How to Fix VLC Won't Play DVD on Windows/Mac

Summary: The VLC not playing DVD errors put users in an embarrassing situation. But we're here to get you out. Follow this page below to learn reasons and fixes for various DVD playback errors in VLC.

VLC is probably the most well-known DVD player software that can help you play DVD discs across different operating systems, including Windows, macOS and Linux. It allows you to choose desired DVD title and chapter to play, choose audio track, set playback speed, add external subtitle, deinterlace video, and more. However, lacking the knowledge when it comes to use VLC for this specific purpose, many users have complained of VLC not playing DVD. The frequently asked questions go like "DVD will play in DVD player but not through VLC player" or "VLC won't play DVD on Windows 11".

If you're facing the situations where VLC won't play DVD, you've come to the right place. In this article, we will list various DVD playback erros in VLC and show you the reasons. Also we will show you how to fix VLC won't play DVD with the 5 trustful solutions. Keep on reading for details.

Part 1. Why VLC Won't Play DVD?

Below are some frequent situations and issues regarding VLC won't play DVDs based on users' feedbacks.

• ● VLC won't read or play certain DVDs. Typically, the DVD disc or video_ts folder is always ejected, cannot open, and even nowhere to be found.
• ● VLC won't play the whole DVD movie, and even stops or crashes after very few seconds of playing.
• ● There is no audio during DVD playback with VLC media player. Or the video and audio of DVDs display choppy playback with a yellow warning notification.
• ● VLC DVD player fails to work after each macOS or Windows update.

Actually, VLC DVD playback errors are diversified. VLC might not play DVDs due to several reasons, including DVD region code limitations, VLC version incompatibility with newer codecs, or the presence of copy protection measures that VLC doesn't support. According to these possible causes, we compile 5 best methods and solutions that can help you fix VLC won't play DVD issue.

Part 2. How to Fix VLC Won't Play DVDs

Method 1. Upgrade VLC to the latest version

Maybe you've not upgraded your VLC player to the latest version. Outdated VLC versions may have unresolved bugs and security risks, which may cause DVD playback issues. Or your DVD uses latest codecs, it may not match with the older VLC player version and thus give an error. Therefore, you can try upgrade your VLC to the latest version and then see if the "VLC won't play DVDs" error is fixed. To check for the latest updates, open VLC > Tap “Help” from the Menu bar and then select “Check for Updates.”

Method 2. Reset VLC preferences

Sometimes, any problematic or conflicting settings may cause the VLC not playing DVD error. Thus resetting preferences at times also helps resolve the DVD playback issues. Below are the steps:

Step 1. Open VLC, and click the Tools > Preferences.

Step 2. Change the "Show Settings" option to "All" At the bottom left corner of the Preferences window.

Step 3. Scroll down to the Video section > Filter > Deinterlace, and under the "Deinterlacing Video Filter" section, find "Streaming Deinterlace Mode" and expand it. In the dropdown menu, select "Yadif Mode" and Finally Click "Save".

Step 4. Restart VLC and play your DVDs again.

Method 3. Install Necessary Codecs

A large number of commercial DVDs are encrypted and use a range of region code and copy protection techs. In order to play these encrypted discs using VLC, you need to install libdvdread, libdvdnav, and libdvddcss that help in decoding the encrypted DVDs.

There are many ways to get libdvdcss library on Windows computer. For the safety concern, we highly recommend you to download libdvdcss on Windows 10, 11, 8.1, 8, 7 from VLC official page or GitHub.

Copy and paste http://download.videolan.org/pub/videolan/libdvdcss/ to your browser. And then you'll see a list of libdvdcss versions (from 0.0.1 to 1.4.3) displayed. Or you can go to Github to get a proper libdvdcss-2.dll on your Windows.

However, even with libdvdcss installed, playing DVD with VLC may be choppy or even crashes after very few seconds of playing. Why does this happen? Some argue that it is the DVD problem or faulty DVD drive. While the real culprit is the copy protection. Therefore, you'd better remove DVD protections with a professional DVD decrypter to fix the issue.

Method 4. Use A VLC Alternative DVD Player

If none of the troubleshooting solutions above cannot help fix the VLC not playing DVD error, you can consider switching to a VLC DVD player alternative. There are many free DVD players that you can try to play your favorite DVDs. Here we mainly introduce two free tools can be used as good VLC alternatives.

1. Potplayer

Potplayer is a multimedia player specifically tailored for Windows users. It offers a robust all-in-one multimedia player experience with features like 3D support, multiple audio streams, and various subtitle formats. This player allows you to effortlessly enjoy movies in DVD or Blu-ray format with top-notch video and audio quality. The DVD player distinguishes itself by incorporating additional codecs, like OpenCodec, which enables it to support virtually any video and audio codec available.

2. 5KPlayer

Another VLC DVD player alternative you can work with is 5KPlayer. Available for Windows and Mac, 5KPlayer can virtually play all encrypted DVDs, effortlessly bypassing all region codes. Besides, the tool offers features such as Airplay and hardware acceleration, enabling you to seamlessly cast DVD content from your Windows computer to Apple TVs with significantly reduced loading times.

Method 5. Convert DVD to VLC Compatible Formats

If you've tried the solutions above but still can't solve VLC not playing your DVD issue, you can convert DVD to a format that VLC will accept without worrying about the protection or DVD fragility.

To do this, you can adopt DumboFab DVD Ripper for help. This easy-to-use yet powerful DVD ripping tool can easily unlock DVD encryptions like CSS, region code, RCE, Sony ArccOS, UOPs, Disney X-project, and other special encryption schemes. It can rip DVD to DVD to MP4, MPEG, ISO, AVI, WMV, MOV, MP3, iPhone, iPad, Android, and 400+ profiles without quality loss.

Free download this DVD copy protection removal software on your Windows or Mac. It is lightweight, clean, and easy to install and operate.

How to convert DVD to VLC playable format with 3 simple steps

To begin with, download and install Dumbofab DVD Ripper on your Windows (10/11) PC or Mac. Next, follow the tutorial below to digitize DVD collections for VLC.

Step 1. Input the DVD disc to DVD-ROM. Launch Dumbofab DVD Ripper and click the "Load DVD" button to import the original DVDs you want to put into Plex.

Step 2. From "Fomrat" drop-down list, choose an output format that VLC can play.

Step 3. Hit "Convert" button to begin ripping DVD. Once done, you can put the DVD rip file into VLC for flawless playback.

Final Words:

If VLC isn't playing DVDs, try updating VLC to the latest version, ensuring the DVD is clean and inserted correctly, and if necessary, install the libdvdread library or other necessary codecs, or you can reset VLC preferences or update DVD drive. If you're looking for a simple, hassle-free and quick solution to fix VLC won't play DVD error, try converting DVD to VLC format using Dumbofab DVD Ripper.