AnyDVD 6.4.6.1 makes this guide mostly unnecessary thanks to the new "Rip to image..." option. Right click the fox icon, and you will find it there. This will create an ISO of your disc for you.
However, there are some things to be aware of.
On the new Rip to image... page, there is a checkbox that says:
"Keep Protection (Blu-ray/HD DVD)"
This may cause confusion to a lot of people, but, I want this feature to stay so this guide will be the place to send people who have questions/problems. Please point people having issues or questions with this feature to this post!
By default, it is unchecked. When the ISO is created, all protection is removed in the resulting ISO. AACS, BD+, etc are all removed during ISO creation. A clean image that is stripped of protection that can be mounted, burned, whatever. MOST PEOPLE WILL WANT TO USE THE RIP FEATURE THIS WAY!! If you are planning on burning your images, this is the option you want to use.
Now, when you enable the checkbox, it disables all protection removal in AnyDVD for that image. That means it creates an image bit for bit from the disc with ALL protection in tact. AACS, BD+, etc, are all in the image. I want to make this clear so that support does not get a lot of calls on this...this feature should NOT be used unless you KNOW the consequences! It seems like quite a hassle, right? Why would you want to use this feature? I use protected images because they are as close to the original as you can get. They're literally 1:1 copies, warts and all. The major benefit is if a bug crops up in AnyDVD that causes a (sorry, Peer) glitch to show up, those who ripped with protection removal enabled will need to rerip the disc with a fixed version of AnyDVD. Those who keep protection only have to remount the protected image with AnyDVD. This is a great time saver.
Notes:
-AnyDVD *MUST* be enabled when you mount a protected image! Mounting a protected image without AnyDVD enabled will result in the inability to play it!!
-Do NOT use the keep protection feature if you plan on burning your image! If you do rip with the keep protection feature enabled, you CAN mount the image with AnyDVD enabled and burn from the mounted drive, however, make sure you know what you're doing. Media is not cheap!
-Ripping is done per image meaning if you insert another disc in another drive, the checkbox is set per disc. Confusing maybe, but, incredibly helpful! An example is I have 2 Blu-ray drives in theory. I stick disc A in drive 1. I decide I want a protected ISO created. I select rip to image and check off the keep protection checkbox. I start that one ripping. I insert disc B into drive 2. I select rip to image and this time I do NOT select the checkbox to keep protection. The second image will have all protection removed while the first will have its protection kept. SWEET!!!
-The key caching issue. This is mostly a non-issue especially now in light of new information I just found out. When you insert the disc, AnyDVD will scan it and go acquire a key for it if it needs to. (Assuming you are not using a trial) This key is cached locally so that if you create a protected image, AnyDVD can decrypt it properly and all that fun stuff. If you reinstall AnyDVD, obviously you lose the cached keys. BUT, and here's the kick ass part, AnyDVD can retrieve the key from a mounted image to recache it! It works because the key is already stored on the key server and AnyDVD just goes and retrieves the right key. This is truly awesome! Remember, this only works if someone scans the original disc and AnyDVD acquired the key from the key server. The key can't be found directly from a mounted image. It must already be known by the key server. Nonetheless, if you're ripping with AnyDVD, then the key is now known cause you let AnyDVD scan the disc. SWEET! (For those that don't understand this, don't worry about it. The latest version of AnyDVD always has all known keys. This key caching stuff only applies to REALLY new discs that come out in between AnyDVD releases. Once a new version comes out, it will contain the keys and this isn't an issue. This information ONLY applies to new discs that AnyDVD doesn't have a key for internally.)
There you have it. A new feature that I ABSOLUTELY appreciate beyond words. If you have questions or problems with this feature, please post in this thread.
Also, there's a lot of posts in this thread. Most of them pertain to the old method of doing things. Anything posted before
this post is historical in nature and should not be considered current. Thanks!
