Can I Play Blu-ray Movie on MacBook Pro? 4 Choices for You

Lafanda
23/03/2023

Blu-ray Player

Apple is dedicated to making a concise and unified Mac without an internal drive. However, be it an internal drive or an external Apple USB SuperDrive, it cannot read and play Blu-ray discs anyway. That's why people are in need of a MacBook Pro Blu-ray player to play Blu-ray on Mac computers.

If you're a cinephile with a pile of Blu-ray discs but don't know how to play Blu-ray on Mac, don't be frustrated. This post will tell you what to prepare and some of the best free Blu-ray players for MacBook Pro to consider. Now, let's kick in.

Preparation Before Watching Blu-ray on MacBook Pro

Before you go any further, you shall prepare the below items for better Blu-ray movie enjoyment on your MacBook pro:

An external Macintosh Blu-ray drive. Firstly, you need to get an external Blu-ray drive so that you can read the Blu-ray disc before you play it on your Mac. You can buy a suitable one from online retailers like Amazon, Ebay, etc. It’s recommended to check if the USB optical drive is compatible with the USB port of your MacBook or you can prepare a USB adapter if needed.

A third-party reliable Blu-ray player software. This application is to help you play the Blu-ray as there is no built-in Blu-ray player on Mac. A good Blu-ray player should boast the features:

Have the ability to play Blu-ray discs.
Bypass DRM protection or region codes.
Support original video quality of 1080p, 2K, or 4K.
Preserve the original audio effects like DTS and Dolby Digital.
Keep the original chapters, tracks, and subtitles.
Enable hardware acceleration to ensure smooth playback.
Provide an easy-to-go navigation menu.
Offer custom video effects for any scenario.

Stable network connection. Generally speaking, some DVD or Blu-ray discs will be DRM protected. To decode the protection and play them on Mac successfully, this Blu-ray player software will require a network connection for decrypting.

A Blu-ray Disc.

When you've got everything prepared, it's time to pick a preferred Blu-ray player for MacBook Pro. In the following part, there are 4 top MacBook Pro Blu-ray players for you to take into consideration. Now, let's grasp the ideas below.

4 Best Blu-ray Player Software for Blu-ray Playback on MacBook Pro

We’ve mentioned that a good third-party Blu-ray player is a must for you to play Blu-ray on MacBook Pro/MacBook Air/iMac/Mac mini. In this part, we will introduce the 4 best Blu-ray players to you, and you can choose whichever suits you most. Among them, VideoByte Blu-ray Player is our most recommended one.

VideoByte Blu-ray Player - An All-round Blu-ray Player

VideoByte Blu-ray Player as a Blu-ray player for MacBook Pro sticks out like a sore thumb with its excellent features. It can bypass DRM protections and region codes imposed on Blu-ray discs and let you enjoy the original videos of up to 4K resolution. Meanwhile, it can keep the best sound quality with in-built DTS and Dolby technology. With its unique hardware acceleration, it'll deliver a seamless and cinematic playback experience for you.

Also, it offers you an intuitive navigation menu to choose from default titles, chapters, audio tracks, and subtitles with no hassle. Better yet, you can adjust the hue, brightness, contrast, saturation, and gamma to cater to any playback scenario. Apart from playing Blu-ray discs on Mac, you can also play Blu-ray folders, Blu-ray ISO files, DVD discs, DVD folders, or media files in any format.

Pros:

Bypass DRM protections like AACS, BD+, Cinavia, APS, CSS, ARccOS, CPRM, etc.
Unlock region codes including Region A to C and Region 0 to 8.
Play Blu-ray discs, folders, ISO files, and local media files.
Support high-res and lossless playback of full HD 1080p, 2K, and 4K Ultra HD.
Ensure a crystal-clear listening experience with audio decoding systems like DTS and Dolby Digital.
Ensure smooth viewing with hardware acceleration.
Keep the original titles, chapters, audio tracks, and subtitles.
Offer a clear and simple navigation menu.
Adjust the video effect with hue, brightness, contrast, saturation, and gamma.
Take a snapshot instantly during the playback.
Support all mac models running mac OS X 10.5 or above.

Cons:

Do not support playing 3D discs or videos.
Do not support 8K videos.
Paid to use full functions starting at $29.95/month.

How to Play Blu-ray Disc on MacBook Pro/MacBook Air with VideoByte Blu-ray Player

After the introduction, you’ve known much about VideoByte Blu-ray Player. Then, let’s learn how to use this reliable tool to play Blu-ray on MacBook Pro with a video tutorial or written instructions. It’s very easy to play Blu-ray on Mac with this best Blu-ray Player for MacBook Pro.

