How to convert a protected disk |
What to do when disk is protected?
If your VSO product says your disk is protected, then you need to install a decrypting tool that will remove the protection.
Here are three decrypting tools:
-
DVD43 freeware (only for DVDs)
-
AnyDVD HD by SlySoft
-
Passkey for Blu-ray by DVDFab
-
HD Decrypter freeware by DVD Fab
How these tools work:When the decrypter is running, it works as a background process, making the disk readable so that software or you can access the contents directly. Without a tool like this the contents of the disk cannot be read by your computer.
Using DVD43:
Once DVD43 is installed, launch DVD43 and in the bottom right hand corner of your computer you see a little icon in the shape of the head a smilie. The smilie will bee in a different color depending on the status of the decryptor
Yellow = no disk detected
Angry = working to remove protection on detected disk
Green= ready for use, decryptro active and running
Using AnyDVD or DVDFab Passkey:
Once
AnyDVD or
DVDFab Passkey is installed, launch application and in the bottom right hand corner of your computer you see the corresponding icon.
or
If the icon is greyed out like in the image below that means AnyDVD or Passkey is not running actively. To have it run, right click and select "Enable xxxx". You should see the icon turn from greyed out to color.
or
Image 1 Now the load your disk again in your DVD or Blu-ray Converter and it will be able to access and read the contents of the disk for converting. To load the disk again, click on the button
Blu-ray or
DVD in the upper left hand corner and select
Load from Disc in the source window of your Converter software.
How to tell if a disk is protected:
Go to
Computer and right click on your drive where the disk is inserted, and select "Open"
For DVDs
It is difficult to tell if a DVD is protected or not, whether it is or not you will see these two folders (AUDEO_TS, VIDEO_TS) after clicking on
Open. Even if a DVD is protected quite often you can play it with a standard video player, such as Windows Media Player, VLC, or
VMP, however you will not be able to convert the file, or use any type of video editing software with the movie.
For Blu-raysIf you see a folder with the name "AACS" then the Blu-ray disk is protected and cannot play the movie with the basic free video players like VLC or VSO Media Player. If you own a versions of software like PowerDVD and WinDVD that support blu-ray disks the movies should play fine with that.
AnyDVD/ DVDFab Passkey and blu-ray disksRun AnyDVD or DVDFab Passkey and go to My Computer again and click on Open on your drive. If you see "ANY!" or "FAB!" instead of AACS that means the protection has been removed and you will be able to convert the contents of the disk. If the decrypting software does not detect the disk already inserted eject and insert the disk again so that the decrypting software is triggered to detect and scan the disk again. You might want to make sure you are using the latest version of the decrypting software.
Having troubles playing a DVD or Blu-ray disk ?
To troubleshoot, start by checking these points:1) Does your optical drive support Blu-ray disks? Use
VSO Inspector (free) to see if your drive supports blur-ray disks.
2) You may want to copy the disk to your harddrive to facilitate your use of the contents, aka rip it to your harddrive. An optical drive may be slow at reading the disk's contents and for converting purposes you may have better results converting or playing the contents if they are on your computer rather than in the drive (on the disk).
***Make sure legally you are allowed to use these software products in your country in order to make your own personal copy.
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