AfterDawn: Tech news

News written by Hannu Pekkanen

AfterDawn: News

DVD Decrypter v3.5.3.0 released

Written by Hannu Pekkanen @ 17 Mar 2005 9:49

By far the most popular modern DVD ripper, DVD Decrypter, has been updated. The new version, DVD Decrypter v3.5.3.0 has once again rather large changelog. Most notably the new version is able to circumvent new types of protection mechanisms that are present in some new DVD movie discs. Also, the version fixes several bugs as well. The full changelog is here:

  • Added: Support for detection of newer / other forms of (possible) structure protection.
  • Added: Support for removal of structure protection from IFO/BUP files. So ripped files will import into any processing software (and by that, I mean CloneDVD etc!)
  • Added: 'Layer Information' to the info panels in ISO Read/Write modes. Displays number of sectors on each layer + percentage of overall disc size.
  • Added: Destination -> 'Capacity' + 'Free Space' labels now have tooltips that show the value in bytes (rather than KB as shown on the actual form).
  • Added: 'Application Identifier' to tooltip when you hover over the volume label in the 'Source' box. This also gets put in the log when you perform a read/write operation.
  • Added: 'Implementation Identifier' to tooltip when you hover over the volume label in the 'Source' box. This also gets put in the log when you perform a read/write operation.
  • Added: Workaround for drives connected via firewire that don’t support the real time streaming commands ('get performance' and 'set streaming' - these get / set the read / write speed). The 'set streaming' one can hang the entire bus if connected via firewire. Power (of entire machine) must then be cycled.
  • Added: All burners are now issued a 'SET STREAMING' command when make them read at full speed - even when not specifically told to do so via the option in the settings. Too many cases of PlexTools PI/PIF scanning putting the drive at 2x!
  • Added: A 'Quick OK' button to the 'Create MDS' file dialog. It wont prompt for a file name, just take that of the first image part and change the extension to .MDS.
  • Added: Option of selecting SAO or Packet/Incremental for 'Write Type'. Useful for drives that prefer one over the other. Currently the Pioneer 109 doesn’t make good discs using SAO on DVD-R media. XBOX and old standalones cant play them.
  • Added: Option to enabled / disable the OS wide 'Autorun' property for CDROM drives
  • Added: For people that like to install the app, copy the exe somewhere and then uninstall, I've made the program check the 'InstallDirectory' registry key and create it if needed each time the app is opened / closed. This key is used by other tools like DVD Shrink to check DVD Decrypter exists etc.
  • Added: Support for PSL v2.0 (Import + Export)
  • Added: Aborting the decryption process whilst the drive is doing read retries now displays the error the drive finally comes back with.
  • Added: Workaround for AOpen drives that wont authenticate sometimes.
  • Added: Select IFO, BUP, VOB to 'Edit' menu in File mode
  • Added: 'Recording Management Area Information' to ISO Read / Write info screens. Displays (where supported), which drive burn the DVD-R / DVD-RW media in the drive.
  • Added: Support for split (i.e. FAT32) NRG files.
  • Added: '.CDI' type images to the list of supported image types. The '.CDI' format is used by discjuggler.
  • Added: Option to enabled / disable 'Plextor SpeedRead DVD' via the Tools -> Drive menu (+ right click context menu on drive drop down box).
  • Added: Support for a 3rd variation of bit setting on LiteOn drives.
  • Added: 'Ignore Unreferenced VTS Sets' to File mode settings.
  • Added: 'Uncheck Suspect Cells' to IFO mode settings (on by default).
  • Added: Ability to hide pack header warnings in 'structure protected' areas.
  • Added: Option of specifying chapters for IFO mode via '/CHAPTERS' in CLI mode. (forgot it was in 3.5.2.0!)
  • Added: Option to cycle the tray once dummy sectors have been inserted due to a protected disc. This should make the drive spin-up to max speed again.
  • Added: Option within the Installer to create shortcuts for all users, not just the current one.
