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
Highlighted Features of VideoByte Blu-ray Player



You can also view the video tutorial for a detailed instruction.
Tips:
4. Play Blu-ray in VLC After Ripping to Other Formats
- 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




5. Troubleshooting: How to Get VLC to Play Blu-ray Smoothly
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!
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:
- 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.
6. FAQs About Playing Blu-rays with VLC
Why can't VLC play Blu-ray?
Can VLC also rip Blu-rays?
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.

Hot Articles