AnyDVD alternatives
Slysoft, makers of the popular DVD and Blu-Ray copying software AnyDVD has closed shop effectively immediately.
The official homepage contains a short statement why AnyDVD is not available anymore: "Due to recent regulatory requirements we have had to cease all activities relating to SlySoft Inc." but no other content at this point in time.
AnyDVD users are probably wondering how this is going to affect their version of the software when it comes to its functionality. While it should work fine with current and past releases, it may not support future releases due to a lack of updates.
Note: DVD or Blu-Ray ripping, copying or converting, or the circumvention of copy protection methods, is illegal in some countries. Other countries allow you to copy or convert discs that you have purchased.
Update: It appears that AnyDVD is back, sort of. The software is now called RedFox, and hosted on a site in Belize. A new version of the software has been released for existing customers who can upgrade their version of AnyDVD to it to regain connections to the key server.
AnyDVD alternatives
The following selection lists AnyDVD alternatives that you may want to try as they may replace the program on your system fully or partially.
bitRipper
BitRipper converts DVD discs to the AVI video format. It is an easy to use program that requires less than five clicks to convert DVDs to the AVI format.
Put a disc into the drive, pick a track (usually the default is what you want), pick an output path if you don't like the default, and hit "start ripping".
Experienced users can modify conversion parameters under settings if they so desire. The program supports CSS protected DVDs.
DVDFab HD Decrypter
The program supports older DVD and Blu-Ray formats only. If supported, you may copy the full disc or the main movie to the local computer system
DVDFab Passkey Lite
The free version of Passkey comes with a handful of limitations. While you can use it to watch Blu-Ray movies on your PC, it cannot be used to backup these movies to the hard drive like the commercial versions of Passkey can be used for.
MakeMKV
MakeMKV is a free cross-platform (Windows, Linux and Mac) DVD and Blu-Ray conversion software that converts the video clips found on discs to MKV files.
While that is not the same as creating a copy of a DVD or Blu-Ray disc, it opens up options to do that later on by using software that burns any video format to DVD or Blu-Ray.
MakeMKV can be used to create a full disc backup on the hard drive as well.
MakeMKV reads protected and unprotected DVD and Blu-Ray discs, preserves chapter information, video and auto tracks, and meta information, and requires no additional software to convert the media.
The program itself is dead easy to use. Pop in a DVD or Blu-Ray, wait for it to be loaded and click on the "open disk" button that is displayed in the interface.
MakeMKV displays the content of the disc to you giving you options to check or uncheck individual items as you see fit.
Once done, set an output folder and hit the "make mkv" button to start the conversion.
Other free alternatives
These alternatives may be worth a try. While they may work well, they may not have received updates in a long while.
- DVD 43 - This is a plugin only that other programs can use to decrypt encrypted DVD discs.
- DVD Decrypter - A DVD backup software supporting free and CSS protected discs.
Commercial AnyDVD alternatives
The following commercial AnyDVD alternatives are available currently. Please note that some of these programs are found regularly on sites like Shareware on Sale or Giveaway of the Day where you can snag a copy for free.
DVDFab Software
DVDFab had its run-in with the authorities as well as several company domains were seized in the past.
The company operates out of China currently where all of its programs are available for international buyers as well.
The company has created six commercial programs that copy or convert DVD or Blu-Ray videos.
They are:
- DVD Copy - The program can copy the DVD to another blank DVD, create a DVD folder or an ISO image on the hard drive, or compress the content found on the DVD so that it fits on smaller discs.
- DVD Ripper - Convert DVDs to popular video formats or for playback on devices you own.
- Blu-Ray Copy - The program copies Blu-Ray discs to Blu-Ray/DVD/AVCHD discs, or to the computer hard drive.
- Blu-Ray Ripper - Converts Blu-Ray movies to 2D or 3D video formats.
- Passkey for DVD - This driver for Windows removes protection from encrypted DVD discs. In addition, it may be used to rip DVDs to the hard drive.
- Passkey for BluRay -Â This driver removes protection from encrypted Blu-Ray discs instead. It too enables you to copy the contents of a Blu-Ray disc to the hard drive.
WinX DVD Ripper Platinum
The program supports DVD discs only. It reads free and copy protected DVDs, and can convert them easily in different formats based on your specification.
Apart from creating video files directly, it ships with profiles that you can make use of to create videos for Android, iPhone and other devices that you own so that you can play them on said devices without having to worry about formats and other technical information.
Other commercial alternatives
The following programs may be suitable alternatives to AnyDVD and AnyDVD HD.
- Leawo DVD Ripper - The company's Blu-Ray ripper has been removed from the homepage, but the DVD Ripper is still available. It converts DVDs to more than 180 different formats and devices.
- Magic Blu-Ray Ripper - Rip Blu-Ray discs and ISO images to video formats, or convert them directly for select devices.
- Pavtube ByteCopy - The program converts Blu-Ray and DVD discs to (losless) MKV, or to multi-track mp4, avi or mov video formats.
- Pavtube DVDAid and BDMagic - Cheaper as DVDFab's and WinX's solution, the program supports the same features. It reads any DVD or Blu-Ray discs, and can copy the entire disc to the hard drive, or convert it to various formats or for supported devices. Please note that BDMagic includes a DVD Ripper.
Now You: Did we miss a program? Feel free to post suggestions in the comment section below.
Why not make use of the mplayer.conf?
Huh, I have never even seen this “font cache” pane; videos play at once for me, using VLC & XP SP3.
Mike, in theory this should have only been displayed once to you, at the very first video that you played with VLC. The time this window is displayed depends largely on the number of fonts in your font directory.
huh, I lucked out for a change?? Amazing!!
Apparently VLC keeps this info through version updates, but I didn’t see this message after a fresh OS install about 8 weeks ago, & a new VLC.
yes, yes, i have the same problem. sometimes, VLC crashes when it is playing .mov file.
Error:
Buidling font Cache pop-up
Solution:
Open VLC player.
On Menu Bar:
Tools
Preferences
(at bottom – left side)
Show settings — ALL
Open: Video
Click: Subtitles/OSD (This is now highlited, not opened)
Text rendering module – change this to “Dummy font renderer function”
Save
Exit
Re-open – done.
Progam will no longer look outside self for fonts
Source – WorthyTricks.co.cc
Great tip, thanks a lot Kishore.
@Kishore, I’ll try your tips, but does this mean it will no longer show subtitles either?
I do use subtitles, but the fontcache dialog box pops up (almost) everytime I play a file.
Could this be related to the fonts I have installed? Or if I add/remove fonts to my system?
I’ll try to do a fresh install also, if your tips does no work. I’ll post back here later…
/thanks
/j
@ Javier, The trick i posted will show up subtitles too. If not,
@ Javier, The trick i posted will show up subtitles too. If not,Dont worry, VLC is currently sorting out this issue and the next version will be out soon.
No probs @ Martin !! Its my pleasure
Try running LC with administrator privileges. That seemed to fix it for me
I am using SMplayer 0.8.6 (64-bit) (Portable Edition) on Windows 7 x64. Even with the -nofontconfig parameter in place SMplayer still scans the fonts. Also, I have enabled normal subtitles and it is still scanning fonts before playing a video. Also, it does this every time the player opens a video after a system restart (only the fist video played).
Does that mean that only instrumental versions of songs will be available for non-paying users?