  • Added: All the items from the 'Device' context menu to a new 'Drive' submenu in the 'Tools' menu.
  • Changed: Structure protection detection code works with AnyDVD now and won't report protection that AnyDVD (or other programs) has removed.
  • Changed: Updated Patin-Couffin code to use latest IOCTLs - faster and cleaner now. Requires Internal Revision 27 (or above) now for NT based OS's.
  • Changed: Tweaking of Authentication -> GetTitleKey routines.
  • Changed: Program update code to work better for people who use a proxy to connect to the internet.
  • Changed: Patin-Couffin interface now displays SrbStatus too in I/O Error dialog.
  • Changed: The program no longer cares if the GetASF function fails.
  • Changed: All I/O is now sent in a properly alligned (by the VirtualAlloc API) buffer.
  • Changed: The Drive Ready -> Not Ready code to force a dismount of the volume when using SPTI as the I/O Interface.
  • Changed: Tweaked Plextor bitsetting code.
  • Changed: Program update code now looks for an internet connection before attempting to open a connection to the update servers. This will stop the 'Dial Up' connection boxes from popping up during automatic program update checking.
  • Changed: Program update code now looks for and attempts to use the IE proxy settings before then attempting a direct connection to the update servers.
  • Changed: Volume Label changing code has been updated to use additional UDF descriptor values to know how much to scan for File Set Descriptors.
  • Changed: 'Enable/Disable Regional Code' code for LiteOn drives - now supports more drives.
  • Changed: Cell 'layer' property (used in 'By Layer' file splitting) is now calculated via the real media layer break instead of the 'seamless playback linked in PCI' flag of the cell in the IFO file. The old method was very inaccurate.
  • Changed: Max buffer size from 128MB to 256MB
  • Changed: Now issuing 3 different 'Set write speed' commands, using slightly different values for each. God knows which one (if not all?!) is the right one - hence the reason for 3 ;)
  • Changed: Loading ISO images when an MDS file exists no longer causes the program to tell the user to load the MDS file if the image is < 4,700,000,000 bytes in size.
  • Changed: Code to work out the best 'Transfer Length' value.
  • Changed: When 'Software Write Error Retries' is anything other than 0, the initial error is now saved and then displayed in the I/O Error dialog box after retries have been exhausted.
  • Changed: Full erase (format) on DVD+RW discs now waits for the entire (foreground + background) process to finish before saying it's complete.
  • Changed: The 'Open File' type dialog boxes are now created with an additional flag to make them check the file exists before letting you click 'Ok' and then them closing.
  • Changed: Entries in the list box in File mode are now sorted by VTS set, with IFO first within a set, then VOB then BUP. This is instead of them being shown in the order they're in within the file system.
  • Changed: Installer now checks to see if DVDDecrypter.exe is running before attempting the installation. It'll prompt you if it finds that it is, and ask you to shut it down.
  • Changed: Default sectors to search for CSS in Brute Force mode is now 500.
  • Changed: ISO Write mode no longer sends a modified Write Parameters page to the drive when using plus format media. Going by the MMC specs, an application isn’t supposed to (I think!), the drive configures itself automatically.
  • Changed: All 'Read' modes now put 'Extracting Sectors...' in the log having completed 'Inserting Dummy Sectors (x - y)...'. Too many people thought the program was getting stuck actually inserting the sectors rather than the REAL reason that it couldn’t read the next sector after them.
  • Changed: The drive locking code will no longer error out if the error code is 'Invalid Function'.
  • Changed: 'Structure Protection' detection code to hopefully pick up less 'false positives'.
  • Changed: Handling of bad sector areas as part of the structure protection code.
  • Changed: Some of the AutoPlay integration code for XP / 2003 etc.
