Not one, but two popular Blu-ray ripping tools have announced plans to scale back operations, and in one case, to shut up shop entirely.
SlySoft, the makers of the popular DVD and Blu-ray ripping tool AnyDVD, abruptly ended all operations this week. The official SlySoft website now simply displays a short message, which reads: "Due to recent regulatory requirements we have had to cease all activities relating to SlySoft Inc. We wish to thank our loyal customers/clients for their patronage over the years."
A thread on the official SlySoft forum provided slightly more information on SlySoft's demise. In posts by SlySoft team member "Tom", it was revealed that SlySoft has been under immense legal pressure for some time, from "Websheriff over Irdeto, US department of Justice to AACS-LA", and that the company held out longer than most in resisting the pressure.
Customers who purchased AnyDVD can continue to use the software for DVD and Blu-ray ripping, although the software may cease to work with newer titles that require access to the online database, which will go offline eventually.
In a related, but separate news story, rival ripping software maker Fengtao Software, makers of DVDFab, has announced that they will not be providing support for Ultra HD Blu-ray discs. The reason for the lack of support also appears to be related to unspecified legal pressure.
"The next version of AACS Copy Protection accompanying those newly released Ultra HD Blu-ray titles is the version 2.0 of Advanced Access Content System. According to a document called AACS 2.0 Draft, the new copy protection requires the Ultra HD Blu-ray players to support two AACS 2.0 functionalities, one named ‘basic’ and the other referred as ‘enhanced’," the company said in a statement.
"Fengtao Software Inc. makes it clear that the company will not decrypt or circumvent AACS 2.0 in the days to come. This is in accordance with AACS-LA, (which has not made public the specifications for AACS 2.0), the BDA and the movie studios."
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