Remember the days when you put a disc into your PC and watched a movie? That’s not so easy anymore. Newer devices no longer come with default optical devices, Windows discontinued Media Center, and people don’t use discs anymore.

Mar 07, 2020  Blu-Ray PRO: If you want to make things really simple, just download Blu-ray PRO from the Microsoft Store. It’s a free app that plays Blu-rays and DVDs. It’s a free app that plays Blu-rays. Mar 16, 2020  If you just want to get a free Blu-ray playing software on PC's, then VLC is the simplest and best you can go after; if you're on a Mac machine want a great Mac Blu-ray player software download, then Aiseesoft and MacGo would be the way to go—Obviously, the other five programs lack macOS support; if you want to get a powerful media player. Jun 02, 2020  The free app includes a watermark. Play Blu-ray On PC by Ripping & Encoding Files. Another way to play Blu-ray discs on your computer is by a process that entails converting files on a disc into formats that can play in any media player. By ripping and encoding a Blu-ray disc, you are copying the information from the disc to your computer. You are able to play any commercial Blu-ray and homemade Blu-ray discs regardless of protection and restrictions armed on the disc with the totally Free Blu-ray Player for PC and Mac. Also this magic Blu-ray Player can play any DVD disc and popular video file like MP4, MTS, TS, MXF, MOV, AVI, WMV, MKV, AVCHD video, and more with great audio.

As more people use their PCs for home entertainment, it’s understandable that you would want to play a Blu-ray on it. So, how can you play Blu-ray discs on your computer? This article will show you several ways to play a Blu-ray in Windows 10.

Get a Blu-Ray Disc Drive

Jan 10, 2020  Get Leawo Blu-ray Player from the Mac App Store - Free Macgo Blu-ray Player Pro Hong Kong-based Macgo's Blu-ray Player Pro usually sells for a whopping $79.95, though you can watch for frequent sales that will knock the price down to a still-lofty $39.95.

If your PC doesn’t have the drive to play Blu-ray discs or DVDs, there are several manufacturers that sell add-in optical drives or external drives.

An external Blu-ray disc drive is the easiest option. Simply plug it in when you want to use it and put it away when you are done. Prices range from $40 to $100 depending upon your needs. The less expensive drives are those that play but don’t write Blu-rays.

Most external optical drives connect to your PC via a USB cable. Be sure to use a cable that is compatible with your system.

Download a Blu-Ray Disc Player

Once you have a disc drive, you need software to play Blu-rays on your PC. Below are several free programs you can download and use.

LEAWO Blu-ray Player

Leawo Blu-ray Player is a free Blu-ray player from which you can play videos.

Leawo supports audio tracks, subtitles, and various advanced audio decoding technologies, such as AAC, Dolby, and DTS 5.1. Other features include:

• The ability to create and use playlists.
• Regular media controls.
• Built-in power manager.
• Custom programmed background and program skin.

In addition to playing a Blu-ray disc on your computer, Leawo can also play most other media file types such as:

• MPEG
• MOV
• WMV
• AVI
• MP4
• FLV

VLC

VLC is a popular and open-source media player that can play almost any file type. However, it doesn’t natively support Blu-ray discs.

VLC is not available from the Microsoft store. It is available for free from the developer’s website. Even though it isn’t natively supported, there is a workaround as described below.

You will need to download two additional files and then place them in specific folders. Get started by downloading and installing VLC.

Next, open File Explorer > C Drive > Program Files.

Create a new folder and call it AACS.

To get the additional files you need, go to https://vlc-bluray.whoknowsmy.name/ and download the keys database file called KEYDB.cfg to the folder you just created.

From the same website, download the dynamic library file called libaacs.dll to the AACS folder, too.

If you can’t download the files directly to your AACS folder, download them to another location such as your desktop, and then drag them into the folder.

Now, launch VLC and click Open Disc.

Choose Blu-ray from the Disc Selection options and check the box next to No disc menus.

Browse for and select your Blu-ray in the Disc Device field and click Play. VLC is now set up on your PC and ready for you to play Blu-ray movies.

DAPlayer

Another Blu-ray player that supports more than 320 video codecs is DAPlayer. It allows you to create customized controls, supports multi-track audio and video subtitles, and delivers a high-quality listening and viewing experience.

