AnyDVD HD 6.7.7.0

Rated 40/50 by emanresU deriseD at May 5, 2009

@DudeBoyz: The system doesn't always have to be rebooted after installing/updating AnyDVD. I think it depends on whether the driver has been used during the current Windows session or not.

Rated 20/50 by Young Strider at May 12, 2009

This tool's filesize grew by nearly 80% in 2 months time. Better focus on program abilities instead of copy-protection.

Rated 10/50 by DudeBoyz at May 15, 2009

The problem re-introduced in the last version is now still there. I sent them the details of it, so I hope that they get it fixed again. Until then, a 1 is now the score.

Rated 10/50 by DudeBoyz at May 30, 2009

I believe that a Driver-Level application is inherently more complicated and prone to conflicts than a stand-alone executable. If AnyDVD were a stand-alone executable, it is unlikely that there would be issues with programs like InCD, DirectCD and other such applications that already function between the hardware and the end-user. A stand-alone executable would not have to jockey for position / control with other system level drivers. You run it, you rip, you close it. Nothing left in memory to cause a conflict. Currently, AnyDVD IS a driver level application, and as a result it does have issues with programs like InCD and DirectCD. So that certainly cannot work in its favor. Also, DVD Shrink is not the only application that is capable of identifying and displaying the excess data that AnyDVD leaves behind after a "rip", but it is one of the easiest to find and most widely used programs out there. If someone wishes to duplicate the issue, it's very easy to do and the result is very easy to see. If I focused on Ulead DVD Movie Factory or some other commercial application, for example, it is likely that only a small fraction of AnyDVD users would own that same program and be able to duplicate the problem. DVD Shrink makes that entire issue moot. The issue that is apparent in DVD Shrink is the same issue that appears in other content processing applications in this genre and is therefore relevant. For the reasons mentioned above, in addition to the other functional and cost issues that I have previously mentioned, I believe a low score is still warranted.

Rated 10/50 by DudeBoyz at Jun 1, 2009

I rate AnyDVD down because it does have compatibility problems with InCD (and other such applications). If it was a stand-alone EXE it would very likely NOT have any problems with InCD. Other rippers certainly do not. I suggest that they move to a stand-alone EXE because I want the conflicts with such applications to stop so that AnyDVD can work without issues for as many users as possible. But that is just a suggestion. It loses points because it simply doesn't work properly as it is right now. I rate AnyDVD down because it does not produce as clean of a rip as other apps do. Just recently I rated it up a notch because they had seemingly corrected that issue. Yet in a release shortly thereafter, it seems that they went back to the old code, because the problem reappeared and has stayed there. I rate AnyDVD down because of increasingly excessive cost and un-friendly changes to the terms of their product license. "Update not Upgrade" was a huge blow to the value because users who did spend the extra expecting lifetime upgrades got shafted. Couple all of that with the fact that there are FREE alternatives to this program and it is just not possible to recommend it to anybody as a worthwhile purchase. It is fair to mention how you think a program could improve, but it is expected that users rate the program as it is in the specific beta / final release that we are testing. That is what I am rating AnyDVD on. What it is and how it works today. And for those reasons listed above, AnyDVD as it is right now is just not cutting it - not in terms of compatibility, licensing terms, value and overall cost.

Rated 10/50 by catchpole at Jun 1, 2009

0.0

Rated 50/50 by BIL at Jun 1, 2009

As stated before, AnyDVD works and works very well. The fact that they chose to write code the way they want and not include methods they don't feel are necessary to do the job for which it was written is NOT a good reason to keep giving a low score. The software does what the authors wrote it to do. The fact that they did not write it the way Dudeboyz wants it is an unjustifiable reason to mark it down. If someone else wants it to include different features or methods that the author doesn't agrre with they can offer a coding solution to them or write thier own competing software. Yes we are over all your whining that they won't do what YOU want.

