to remove the encryption. DVD Decrypter was useful for this (though not to get a file system view, especially when the DVDs used the filesystem hacks that made it look like 80GB of data on a DVD), but I also built some of my own to do it. The other negative of DVD Decrypter is that it only works via the brute force method (for ISO images, for physical discs it computes the key normally) which is pretty good, but not 100% reliable, it be better to use CSS keys that are known to be good (i.e. computed from the physical disc). I should note that this method works great for BluRays with AnyDVD and Xreveal (using the cache precalculated key it got from the physical disc), just not for DVDs.

edit: Of course, the optical discs you are using to fill in the blanks have to be the same, but generally not that hard to find. The only time where I found it impossible (I think I mentioned) was with a manufactured on demand bluray where it was actually randomized for each individual disc (I managed to get 4 distinct copies from the library + my own and they were all different, but not different, once one remuxed the pieces of each disc into raw video / audio streams, one saw the content was identical).

[kurkosdr]

I've actually had issues with dvdfab in the past where it messed up my DVDs by trying to be "too smart", which is why I simply went to the ISO mechanism for my backups with a small modification to the region code stored in the VMG_MAT. Go the simplest way that changes the minimal amount of data and everything just works as you dont try to change anything in ways that can actually break if you get it wrong.
Disabling Path Player solves that. Path Player is a smart technology that defeats even the toughest copy-protections, since it mimics the actions of a DVD player (DVD copy-protections always add unplayable junk of some sort), but it has been caught removing playable content in the past (if that's what you mean by "DVD Fab messed up"). So, just keep it disabled until it's needed.

Hmm... Good old fashioned DVD Decrypter (created by the same developer who brought us ImgBurn) would still be my go-to software for backing up DVD's. Not that I back-up DVD's anymore!
DVD Decrypter has been obsolete for 20 years now, it won't defeat most DVDs with "structure protection" (where the disc has corrupted sectors on purpose). Sure, you can always wait until your DVD drive slogs through the corrupted sectors, but this is extremely time-consuming and painful on the DVD drive mechanically. Encountering such a DVD was what drove me to DVD Fab HD Decrypter back then. I originally thought it was physical damage, but the disc was perfect when viewed under bright light and DVD Fab HD Decrypter breezed through it. Also, some DVDs have a fake TOC that makes the DVD appear as dozens of GB in size, don't know how DVD Decrypter works on such DVDs.

Then again, some DVDs made recently don't have "structure protection" or fake TOC, just plain ol' CSS, so you may get lucky, but just be warned DVD Decrypter won't work on some discs.

[spotter]

Disabling Path Player solves that. Path Player is a smart technology that defeats even the toughest copy-protections, since it mimics the actions of a DVD player (DVD copy-protections always add unplayable junk of some sort), but it has been caught removing playable content in the past (if that's what you mean by "DVD Fab messed up"). So, just keep it disabled until it's needed.

mostly agreed, except even for DVDs that need it, it can still be imperfect, in a way that iso based decryption is not.

DVD Decrypter has been obsolete for 20 years now, it won't defeat most DVDs with "structure protection" (where the disc has corrupted sectors on purpose). Sure, you can always wait until your DVD drive slogs through the corrupted sectors, but this is extremely time-consuming and painful on the DVD drive mechanically. Encountering such a DVD was what drove me to DVD Fab HD Decrypter back then. I originally thought it was physical damage, but the disc was perfect when viewed under bright light and DVD Fab HD Decrypter breezed through it. Also, some DVDs have a fake TOC that makes the DVD appear as dozens of GB in size, don't know how DVD Decrypter works on such DVDs.

Then again, some DVDs made recently don't have "structure protection" or fake TOC, just plain ol' CSS, so you may get lucky, but just be warned DVD Decrypter won't work on some discs.

yes, but thats only if you use DVD Decrypter to read the physical disc. If you use another tool, like ddrescue, to read and just skip bad blocks, and use the iso it generated to feed into dvd decrypter to decrypt (to an iso), it's much less of an issue, which was part of my workflow (but with the 2 small weaknesses I mentioned previously). DVD Decrypter is still an important tool (IMO) all these years later even without updates.

I'd also note, that at least for TV shows (which were my main source of dvd ripping until I mosrtly stopped in 2020), it seemed the "bad block" protection mechanism became less and less common on DVDs. (I also noticed it being very predictable, if one looked at the block layout of the files, the bad blocks were generally in between files, not within files themselves. i.e. you'd see

file1 - blocks 1-10
file2 - block 19-30
...

and you would see the bad blocks in the 11-18 range (perhaps the entire range). In general they had to cover an entire DVD ECC block (which if memory serves me correct was 16 blocks, so one would see the errors in blocks of 16/32k bytes). This was useful for eyeballing this in ddrescue's output log/map file if your errors fit that pattern. though its been a long time so my emory might be faulty.

