Slightly based on VLC, AnyRec Blu-ray Player likely phones home for instructions on how to handle the DRM found on Blu-ray & DVD discs. And that's its big difference compared to VLC or an app like PowerDVD -- VLC simply cannot play video discs with DRM, while PowerDVD has paid whatever licensing fees to work with that DRM natively. Blu-ray DRM is also embedded in the Java code used for menus and special features, which you won't get using AnyRec Blu-ray Player -- it'll just play the video.
Installing AnyRec Blu-ray Player isn't *too* bad, with the program's folder weighing in at ~160MB, and additional folders in ProgramData & Users\ [UserName]\ AppData\ Local\. It's a bully when it comes to the registry however, taking over associations for all sorts / types of media. When you first start the app there's a pop-up to enter the key -- click the button to visit their web site, fill in name & email, and they'll promptly send the registration code, *Unless* you use an outlook.com address... Gmail worked fine. They do record your IP address, so you can only get one activation key unless you use a VPN, assuming no one else has used the same VPN server with the same IP. That can be a hassle if you never receive their email.