How to Play Blu-ray with VLC on PC & Mac [2023 Ultimate]

Lafanda
20/03/2023

Blu-ray Player

Q: Will VLC play Blu-ray on Windows & Mac? I put my Blu-ray disc into VLC but it popped up with an error "Your input can't be opened: VLC is unable to open the disc." Why is VLC not working to play Blu-ray? Are there any solutions?

A: Actually, VLC doesn't offer direct support for Blu-ray disc, but the 2.0 and later versions of VLC support Blu-ray media playback with some extra operations. That is, VLC isn’t equipped with Blu-ray codecs officially which enables it to support Blu-ray. To help you out, we will show you how to play Blu-ray disc on VLC step-by-step in the following.

Too Long Don't Read:

The setup might be troublesome and tricky to play Blu-ray on VLC. If you have followed the instructions correctly and it is not working, or you don't want to use such a cumbersome method, feel free to try another professional tool that helps you play Blu-ray on computer easily: VideoByte Blu-ray Player. With it, you can directly open any Blu-ray discs with or without protection on your PC/Mac in 4K visual quality. Just try it now!

1. How to Use VLC to Play Blu-ray on Windows 10/8/7

As one of the most powerful media players, VLC supports most of today's media and video formats. However, it is common to find that VLC cannot play Blu-ray discs directly, and the error “this Blu-ray disc needs a library for bd+ decoding, and your system does not have it.” appears from time to time. After all, VLC won’t play Blu-ray directly for it doesn’t have the built-in codecs.

Thankfully, the open-source VLC gives the chance for techies to tweak settings to realize the goal. The following will show you how to play Blu-ray with VLC on Windows by installing a powerful setup step by step.

Step 1. To play Blu-ray with VLC on Windows, you'd better upgrade to VLC 3.0 first if you are still using the old version. Please note that you will need to download the VLC Windows 64bit version if it is a 64bit Windows computer.

Tips:

It would be better to keep the default installation path while installing VLC. Otherwise, you can't completely follow the steps below.

Step 2. Go to https://vlc-bluray.whoknowsmy.name/ to download the keys database and AACS dynamic library. Please notice that you should download the 32bit file for VLC 32bit, and 64bit file for VLC 64bit.

After downloaded, two files - the keys database file (KEYDB.cfg) and the AACS dynamic library file (libaacs.dll) should already exist on your Windows computer.

Step 3. Go to "C:\ProgramData", create a new folder in it and name it "aacs". After that, place your downloaded "KEYDB.cfg" file into it.

Step 4. Go to "C:\Program Files\VideoLAN\VLC", then drop your downloaded "libaacs.dll" file into it. If running 32bit VLC, you will need to find your VLC directory in "C:\Program Files (x86)".

Step 5. Now, you can easily launch VLC and use it to play Blu-ray disc on Windows for free. Just need to click on "Media" > "Open Disc" > "Blu-ray".

Tips:

Now you may be aware that you need a great deal of patience to get these two key files downloaded and put them in exactly the right place, for they are keys to supporting Blu-ray playback on VLC. However, as VLC is a totally non-profit organization, these necessary files would not be updated constantly. Therefore, they could not deal with the frequently updated Blu-ray protection technology from publishers.

Quick solution: Download the professional tool: VideoByte Blu-ray Player and enjoy any of your Blu-ray movies now!

2. How to Use VLC to Play Blu-ray on Mac

The steps to play Blu-ray discs with VLC on Mac are quite similar to that on Windows computers in part 1. See the full guide below.

Step 1. To make VLC play Blu-ray on Mac, download the latest version of VLC for Mac OS X from Videolan.org.

Step 2. Go to: https://vlc-bluray.whoknowsmy.name/ and get two necessary files.

#1. KEYS Database

Mac OS: put "KEYDB.cfg" in ~/Library/Preferences/aacs/ (create it if it does not exist).

#2. AACS Dynamic Library

Mac OS: right-click on VLC, choose "Show Package Contents" and put the "libaacs.dylib" file in "Contents/MacOS/lib/" (create it if it does not exist).

Step 3. Run VLC and insert your Blu-ray disc into the Blu-ray drive, and open it with VLC, then your encrypted Blu-ray movie will start playing in VLC.

Related Reading: [Resolved]Can I Play Blu-ray Movie on MacBook Pro?

3. Best VLC Alternative to Play Blu-ray Disc on Windows & Mac Effortlessly

If the above steps of playing Blu-ray disc on VLC are kind of complicated for you, or even some knotty problems may occur as mentioned above, our recommendation is VideoByte Blu-ray Player. This versatile Blu-ray player supports any type of Blu-ray playback for both Windows and Mac. With the help of advanced Blu-ray decryption technology, VideoByte Blu-ray Player delivers a cinema-like experience to users for they can enjoy commercial Blu-ray on the computer screen.

Highlighted Features of VideoByte Blu-ray Player

1. Play encrypted Blu-ray disc/folder/ISO image without downloading any extra file.

2. Supports unlocking region code to play Blu-ray steadily and smoothly.

3. With DTS and Dolby Digital support, you will always enjoy the fluent viewing experience of the highest quality.

4. Easy to grasp navigation menu to switch the title and chapter or change the audio/subtitle track easily.

5. Lifelong technical update and prompt technical support available.

With the basic knowledge of VideoByte Blu-ray Player, now you can have a quick flip through how to play blu-ray on the PC in below.

The windows version of VideoByte Blu-ray Ripper can also play DVD disc/folder/ISO. And you need to be connected to the Internet so that the software can decode the copy-protection used on the commercial Blu-ray disc.