  • Changed: MDS file association is now on by default.
  • Changed/Fixed: 'Rename' is now the default button (rather than 'Yes') in the 'This file already exists, do you want to overwrite it?' dialog box.
  • Fixed: A file could have its 'Handle' left open if doing a DL disc that made use of 'calculate optimal' for the layer break. If the program is also then told to delete the image after burn, it would fail because the file would be in use.
  • Fixed: ElbyCDIO interface could report incorrect SenseArea info.
  • Fixed: ElbyCDIO interface errors (non CDB command ones) could have been misreported.
  • Fixed: Access violation when a chapter in the IFO said it used cells that didn't exist.
  • Fixed: (workaround for a) problem with authentication on some Asus DVDROM drive with v1.07 firmware when a certain file wasn't encrypted.
  • Fixed: Access violation if you close the program while the program is searching for devices.
  • Fixed: Potential access violation due to 'PlaySound' API being limited to 256 characters in the file name.
  • Fixed: Got 'Minimize to system tray' working on system menus in Windows 95. It wasn't being added to the menus before. :-(
  • Fixed: Windows 'please reinsert the disc' message once the disc has been ejected and before the 'Operation Successfully Completed!' sound/message. (Hopefully fixed anyway!)
  • Fixed: Problems with LiteOn DVDROM drives that misbehaved and gave random pack header errors and failed to patch ifo/bup errors (maybe only a USB issue).
  • Fixed: Problem with using 'cut' on log entries
  • Fixed: Switching to the LiteOn tab in the booktype setting dialog issued commands that weren't used / needed.
  • Fixed: Potential problem where some drives would show 'Unknown' for 'Current Profile' due to some error catching code that caught errors that weren't really there.
  • Fixed: Workaround for Change volume label 'hang' on Nero UDF and UDF/ISO data images that don't have a 'Terminating Descriptor' after the 'File Set Descriptor'.
  • Fixed: Made sure you can't switch program modes while another switch is taking place - this was possible before (if you had mega quick fingers) and crashed the program!
  • Fixed: NEC temporary bitsetting wasn't allowed unless another program had already set it for that media type.
  • Fixed: Devices drop down list staying disabled if user experiences 'Device Wouldn't Open!' error message.
  • Fixed: Infinite retry loop in the 'GetFileSize' function - only happened when the API command failed.
  • Fixed: Some of the 'Save' dialog boxes didn't force a file extension to be added to the file name if one wasn't specified.
  • Fixed: A minor issue where under certain circumstances, selecting 'Rename' in the 'file already exists' dialog box wouldn't create the 'destination file has been renamed to xxxx' entry in the log.
  • Fixed: A bug (but not really a bug as the code didn't exist before!) with some drives that show blank media as having a status of 'Incomplete' instead of 'Empty' but then had a session status of 'blank' - this IS allowed, but very rare - hence why I'd not seen it / implemented it earlier.
  • Fixed: Strange 'jumping' when the log window is resized using the top bar.
  • Fixed: Windows NT 4 ALWAYS saying I should have selected the MDS file rather than the ISO, even when one didn't exist.
  • Fixed: A problem with 0 byte files and Start LBA addresses of 0 messing things up in ISO Read mode.
  • Fixed: Bug in the program update code that would mean it still tried (and retried) every link (3 of them), even if you were trying to exit the program - would lead to a 'Waiting for Program Update Thread' message in the status bar for days on end!
  • Fixed: A bug in the function called by specifying '/chapters' as a CLI option. DVD Decrypter would crash on exit on Windows 95, 98, Me, NT and 2000.
  • Fixed: Bug in volume label changing code (UDF filesystem) that would mean a longer name would get truncated by windows when displayed in 'My Computer' etc.
  • Fixed: (I think) a problem where the program could get stuck reading as a result of the 'structure protection' code combined with a real read error in a certain place.