Rated 40/50 by GunnzAkimbo2007 at Jun 5, 2009

Blu-Ray ISO creation is brilliant. Takes about 2+ hrs to rip with all security over-ride options enabled. But why is this tiny program not freeware?

Rated 10/50 by DudeBoyz at Jun 9, 2009

Same issues still exist, except I have found that AnyDVD HD only has trouble with 2 of the third party copy / move applications I have tested it with, so I'm not sure if AnyDVD is actually the problem. Accordingly, I will wait until I hear back from Slysoft before going over that topic in more detail. I'm also going to do some more extensive testing with apps similar to DVD Movie Factory 5 / 6 (apps that import ripped VIDEO_TS folders) in an attempt to provide more facts and data so that Slysoft can have a better chance at nailing down the specific code causing the problem that prevent the clean rips that should be the result. They had that fixed or at least improved with DVD Shrink and DVD Movie Factory 5 / 6 earlier, and if I can just help provide the resources to help them nail that down once and for all, I'd be pretty satisfied. That said, I Do Include Value as one of the factors I consider in rating. If the cost of AnyDVD HD was $49.99 USD or maybe $59.99 USD, I think it would be a much better value and I would notch it up at least a full point - maybe two, depending on the licensing. If you paid say $69.99 USD for AnyDVD HD - Maybe even $79.99 USD - and were able to actually buy FULL LIFETIME UPGRADES and not just UP - DATES, then I could see me rating the package higher. If those were in place, 3.5 maybe 4 would probably be justifiable, if there were still some compatibility and "clean rip" improvements. It is NOT an evil program. But it is an Expensive program with a less-than-friendly consumer licensing policy in addition to the compatibility issues that come about because it is a system level driver utility instead of a standalone executable. Value, Licensing and Compatibility are all legit scoring criteria and I don't understand why anyone would have a problem with them. It's important for people who purchase the software to know that the program is going to be more stable, more feature-rich and that if you invest your hard-earned m

Rated 50/50 by emanresU deriseD at Jun 9, 2009

"If there were no free or lower cost alternatives to compare the product to, then the score might be higher." That says it right there. Imagine the contorted logic that goes into such a mode of thinking. Say you rate this software, and rate it well, because there are no free competitors. Then, some free offering does come along. Oh no! You have to come back and update your review and rating! No, cost should be considered an entirely separate issue. Rolling "value" into "rating" is senseless. When you look for software, wouldn't you like to be able to easily locate high-quality software, and filter on price separately? This would let you view top-rated freeware, if you like, or top-rated ... anything. As it is, people rate many freeware titles with one "5" after another... Until the title becomes shareware, and then they start rating it with a "1". Or, if it's shareware, and the price goes up, they start rating it down. The rating is only very loosely tied into the quality. It's the pinnacle of idiocy, and it makes ratings next to meaningless. I have little doubt that DudeBoyz would rate AnyDVD with a "4" or "5" if it were to miraculously become freeware. Oh, and while I agree that the price is too high, the freeware competitors are crap.

Rated 50/50 by cyberia at Jun 9, 2009

It works. Stand alone wouldn't get to the low-level DRM that cause many DVD's to be unreadable! Free upgrades forever, and did I mention that... it works!? I will!

Rated 50/50 by emanresU deriseD at Jun 12, 2009

Amen, Fafner. Value is a ridiculous rating criterion. Suppose you can't afford AnyDVD, so you give it a 1. Then you get a nice promotion at work, you inherit some money, your spouse gets a job, or you win the lottery, so money isn't so much of an object anymore. Suddenly, AnyDVD gets a 5 from you. Ridiculous. Or, they change the price. It goes down, so suddenly everyone needs to update their reviews to add a star. Or the price goes up, and suddenly it's less of a "value", so the rating needs to go down. Ridiculous. Or, they issue a coupon or extend a special offer. What do you do--rate it highly until the coupon or offer expires, and then change the rating? Ridiculous. Or, the US dollar becomes very strong again (dare to dream). Or the Euro becomes weak. Or the Latvian Lat goes up. Suddenly, people change their rating based on geography, because the relative price of AnyDVD has changed. Ridiculous. Different versions sometimes get their own listing, but I have never seen a software listing broken off when the price changed. Hence, rating on "value" is senseless.

