DVD Decrypter - Gone, Forever!
Posted on 06/06/05 08:41 by Herbert                             
DVD Decrypter - Gone, Forever!

This isn't a good start into this new week,LIGHTNING UK! used our news submit to let us know the following really bad news..

Hello world,

I"ve got some good news and some bad news.Let's start with the good.... (tumble weed passes by)Ok, and now onto the bad: DVD Decrypter 3.5.4.0 is the last version you"ll ever see.We hoped this day would never come, but it has, and I can promise you, nobody is more gutted about it than I am.

What started as a bit of fun, putting a GUI around some existing code, turned into something that I can only describe as 'part of me' '� yes, I know that's sad ;-) As I"ve recently been made aware (by a letter, hand delivered to my door, last Tuesday), due to some law that was changed back in October 2003, circumventing copy protection isn"t allowed.

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.

So anyway, from this point forward, I"m no longer permitted to provide any sort of assistance with anything that helps people infringe the rights of "a certain company".That means, no more emails, no more forum posts, no PM"s, no nothing! END OF STORY.The domain name will be transferred over to the company by the end of the week (9th June, according to the undertakings I have to sign) so don"t email it thinking "Oh, I"ll just ask LIGHTNING UK! for support on this". You"ll not be getting the intended recipient and could be landing yourself in sh1t!

With 3.5.4.0 being the last version, it makes sense for everyone to disable the "check for new versions" feature, as obviously there won"t be any. Of course what I really mean is that you should all stop using the program out of respect for the company's rights.

Anyone hosting DVD Decrypter is advised to cease doing so immediately. I"ve the feeling they won"t stop with just me. I"m having to contact anyone I know of that is (at the very least, the "mirror" sites), and tell them to stop. Copies of those emails must also be sent to the solicitors so they can check I"m doing everything I"m supposed to. If I don't, I die.

It is of course down to the owners of those sites to react how they want to. It"s not my job to force you to do anything you don"t want to, I"m just giving you some friendly advice. Maybe it"s just me, but I see this as a bit of an "end of an era". I realise there are other tools, but there"s no telling how much longer they"ll last, and not only that, mine was the oldest! I"ve met loads of great people over the years and I want to take this opportunity to wish them every success for the future - yes DDBT peeps, that includes you lot! : "(I hope you"ve all enjoyed my contribution to the DVD scene and maybe I"ll see ya around sometime.

LIGHTNING UK!
(Author of the once "Ultimate DVD Ripper", DVD Decrypter)

Well, LIGHTNING UK! too bad that you are forced to stop your work on this great software. We all out here thank you and wish you all the best in the future. More information on copyrights in Europe can be found on Euro-Copyrights.org. Discuss this in our Copy DVD Movie Forum .

Need other software to remove copy protections? Then try AnyDVD, software that is able to bypass copy protections, region code protection and much more. Faster as it can rip 'on the fly'.

