AnyDVD touts the fact that their product "strips HDCP" to allow playback on any monitor.

Once the HD DVD is ripped by DVD Fab HD, is HDCP still an issue? If yes, presumably one would still need AnyDVD then to be able to playback using PowerDVD or similar player?

Thanks for input.

I understood HDCP to be a hardware handshake signal between an HDMI source and an input on another device. For instance, there's a German company that makes HDMI extenders and splitters that make any HDMI input look like that of a display for unrestricted use of the HDMI signal (e.g. recording). There may be a trigger bit or word in the content that tells this destination device check function to turn off/on . I would think that once the title is decrypted you could watch it on a PC or feed it to any display device whether the HDCP switch was on or not, since HDCP doesn't restrict display feeds. Fengtao would have to say for sure.

After copying HD-DVD or Blu-ray to hard disk with DVDFab, you can use PowerDVD to play it without problem, since AACS protection is removed, so HDCP is not applied.

Will it play on an analog monitor if you don't even have it hooked up to an HDTV? i.e. will it play on a normal vga connected CRT monitor or TV via s-video

HDCP is only turned on when copyright protection is detected, otherwise you could never play your personally recorded HiDef video.

I should have made my question a little clearer. I know that the copy protection is disabled, so that is not an issue, but say I have a blu-ray drive and I use software to rip the blu-ray disc to my HDD. Other than the HDCP are there any other limitations, like hardware limitations of playing back that hi-def content on my normal VGA crt monitor (like resolution, refresh, etc.) or similarly outputting that playback to a standard def TV via s-video? I mean I know it won't look near as good as it does on a hi-def screen, but I don't have one yet but I wanted to buy the hardware now and have it be useful now, then later when I get an HD tv, have it be functional then too. If I can't use the drive now, I will just wait until I buy and HD tv, but if I can use the drive now, I will buy it now.
Sorry didn't make it clearer the first time.

Currently, Fab will NOT rip the Blu-Ray disk.

If you want information on other products, I suggest that you use their forums as this is a Fab forum.