To be honest, it had been so long since I paid attention to the subject of ripping, that at the onset of this writing, I was still under the impression that Ultra HD Blu-ray’s AACS 2.0 copy protection was still unbreakable. Not just any model will do, and some the firmware on some drives that reportedly work have been updated to prevent them from continuing to work. AsusĪt the moment, to rip Ultra HD Blu-ray discs, you need a ripping-friendly drive. With all that in mind, here’s a practical guide to backing up the digital movies and shows you own. Start sharing that content en masse on the internet, on the other hand, and all bets are off. That said, it is extremely unlikely that the FBI will show up on your doorstep if you start archiving the discs you own (disclaimer: I am not a lawyer do not take that as legal advice). It’s a conundrum: To do something legal, you must first do something that’s illegal.

The law in question being the Digital Millennium Copyright Act ( DMCA). You will want to be aware, however, that while it is perfectly legal to make copies of your digital media, the letter of the law states that it is illegal to defeat encryption to do so. Not as easily as the rest, but it’s doable.

The good news for consumers is that despite the enormous resources the industry has invested in DRM (digital rights management), every copyright scheme to date has been cracked or bypassed, including the latest: AACS 2.0. It’s great to see the industry responding to consumer demand, and there is no additional fee to use Movies Anywhere, but there is also no guarantee the service will be available in perpetuity. UltraViolet was launched to render ripping unnecessary, but the service is being discontinued.

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