SlySoft AnyDVD HD - Go HDCP Free! - Why SlySoft AnyDVD HD?

The Alternatives:

The afore-mentioned software only decrypts the data and allows you to rip it to your hard drive.  While it's true that storage is cheap, a single HD-DVD movie can be as large as 30GB and Blu-Ray movies are up to 50GB.  It won't take many movies to fill up a large hard drive, and it's a pain to have to wait an hour or more to rip a movie to your hard drive before you can watch it.  This is what makes SlySoft AnyDVD HD beautiful.  Simply drop the disk in your drive and within a few seconds you are ready to play the HDCP content on a non-HDCP videocard or monitor.  The quality looks every bit as good, as the software is merely decrypting the key on the fly.

AnyDVD HD Close Up:

I downloaded and tried out the time-limited demo of AnyDVD HD and after 3 weeks, I was hooked.  This software not only made playing HD-DVD movies simple and painless, it also make other DVD movies more enjoyable as it has some nice features such as intro, preview and commectial skip.  The main point of this article is HD-DVD HDCP playback, but we'll cover some of the other features as well.

Check out any of the images for a better idea of what AnyDVD HD offers.

AnyDVD Info

AnyDVD HD-DVD Decryption

AnyDVD Skip Commercials

AnyDVD DVD	AnyDVD HD-DVD
AnyDVD Blu-Ray	AnyDVD CD

This software is simple to use and works great out of the box.  By default it skips all the intros, previews and commercials and puts you right at the main menu of your DVD.  The beauty of this software is really its simplicity.  You don't really ever know that it's running - it just works.

What You See Is What You Get:

I mentioned previously that the software runs in the background and when you insert a disk into a drive, it automatically reads and removes whatever protections is on the disk.  If you bought an XBOX 360 HD-DVD drive to use with your computer, you'll be happy to know that AnyDVD HD also comes with the driver to allow you to view the file system of the HD-DVD.  In a matter of seconds after you insert an HD-DVD, you can browse the file system at your leisure and drag and drop files from the disk if you so desire.

AnyDVD HD-DVD Filesystem

AnyDVD HD-DVD Broken

Although the wonderful thing about AnyDVD HD is that you can play movies directly off the disc without first copying them to your Hard Drive - you can still easily copy movies to your drive with a simple two-click operation.  To copy an "uncopyable" movie from the disc to your computer, simply right-click the AnyDVD icon in the system tray, and select "Rip Video DVD to Harddisk..."  This performs a 1:1 copy of any DVD, HD-DVD or Blu-Ray disc of your choice.  It can't really get any easier than that.

At any point after you install the software, you can fire up your HD-DVD software and enjoy whatever High-Definition title you choose on HDCP compliant, or non-compliant hardware.  After purchasing the XBOX360 HD-DVD drive, I quickly picked up a few movies such as Sahara, Serenity and the Planet Earth Documentary Series.  All of these titles are breathtaking and worth purchasing if you've got a display large enough to enjoy them on.  My family and I have been enjoying Planet Earth on my 305T Samsung display.  The quality is fantastic and playback couldn't be any easier thanks to Slysoft's AnyDVD HD.

 (If the picture quality above is bad, it's because of poor lighting in the shop.) 

Conclusion:

If you are considering purchasing an HD-DVD drive for your computer, make sure you have all the necessary HDCP compliant hardware and software including OS, Software Player, Drivers, Graphics Card and Display.  Then say a prayer and hope that this DRM infected video plays - even if you've met the requirements.  Better yet, grab a piece of software like AnyDVD HD from Slysoft and don't worry about HDCP at all.  If you've purchased a 24" display a couple of years ago, chances are you can't watch HD-DVD or Blu-Ray content, and rather than spend another $800 on a new display, spend $80 on this software and enjoy HDCP-free movies on your computer, laptop or TV.  It's really that simple and worth every penny in my opinion.

For some though, the price may be too steep, and you'd prefer a free ripper that will only rip it to your Hard Drive, you have a few choices.  However, the simplicity and convenience of AnyDVD HD is simply wonderful.

Pros:

• Simple to install and run.
• Combines with an XBOX360 HD-DVD drive to make a cheap HiDef PC.
• Removes HDCP and other protection in seconds.
• Clean, non-bloated interface.
• Allows you to play HD-DVD and Blu-Ray movies without HDCP hardware.
  

Cons:

• Price: At $80USD it may be a bit expensive for some. 

If you want to add HD-DVD capability to your computer and don't have all the money to upgrade to HDCP compliant hardware, AnyDVD HD is a must-have and certainly a Top Pick

Please post any thoughts, comments and questions you have about this software in our forum at the Comments link below.