Maximum uses per day?

[signals]

This has been discussed sufficiently, and this thread is closed.

[wmichaelis]

When I was shopping around for software to rip my Bluray collection to MP4s for personal playback on my home network, I weighed the pros and cons of a lot of software, and ultimately ended up with DVDFab. At a discounted price of $230 for the whole package, it was significantly more expensive than some other solutions, but I decided that the other functionalities built in might make it worth while.

I used it on and off for a couple of days, and was happy with the results. Today, I am working from home, and thought I'd make some headway into ripping my collection, and now I find out that there's a limit to the number of times a day I can use it. This is completely absurd - it wasn't made clear in any way, shape, or form that I was paying for a service, much less one that is limited in its use. I was under the impression that I was buying software, and that it was my computer which would be doing the work (which is why I spent the money to upgrade my hardware for better results, too).

I view this software as something I'll use to get a result, much as I'd purchase a car to get to my destination. There are days it sits in the garage doing nothing. There are days I make well over a dozen trips running various errands. That's what I paid for - the ability to use it as often as I like, or as little as I like. I could likely save money or be otherwise more efficient by using Uber or a taxi service, but I spent the money for what I wanted and needed. How would you like it if you went to start your car and it refused, because you'd already driven enough for one day?

For everyone else who says this limitation is reasonable, good for you. That's your opinion, and maybe you knew about it before purchase, and maybe you didn't. For me, I sure as hell didn't, nor was it ever pointed out to me, and it doesn't appear in the manual, either. There's no way to get around it, like purchasing more credits or whatever. There's no way for me to say "hey, I didn't use it for a week straight, I should be able to get credit for those days". Nothing. Never mind that this is a horribly inefficient way to limit its usage - what if everyone who has purchased the software uses all 10 uses every day? What if nobody uses it at all one day?

I'm going to go through the process of getting a refund for this software. If you want to sell as a service, make it all online, and sell on a per-conversion basis. But charging this much for software I can only use a little bit? That's not worth it at all in my opinion.

[ymartin]

I agree with some people, this is absurd! I have DVDFab for more than 10 years now, and I use it "very very very" occasionally. When "DVDFab Movie Server" was available, I've decided to buy it to be able to transfer all my BD to the server (it is done for that and that is the objective of this server) and only during the week-end, but with DVDFab 10, I can not use it as I want! It is not a business, I'm doing this for my own and personal use because it is easier to use a server than a BD Player, it is more flexible, etc. This rule is not only absurd, this is an extortion!

I found a temporary solution, using DVDFab 9, making my iso files faster and without bugs (some BD refused to be copied, without reason and it is not about this limitation) then I transfer them to the hard drive of the server, but I can not use the main menu, just the file menu because DMS does not index the files correctly...

Another point, this limitation should be "clearly" announced and detailed when you buy it, and I don't remember I saw this somewhere.

Regards,

YM

[signals]

It resets once every 24 hours at the same time every day, but it is not based on your time zone or your PC's clock, i.e. it is at the same clock time every day but it varies depending on where you are since it resets at the server. It continues to be my hope that other steps can be taken to make this limit unnecessary. For now, that's all there is to tell.

[shmn]

shmn,
Please read post #2 in this thread, it is the most complete explanation that is available. Only BDs count, and the same BD opened again the same day does not count.

I did read that post which is why I quoted it. The questions I had were not answered in that post. But since you say "it is the most complete explanation that is available"...it sounds like the specifics of the algorithm will not be revealed for some reason.

Ultimately, I have no problem with 10 BD discs per day for myself as I've never even approached half that number. However, I do have a problem with the fact that I received the error message after only doing about 3 or 4 discs. Which means there may be a problem with the system. But without understanding the specifics of the algorithm, we have no way of troubleshooting. And there is nothing more frustrating in life than inconsistent and arbitrary enforcement of rules.

If DVDfab wants to impose rules and limitations on the use of its product by paying customers...those rules and limitations need to be made clear. And again, my opinion is that this feels like a heavy-handed solution to a problem.

[signals]

shmn,
Please read post #2 in this thread, it is the most complete explanation that is available. Only BDs count, and the same BD opened again the same day does not count.

[shmn]

There is indeed a limit now (10 discs, applies only to BDs), designed to provide better service for all users. With all the decryption data for most BDs now being supplied by the servers, along with registration data and Cinavia Removal repair files (BD and DVD now as well) it was necessary to place a ceiling on daily use. Some users were doing 60+ discs per day! How can there be a legitimate reason for so many? I can't imagine, but I know that whatever the reason, such a load slowed down service for everyone, even crashing the servers on a few occasions. With the new limit, the product will start faster and will get the data it needs from the server faster, to the benefit of all.


