Correct. Personal archival is protected under fair use. [1]

1. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/10/28/2021-23...

Personal archival isn't exempt anymore, that dropped some years ago. The only archival exemption now is for "qualifying institutions".

You have a source on that? I can't find anything - so as far as I can tell you're just spreading misinformation.

I mean just read through the link above. You'll find no exemption for personal use when it involves bypassing DRM. Which I don't think any DVD or blu-ray anymore lacks.

I'm also reasonably sure that "3. Proposed Class 6: Audiovisual Works—Space-Shifting" in the above link would cover personal archival and that was explicitly rejected.

Don't get me wrong, I'm still all for it, but it's not permitted anymore like it used to be.

Correct (as long as you don't distribute it), but not all content is available on DVDs, and many things come to DVDs much later than they are available elsewhere.

That said, there is a _less legal_ solution to those problems...

Unfortunately not. The exemption dropped some years ago.

Sure, and the "water pipe" they sell on the boardwalk is for "tobacco use only".

Let's be honest, most people use this software to serve up their library of pirated content. The number of people who are even still buying physical media is relatively tiny. That is why retailers like Best Buy are abandoning that market. The population of people who buy that physical media and then manually rip it has to be miniscule.

Quick side note on Best Buy abandoning selling physical media, the cashier at Best Buy said they'll probably just throw the rest of their stock in the trash when they stop selling them in early 2024. So if anyone is interested in some free blu-rays and doesn't mind dumpster diving...