Blu-Ray Pro

A straightforward and easy way to play Blu-ray discs on your PC is to download Blu-Ray Pro from the Microsoft store.

It is a free app that will play both DVDs and Blu-rays. You can create playlists, turn on subtitles, and even change the color of the app. Other features include:

• Quick access to the menu.
• Ability to select tracks.
• Internal subtitles during playback.
• Navigating through chapters while watching.

Watch your favorite Blu-ray movies without a limit on playback. The free app includes a watermark.

Play Blu-ray On PC by Ripping & Encoding Files

Another way to play Blu-ray discs on your computer is by a process that entails converting files on a disc into formats that can play in any media player.

By ripping and encoding a Blu-ray disc, you are copying the information from the disc to your computer. The next step involves converting it into a media file that any media player is capable of playing.

The encoding process doesn’t damage the original disc so you can still use it normally. Keep in mind that in some jurisdictions, making personal copies of Blu-ray discs is illegal.

These copies are only meant for personal use, not distribution or display. Use the program called MakeMKV to rip and encode Blu-ray discs. MakeMKV is simple to use and can easily convert all your physical discs into digital files.

Before proceeding, keep in mind that converting files may take a long time if your computer is slow. Also, know that MKV files take up a lot of hard drive space.

Start by going to the MakeMKV official website and downloading and installing the program.

Once the installation is complete, open the program, and click File > Open disc.

Choose your Blu-ray disc and then click Yes. Navigate to the MakeMKV section, click on the green icon, and then click Yes.

Now, just wait for the conversion process to finish.

Once the file is converted, play the MKV file in any media player. Keep in mind that the conversion process may take a long time. Be careful because it is possible to make mistakes.

Luckily, there are several ways you can play Blu-ray discs on your PC in Windows 10. If you miss the dynamic media that came with Media Center, use one of the suggestions above as an alternative to play Blu-ray discs and enjoy your entertainment.

Since the late '90s, Macs have welcomed DVD movies. Pop a disc in your drive, watch Apple's DVD Player app open, and enjoy the show. Simple. But DVDs' high-definition successors, Blu-rays, never got the same warm reception. Today, the right third-party hardware and software will let you play Blu-ray discs on your Mac. But, uh … maybe you shouldn't?

Tell us how you really feel, Steve

Steve Jobs famously hated the licensing hurdles and hefty fees Blu-ray imposed. With his characteristic taciturn restraint, he publicly called the format a 'bag of hurt' and likened the groups behind it to the Mafia. Apple never built Blu-ray drives into Macs, and eventually ditched optical drives altogether to focus on selling movies through iTunes.

Free Blu Ray Player Software

But some Mac users still need to burn their own Blu-rays or read data off BD discs, so there are plenty of third-party Blu-ray drives available for the Mac. And once those drives became available, a few enterprising companies who did (presumably) pay up for the keys to decrypt Blu-ray discs released Mac apps to play regular Blu-ray movies with those drives.

Unfortunately, searching for mac Blu-ray player online gets you a lot of highly suspect sites with creatively translated English, each pitching their own totally not-at-all-questionable video player that may or may not actually play Blu-ray discs. But there are a few options respectable enough to make it into the Mac App Store. We'll discuss those in a moment, but first, let's talk about another app that sounds like a good idea, but really isn't.

Blu-rays on VLC

VLC is a justly beloved open-source video player — free, robust, and able to play tons of different formats. With the right tinkering, Blu-ray can be one of them. But playing Blu-rays on VLC is like free-climbing a skyscraper without safety equipment: Sure, it's technically possible, but it's also incredibly difficult, full of drawbacks, and almost certainly a bad idea.

For starters, the site I originally used to find the right files that would supposedly enable Blu-ray playback on VLC is, as of this writing, no longer capable of establishing secure connections. (Which is why I'm not linking to it here.)

When it was up and running, its sparse instructions didn't seem to work, and I had to go digging for another site's advice to get VLC playing even sort of nice with Blu-ray. Then I had to separately install Java to have any hope of getting Blu-ray interactive menus working.

Even after all that, VLC wouldn't play most discs I tried with it, ominously warning me of revoked certificates and other things that sound like they involve well-paid lawyers. And when it did play discs, it refused to let me skip past the annoying preview video tracks before the movie; sometimes, trying to do so just dumped me back at the beginning of them.

