Unlike CDs which are the same the world over, DVDs have a protection feature built into them. Region encoding means that a particular disc can only be played back on hardware designed to play discs from that particular region - so a disc bought in the UK may not work on a US DVD player, for example. This is something AnyDVD will enable you to override so you will be able to use your computer to watch any DVD you like.

AnyDVD works automatically in the background, so once you have it installed there is no need to configure it for individual discs - it will simply sit there and do its job. As an added bonus, the program, will also enable you to override built in software DVD players that are included on some DVDs so this irritation can be bypassed.

If you are using the program to watch a DVD from a country with a different television standard, you can use AnyDVD to adjust the refresh rate for PAL and NTSC output. One reason that many people choose to use a standard DVD player rather than their computer to watch DVD is not only the fact that it is easier to connect to a TV, but also that PC DVD drives can be noisy. AnyDVD gives you the ability to control disc speed to help reduce noise levels.

AnyDVD is packed with other features such as the option of hiding force subtitles, remove warning messages and integrates with other programs so you can choose to automatically run other software whenever a disc is inserted or removed. Removal of protection features also allows for the creation of backups of DVDs.

Note that in some countries you are legally allowed to make a single backup of your own (purchased) commercial DVDs. This would include storing a copy on a media device or computer for personal use.

Version 8.4.7.0 (changelog):

- New (Blu-ray): Support for new discs
- New (DVD): Support for new discs
- Fix (Blu-ray): AnyDVD 8.4.6.0 was broken
- Some minor fixes and improvements