Step 1. Connect the BD drive to your MacBook Pro

Prepare a Macintosh Blu-ray drive and connect the BD drive to your MacBook Pro with the USB cable. Then, insert your Blu-ray movie disc into the drive.

Step 2. Read Blu-ray Disc and Load It

Launch the VideoByte Blu-ray Player and then click on the "Open Disc" button on the main interface to load the Blu-ray on your MacBook Pro.

Make sure you are connected to the Internet well.

Step 3. Start to Play Blu-ray on MacBook Pro

Wait a second, the main menu will pop out. Here, you can choose the chapter, audio tracks and subtitles you like. Or, you can directly click "Play Movie" button to watch the Blu-ray movie directly.

With only 3 steps, you can enjoy your Blu-ray movies on your MacBook Pro with the best Blu-ray player for Mac. And, you can also play Blu-ray on MacBook Air, iMac, etc. via this method. Now take your Blu-ray discs and start watching on your MacBook.

Leawo Blu-ray Player

Leawo Blu-ray Player is one of the best Blu-ray players for MacBook Pro as it provides comprehensive solutions for users to play Blu-ray discs, folders, ISO images, and local files in MP4, M4A, AAC, MOV, AVI, MPEG, WMV, ASF, FLV, FLAC, M4A, MID, MKA, MP2, MP3, and so on. Also, Leawo can play Blu-ray on Mac with discs encrypted with DRM protections and region codes.

What's more, it employs high-end audio processing technology to deliver the best sound along with a smooth watching experience. Leawo Blu-ray Player also offers a virtual control panel to let you switch to titles, scenes, subtitles, and audio tracks without affecting the viewing during the playback. However, the drawback is that it doesn't support 4K videos currently.

Full Leawo review can be checked here: Leawo Blu-ray Player Review – Play Blu-ray/DVD on Computer Freely.

Pros:

Support playing protected Blu-ray discs.
Play local video and audio videos of various formats.
Provide a virtual control panel during playback.
Ensure great listening with advanced audio technology.
Support macOS X 10.10/10.11/10.12/10.13/10.14/10.15.

Cons:

Support video quality of full HD 1080p.
Do not customize video effects.
Do not support 3D videos.
Occur the out-of-sync problem sometimes.
Expensive to use at $44.95/year.

Macgo Mac Blu-ray Player

As the name suggests, Macgo is the Blu-ray Player software that runs on MacOS. It supports many file types including MP4, MOV, MKV, AVI, and WMV. The intuitive menu makes it easier to customize your Blu-ray playback experiences on your Mac. Meanwhile, this free Blu-ray player is able to decrypt the DRM protection of commercial discs easily.

However, the playback on this software may get laggy and sometimes you may find it drops frame and get stuck. For Blu-ray movie lovers, you should also be noted that DTS or Dolby sound is not supported in its free version. Moreover, it only supports up to 1080p video quality.

Pros:

Support DRM-protected discs.
Enable hardware acceleration for smooth playback.
Play the original video without data loss.
Support a virtual navigation menu.
Support macOS X 10.8 and above.

Cons:

Do not support discs with region codes.
Cannot play videos of 2K, 4K, and 8K.
Support no DTS or Dolby sound.
Drop frame or get unresponsive somehow.
Cannot play local media files.
Do not support 3D videos.
Paid to use at $19.95 per month.

VLC Media Player

VLC media player is a free and open-source Blu-ray player for MacBook Pro for playing everything including discs, DVDs, VCDs, webcams, devices, streams, and local files encoded with a range of codecs. With its hardware decoding technology, it delivers fast and stable video playback. Also, it comes with a few in-built features to let you add a subtitle or audio track when playing videos.

Better yet, it supports playing 3D videos in side-by-side formats and allows you to add video/audio filters if necessary. However, it doesn't support playing Blu-ray discs in and direct way and you may take quite a few steps to play Blu-ray discs with VLC. Meanwhile, it's open to the public so it doesn't support commercial discs with DRM protections or region codes.

Pros:

Free to use on different operating systems.
Play homemade discs, DVDs, and all types of media files.
Add a subtitle or audio track for video playback.
Support playing SBS 3D videos.
Enable hardware decoding technology.
Add custom video and audio filters.
Offer in-built features like recording and converting.

Cons:

Do not offer a navigation menu for discs.
Cannot play discs protected by DRM or region codes.
Support videos of up to 1080p.

Comparison Among the 4 Best Blu-ray Players

Don't know how to sort out the best MacBook Pro Blu-ray player? No worries. The following comparison table gives you an overall idea of the differences among these 4 Blu-ray players for MacBook Pro. Before making a decision, you may want to check it out first.

