SlySoft, an Antiguan software company, has  begun offering  beta version 6.1.2.0 of its AnyDVD program, which removes the copy protections from CDs, DVDs and allows them to be "remastered" or copied.
The beta version extends this into HD DVDs, but not Blu-ray discs, the company said. A new software product, AnyHD DVD, will be available "soon," the company said.

Although the two high-definition DVD formats use different encoding mechanisms and media, the same protection scheme – AACS – is used to protect both formats.  DVDs use a simpler version of copy protection called CSS, which was cracked several years ago.
Although CSS is technically protected by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, several programs exist to remove the DVD protections and allow users to manipulate the content on DVDs for their own use.

Meanwhile, "Arnezami," a poster on the Doom9 forums, has claimed he has found a method to find the "processing key" used in AACS. The hacker have not worked to determine the "device keys" that are locked to a particular player. AACS allows for device manufacturers to upgrade the firmware of an HD DVD player, allowing both a particular device key and a particular processing key to be locked out, preventing discs from playing.

By avoiding the device key and attacking the processing keys, consumers won't be locked out, and instead the encryption methodology itself is attacked. What this means, is that any decryption software would need to be connected to the Internet, to download updates with the latest processing keys.
Users who buy the $49.00 Slysoft software also have the ability to receive free, which will allow them to upgrade to the HD DVD functionality.

SlySoft has not released a timeline for AnyHD DVD. However, company representatives posting replies in SlySoft's support forum said that they believe that each new version of the beta, and eventually the release software, will unlock all existing HD DVD discs.

You can download SlySoft AnyDvd from here.

written by Cristian L.