VLC works great for lots of things. Blu-ray playback isn't one of them. Just don't do it. Especially when you've got another free and far more legitimate option waiting for you in the Mac App Store.

Leawo Blu-ray Player

The two currently available Mac Blu-ray apps come from Chinese companies. Shenzhen-based Leawo's is by far the cheaper – as in, it's free – and while it's perfectly adequate, you definitely get what you pay for.

I tested Leawo's player with a selection of discs from every major studio (plus Criterion, for you cinephiles out there), ranging from titles I bought back in 2009 to discs released in 2018. They all played just fine, with a crisp picture and clear sound. Leawo's menus let me easily switch audio and subtitle tracks, and jump between different video files on the disc with a Playlist option. And unlike hardware Blu-ray players, it's not region-locked, so you can watch discs from all over the world.

But bones don't get much barer than Leawo's offering. It doesn't support Blu-ray menus at all; if you want to view special features, you'll need to guess at their location from the Playlist menu. If you're dying to watch, say, The Sound of Music's pop-over interactive commentary with sing-along mode, Leawo's app will not be one of your favorite things.

The app takes a solid minute (I timed it) just to load a disc, a process that requires multiple un-intuitive menu clicks, and whoever ported it into Mac didn't bother to change the drab Windows-like interface.

If you just want to watch Blu-rays on your Mac, Leawo will definitely do that. It's perfectly serviceable. It doesn't seem to install spyware or bother you with ads. But there's a better (and considerably more expensive) choice if you want a more robust experience.

Macgo Blu-ray Player Pro

Hong Kong-based Macgo's Blu-ray Player Pro usually sells for a whopping $79.95, though you can watch for frequent sales that will knock the price down to a still-lofty $39.95. On the App Store, with a 'family' license to run on multiple Macs, it'll cost you $64.99. (There's a marginally cheaper non-Pro version, but like Leawo's app, it doesn't fully support menus, so why bother?)

For that price, you'll get an experience nearly identical to popping a disc into any regular Blu-ray player. Macgo's app played my test discs flawlessly, with full support for menus and a virtual remote that even mirrored the what-are-they-even-there-for red, blue, green, and yellow buttons on the average Blu-ray remote. Its interface isn't Mac-like, but it's clean, intuitive, and unobtrusively minimal.

Discs loaded quickly — 15 seconds, tops – and played the same pre-roll ads and trailers they would in a hardware player, though thankfully, I could skip them just as easily as I would elsewhere. The app offers hardware acceleration for smoother playback, though aside from loading speed, I didn't notice a difference in quality between it and Leawo's app. Macgo's app even supports BD-Live online features, though you'll have to go into the Preferences to turn that feature on; it's switched off by default. I couldn't tell or test whether Macgo's app was region-free, but I'd be surprised if it weren't.

The only shortfall I found in Macgo's app, besides its price, was its lack of support for 3D or 4K UHD Blu-rays. I'm sure that's a dealbreaker for some folks, but most users probably won't lament it.

Maybe just don't

In hindsight, Steve Jobs may have been right to keep Blu-ray drives out of Macs. On a laptop screen, you may not be able to fully enjoy the HD splendor of a great Blu-ray picture. (And hauling around an external drive plus discs would make the experience a lot less portable.) Desktop Macs with big screens already have Netflix, iTunes, and lots of other less noisy and expensive ways to watch HD movies.

For the same $120 - $180 you'd shell out for Macgo's app and a good external drive, you could buy a decent Blu-ray player to hook up to your big-screen TV. (Reputable names like Sony and LG offer region-free players you can score for $100 or less with a little comparison-shopping.)

If you don't own a TV or a Blu-ray player, do own a Mac, already own an external Blu-ray drive for some other purpose – like ripping the Blu-ray discs you own for your personal digital collection – and really, really want to watch Blu-rays specifically off the discs, you'll likely be pleased with Macgo's app, and reasonably satisfied with Leawo's.

But with so many other, less troublesome ways to watch movies on your Mac, maybe you're better off leaving this particular bag of hurt alone.

We may earn a commission for purchases using our links. Learn more.

Google faces privacy lawsuit over tracking users in apps without consent

Mac Blu Ray Player App

Law firm Boies Schiller Flexner has filed another lawsuit against Google. This time, the law firm has accused Google of tracking users in apps even after opting out.