	VideoByte	Leawo	Macgo	VLC
DRM Protected	√	√	√	×
Region Free	√	√	×	×
Video Quality	4K	1080p	1080p	1080p
Navigation Menu	√	√	√	×
Adjust Video Effect	√	×	√	√
Compatibility	Windows, Mac	Windows, Mac	Mac	Windows, Mac, Linux
Drop Frame	×	√	√	√
Out of Sync	×	√	√	√
Cost	Starting at $29.95	Starting at $44.95	Starting at $19.95	Free

Apart from a reliable MacBook Pro Blu-ray player, it's also a great idea to rip Blu-ray discs to digital formats and then you can enjoy videos without external Blu-ray drives Mac. If you have no idea, you should get the rope in the following extra tip.

Extra Tip: Play Blu-ray Movie on MacBook Pro by Ripping Blu-ray to Digital

VideoByte BD-DVD Ripper is a magic tool to make it come true. It can digitize commercial and homemade DVD/Blu-ray discs to over 300 DRM-free formats while keeping all titles, chapters, subtitles, and audio tracks. Better yet, it ensures lossless video and audio quality for the best flow experience. After ripping the disc, you can enjoy flexible playback anywhere at any time without an internal or external Macintosh Blu-ray drive on MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, iMac, etc.

DRM-Protection Removal - With the edge-cutting DRM decryption technology, VideoByte BD-DVD Ripper can easily decrypt and rip DVD/Blu-ray discs protected by DRM or region codes.
1:1 Ratio Lossless Ripping - This dedicated software can keep the lossless video and audio quality for the best playback along with default titles, chapters, subtitles, audio tracks, etc.
3 Output Modes Available - You can digitize Blu-ray discs to popular formats like MP4, MKV, MOV, AVI, etc. Also, you can rip them to Blu-ray folders/ISO files with ease.
Various Default Presets - There are in-built presets for all kinds of devices and social platforms like YouTube, TikTok, Lasso, Likee, etc. to save you a lot of effort.
Flexible Parameter Settings - Except for default presets, you can fully customize a desired preset with flexible parameters including an encoder, resolution, bitrate, frame rate, and so on.

How to Rip Blu-ray to Digital for Easy Playback on MacBook Pro Retina

It's totally a piece of cake to digitize Blu-ray discs with the help of VideoByte BD-DVD Ripper in 3 steps.
Step 1. Insert your Blu-ray disc into a Macintosh Blu-ray drive that is connected to your MacBook Pro.
Step 2. Launch VideoByte BD-DVD Ripper and click Load Blu-ray > Load Blu-ray Disc.
Step 3. Select the titles you want to rip and click Rip All to to choose a preset or output format. Now, hit the Rip All button to start digitizing videos from the Blu-ray disc to MacBook Pro.

Extended Reading - Pick A Cost-effective Blu-ray Drive for You Mac

To get Blu-ray playback on MacBook Pro, a Macintosh Blu-ray Drive is essential. However, you might get lost when there are thousands of external Blu-ray drives Mac supported available on the current market. If you don't know how to choose a good Blu-ray drive for Mac, the following part will offer you some best external Blu-ray drives for smooth playback. These excellent recommendations have features including but not limited to smooth operation, good encryption, support for reading multiple disc types, etc. Just go ahead and find your best Mac Blu-ray drive.

ASUS BW-12D1S-U Lite

• Have excellent security standard with encoded file name functionality and password control.

• Come with Power Backup professional data backup software.

• Can burn Blu-ray discs at 12X.

Samsung SE-506CB/RSBD

• Compatible with both Windows and Mac computers.

• Really slim at just twelve point seven millimeters.

• Can read and write quad, triple and dual-layer Blu-ray discs.

Sea Tech Aluminum

• Can write and read a wide range of disc types including Blu-ray, DVD and CD.

• Support the BDXL format.

• Compatible with both Mac and Window PC.

LG BP50NB40

• Allow you to play Blu-ray discs smoothly.

• Support BDXL format to write Blu-ray discs.

• Support almost any operating system.

Pioneer BDR-XS06

• Compatible with BDXL format and can burn and read CDs, DVDs, and Blu-ray discs.

• Supports all the popular operating systems.

• USB 3.0 and 2.0 interfaces with a buffer size of 4 megabytes.

Final Words

After reading the whole post, which one pops into your mind as the best Blu-ray player for MacBook Pro? If you want a free MacBook Pro Blu-ray player, the VLC media player is a free option to consider but it doesn't support directly playing discs with DRM protections or region codes. If you want to play protected Blu-ray discs with excellent sound effects, VideoByte Blu-ray Player stands out as the best choice for you. Now, give it a shot and immerse into the Blu-ray world at home.