Lawyers Defeat DVD Decrypter

The author of DVD backup and copy program DVD Decrypter has been forced to cease development and distribution of the infamous program.

Ok so it has taken a while (almost 2 years), but eventually "a certain company" has decided they don"t like what I"m doing (circumventing their protection) and have come at me like a pack of wolves. I"ve no choice but to cease everything to do with DVD Decrypter.I realise this is going to be one of those "that sucks - fight them!" kinda things, but at the end of the day, it"s my life and I"m not about to throw it all away (before it has even really started) attempting to fight a battle I can"t possibly win.

If 321 Studios can"t do it with millions, what chance do I have with £50?! As I"m sure most of you have already noticed, the site has been down for a few days. That surprised me as much as the next person (slight breakdown in communication), or I would have issued this statement on it directly.

While I disagree with pirating software or copying DVD's, what ever happened to fair use? I can't believe that stupid laws like the DMCA get passed -- who's protecting our rights?

Now I hear that BitTorrent may be the next target of lawyers. We finally get a way to distribute large files and because it can be used to share movies, it'll probably get shut down like Grokster.

What ever happened to making content (movies, music, books, etc) so cheap that everyone will buy it and it won't be worth the time or energy to copy it? Why does a CD still cost $16? Apple gets it and is making a killing because they understand fair use.

Where's Lawrence Lessig and the EFF when we need them? Arrggghhhhhh!!!!

Thanks to Chris for sending this in.

Comments

Bummer. It's sad that something that has a practical use has to be shut down because corporations aren't lining their pockets enough.

In the end though, something different will come out and the underground won't be stopped, just re-routed. I haven't seen anything dead stopped yet. People still share mp3, movies, games, apps. The only thing they've been able to accomplish is to take down the big dogs, and make the process start all over again until another program that accomplishes the same thing gets popular.

Damn those filithy lawyers. Too bad I'm trying to become one.

[vox populi]

who cares? it will still work on all movies already out and most movies yet to be released. if not, then AnyDVD and other software will pick up the slack. when will the greedy assholes learn? they'll never stop us from sharing and copying movies, no matter what they do.

btw, compusa has a sale on dual layer verbatims, $12 for a 3-pack. $4 a piece, through saturday. it's the best price you will find anywhere. get 'em while they're hot!!!

F@#K THE RIAA, MPAA, BSA, etc.

[vox populi]

The king is dead. Long live the king.

DVD Decrypter 3.5.4.0
DVD Shrink 3.2
VobBlanker 2001

Learn them. Live them. Love them.

[Mike M]

What do you use VobBlanker for?

[vox populi]

VobBlanker blanks cells in the menus or program chains of a DVD. Thus, you can get rid of annoying previews, studio logos, ratings screen, encoder credit, and FBI warnings. Thus, you get a disc that goes straight to the movie or main menu when inserted in a player. I use it on all my back-ups now, because it streamlines the discs that much more. Also, you can often fit dual layer movies to single layer if you blank unwanted crap. Especially if it's a disc with 16x9 and 4x3 versions on the same side. Studios suck to put this junk on discs in the first place. Discs should go to the menu or movie with no extra annoyances.

[Mike M]

Nice, I'll have to grab that. Thanks

[+ken]

The EFF is trying, but they can't fight the influence the studio's have either.....

thanks for the VobBlanker tip!

+ken

[Joe D.]

Legally you have the right to make one backup copy of your own if you bought the DVD. How can you do that if they take companies like this away? Dang good program I use in in conjunction with DVD shrink to make backups of all our DVDs that way we get a scratch we are out less than a buck for a DVD-R I pull out the original redub and problem solved instead of having to find another copy for 5-10 dollars.

[Mike M]

Actually didn't they make it so you are technically not legally allowed to copy DVD's for ANY reason, even if you own the origonal.

you may be right mike... i know at the begining of DVD's now the fed warning says that unauthorized reproduction, even reproduction without the intent for profit, is prohibited. (or something along those lines anyway).

can anyone clearify?

