The ANY! folder

[Dannybridi]

I have just started using AnyDVD HD and have noticed that a Folder with the name "ANY!" gets created automatically when I choose to Rip to image. I'm doing the following:
1. Run AnyDVD HD
2. Load the Blu Ray movie
3. Select "Rip to image..." from the icon in the notification area
4. Select a name and location for the ISO
5. Burn the resulting ISO to a BD-R on another PC that does not have AnyDVD installed

The backup BD-R plays fine on my PC (using VLC), but not on my stanalone Sony BD player.

I manually copied the contents of the new BD-R excluding the ANY! folder onto another BD-R, and that works fine on the PC and the Sony standalone player.

Using the "Rip video DVD to harddisk..." option does not produce the ANY! folder.

Two questions:
1. What is the purpose of the ANY! folder?
2. How can I avoid creating it (when using the "Rip to image..." option)?

Thanks

[Ch3vr0n]

The answer is simple.

1. None, there is no purpose. The !ANY folder is the renamed AACS or BD+ (BD Protection) folder (not sure wich one) and can safely be removed if wanted. Standalone players & software players just skip it
2. U don't, any BD disc that is protected by AACS and u rip it will have the !ANY folder

thats all. Nothing to worry about. If the backups don't play on your standalone then you're probably using crappy blank media.

The easiest way to backup a disc is rip to iso with AnyDVD and burn the ISO with IMGBurn back to a blank.

[Dannybridi]

Thanks for the reply.

My Sony standalone player does not simply ignore the !ANY folder, but rather refuses to play the disc. The media I'm using is Verbatim BD-RE. When the same disc is burned with the ANY! folder, Sony does not play it. Without it it plays the movie. I witnessed this behaviour on two different Sony models, I'm trying to locate someone with a different brand to test on it.

Now I know that I should remove the ANY! folder before burning the backup...

Thanks

[Peer]

Originally Posted by Dannybridi

Thanks for the reply.

My Sony standalone player does not simply ignore the !ANY folder, but rather refuses to play the disc. The media I'm using is Verbatim BD-RE. When the same disc is burned with the ANY! folder, Sony does not play it. Without it it plays the movie. I witnessed this behaviour on two different Sony models, I'm trying to locate someone with a different brand to test on it.

Now I know that I should remove the ANY! folder before burning the backup...

Thanks

Not impossible, but I doubt it.

Try ripping to folders and adding the ANY! folder, then burn a disc. I'm pretty sure, that will work. There must be something else wrong with the image.

[Achernar]

Perhaps it's a sort of a "copy protection" on Sony player in question - the existence of ANY! folder is definitely a footprint of AnyDVD HD, i.e. quite certain clue that the disc was processed with AnyDVD and is most probably a copy of the commercial disc...

Or perhaps I'm becoming too paranoic...

[Pelvis Popcan]

Originally Posted by Achernar

Perhaps it's a sort of a "copy protection" on Sony player in question - the existence of ANY! folder is definitely a footprint of AnyDVD HD, i.e. quite certain clue that the disc was processed with AnyDVD and is most probably a copy of the commercial disc...

That's what I was thinking. In fact, when I first noticed the ANY! folder, my first thought was won't players update their firmware to not play discs that have an ANY! folder? I felt that folder name should be something like five random alpha numeric characters.