SlySoft, one of the leading “crackers” of the industry (and makers of the infamous CloneDVD software – don’t you dare say you don’t know) just cracked the Blu-ray code!

Originally, SlySoft was actually only focused on cracking the “easier” and less secure HD DVD format and its Advanced Access System (a protocol for managing content stored on HD DVDs) – cracked! They did this last year and soon enough they were ready for shipment! That is, until Toshiba got its behind whooped by Sony’s Blu-ray. A matter of no consequence says the SlySoft fox!

The software is AnyDVD HD and it has recently added the Blu-ray format in its latest update (version 6.4.0.0). It is now considered the most powerful media copying tool in the market. And because they are so kind, SlySoft went even as far as giving consumers 20 percent discount on new purchases! Sweetness! The software retails at $47. Free if you got the right “attitude” – you be the judge of what attitude means.

But wait! Let’s not forget this friendly warning: AnyDVD HD is not, and I repeat, not a piracy tool. We call it copy-protection. Let’s face it. These discs are not invulnerable! If you shell out enough cash for them, you would want to have a spare copy just in case something happens to the original, right? SlySoft protects your hard earned investments.

There is a catch, though. It only works for the BD+ encoding. BD+ is a technology developed by Macrovision. Macrovision is a company that develops secure (not anymore!) distribution technologies for stuff that are electronically made. Included there is the digital media that contains our movies, music, and games. So the company caters to the major movie studios, record labels, video game publishers, and so on; and “protects” their stuff from would be pirates and their kind (like yours truly – and by that I meant copying what’s already mine you maligned minded people!).

According to them, more than 20 major consumer electronics manufacturers and members of the Blu-ray Disc Association, use the mentioned BD+ technology. So what that means is that there boat loads of content out there ready to be copied! Enough or us to support this new software!

According to the SlySoft website:

“AnyDVD HD comes with the same functionality as AnyDVD, but with additional features for full Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD support, including decryption of Blu-ray and HD DVD movies.” Decryption, in lay peoples’ terms, is pretty much the same as reading. The big difference is that what you are reading is encrypted or “locked” – and what decryption does is unlock it for you. That way you can take it out and put it somewhere else, like a copy of your preferred format.

The question is… can we do that? No. according to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, it is illegal for consumers to use any kind of software to crack digital media and copy them, even if there is no intention to distribute the copy and it is simply for personal protection or use.

An industry analyst had this to say: “Truth be told, I have jaywalked in my life but there are no cops waiting to arrest me. If somebody were cranking out 100,000 discs in Brooklyn based on this, we would see swift action. But we haven’t seen anybody prosecuted on what this company seems to be violating with its capabilities. There seem to be no studio panics or nosedives out of the 10^th floor window yet, so it doesn’t seem that the execs are too concerned about it at this point.”

Although he is right that there isn’t much talk about this now, it will be talked about sooner or later. Aside from helping individuals like us who seek to protect their stuff, what this new advancement does is also empower large scale counterfeiters. I mean, who’s going to stop a certain Joe from making a hundred copies from a single Blu-ray disc?

It’s a double edged sword. Hollywood is definitely bleeding at the thought of another cracked format. But then again if you look at it from another perspective, aren’t movies made to inform, entertain and enlighten? In the end, it shouldn’t be about the money lost, but about the lessons learned.