Rated 50/50 by emanresU deriseD at Jun 12, 2009

Amen, Fafner. Value is a ridiculous rating criterion. Suppose you can't afford AnyDVD, so you give it a 1. Then you get a nice promotion at work, you inherit some money, or you win the lottery, so money isn't so much of an object anymore. Suddenly, AnyDVD gets a 5 from you. Ridiculous. Or, they change the price. It goes down, so suddenly everyone needs to update their reviews to add a star. Or the price goes up, and suddenly it's less of a "value", so the rating needs to go down. Ridiculous. Or, the US dollar becomes very strong again (dare to dream). Or the Euro becomes weak. Or the Latvian Lat goes up. Suddenly, people change their rating based on geography, because the relative price of AnyDVD has changed. Ridiculous. Different versions sometimes get their own listing, but I have never seen a software listing broken off when the price changed. Hence, rating on "value" is senseless.

Rated 30/50 by some guy at Jun 18, 2009

pretty nice piece of software but I consider this spam posted every other day

Rated 10/50 by DudeBoyz at Jun 19, 2009

VALUE: It used to be $39 USD. Now it is over $150 USD Since there are free applications that can rip DVD and Blu-ray, that seems incredibly expensive. LICENSING: Updates not Upgrades - Meaning that if you buy a lifetime subscription for the 6.x series, your lifetime subscription would not include the 7.x or 8.x or 9.x series. Re-purchasing a lifetime subscription? That should not have to be the case. Any users who purchased a Lifetime License should have received all releases without additional cost. COMPATIBILITY: It does not work properly with Packet Writing products such as the very latest versions of Nero InCD and DirectCD. It does not work properly with some third party copy enhancement applications such as copyhandler, totalcopy, fastcopy, terracopy, kill copy, super copier. It has issues with other resident applications that keep an eye on disk activities, be it optical or magnetic. It has displayed issues with drive-specific hardware implementations / features such as Mt Rainier (native hardware packet writing support), LightScribe, LabelFlash and Buffer Underrun implementations such as BurnProof, SafeBurn, JustLink, Seamless Link, PowerBurn & JustSpeed. BUGS: It does not provide a clean rip in all cases, while the competition can and does. Updates are hit and miss. There are a ton of versions being issued, but not all of them are related to new protections. Bad code is often introduced as fast as older code may be tweaked or repaired. If the application had a more stringent quality assurance process in place, it would not be necessary to issue fixes at such a fevered pace. These issues exist independent of any false accusations of bias or grudges. They are documented, tangible and factual. They do not merit personal attacks.

Rated 50/50 by chadamus at Jun 23, 2009

Goodness, where's the 'Report Abuse' button when you need it?

Rated 50/50 by emanresU deriseD at Jul 8, 2009

I wrote a GreaseMonkey script that automatically removes DudBoyz' [sic] comments. It works great and not only does it allow me to skip over his nonsense, I get a laugh out of it. Five stars for a program that, while very expensive, at least WORKS.

Rated 10/50 by emanresU deriseD at Jul 9, 2009

Just for you, catchpole, I'm going to slam AnyDVD in this review. I don't give a crap and I'm not a "fanatic" of ANY software title.

Rated 10/50 by catchpole at Jul 9, 2009

AnyDVD fanatics are getting angry i see EDIT oh you dont need to give any lower points, slysoft bots are giving great points to this program anyway and you can use that script with my comments too. i don't care.

Rated 50/50 by emanresU deriseD at Jul 17, 2009

Hah, I didn't really give it a 1-star rating. This site lets you post a rating with a review, but then go back and submit just a rating. The rating you submit afterward overrides the one you submitted with the review. :) I won't use the script for you, catpole. You're more entertaining than that other person. I can't remember their nickname at the moment. Seriously.