Copy Protection Sucks
Okay, I've got an Xbox Media Center setup and have found that some new DVDs, namely Rendition (2007), simply will not play in my XBMC. And, it causes VLC to crash. Windows media player hangs after the previews.
But, it will play just fine in Cowon's excellent JetAudio software.
Turns out it's because of some ill-conceived new copy protection that appears designed to thwart software-based DVD players (and presumably rippers).
However, the company is only ironically _forcing_ people to rip the DVD just to play it because the copy protection won't allow software-based players (and possibly many hardware-based ones as well) to play the DVD at all.
DVDFab Decryptor + DVDShrink + Auto Gordian Knot to the rescue.