RedFox is back, but …

So, we all know Slysoft, the company behind AnyDVD ultimately had to abandon the project and it was resurrected as RedFox. Now the question becomes, do you throw your support behind RedFox or seek shelter in the arms of another?

For me, the answer was to move on. I had the lifetime license to all the Elaborate Bytes and Slysoft products – from CloneCD to AnyDVD HD and even GameJackal, but in the end, I couldn’t bring myself to jump on board and buy the products all over again. I completely understand the company needed to make money and they offered a discount for returning customers, but I was hesitant to put my eggs in that basket again.

Instead, I changed tacts and companies and went with DVDFab Passkey, which offered a massive discount for previous AnyDVD users. I took them up on the offer with the mind that AnyDVD will still work for all the DVDs and Blurays I currently own. It’s not like those discs won’t decrypt any more.

For new discs, it will be Passkey, which has the same UI as the old AnyDVD, and rips a disc to an ISO image which can be played directly by VLC Media Player. I didn’t get DVDFab DVD Copy as I saw no need. I can either use my old CloneDVD tool if I wish to cut something out, or more likely, will pass the ISO into Xilisoft and convert it to a high quality MP4. Once I have the disc in ISO format, there’s any number of tools I can use on it.

AnyDVD is and has been a great tool for me. I got multiple years of use out of my license. I still have it installed so if the need arises, I can rip two discs at once. I chose to go with DVDFab mostly because of cost. Who knows what the future will hold? Is DVDFab the next one on the chopping block? How long will we even get content on disc? I still think we have several more years for that last question. People still want a physical copy just in case they lose connection. But as I see it, I now my feet in both camps, so if something happens, I have a backup plan.