VLC Blu-Ray: Now Play Blu-Ray Movies Without Any Trouble

What do you understand by ‘Blu-Ray’? Blu-ray way developed as a joint effort by a group of consumer electronic and personal computer companies known as the Blu-ray Disc Association. Blu-ray essentially refers to the Blu-ray player software. This is a disk storage format that has the ability to store a video in high-definition for long periods of time.

The storage capacity of Blu-ray discs is also much higher than that of traditional DVDs. It can hold about five times more content on it. The Blu-ray disks also support higher resolutions as opposed to traditional disks and can back state-of-the-art video ultra-modern video and audio formats.

This content, in turn, can be viewed on your laptop or computer with the help of video player software. VLC is a famous video player software that is user-friendly, but does VLC play Blu-ray?

Until recently, the answer was no. VLC was not equipped to play Blu-ray movies. So, the big question is How to get VLC to play Blu-ray? However, first, let’s look more deeply into VLC and Blu-ray.

What is a VLC Blu-ray player?

VLC or VideoLAN Client is a free, very popular, and much used open-source software for viewing videos on your device. However, the software did not integrally play Blu-ray discs without the integration of additional software. A few years earlier, with the launch of a project called libbluray, playing Blu-ray on VLC became possible.

The libbluray library, however, comes with certain shortcomings. While it can play DRM-free and homemade Blu-ray, it proves quite inadequate when it comes to commercial Blu-ray which comes with AACS and BD+ copyright protection. Here, we will discuss in detail how to play Blu-ray on VLC.

Main Features of VLC Blu-ray player

• Allows conversion of a video to another format
• It is a great graphic equalizer for music
• Features audio normalization
• Has the ability to find and play internet radio stations
• Enables you to loop a particular portion of a media file as opposed to an entire video or soundtrack

How to play Blu-ray VLC?

You may encounter certain error messages, especially when you play encrypted Blu-ray on VLC. These may include-

• VLC is unable to open the MRL
• This Blu-ray Disc needs a library for BD+/AACS decoding, and your system does not have it
• No valid processing key was found in the AACS config file

You can quite easily reach a solution and have VLC play Blu-ray by following a few steps:

Step 1

Install VLC or update it to have the latest version that will have a Blu-ray menu support

Step 2

Next download libaacs and libbdplus DLLs. Then shift both the files to the corresponding VLC directory

Step 3

Download keydb.cfg file. Then move it to C:\Users\WonderFox\AppData\Roaming\aacs. You can simply create an "aacs" folder if it doesn't exist in the subfolder of "Roaming".

Step 4

Now run VLC. Go to Media > Open Disc > Disc tab > Blu-ray > Play. You can successfully play your Blu-ray

How to update VLC Blu-ray codecs?

VLC is equipped to play almost all media formats and codecs that are used with media files. The freeware media player is loaded with media codecs converted into the software so that the user is not required to update individual codecs. The software virtually handles the updating. Download and install the codec to be used with your media files.

Step 1

Go to ‘Start’> ‘All Programs’> ‘VideoLAN’> ‘VLC Media Player’

Step 2

Select ‘Help’ and click on the button Check for Updates

Step 3

Download the current VLC and codec update by tapping on ‘Yes’. Select a location where you want to download the file and click on OK. Downloading and installation commence.

How to use VLC to play Blu-ray on Windows 7?

Using VLC Blu-ray Windows 7 on your laptop or computer is possible with a few improvisations. All you need is a 2.0 or later version of VLC. So if you are using an older version, you have to first upgrade it. Follow the below steps to use VLC player Blu-ray on Windows 7. In addition to playing blu ray videos, you also need to rip these blu ray DVDs.

Step 1

Download the latest VLC version from Videolan.org

Step 2

Next download key database AACS DYNAMIC LIBRARY. Downloading should be of 32-bit files for 32-bit VLC, and 64-bit files for 64-bit VLC.

Step 3

Windows 7 users need to go in the "C: Users\your username\AppData"

Step 4

Next, go to Folder Options> View Tab> “Show Hidden Files and folders”> OK. This will allow the viewing of hidden files

Step 5

In the App data, form a new folder with the name and paste the downloaded KEYDB.cfg key file in this new folder

Step 6

Get the AACS DYNAMIC LIBRARY installed on your computer by simply navigating to C drive, searching for "Video LAN > VLC" in the program files of 32 bit, then pasting or drag-dropping AACS Dynamic library file in this folder

What are the drawbacks of VLC Blu-ray payer?

• Requirement of additional software: Most often, playing Blu-ray on VLC does not come naturally as it requires installation of additional software
• Error codes: You often encounter error codes at each step. For instance, despite creating a library for AACS decoding, you may have the error pop up “This Blu-ray requires a library for AACS decoding to play and your system does not have one”
• The issue with certain purchased DVDs: VLC often gives trouble working with certain Blu-ray files like Blu-Ray discs/ISO files and folders.
• Other restrictions: It does not work in the case of copyright protection, region codes, or other such restrictions.
• May crash when trying to play large video files

PlayerFab: The Perfect Alternative

By adding PlayerFab to your arsenal, you no longer need to care about issues with compatibility. This all-inclusive media player lets you view your content without worry as it can quite easily play everything ranging from local videos, Blu-ray, DVD, UHD disc as well as streaming videos.

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Main Features

• It is an all-in-one platform for streaming
• Video quality for online video in FHD 1080p and audio quality is EAC3
• Offers an auto-skip feature for ads
• Supports all kinds of audio and video formats such as H.264, H.265/HEVC, MP4, MKV, MOV, FLV, VOB, M2TS, etc.
• The features navigation menu on DVDs, Blu-rays, and 4K Ultra Blu-rays, irrespective of the form they are

Price

$169.99

Pros

• Allows better viewing experience by being able to choose audio and subtitle
• Speed adjustments allow for regulating playback speed, skipping to main content, and bypassing the intro
• Gives you the choice of video and audio quality as per requirement including high-quality 4K UHD video in HDR10 effect
• Supports 3-D Blu-ray discs

Con

None

Conclusion

VLC media player Blu-ray is one of the best choices when you wish to enjoy videos of Blu-ray disks. There are, however, certain restrictions and drawbacks which you can easily overcome with some simple steps. Learn more about these hiccups and the way to surmount them. Follow the instructions and learn how to get VLC to play Blu-ray without a hitch and enjoy your favorite movies in exceptional quality.