Just using a Playstation sounds like it won't work or will be a huge time sink.
Blu ray optical drives are way more expensive than I thought
The copy protections on Blu rays are exceptionally annoying, to the extent where there is really only one closed source software -- MakeMKV -- that can work around them. This post goes into some interesting details.
Finding a drive that is known to work with MakeMKV is a pain. There's a brand called Pioneer that seems promising but they have stopped producing bluray drives ~~went out of business last year~~. I have no idea which model works, and it's common that secondhand sellers will swap enclosures and pass it off as a different model.
Sometimes you need to flash the firmware on the drive to make it work with 4K UHD discs.

I was going to try ripping a Blu-ray that I bought recently, since I couldn't find a quality rip anywhere, but I'm pretty turned off from the whole prospect at this point.

Anyway I'm not really asking for a specific reply, I just thought this topic was interesting and I'm curious what people think about Blu rays and optical media in general. Does the future seem bleak? Are we going to be stuck with shitty WebDLs for most new content? Or is physical media here to stay?

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[–] xxce2AAb@feddit.dk 16 points 1 week ago (1 children)

If the basic version of MakeMKV isn't enough for you and you don't want to register for the full version, Handbrake is a good alternative.

[–] ReallyActuallyFrankenstein@lemmynsfw.com 11 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Is there some version of Handbrake or workaround for BD copy protection? This is the excerpt from the site, and matches my understanding that it isn't a circumvention tool:

Supported Input Sources:

Handbrake can process most common multimedia files and any DVD or BluRay sources that do not contain any kind of copy protection.

[–] xxce2AAb@feddit.dk 14 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

I believe that Handbrake externalizes the handling of BD encryption to an separate external library (libbdplus IIRC) for various legal and logistical reasons. You'll need that installed too if you want to decode encrypted discs.

[–] cloudy1999@sh.itjust.works 13 points 1 week ago (1 children)

The Arch Linux link mentioned by SomethingBoring in another comment details needed set up for BD+ copy protection and AACS libraries. Once these are set up, Handbrake and VLC will read from disc properly.

[–] ReallyActuallyFrankenstein@lemmynsfw.com 3 points 1 week ago

Very interesting. I followed BD circumvention on the doom9 forums from that link decades ago, but it looks like the VUK database method is more reliable now.