While this may occasionally inconvenience a user such as yourself with the time to undertake such a big project in a day, the average user (1-5 discs per day) will see improved performance. I hope everyone can understand the reasoning.

Note also that:

• If you open the same disc more than once, it only counts as one use.

So how exactly does this algorithm work? Does it start at midnight and count from there. When does the counter reset?

I came across this error message yesterday after ripping two discs overnight (starting at about 7pm on Monday night) and each disc takes about 7-8 hours (h.265) then on Tuesday I copied an entire disc and then started to rip the ISO. I inserted another disc to rip and got the error message. Not even close to 10 discs. So how exactly does this limit work?

I just bought a bunch Criterion box sets (Barnes and Noble and Amazon yearly sale) and have been ripping them to my NAS and this limit is not a deal breaker but is annoying when I'm trying to slog through a bunch of discs.

Can you please explain exactly how this works and what counts and what doesn't count and when the counter starts and stops.

And how about all those times your servers are down and we can't connect...do we get bonus discs to make up for lost time? Seems like you are punishing the majority for the "crimes" of the few.

[SenorCardgage]

That's what I ultimately do - rip the ISOs using ImgBurn and store those on my media center. I'm not going to spend an entire night in to run these discs through once and then have to spend another couple nights running them through AGAIN because Passkey would only let me decrypt 10 of them per day. I'm only in the business of sitting in front of my computer when I have to, not doing work twice.

The reality is that I was getting ready to purchase the full DVDFab AIO Bundle - I want to re-encode my entire collection into standard def so that I can simply toss a 4TB Passport into my backpack with all my movies when I go away for the weekend (32TB is not practical to lug around, and the family always seems to want to watch a movie I didn't put on the thumb drive). However, with this change, I'm not quite feeling comfortable dropping a few hundred bucks on a product from a company that suddenly places an arbitrary limit on a product that I paid a hundred bucks for under the understanding that there wasn't a limit.

If DVDFab was saying "Hey, our servers are really under load as of late. We're buying more servers, but we don't have any choice but to temporarily limit the number of discs you can do. We apologize for this limitation and will be removing it as soon as we have the new capacity in place", I'd be more understanding. Or grandfather in those of us who bought it when there was no limit but limit new users because they are aware of the limitation.

To be brutally honest, I would've bought from the other guys had I been informed that a limit may be placed on the product in the future.

[3dman]

You could also use the free tool VSO inspector to do a surface and file test of each disk though I am not sure if its faster than making a iso try both see whats faster.

[MrVideo]

By having a limit of 10 per day, I cannot verify that all the discs are recoverable before the 24-hour return policy.

Use ImgBurn and make an ISO of each disc. If it fails, put it in the return stack. If not, put it in the good stack. Delete the ISO file. Yes, ImgBurn will complain about the disc being copy protected. You do not care. You just want to copy the bits, as you are not keeping the ISO that is written.

[signals]

Hey Rich,
It always has been. Ask them how they are liking those second lifetime licenses they had to buy. The current limit does indeed apply to Passkey.

[spaceharfang]

;I often buy 2 tv show seasons on amazon to get to the 35$ free shipping mark. This will typically bump the 10 copy limit.

A 15 limit would be fine with me, since my computer would not process them any faster anyway. A 15 limit would probably only affect users trying to use it on multiple computers.

[SenorCardgage]

It does apply to Passkey. I am a Passkey user and had it pop up recently.

[Rich86]

Well, the 10 copy restriction gave the posters over on the slysoft forum something to talk about anyway . . . but then bashing DVDFab is a favorite pastime over there. Does this restriction also apply to Passkey? The 10 copy/day restriction is not an inconvenience to this user.

[SenorCardgage]

I have a specific example of how it inconveniences me!

I tend to purchase my BluRays from local pawn shops - people will bring in entire movie collections, and they'll turn around and sell them for cheap (i.e. $2 to $4 a piece). When they stock them, they tend to go fast. Because of this, I'll usually buy 20 or 30 movies in a trip - I'll only do this maybe once or twice a month, but I do do it often enough. The problem is that the local pawn shop chain has a 24-hour return policy, so I have to power through the stack of BDs rather quick to make sure that none are scratched and can be backed up successfully because I'll usually get two or three that have a fatal scratch and have to be returned. I've even bought a second BD drive to make sure that I can get through the stack in 24 hours.

By having a limit of 10 per day, I cannot verify that all the discs are recoverable before the 24-hour return policy. Also, buying only 10 in a visit isn't only inconvenient, but because of the way that the movies are priced, they'll only stay on the shelf for a day or two - if you don't buy all the ones you want when you are there, they wont be there the next day.