As a free yet powerful open source software, VLC media player not only allows you to view a variety of media files but also view a DVD disc without loading any additional drivers. Launch VLC Media Player from its Start menu shortcut. Insert a DVD, and it should rev up automatically. If not, click on the Media menu, select the Open Disc command, choose the option for DVD, and then click on the Play button. You’ll notice a full range of controls to play, pause, stop, fast forward, go backwards, skip ahead, skip behind, and toggle to full-screen mode.
Problems when VLC playback DVD movies
However, sometimes, you may find that VLC won’t play DVD in the following situation:
– VLC can’t read DVD. Users cannot even open DVD, VIDEO_TS folder in VLC or DVD is ejected.
– VLC plays DVD very choppy. Or it displays yellow warning sign, with extreme stuttering.
– VLC not playing the whole DVD, it just plays the first several seconds and then stops.
– VLC is unable to play encrypted DVD.
– VLC fails to play DVD after macOS High Sierra or Win 10 update.
Related article: Convert Video/Audio VLC to MP4 | Play 3D Movies with VLC | KMPlayer VS VLC Media Player
Solution to fix VLC not properly playback DVD movies
1. Reinstall and update VLC to the latest version
Sometimes, if you are using the old versions of VLC, you may fail to play DVD with VLC media player. Then it would be much ideal for you to upgrade the VLC to the latest version 2.2.8. If VLC cannot read DVDs, write access to DVD device. For example, # chmod 666 /dev/dvd, where /dev/dvd is the device corresponding to DVD drive.
2. Download and install libdvdcss
If the DVD movies that you try to play with VLC are commercial ones with complicated copy protection. You need to download and install libdvdcss on your computer. Libdvdcss is a free and open source software library for accessing and unscrambling DVDs encrypted with Content Scramble System(CSS). Libdvdcss alone is only a library and can not play DVDs. DVD player applications, such as VLC media player, use this library to decode DVDs. Libdvdcss is optional in many open-source DVD players, but without it, only non-encrypted discs will play.
3. Rip DVD to VLC compatible digital file format
Since installing libdvdcss on VLC only allows you to bypass DVD CSS encryption, to bypass other DVD copy protection such as Region code, RCE, key2Audio, UOP, Macrovision, FluxDVD, Protect, ARccOS, AACS, BD+, ROM Mark, BD-Live, etc. You will need a powerful DVD Ripping software such as Pavtube ByteCopy, which can assists you to comprehensively break all DVD copy protection and region code listed above in the background with its built-in disc decrypter. Besides that, it also facilitates you to directly convert DVD to VLC playback digital file formats such as MP4, MOV, AVI, WMV, MPEG, etc.
The program is available to download and install on both Windows 10/8.1/8/7 and macOS High Sierra, macOS Sierra, Mac OS X El Capitan, Mac OS X Yosemite and Mac OS X Mavericks (download Mac version here).
Step by Step to Rip Commercial DVD for VLC Playback
Step 1: Load commercial DVD movies.
Download, install and run this DVD ripper. You can load DVD by clicking “File” > “Load from disc”. Or load DVD Folder by clicking “File” > “Load from folder” or load DVD IFO/ISO image by clicking “File” > “Load IFO/ISO”.
Step 2: Define output file format.
Clicking the Format bar, from its drop-down list, select one of VLC playable digital file format such as “H.264 HD Video(*.mp4)” under “HD Video” main category.
Tips: Click “Settings” on the main interface to open “Profile Settings” window, here, you can flexibly choose or specify exactly the profile parameters including video codec, resolution, bit rate, frame rate, audio codec, bit rate, sample rate, channels, etc as you like to get better output video and audio quality.
Step 3: Begin the final ripping process.
After all setting is completed, hit the “Convert” button at the right bottom of the main interface to begin the conversion process from DVD to VLC supported digital file format conversion process.
When the conversion is finished, click “Open Output Folder” icon on the main interface to open the folder with generated files. Then you will have no problem to get ripped DVD movies played with VLC media player.