Source: CDFreaks.com

Reactions
Discuss this article with your fellow community members! We appreciate your valuable input, but please keep the reaction policy in mind and make sure your reaction is constructive.
By divadiow, Mon 6 Jun 2005 08:47
this is a grave day indeed. I'd like to thank Lightning UK for their development of DVDDecrypter- I've used it since the early days and it's been invaluable. now- what other programs can we use?
[edited by divadiow on 06.06.2005 08:49]
By Liggy, Mon 6 Jun 2005 08:53
LiggyA sad day for everyone. cry He should have leaked the sourcecode. Once unleashed, development probably could not have been stopped. devil Let's soon check who this company was. Time for a further boycott I think!
By jellybelly, Mon 6 Jun 2005 08:54
jellybellythis is a great program and i wish to thank the author for the yearsi have had it i hope someone can continue with something similar
By G@M3FR3@K, Mon 6 Jun 2005 08:55
G@M3FR3@KWow, I did not see this coming, a very sad day indeed. DVD Decrypter was the best and easiest DVD ripper ever. I wish you all the best LIGHTNING UK! Ps. moving the software to the beautiful island of Antigua (Wink) wasn't an option?
By bichonn, Mon 6 Jun 2005 09:07
bichonnHey I think we (users) should be the ones helping LIGHTNING restarting this story somewhere else!!! I don't see my computer without dvd decrypter!!!
By Lord KiRon, Mon 6 Jun 2005 09:20
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE !!!! Release the full sources, I know it's not the thing you had in mind but at least it will allow others in countries with different lows pick up where you left ... PLEASE ...
By _chef_, Mon 6 Jun 2005 09:25
_chef_Darn! Now I'm really sad...
By RaMDaY, Mon 6 Jun 2005 09:31
Damn...I always thought DVD Decrypter was open source.
By Pianoman, Mon 6 Jun 2005 09:32
Pianomanpukepukepuke cry That's a really bad start of a day... DVDDecrypter was one of the best things I put on my computer... Sorry to hear about that, but I understand you, LIGHTNING UK... Hope, the community finds a solution for this... Thanks again for your patience, time and knowledge!
By peaceandlove, Mon 6 Jun 2005 10:38
very sad news... guess that behind the decision there is Sony with their Arccos scheme. Now there is only Anydvd that is good enough...
By Korgh, Mon 6 Jun 2005 10:57
This is very, very sad! This scenario just shows how big companies can destroy the human creativity and cooperativism. I, sincerily wish all sort of good things to you, LIGHTNING UK.Thanks for your amazing soft and for shared your work with us.Wink
By sorti, Mon 6 Jun 2005 11:07
sortiI sent that guy money, super program - I've used it 700 plus times to test my DVD drive and it worked well. I hope the next guy who makes a program like this does not feel the need to have a home base webpage where he can be found and killed. Without programs like this we are all stuck in the real DRM enabled world.
By katastrofe, Mon 6 Jun 2005 11:11
How about releasing a "ripperless" version? If you let the GUI interact with a command prompt version of DeCSS (or similar), it's down to the individual whether thay want to use it or not...
By techman, Mon 6 Jun 2005 11:34
techmanHow about letting the source code out or passing it on to another developer, it seems a shame to let a great project and community die
By HelloShaun, Mon 6 Jun 2005 11:46
Gulp, am I allowed to swear big time? Such a shame, freedom is only allowed to those with the money to afford it. Wish there was something we all could do. Many Many thanks Lightning UK.
By Korgh, Mon 6 Jun 2005 11:50
Hehehe! Will be funny, katastrofe, but i think more effective if the source code goes spread to the community... We'll got lots of variations of the program. That will be a REAL "sharks" nightmare! devil
By alexnoe, Mon 6 Jun 2005 11:52
He probably knows that this could get him into trouble, he would have had to anticipate the receipt of that letter and would have had to leak the source code just 10 minutes before. However, we know now that anyone who wants to restart from scratch must not offer support, and especially not a website. The way to distribute it must be made difficult to identify individuals
By ripit, Mon 6 Jun 2005 12:13
That really blows!!!!! As far as what other tools, has anybody keep up with smart ripper? It used to be good a while back?
By goldenfingaz, Mon 6 Jun 2005 12:38
make it opensource thats the only way Stick Out Tongue dvddecrypter is the best !! i wish u the best Lightning UK
By hardluck, Mon 6 Jun 2005 13:21
I Love You Bro....Snffff
By Ivanhoe, Mon 6 Jun 2005 13:22
IvanhoeI can see the faces of SLYSOFT smiling.... Hopefully the code could be passed on to someone for further development. A sad day indeed.
By hajj_3, Mon 6 Jun 2005 13:40
yeah release the source code, then someone else can carry on its development in a country that has no copyright laws. this would also be good for us due to olli from slysoft could gain ideas and improve clonedvd and anydvd. open source is amazing, just look at firefox 1.0.4
By cynicalbastard, Mon 6 Jun 2005 13:50
a great product with great usability thanks to intelligence in the GUI's design. Obviously crafted by someone who knows about usability, & unlike many other free products, this one was (is) the best. Looks like www.slysoft.com and www.dvdidle.com are 2 remaining options for those who want to back up their copy-protected tosh.
By Ender.Wiggin, Mon 6 Jun 2005 13:52
Ender.WigginWell, we do still have AnyDVD but what is prevent the same organization from halting the development of that software...
By Evolution76, Mon 6 Jun 2005 14:35
Evolution76crycrycrycry R.I.P. This is a sad, sad, sad day.......but like the internet world it will raise again.......I love you DVD Decrypter
By a²°, Mon 6 Jun 2005 14:37
a²°"The domain name will be transferred over to the company by the end of the week (9th June, according to the undertakings I have to sign)... With 3.5.4.0 being the last version, it makes sense for everyone to disable the check for new versions feature, as obviously there won't be any." Guys, take this serious! Disable the Autoupdate function NOW if you don't want to appear on their IP's list after the domain was transferred. Block the application with your firewall to prevent further "accidental" access to the net. I hope L_UK! doesn't have to face any further trouble. He should not release the source code to avoid more legal threats from Sony (?!). But who am I to give legal suggestions? Thumbs up for Lightning_UK!! You did a great job! Thanks for all you have done!
[edited by a²° on 06.06.2005 14:52]
By Liggy, Mon 6 Jun 2005 14:52
LiggyWell, maybe he shared the sourcecode with someone else before already and he's unable to stop this person from spreading the code now. Wink
By bitbyter, Mon 6 Jun 2005 14:58
Pity.. I've unpacked the executable and figured it wouldnt be overly hard to modify the existing internal version and the 3 web sites that the application uses to retrieve the _version.txt file (those of you with a hex editor jump to 0x2330b0) and there it is - not sure what url you'd want to change it to however seeing without the source you can't release an updated version anyhows. Unless of course the source code was to say magically appear (lightings' pc might have had some trojan he caught from a website that finds source code and posts it to newsgroups). Seems to clear to me any software designed to backup your home wedding dvd's would need to be a 'low key' event to minimise 'attention'.