[PlungeBob]

Well, this doesn't solve the problem, but it will give
you a chuckle:

When you use DVDShrink, you can select the image to use
when replacing a video in the disk image with a still
image. Go to the DVDShrink download page and grab the
modified FBI warning screen that someone posted there.

This way, when the warning pops up it warns you against
a list of actions that includes "shrinking" (but the
image looks normal otherwise)

Good for a laugh!

(but be warned that this image larger results than the
default image, which is smaller)

[Lynn]

Re request for clarification -- this is the problem with the DMCA. Under *copyright* law, you certainly are permitted to make a back up of something you already bought for archive purposes, or to listen to in your car, or whatever. That's fair use. But the DMCA prohibits breaking any digital encryption for any reason, and did not include fair use rights. Thus, it is perfectly legal to back up something like a videotape, because the decryption isn't digital and the DMCA doesn't apply, but it's illegal to back up the same movie on DVD, because that is encrypted digitally.

Do these rules do anything to prevent large-scale pirates from doing their thing? Of course not. It only punishes honest consumers who want to get the benefit of what they paid for.

(And before you bash all lawyers, try blaming their clients, like the overzealous, paranoid MPAA and RIAA. Lawyers don't do anything unless their clients tell them to, and there are also lawyers on the other side trying to defend consumer rights.)

Lynn is right on target. You can copy it under fair use BUT the DMCA says you cannot break protection to do it!

How many politicians voted this into law and NEVER even read the bill or understood what it really meant?

"It'll stop piracy? Okay, good enough for me!"

[CaT]

The movie industry will soon suffer from exactly what the music industry is now. You cannot battle the customer and make a larger profit. If it is made impossible to backup a copy which I own, I will not buy any more dvds.

Yes, I've used decrypter and shrink, even on an occasional rental that I like but would not buy. But I'm also in Columbia House and I go to K-Mart and I buy every dvd that I would buy anyway. I see this as being fair and honest. For now, decrypter and other programs still work. However, with each step the movie industry takes at preventing copying is a step I take toward deciding not to buy any dvds. They have declared war on the customer by not allowing backup copies. I will not buy something that can be destroyed by a scratch and I cannot backup. If I'm forced back to cable, so be it.

[Rob Emmerich]

I would give up DVD Decryptor and DVD Shrink for a DVD player that just plays the movie. I want to see an infomercial with that strectched face ugly dude and his kidnapped bingo playing audience yelling "Press play..and walk away". No long drawn out unnecessary menu screens and jumping lamps and multi-language warning screens. I don't even want to press play, I just want to put it in and have the movie start. And if you don't know what I'm talking about try putting in Nemo or Lion King or Beauty and the Beast 8 trillion times with your kids. I own those movies on discs with tons and tons of extras that never get watched, just copies I made of the movie. No stealing, no selling, just the movie.

[vox populi]

"Actually didn't they make it so you are technically not legally allowed to copy DVD's for ANY reason, even if you own the origonal."

Someone said, "There is no DMCA. It's just a bad dream."

BTW, to use VobBlanker, you need an unencrypted file rip of the DVD (not an image file). Set VB to skip menus and titles if you're not blanking them - to save time. Also, set it to "use input folder." The original files are put in a backup folder under that. For some DVDs, it takes a while to process, because the forced crap is in the same title set as the movie. Thus, the whole movie has to be re-read and re-written. Most studios put forced content in the VIDEO_TS menus and you can safely blank them, but preview it just to be sure.

I wish VB 2002 was a little more user-friendly, but you can figure it out if you read the help files and online documentation.

http://jsoto.posunplugged.com/vobblanker.htm

[vox populi]

"I would give up DVD Decryptor and DVD Shrink for a DVD player that just plays the movie."

Get a Daewoo player. Mine has an option called Auto Play that scans a DVD and plays the longest running program. It's usually the main movie, except with TV series where it may just be the longest episode. I don't know if they still have this feature - mine is about a year old. I'm fairly certain that most players don't have this option, since it probably violates the imaginary DMCA. My Daewoo will also play foreign region regions. Just hit display twice, then play or menu, when prompted to check region. It works like a charm on every foreign disc I've tried.