VideoByte Blu-ray Player Main Interface — Launch VideoByte Blu-ray Player

You can also view the video tutorial for a detailed instruction.

Tips:

If you find playing Blu-ray on VLC quite troublesome and want to rip Blu-ray dics to digital formats for evergreen offline playback, you can try VideoByte Blu-ray Ripper. It supports to convert protected Blu-rays and DVD to MP4 and maintain the 1:1 ratio. The download button is below!

4. Play Blu-ray in VLC After Ripping to Other Formats

In the former texts we've told you how to play Blu-ray with VLC or VideoByte Blu-ray Player if VLC doesn't work well. But you may think it troublesome to prepare for playing Blu-rays, and it's possible to encounter some problems during Blu-ray playback. If you want to use VLC to play your Blu-ray movies smoothly, a good way is to rip Blu-ray to common digital formats, and then you can play the Blu-ray movies on multiple platforms or video players including VLC.

If you need to convert Blu-rays to digital formats, a reliable Blu-ray ripper is a must. Here we'd like to introduce a powerful Blu-ray ripper: VideoByte BD-DVD Ripper to you. VideoByte BD-DVD Ripper is an all-around Blu-ray/DVD ripper that can rip both homemade & commercial Blu-rays to various formats like MP4, MKV, etc. These formats are all perfectly compatible with VLC. You can view its main features below:

Convert all types of Blu-ray/DVD to multiple digital formats (MP4, MKV, MOV, etc.)

Able to bypass various copy protection (APS, CSS, ARccOS, CPRM, AACS, BD+, and Cinavia)

Provide lossless-quality Blu-ray movie output;

Preserve all subtitles & audio tracks for convenient playback;

Fast ripping speed that can reach 6X and faster

Now let's see how to use VideoByte BD-DVD Ripper to rip Blu-ray to digital formats.

Rip to Option — Rip to Video/Audio/ISO/Folder

Ripping Disc — Click "Rip All" to Start Ripping DVD/Blu-ray Disc

5. Troubleshooting: How to Get VLC to Play Blu-ray Smoothly

In this part, you can find some common solutions to VLC playing Blu-ray errors. You are likely to still encounter errors like:

About decoding:

This Blu-ray disc needs a library for bd+ decoding, and your system does not have it.

This Blu-ray disc needs a library for aacs decoding, and your system does not have it.

About configuration files:

No valid processing key found in AACS config file.

Missing AACS configuration file!

The 4 notices you receive above all concern AACS decoding component. Therefore, once you see them, you can check the installing steps introduced in part 1 for Windows and part 2 for Mac of this post, following the guide, and you can fix the problems then.

About Input File:

Your input can’t be opened:
VLC can't recognize the input's format:

When you see the notes prompt, you can try the following workarounds:

Reset VLC preference to default.
Update VLC to the latest version.
Change file owner not playing in VLC.

VLC won’t play Blu-ray normally:

Sometimes users may encounter some abnormal VLC playback issues as below:

VLC keep Blu-ray loading but nothing presents.

VLC subtitle delay and the Blu-ray movie text is often too soon or too late.

VLC Player has no sound when playing a disc.

The main reason why VLC cannot play Blu-ray smoothly even if you add the AACS key is that the library does not include the AACS key for some Blu-ray discs. Therefore, one possible solution to solve the problem is to update the AACS key and the VLC version when you meet the Blu-ray playback error on VLC media player. Besides, restrictions concerning Blu-rays vary. Apart from AACS, other protections or region codes can also lead to failed Blu-ray playback on VLC.

So, the problem that "VLC won't Play Blu-ray" is difficult to fix. Why not choose VideoByte Blu-ray Player that is more powerful and stable? Or choose to rip Blu-ray with a Blu-ray ripper like VideoByte BD-DVD Ripper.

6. FAQs About Playing Blu-rays with VLC

Why can't VLC play Blu-ray?

We've mentioned at the beginning of the post that not all versions of VLC can play Blu-rays, and normally you cannot directly open Blu-ray movies on VLC. To successfully play Blu-ray with VLC, you can check the first 2 parts of the passage. If you still encounter some problems, you can check the last part, where we list some common problems you may ask.

Can VLC also rip Blu-rays?

Yes, VLC can rip Blu-rays. It can not only play Blu-ray but also rip Blu-ray to MP4 or other formats. But it's complex and it's possible to encounter some errors. Therefore, you can turn to VideoByte BD-DVD Ripper for help, and it can easily rip Blu-ray to multiple digital formats for you.

Is it possible to change the region code of VLC?

When you try to play Blu-ray with VLC, you may see a notice that tells you the mismatching between your Blu-ray disc and VLC region code. Luckily, there’s a way to solve it. Just follow the steps below:

Step 1. Choose “Tools” on the menu bar, and click “Preference”. The panel now doesn’t show all parameters, so you need to select “All” at the bottom-left corner.

Step 2. Find “Input/Codecs” in the list, and choose “Access Module”. Then, select “Blu-ray”.

Step 3. After you select “Blu-ray”, you can see the region code options on the right. Now, just choose the code you want to change to.

Now we believe you've known much about how to play Blu-ray with VLC, and also notice that VLC may not be the best choice for Blu-ray playback. Therefore, you can try VideoByte Blu-ray Player, which can do all that VLC cannot achieve for you, like playing protected Blu-rays with lossless quality and easy-to-control menu. You can download it and use the trial version first!