[kurkosdr]

mostly agreed, except even for DVDs that need it, it can still be imperfect, in a way that iso based decryption is not.
Out of curiosity, can you tell me how it messed up? (for example what playable content it removed or other mess-up it did and on what title) My experience with Path Player is that it's only needed on relatively new DVDs that don't have too many extras (since they started adding those only on Blu-rays after a while), so the chances of Path Player removing playable content are very low, but that's only my anecdotal personal experience.

yes, but thats only if you use DVD Decrypter to read the physical disc. If you use another tool, like ddrescue, to read and just skip bad blocks, and use the iso it generated to feed into dvd decrypter to decrypt (to an iso), it's much less of an issue, which was part of my workflow (but with the 2 small weaknesses I mentioned previously). DVD Decrypter is still an important tool (IMO) all these years later even without updates.
It doesn't matter if you use ddrescue or DVD Decrypter to slog through the purposely corrupted blocks, you are still slogging through the purposely corrupted blocks, which means you are still wearing out your DVD drive prematurely. This is why I am questioning the purpose of ddrescue in the chain: you can simply set up DVD Decrypter's "software read error retries" to 1 (or 2, or whatever you use for ddrescue) and enable the "ignore read errors" option:
https://www.doom9.org/images/dvddecrypter/dvddec-advoptions.png
Of course, you are free to use any tool you like, I am asking in case I am missing something.

(also, I personally would try DVD Fab with Path Player disabled on DVDs with purposely corrupted blocks before either ddrescue or DVD Decrypter, since I don't want to prematurely wear out my DVD drive when there is a way not to, but I like having multiple ways of doing things)

---

Also, does ddrescue fix the fake TOC issue where the DVD appears as dozens of GB in size? Assuming you've ever encountered DVD with a fake TOC, otherwise ignore the question. The only times I've had to enable Path Player in DVD Fab were (https://forum.dvdfab.cn/forum/software-support-english/dvdfab-dvd-copy/17519-dvd-fab-thinks-a-dvd-has-51gb-of-data-pirates-of-the-carribean-on-stranger-tides) to defeat the fake TOC. So, if ddrescue can't defeat the fake TOC, then you will have to use DVD Fab with Path Player enabled (imperfections or not).

[spotter]

Out of curiosity, can you tell me how it messed up? (for example what playable content it removed or other mess-up it did and on what title) My experience with Path Player is that it's only needed on relatively new DVDs that don't have too many extras (since they started adding those only on Blu-rays after a while), so the chances of Path Player removing playable content are very low, but that's only my anecdotal personal experience.

as I said, it's been a very long time.

It doesn't matter if you use ddrescue or DVD Decrypter to slog through the purposely corrupted blocks, you are still slogging through the purposely corrupted blocks, which means you are still wearing out your DVD drive prematurely.

my experience is that it doesn't have much of an impact. ddrescue will touch each bad block once, fail to read, and never touch it again, if that's what you want (but as you said, can do something similar with dvd decrypter), but that's not primarily why my workflow used ddrescue. I used it to recover damaged DVDs. I sometimes had it run for days retrying bad blocks (and many times eventually getting a good read), hence my statement that it didnt' seem to break my drives prematurely (i.e. even my optical drive in a circa 2000 era thinkpad (t21) was still working fine under this usage model in 2020, but as I said, haven't really ripped many DVDs since, so its been sitting in a closet(. What I will say is I found some drives to be better at handling damage than others (i.e. moving past damaged sectors quickly). So yeah, it may have made some drives last less long, but I can't say it really impacted me.

This is why I am questioning the purpose of ddrescue in the chain: you can simply set up DVD Decrypter's "software read error retries" to 1 (or 2, or whatever you use for ddrescue) and enable the "ignore read errors" option:
https://www.doom9.org/images/dvddecrypter/dvddec-advoptions.png
Of course, you are free to use any tool you like, I am asking in case I am missing something.

ddrescue lets me fill in the blanks of bad discs (and many DVDs have problems, and sometimes attempts at cleaning discs can make the problems worse). So as a simple example, DVD1 has a scratch or is dirty. I read it as much as I can with ddrescue, but not all blocks are able to read due to scratch/dirt. I clean, and am able to read more (perhaps all, or just more), but i also risk making the scratch worse (not highly likely if care is taken, but there's always a risk that one makes a mistake and doesn't realize that the microfiber cloth one is using has something stuck in it).

Also, does ddrescue fix the fake TOC issue where the DVD appears as dozens of GB in size? Assuming you've ever encountered DVD with a fake TOC, otherwise ignore the question.

fake TOC only matters if you want the VOBs. If you are ok with it as an ISO (i.e. want it as a full disc only, so a VIDEO_TS folder or ISO is effectively equivalent), there's no "issue" to fix. i.e. it will maintain the fake to and the ISO wont be any bigger. Also noting, that if you were ok with just playing with vlc, it would play the encrypted (ddrescue generated) iso without a problem if you had libdvdcss installed.

now thinking about it and going back to your first Q, it could possibly have been user error / incompatabilty with my ddrescue method that caused problems. i.e. I'd ddrescue a damaged disc, use dvd decrypter to remove the css (and output an iso) and then mount the iso and have dvd fab use path player to remove that structural protection. It's possible it didn't always like getting a mounted decrypted ISO (but I had no choice, as damaged disc wasn't going to be easily read by dvdfab otherwise).

TLDR: ddrescue workflow is useful for recovering damaged discs to create an iso, which you can then use other means of decrypting.