[vox populi]

"you may be right mike... i know at the begining of DVD's now the fed warning says that unauthorized reproduction, even reproduction without the intent for profit, is prohibited. (or something along those lines anyway).
can anyone clearify?"

IANAL, but I've read several places that nobody has ever been sued for non-commercial copying of DVDs. They have sued people for sharing on p2p networks. But it would be futile to charge someone with backing up a DVD and would alienate lots of customers (just like the RIAA lawsuits).

I say let those dumb fucks spend themselves into bankruptcy. There'll just be another program that takes over the market. Smart Ripper is up there. By the way, if you want to download the latest version v3.5.4.0 of DVD Decryper, before the mirrors are forced to take it down

http://www.afterdawn.com/software/video_software/dvd_rippers/dvd_decrypter.cfm

Is DVD Shrink next? I'll tell you why not. Because it's used mainly for DVD copying. MPAA is currently most interested in P2P, hence the stand-alone rippers, which are used in P2P sharing. But just in case, archive any piece of software that lawyers have their eyes on.

By "dumb fucks" I meant MPAA, not the DVD Decrypter

"F@#K THE RIAA, MPAA, BSA, etc."

...and they can all KISS MY A$$ (including the BA$TARD lawyers that decide to make their money by suing to take away the rights of the people).

Btw...if you are part of the RIAA, MPAA, BSA, etc. or one of their BA$TARD lawyers, and you are reading this let me say I am sorry to you.

I am sorry because you have mistaken me for someone WHO GIVE A FUCK!

[santino]

i personally will continue using dvd-decrypter. i just bought anydvd. It's great and it's updated often. For those that are interested.. download the trialware of anydvd, go to decrypter settings, uncheck structure protection and chose ElbyCDIO in I/O tab. voila! Anydvd will decss/de-macrovision/de-arcoss for you and decrypter will do the rest (rip to your harddrive)

Long live decrypting!

[vox populi]

DEATH TO THE RIAA, MPAA, BSA, DMCA, AND DRM.
LONG LIVE FAIR USE, CRACKING, AND REVERSE ENGINEERING.

[vox populi]

With DVD Decrypter, you often end up with a better copy than the original. Example: "Die Hard" (Collector's Ed. and Five Star) both have a mastering glitch. When played on my PC using WinDVD 6, the audio drops out and playback pauses for a second at the change from Chapter 9 to 10. This isn't a layer break - that occurs in chapter 32. It is a mastering problem and also occurs when you rip with dvd shrink. With DVD Decrypter set to "detect mastering errors", the problem is fixed and the disc plays fine at that point. Many DVDs are defective like this, and could be fixed by re-ripping and burning with DVD Decrypter.

Also, Prohibited User Operations (PUO's) make many DVDs worthless. You can't change the audio or subtitles with the remote, you can't stop or pause or skip or rewind or fast forward. Some discs hijack your machine so you can do nothing but eject the disc. That is BULLSHIT. I'm not going to buy a DVD with that kind of crap. I'm gonna get it from Netflix/BBO/etc, rip it, and burn it. If studios want me to buy DVDs, stop putting DRM crap on the discs that hijack my machine. Make the movie play immediately when inserted in the player, or at least go straight to the menu and play immediately from there. No THX logos, studio logos, or ratings screens - just go straight to the movie in one step or less.

Most DVDs aren't worth buying, unless you have a Daewoo player that can jump right to the movie with Auto Play. Even then, you are stuck with the Prohibited Operations, which degrade functionality. I would have bought David Lynch's "Mulholland Drive" if Lynch wasn't such a total asshole - digitally censoring a frontal nudity shot, refusing to have chapter stops, and not allowing you to switch audio streams on the fly (you have to go to the menu and then start the whole movie from the beginning, with no chapter stops). What a useless piece of shit. It's not even worth the trouble of copying.

SCREW YOU, DAVID LYNCH - and other directors who tamper with movies (George Lucas, for instance). If you don't want to make a chapter menu, fine, but at least include 16 chapter stops or more. So if we have a power outage or want to analyze specific scenes, we don't have to go through the whole movie by fast forwarding.