Software for DVD/Blu-ray playing on a laptop

[Count Steer]

For umpteen years I've been using various versions of Cyberlink PowerDVD for watching (legit, bought, right region etc) DVDs/Bluray discs on PCs and laptops. Tried to use current install recently (v15) and it seems to spin a coin to decide what will/won't play. The disk drive seems fine. That's all it's for (I had other software for editing video camera footage but haven't used an actual video cam for a long time). The screen grab was fun for a while (wouldn't do grabs from Bluray - 'cos licensing type thing) but that's just a nice to have and really it's just about using the laptop like a TV+dvd player.

So, what's the recommendation? Someone suggested Pinnacle (Corel?) but that looks like a full blown editor. I assume there's something in Windoze already but can't work out what from the list of options what to try as a reset default.

[katana]

Look up VLC media player https://www.videolan.org/

[KungFooBob]

VLC plays everything.

[Count Steer]

Looked at VLC. Can't see anything that specifically mentions Bluray?

If they're open source, free, etc...how do they make any money?

Might give it a go though but I'm happy to pay for stuff that's a bit less 'techy'

[ChrisW]

If they're open source, free, etc...how do they make any money?

The guy behind it wasn't just interested in making money from it - Jean Baptist Kempf:

[Count Steer]

If they're open source, free, etc...how do they make any money?

The guy behind it wasn't just interested in making money from it - Jean Baptist Kempf:

Yeah I read up on them. I just twitch when something is 'free' because it usually isn't. I note that India banned it because (and I don't for one minute think this is why they actually did) 'links with China'.

[katana]

Some people are altruistic, or do things for the kudos.

[mangocrazy]

I use it because it's 'simply the best' (© Tina Turner), it supports every known file format and it's free. It's also not Windows Media Player.

What's not to like?

[Count Steer]

Thanks all. I'll give it a go later today.

(Tried the DVDs that PowerDVD failed with in my old PS3 and the Sony portable player. No problem, so the disks are fine and the laptop/PowerDVD combo plays others quite happily).

I'll report back.

[Count Steer]

Loaded and works a treat. The user interface is a bit primitive but it does everything I need. Haven't tried Bluray yet.

Thanks again.

[Count Steer]

Yup. It doesn't like Bluray (or more accurately doesn't have the necessary decryption for copyrighted ones). There are dlls available 'for developers' but no info on how to incorporate them. I guess if I hack around the info is out there.

[Horse]

If they're open source, free, etc...how do they make any money?

The guy behind it wasn't just interested in making money from it - Jean Baptist Kempf:

Well, I have to say, he's a stylish chap!

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[Greenman]

Another vote here for VLC - I also install the k-lite codec pack which i find will play pretty much anything.

[Count Steer]

Another vote here for VLC - I also install the k-lite codec pack which i find will play pretty much anything.

Q? How did you get/install the k-lite codec pack? I saw a couple of Bluray related .dll's but no info on the install process. It's all geek to me.

(So I downloaded a £'s off offer to upgrade my PowerDVD from 15 to 22...and spent the rest of the afternoon trying to get it to work. Eventually found there was a patch issued on 22/12/24 so downloaded that, turned off the firewall and it worked. Mostly....one BR disk has a 3D version as well as a 2D...system says 'nope'. Turned the firewall back on after).

Years ago my nephew told me a PS3 was a good way of getting a BR player - which were silly expensive at the time - and what a bit of advice that was. I guess Sony can afford to pay all the licence fees for all formats. Stick the 3D disk in, pop the funny specs on and hey presto. I think it even came with a 3D version of Coraline -and that came out in 2009 so the PS3 has some miles on it.

[Greenman]

Another vote here for VLC - I also install the k-lite codec pack which i find will play pretty much anything.

Q? How did you get/install the k-lite codec pack? I saw a couple of Bluray related .dll's but no info on the install process. It's all geek to me.

(So I downloaded a £'s off offer to upgrade my PowerDVD from 15 to 22...and spent the rest of the afternoon trying to get it to work. Eventually found there was a patch issued on 22/12/24 so downloaded that, turned off the firewall and it worked. Mostly....one BR disk has a 3D version as well as a 2D...system says 'nope'. Turned the firewall back on after).

Years ago my nephew told me a PS3 was a good way of getting a BR player - which were silly expensive at the time - and what a bit of advice that was. I guess Sony can afford to pay all the licence fees for all formats. Stick the 3D disk in, pop the funny specs on and hey presto. I think it even came with a 3D version of Coraline -and that came out in 2009 so the PS3 has some miles on it.

https://ninite.com/

That website is my very good friend. You can incorporate it into AD too and use it as a SaaS tool.

Nice easy way to install Software and plugins.

[Wattelf]

Another vote here for VLC - I also install the k-lite codec pack which i find will play pretty much anything.

Q? How did you get/install the k-lite codec pack? I saw a couple of Bluray related .dll's but no info on the install process. It's all geek to me.

(So I downloaded a £'s off offer to upgrade my PowerDVD from 15 to 22...and spent the rest of the afternoon trying to get it to work. Eventually found there was a patch issued on 22/12/24 so downloaded that, turned off the firewall and it worked. Mostly....one BR disk has a 3D version as well as a 2D...system says 'nope'. Turned the firewall back on after).

Years ago my nephew told me a PS3 was a good way of getting a BR player - which were silly expensive at the time - and what a bit of advice that was. I guess Sony can afford to pay all the licence fees for all formats. Stick the 3D disk in, pop the funny specs on and hey presto. I think it even came with a 3D version of Coraline -and that came out in 2009 so the PS3 has some miles on it.

https://ninite.com/

That website is my very good friend. You can incorporate it into AD too and use it as a SaaS tool. I like tools that remove repetitive setup jobs. There are quite a few automation platforms around now too — some of them can even connect different apps and services together, which is handy if you regularly rebuild systems or manage multiple machines. https://latenode.com/products/agent-builder is one example of those workflow automation tools.

Nice easy way to install Software and plugins.

I’ve used K-Lite a few times over the years and the install process is actually pretty straightforward. Just download the installer from the official site, run it, and the default settings are usually fine for most users. The “geeky” part is mostly in the advanced options where you can choose specific decoders, splitters, and associations.

For Blu-ray playback though, codecs alone don’t always solve everything. Commercial discs can be a bit complicated because of AACS/BD+ protection, menus, and 3D playback requirements. That’s probably why one disc works while another refuses — it may not be the codec but the way that particular disc is authored or protected.