No fox, no job, no future?

[SamuriHL]

Jeeze I go away for a day and look what happens. LOL. Obviously I throw my support into the ring for moving this forward. Whatever you need, ex-slysoft team.

 

[mcmenace]

You actually can have (well, in some countries, as Adbear mentioned) and in some even make, but as long as it is not for profit.

That's where a disclaimer of sorts may help. Just trying to do some brainstorming to come up with helpful thoughts. I have seen disclaimers used successfully on other products. Lots of them. So I threw it out there.

 

[hart2hart]

US is on that list. (1) backup of a purchased movie is indeed allowed.

I've been reading about AACS and BD+ to understand this issue. My quandry is you can make a legal backup copy but it will not play since special BDROM mark cannot be copied and is required in decryption. Is this correct?

Realize point of this topic is to provide support to former team and I'm 100% there just learning in process.

 

[ron spencer]

Regardless of how it is done, the biggest juggernaut will be the payments processor. It hasn't gone unnoticed that there is a potential of a new version/new product; and there will be pressure on processors not to be part of a new venture (you can bet on that). And if a new product is going to be a going concern there will be taxes that need to be paid and assessed (personal, corporate, VAT, etc.). Plus the developers will need to be paid. Unless it goes completely underground, the challenges will be large. Unless a new country benefactor is found Keeping it as disaggregated as it obviously was under Slysoft will be advantageous.

 

[diverjones]

How about including a disclaimer stating something like this product is meant for buyer to make (1) backup of DVD's or Bluray movies they purchased (which is allowed in US and elsewhere) and misuse of the product is a violation of the agreement. Could maybe deflect the heat away from product?? Just an idea

I doubt that would make any difference and would be of little consequence in the end. During the days of DVD X-Copy they went to extraordinary lengths to keep the movie industry from shutting them down. They EVEN put a splash screen on EVERY backed up copy (something I think everyone hated) that specifically stated this was a backup copy and could not be used for public display. Darn thing filled the entire TV screen. In the end, nothing they did mattered. They were shut down within 6 months to a year.

 

[Prospere]

That's where a disclaimer of sorts may help. Just trying to do some brainstorming to come up with helpful thoughts. I have seen disclaimers used successfully on other products. Lots of them. So I threw it out there.

Not sure this is the case where a disclaimer of some sort may be of any use.

For example, you are allowed to make a circumvention tool and so you do. What's next? You cannot sell it as a product, no matter whether it has any disclaimer or not. In some countries you may be able to distribute it for free, although, I am not sure about the latest.

 

[Bandits]

I would support any new development.

My 1785 DVD's/Blu-ray's on my bookcase were all bought legally from Best Buy. I would hate to go back to putting disc's into a player just to have them become unplayable/broken at some point. I wouldn't have a need to control my own backups if the industry guaranteed me a license to the media I pay for, not something written to eventually self destruct. The only time my disc's see the outside of its package is to be ripped and placed on my NAS. Without AnyDVD HD this would never been possible.

I bought 3 products in the Sylsoft/Emby suite back in 2004 then 2 more in 2009. Best investment I ever made for a software purchase. Top quality products all around.

Bandits

 

[BSE]

You're still not understanding how it works, if it was that easy then Slysoft would have done that.
It's not legal in any way to circumvent the encryption on the discs so no matter what disclaimer you put in the software what you are actually doing is illegal.
You may have a right to make a backup of your disc, but as has already been stated multiple times, you do not have a legal right to break the encryption

While for all practical purposes that is true, in the US there is an exception process, which seems like it should mean the tools for breaking encryption can't be illegal (of course, IANAL, so take with a huge grain of salt). See http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...o-rip-dvd-and-blu-ray-discs-for-personal-use/. I assume every country has their own laws and legal precedents, this is specific to the US.

Specifically

The librarian did grant DMCA exemptions for copying "short portions" of DVDs or Blu-rays for "use in documentary filmmaking" and for "nonfiction multimedia e-books offering film analysis." Teachers and students may also crack the discs "for educational purposes" and for "film studies or other courses requiring close analysis of film and media excerpts."

 

[mcmenace]

Not sure this is the case where a disclaimer of some sort may be of any use.

For example, you are allowed to make a circumvention tool and so you do. What's next? You cannot sell it as a product, no matter whether it has any disclaimer or not. In some countries you may be able to distribute it for free, although, I am not sure about the latest.

Perhaps a disclaimer is of no use in this case, although including one would't hurt. Might not help either. Somebody else's call. In my profession of Electrical Engineer, we would have brainstorming sessions including all relative employees that frequently were productive.

Throwing ideas out, even one's perceived as not very good, at least got the wheels spinning and many times lead to solving problems. As large as this thread is growing, I think some really good things may come out of it. Some pretty sharp minds here.

 

[Kowalski]

I became a member here just to tell you that I would gladly support the foxes rise from the ashes by paying for a life time license in advance. I would also support a crowdfunding campaign (which might not be the best idea as stated in other posts). I'm not too fond of subscriptions, but I'd even go as far and pay a monthly fee for it, just to get it going again. I'd just need a way to pay by credit card or paypal - or even direct bank transfer. I have no idea how bitcoin works and I'm fairly sure my PC which is over a decade old can't handle it anyway. Is there any way we could stay in touch with latest developments in case this forum goes down?

