How to Play DVD on Windows 10 and 11

Introduction

With physical media like DVDs slowly fading from prominence, many users still appreciate the high-quality video and nostalgic experience they offer. Unfortunately, modern Windows 10 and 11 systems lack built-in DVD playback support, making third-party solutions essential. This guide will explore various methods and tools, including free DVD player for Windows 10 & 11, to ensure you can enjoy your DVD collection effortlessly.

Why DVDs Don’t Play Natively on Windows 10 and 11

Microsoft’s decision not to pay licensing fees for DVD playback codecs means that standard media players no longer support DVDs out of the box. As a result, many users face the question: how to play DVD on Windows 10 & 11. Without pre-installed software or hardware support, the following strategies will help.

How to Play DVD on Windows 10/11 with Official Tool——Windows DVD Player

Microsoft offers a proprietary app called Windows DVD Player, available in the Microsoft Store. It provides basic functionality but receives mixed reviews due to performance issues and a $15 price tag. Users can test compatibility with a seven-day free trial, though this version won’t play DVDs, only confirming system compatibility.

Steps to use Windows DVD Player:

1. Purchase and install Windows DVD Player from the Microsoft Store.
2. Insert your DVD into the drive.
3. Launch the app and click "Play" to start watching.

Pros: Official support. Cons: Expensive, limited features, and no Blu-ray support.

Play DVD on Windows 10/11 with free DVD Players

Playing DVDs on modern Windows devices requires a compatible DVD drive. Since many laptops no longer include built-in drives to keep designs thin and lightweight, external or internal DVD drives are often necessary. Fortunately, many of these drives support both reading and writing DVDs and Blu-rays, making them versatile for media playback and disc burning.

Once equipped with a DVD drive, most free or paid media players can handle basic DVD playback without issue. However, decoding commercial or encrypted Blu-ray discs requires specialized software. Decoding commercial or encrypted Blu-ray discs typically requires additional decryption tools to enable seamless playback.

Play DVD on Windows 11 with DVDFab

DVDFab Player 6 is the highest recommended app for playing DVD on windows 10. It comes with 3 versions, free, standard, and ultra versions. DVDFab Player 6 has two different modes to play DVDs, a TV mode and a PC mode. This fantastic software is fully compatible with regular DVDs, ISO files and folders of DVDs, and encrypted DVDs. However, encrypted Disc has play or copy protection that does not allow them to be played on any uncertified DVD player or software. Still, DVDFab Player 6 can easily play these encrypted DVDs by removing the encryptions.

 i  Free Download    

DVDFab Player 6 fully supports HDR10 and thus, maintains high visual quality. It also supports DVD menus making the navigation relatively easy. This feature is excellent in terms of boosting a playback control experience. Getting a DVD to play on windows 10 is more confusing with this excellent app.

Pros

• Very easy to use.
• All media files are organized through wall posters.
• Can play 4K UHDs, ISO files, and folders, as well as Blu-rays.
• Supports almost all video formats.

Cons

• After a 30-day free trial, you have to buy this software.

Play DVD on Windows 10/11 with other free DVD Players

WinX DVD Ripper

Through WinX DVD Ripper, you can rip a DVD to MP4 and then view the ripped file easily on your computer, iPhone, Xbox, PS4, Android, HDTV, etc. This unique software has 350 plus profiles and can convert a DVD or an ISO image to MP3, MP4, MOV, MPEG, FLV, WMV, etc. You can easily backup your DVDs to a USB, Plex, NAS, or a hard drive using WinX DVD Ripper.

This is one of the most sought-after software programs when looking for how to burn a DVD to play on a DVD player windows 10. The best thing about this software is that it does not compromise the video quality while providing high-speed DVD ripping.

Pros

• Can rip old and damaged DVDs through a title check mechanism.
• Provides device-specific outputs.
• Contains 210+ video audio codecs.

Cons

• You can’t remove watermarks in the free version.

VLC by VideoLan

If you want to know how to play DVD on a laptop windows 10 using freeware, VLC by VideoLan is the right software program for you. It is one of the best free-to-use DVD players for windows 10. This software is highly compatible with multiple formats.

You have to insert the DVD into the drive and launch the VLC player. Just click on media and then open Disc. Select the disc tab, then DVD, and click on the play button. Here you go, you will get your DVD played on your Windows 10 in no time.

Moreover, this app also features customization options, which can be accessed simply by clicking on the player settings.

Pros

• Free to use.
• User-friendly interface, you do not require any experience to use this app.
• Supports multiple video formats.

Cons

• Difficult to search for songs in the library.
• Tags can’t be used.

Power DVD

How to play DVD on Windows 10 is no more a problem with Cyberlink Power DVD, a powerful DVD player for your windows 10. This unique software comes with a trial period so that you may use it free for a few days, explore its features, and play your DVDs on windows 10 easily. After the trial period of a few days, of course, you have to pay to use it.

Power DVD can be the right choice for you if you want your video to be played in the highest quality possible. Using Power DVD, you may also share and stream your videos, and this option is something that makes this app unique.

Pros

• Allows video sharing and streaming
• Provides a very high video quality

Cons

• Only provides a free trial, after which you have to pay to use this app.
• Quite an expensive app.

Real Player

Real Player is one of the best DVD player software for windows 10. This software can play UHD content in almost any format. This is a brilliant software program which has a super-fast speed. Through this app, you can also download videos from popular media platforms like TikTok and youtube. This app allows you to create a library of your media files to have all your files appropriately organized.

Real Player has a unique feature that makes it stand out among other DVD players. It allows you to identify the celebrities in your videos by clicking on their faces. Isn’t that amazing? And that is not it, and this app can give you all information about that celebrity available on the internet.

Pros

• Has a super-fast speed.
• Enables you to identify the celebrities in the movies with one click.

Cons

• Sometimes this software crashes while playing a video.

POT Player

POT player is a unique DVD player software that allows you to enjoy 3D content online. Furthermore, you can also play other content in HD and perform the streaming. So, you can enjoy 3D movies at your home easily through this fantastic software program.

If your question is how to play DVD on laptop windows 10, then POT player is the answer. This app has a user-friendly interface. It has various attractive features such as video editing and customization options, snapshot capture, and different customizable skins through which you can give a personalized look to your app.

Pros

• Allows you to enjoy the 3D movie experience.
• Has a user-friendly interface.

Cons

• You might face problems with video frames and size.

Conclusion

Even though DVDs are going out of fashion and may go obsolete, some people still use them as a physical medium to preserve their favorite TV stuff, seasons, and movies. All the DVD players mentioned in this article are renowned and the most tools available in the market. Each of them is different from the other in terms of compatibility, availability, unique features, and performance.

Still, if you want the best recommendation among all the DVDs mentioned above, the Player for windows 10/11, then DVDFab Player 6 would be on the top of the list because of its uncountable features, compatibility, running speed, easy installation, and user-friendly interface.