As always, you can download the latest version directly from us:

Read more...




AfterDawn: News

DJ2000 MP3 Manager and Player Announced..

Written by Hannu Pekkanen @ 30 Sep 1999 10:00

DJ2000 is one of the newest MP3 software products on the market and has unique features differentiating itself from currently popular players such as Sonique and WinAMP. DJ2000 makes use of a proprietary new technology called Library Processing System (LiPS) allowing users to store their music collections on any media. DJ2000 manages the music collection, prompting the user to insert the CD when needed. The convenience of offline storage is unique to the industry and cannot be found in other MP3 management tools such as RealJukebox or MusicMatch.

Additionally, the Party Mode in DJ2000 allows party guests to search through the music collection and play songs without providing full program access.

DJ2000 supports Creative Labs' NOMAD Portable Player.

A Demo of DJ2000 is available from 215 Technology and on numerous locations around the Internet. The complete version is available directly from 215 Technology for $29.95 and includes a FREE bonus of 4 New MP3 Utilities. The product will soon be available at online stores including Beyond.com.

www.215tech.com





AfterDawn: News

NetDriver Introduces the First MP3/CD Player for Home Stereo Systems

Written by Hannu Pekkanen @ 12 Aug 1999 3:42

The Brujo MP3 player is a unique product that has been designed to merge your internet experience with your personal life. It's sleek and efficient design will help to enrich your "offline" musical experience.


Quick Specs:

63 Track playlist programming
Shuffle, Repeat and 10 Secs Scan Modes
Headphone and RCA Audio Outputs
Plays Standard Audio CDs

Technical Stuff

Plays up to 220 MP3 Audio Files Continuously
Automatically identifies both MP3 and CD-DA formats
Also supports CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, ISO-9660, and MPEG1 & 2 Audio Layer III

Extra Stuff

Programmable, Multi-functional Remote Control
Power Supply and RCA Audio Cables
One Year Warranty

Price for this product is $299!

For more info





AfterDawn: News

Over 100 Winamp 2.X skins !!

Written by Hannu Pekkanen @ 12 Aug 1999 3:33

We now have over 100 Winamp 2.X skins !
You can find these Skins from our skins area.





AfterDawn: News

C-4 Multimedia Player for sale!

Written by Hannu Pekkanen @ 09 Aug 1999 12:02

C-4 is for sale at Ebay!

Starting price is $1000,000,00..

What you get:

- All of the source code to the player.
- Source for the player is written in Inprise Delphi 3
- All of the source code for the homepage.
- Homepage receives around 50,000 hits per month.
- C-4 gets around 3,720 downloads per month (Just from the C-4 homepage). Downloads from other mirror sites is not known.

More information about C-4





AfterDawn: News

NEC is building mobile MPEG-4 codec

Written by Hannu Pekkanen @ 09 Aug 1999 11:16

NEC has developed a device that brings high-quality video to next-generation cellular phones.

Products equipped with codec will lbe able to display 10 to 15 frames per second of image data on a screen up to 176 pixels by 144 pixels, while consuming 94 milliwatts of power. The device therefore has half the power usage and double the compression performance of current technologies.

NEC's device transmits picture and sound data in periodic cycles, enabling data error correction while images are transmitted.





AfterDawn: News

Grundig launches portable MP3-Player

Written by Hannu Pekkanen @ 22 Jul 1999 9:35

Grundig launches portable MP3-player called MPaxx.

The basic package includes two 16MB cards, a stereo headset, a Mac adapter, a PC cable and software for Windows 95/98/NT, Linux and Mac operating systems. In future 32MB and 64MB ROS-cards (Record on Silicon) will also be available for MPaxx

MPaxx will be available worldwide soon and it costs about $200.





AfterDawn: News

A new mp3 search engine - again

Written by Hannu Pekkanen @ 12 Jul 1999 8:09

Even that the Net is full of mp3 search engines, there is still some faith left - a new beginner opens in search engine fight, called theseek. A special features that this one has are in the search options - theseek can find besides mp3s but also video clips, album covers and lyrics. Give it a try!





AfterDawn: News

Public Enemy goes mp3

Written by Hannu Pekkanen @ 12 Jul 1999 7:54

Public Enemy releases their newest album "There's a Poison Goin' On" in the Internet as mp3 streaming in 20th of July. You'll need WinAmp and mp3Spy for listening. Check out AtomicPop's homepage for listening times and listening guide.





AfterDawn: News

HUM v1.6 released

Written by Hannu Pekkanen @ 11 Jul 1999 11:14

UtopiaSoft released a new upgrade of their superb mp3 player for WinCE platform. New version is 1.6 and new and/or improved features include:

-You can now set the MP3 playback quality to High (44kHz), Medium (22kHz) or Low (11kHz)
-Switch between Mono or Stereo playback
-Improved [ AdaptivePlay ] with on/off switch
-Easier playlist editing. You now can save your playlists in any folders you desire, and it also allows you to create folders within Hum
-More affordable. Hum v1.6 now only costs $19.95!
-Supports all display resolutions
-Customized downloable color [ skins ] for all resolutions
-Random and repeat play
-Lower CPU power usage

You can download a free trial version from our software archive!






News archive