Unfortunately I haven't bought a licence for AnyDVD in time which bugs me a lot - I really wish I had done it differently. I postponed buying a license because I first wanted to get myself a Blu-ray setup (new PC/BD-Drive/monitor) which I wasn't able to afford up to now due to other finencial priorities.
I intended to finally get myself a lifetime licence this Friday so that I still could get the February discount. What a bummer! When I read the news about Slysoft going down on Friday morning, I was more or less devastated. Seems I postponed it once too often. I'm really sorry guys! I wish I had bought it when I finally decided to get myself a Blu-ray PC in the very near future.

As an avid movie fan, I've bought Blu-rays along with the DVDs I bought over the past years. All I want is for my collection to be safe & soundly archived while I can enjoy the movies I bought on my PC which is my only media player. I don't have a single pirated movie here. The fox would have enabled me to actually watch the Blu-rays I bought. I've even bought several editions of the same movie just to have the best possible edition in my possession. For example 'Vanishing Point' is only available in its extended UK-release on the US Blu-ray, naturally I've got that along with the UK Blu-ray which only includes the US-version. With the current situation I'm not sure If I can ever make a backup copy or even watch that Blu-ray - I can only hope that I can somehow create an iso from this disk with the 'abandonware' version of the fox. Hell, I'm having a guilty conscience already without even being able to read a Blu-ray yet (might not work anyway due to missing OPD), thus I'd gladly donate money if you should decide to go the crowdfunding way. In a panic I went over to the monkey site and purchased Lifetime licenses of Passkey and Bluray copy ...just to make sure I won't make the same mistake I made with the fox.
I would prefer to have a license to the fox, though - thus I'd even pay for my license in advance, should the Fox rise again.
On weekends like this, I really wonder why I continue to support Hollywood by buying movies despite its complete lack of respect for its customers. Seems my love of movies is still too strong...

I wish the ex-slysoft staff all the best in their future endeavors and I can only express my regret again that I hadn't purchased a license earlier. I hope that these future endeavors includes infusing new life into the fox.

 

[Dredd]

Just registered to say, count me in. Had a lifetime license too.

 

[BSE]

While for all practical purposes that is true, in the US there is an exception process...

More info for those interested.

 

[rdodolak]

While for all practical purposes that is true, in the US there is an exception process, which seems like it should mean the tools for breaking encryption can't be illegal (of course, IANAL, so take with a huge grain of salt). See http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...o-rip-dvd-and-blu-ray-discs-for-personal-use/. I assume every country has their own laws and legal precedents, this is specific to the US.

Specifically

When this comes back up for review in 3 years, an overwhelming argument needs to be made on all fronts to try and get the DMCA exemption. Unfortunately, AACS LA and the movie industry continue to counter the few arguments with false information. You can review the counter arguments compared to what was posted from the Sony hack and the studios and other mouthpieces are talking out both sides of their mouths.

 

[thedatman]

I'm in for sure that will never change. I wish someone had a crystal ball. I would just wait but not knowing I may buy dvdfab passkey or makemkv. I don't trust either can figure out new encryptions on their own. But I'm a sucker for a sale and make pull the trigger for the passkey to get 20% off.

 

[rracb]

AnyDVD's magic mostly happens in the anydvd.sys kernel mode driver, and you really want this to be signed. Otherwise Windows will refuse to load it. Windows 10 even requires, that you send the driver to Microsoft, and they will sign the driver for you - self signing is no longer allowed.
I really hate Microsoft for this.

I want AnyDVD for a Raspberry Pi. Plug in a drive at the USB port, watch the disc on the Raspi. Or access it over the Ethernet port.

What about porting the code to *nix? Folks could set up a *nix box or even a VM running *nix under Windows to accomplish the same thing.

 

[BlindedByScience]

Up front, big thanks and much respect to the team that developed and maintained this great software. Always worked, always did what it was supposed to do, updates were always timely and always appreciated.

I've had my LTL's for almost a decade, bought the HD license as soon as it was available, to show support, but honestly haven't used it much at all.

Count me in when it comes to a startup cash donation, re-purchase of licenses, and any other support I can offer this team.

 

[The Higher Bid]

Regardless of how it is done, the biggest juggernaut will be the payments processor. It hasn't gone unnoticed that there is a potential of a new version/new product; and there will be pressure on processors not to be part of a new venture (you can bet on that). And if a new product is going to be a going concern there will be taxes that need to be paid and assessed (personal, corporate, VAT, etc.). Plus the developers will need to be paid. Unless it goes completely underground, the challenges will be large. Unless a new country benefactor is found Keeping it as disaggregated as it obviously was under Slysoft will be advantageous.

That was my idea as well, run it as solid as wikileaks...

 

[autodidact]

More info for those interested.

Good info! "Remix Videos From DVD and Blu-Ray Sources"
Exactly what I love to do, creating my own BD series collections, rip, demux, remux, creating my own menus with my favorite episodes from different series/sources.
Some series where there are no subtitles I create my own, and also translating some. It's like a cool hobby.
I paid my fair amount of $$ to the movie studios over the years, all the way from Betamax and VHS, some older movie classics I probably bought 3 or 4 times in different formats.
Many years ago I donated my whole VHS-DVD collection to charity with some nostalgic exeptions, (yes I still have a VHS player that works like a charm).
So their out there, somewhere, giving somebody a good movie time.

 

[Barough]

If I knew that the quality of products and the support we've had could continue under new ownership, I would gladly repurchase my licenses.

Me too

 

[ThomasG]

Here's just another lifetime license owner of your awesome products since 2006. Keep on going, guys!