DVD player program for Windows 10?

[cwilliamsws6]

So it wasn't until today that I realized that at some point the ability to play DVDs was removed from Windows Media Player. Pretty stupid move right?

My computer (HP gaming desktop) came with Cyberlink DVD program pre-installed but of course the version I have is "outdated" and in order to play DVDs I would have to buy their newest version for $59.99.

I tried a couple of free DVD player programs from the Microsoft store and a lot of them suck.

What program do you guys use to play DVDs?

I miss the good old days of Windows 7 when things weren't needlessly overcomplicated...

 

[92saturnsl2]

VLC Media Player is the most hassle free I've found and supports nearly all popular formats and codecs.

 

[cwilliamsws6]

VLC Media Player is the most hassle free I've found and supports nearly all popular formats and codecs.

I totally forgot VLC existed. I had it on my old computers and used it almost exclusively. Thanks

 

[K.Aoi]

VLC or MPC-HC (I've always liked MPC-HC better)

 

[uc50ic4more]

So it wasn't until today that I realized that at some point the ability to play DVDs was removed from Windows Media Player. Pretty stupid move right?

It can still play them BUT you have to manually install the MPEG-2 codec from the Microsoft Store now. It seems that the codec no longer ships by default.

But you cannot go wrong with VLC, ever.

 

[92saturnsl2]

It can still play them BUT you have to manually install the MPEG-2 codec from the Microsoft Store now. It seems that the codec no longer ships by default.

But you cannot go wrong with VLC, ever.

Windows 10 never included support for DVD, and installing a MPEG-2 codec doesn't do it either. I'm pretty sure it's been that way since Windows 8.1. Even if the codec shipped with Windows by default, you still have no DVD playback. You had to purchase a Microsoft / Windows DVD player for like $15 IIRC. I guess Microsoft wanted to avoid licensing fees and whatnot, or at least pass them onto the customer via a paid program.

VLC is hard to beat even though it's not the most polished software out there- but it just works.

 

[wag123]

VLC or MPC-HC (I've always liked MPC-HC better)

I also prefer MPC-HC.

 

[92saturnsl2]

I also prefer MPC-HC.

Their website says the 2017 version is their last, and there are no further updates.

I was interested in trying it, but doesn't sound like a good alternative to VLC if you have newer formats. I'm guessing it works just fine for DVD, however. I wonder about Blu-Ray since newer firmware / software updates seem to be required to support some new releases in my experience.

 

[uc50ic4more]

Windows 10 never included support for DVD, and installing a MPEG-2 codec doesn't do it either. I'm pretty sure it's been that way since Windows 8.1. Even if the codec shipped with Windows by default, you still have no DVD playback. You had to purchase a Microsoft / Windows DVD player for like $15 IIRC. I guess Microsoft wanted to avoid licensing fees and whatnot, or at least pass them onto the customer via a paid program.

VLC is hard to beat even though it's not the most polished software out there- but it just works.

Ah, the DVD decryption. In Linux I do recall having to grab the dvdcss package for that.

 

[K.Aoi]

Their website says the 2017 version is their last, and there are no further updates.

I was interested in trying it, but doesn't sound like a good alternative to VLC if you have newer formats. I'm guessing it works just fine for DVD, however. I wonder about Blu-Ray since newer firmware / software updates seem to be required to support some new releases in my experience.

A different group picked up the project and it can be found over on github, I use it with the madVR renderer for quality.

Releases · clsid2/mpc-hc

Media Player Classic. Contribute to clsid2/mpc-hc development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

 

[y_p_w]

I've got a Mac, but sometimes I use VLC to play files that aren't supported by any other player, like WMV files. There used to be a free plug-in that allowed them to play on QuickTime, but that's no longer working.

But yeah - VLC is universally one of the best video players available.

 

[wag123]

Their website says the 2017 version is their last, and there are no further updates.

I was interested in trying it, but doesn't sound like a good alternative to VLC if you have newer formats. I'm guessing it works just fine for DVD, however. I wonder about Blu-Ray since newer firmware / software updates seem to be required to support some new releases in my experience.

I have never found anything that MPC-HC wouldn't play. It is simple, has a small footprint, is not a resource hog, never crashes, and it just works. I have been using it since the Windows XP days. It was originally a Sourceforge open-source software project that has now been adopted by Github, and it's development continues. Try it, if you don't like it, get rid of it.

 

[K.Aoi]

I have never found anything that MPC-HC wouldn't play. It is simple, has a small footprint, is not a resource hog, never crashes, and it just works. I have been using it since the Windows XP days. It was originally a Sourceforge open-source software project that has now been adopted by Github, and it's development continues. Try it, if you don't like it, get rid of it.

yeah it even plays FLV and that's increasingly rare these days