DVD43 is a program that runs in the background and decrypts copy-protected DVD’s on the fly.
It has the effect of making a DVD unrestricted and region free, allowing for simple copying of files to your hard drive within the Windows file system and/or unrestricted access to the DVD by third party software. It will also remove audio CD protection.
The first thing that I’d like to note is that this software is different from DVD ripping software in the vein of as RipIt4Me/DVD Decrypter or DVD FAB HD Decrypter. What DVD43 does can be though of (in a way) as transforming an otherwise encrypted DVD into what for all intents and purposes acts as a ’normal’, unencrypted DVD (similar to the shareware software AnyDVD).
In many cases using a program like DVD43 is will save you the need to spend 20-30 minutes ripping a DVD to your hard drive first (not to mention the 4.7gig-to-8gig hard drive space you might not have on hand). For example, if your objective is to ’shrink’ an 8gig DVD and copy it onto a standard size blank DVD (for which you would use DVD Shrink), DVD43 would spare you the need to rip the entire 8gigs into your hard drive first, allowing DVD Shrink to get access and get to work on the files on the DVD itself.
Or let’s say that your interest lies not in copying the DVD itself but rather in converting it into a video file that you could load up on your Ipod or mobile device using a program such as Handbrake. In this case as well DVD43 will allow Handbrake to process/convert your desired titles straight from the DVD itself, saving you the time, effort, and hard drive space of ripping the DVD first.
Here are some notes on this program:
- How to use: after installation, DVD43 will run in the background and show itself as a yellow smiley in your system tray. Once you insert a DVD into your drive it will take a few seconds to recognize it and then will change to a green smiley, indicating that it has successfully removed the protection.
- Random testing: tested DVD43 on the 3 very random DVDs that we happened to have Netflixed at the moment and it was able to decrypt all of them without hitch.
- Types of protection(s) removed: unfortunately this info is not clearly stated on the program’s home page. After some Googling I found a statement in relation to this new version (4.0) cryptically declaring that “DVD43 removes most types of copy protection found on movie DVDs”.
- Resources cost: extremely small; less than 2 megs in memory.
- Audio CD protection: also supported. Did not test this one personally.
The verdict: this is just what I’ve been waiting for. I’m personally more interested in converting DVDs and viewing on my Iphone than copying them to other DVD media, and DVD43 will save me a lot of time and energy that would otherwise be spent waiting for DVDs to rip to my hard drive. A great, simple program overall that works just as intended.
Version tested: 4.0
Compatibility: Windows 2000, XP, Vista (32 bit).
Go to the program page to get the latest version (approx 527K).
