I discovered today that the MakeMKV website has been down for nearly 2 months now without explanation or update.
This is kind of scary for media ownership and ripping, as while there are other options MakeMKV is kind of the tool to use for DVD/BluRay/UHD BluRay for lossless disc muxing.
Thankfully, the forum is still around, though the site owner/project maintainer has not been active and only has recent posts to update the monthly beta key.
No one on the forums seems to know what’s going on, either. Scary times.
Since my instinct is always to preserve first and ask questions later, here is a folder with installers for MakeMKV for Windows, Mac, and Linux, along with the firmware pack:
These were obtained from the forums, but with the caveat that they would be deleted soon. Fuck that, keep circulating this shit. Never let these tools be taken from us. I will always prioritize redundant copies over avoiding toe-stepping, so this is a redundant copy. You can try to verify file hashes to determine if it’s trustworthy, or not trust me at all - I understand security concerns. I don’t care if you trust me or not, I’m just keeping copies safe for myself if nothing else.
Also FWIW the AUR version is still being maintained and just got another patch - but it is a third-party managed copy of the project, not the direct release from Mike.
This isn’t the first time the site has had issues and it could be a CloudFlare issue. It’s just the extended downtime that concerns me. But the real site to keep an eye on is where the AACS decryption keys come from: https://fvonline-db.bplaced.net
Let’s keep mirroring everything we can, yeah?
I also noticed that USB BluRay drives are disappearing. Not much on Amazon from real brands when I went to recommend one to someone, just no-name Chinese ones; usually combined with a USB hub. Worth trying those to see if they work, but expect them to be unreliable.
We need to get demand back up to try to keep these things getting made. By not exercising the muscle, we’re possibly losing it and I don’t think that’s an acceptable outcome.
As always, be sure to buy a MakeMKV license when the site is back up. Both so you can have a copy that doesn’t rely on beta keys and to support Mike’s work.
Happy ripping.