2023 7 Best DVD Player Software for Windows and Mac

Thinking about spending some “me” time, the first thing that’ll stumble up in your mind will be watching a movie, isn’t it? Having watched almost all the latest movies, you suddenly think of the large DVD collection that you possess. After grabbing your favorite movie DVD, one last thing you’ll probably need is a perfect DVD player software for your laptop that can bridge your entertainment gap.

If you’re struggling to find the perfect DVD Player software to start binge-watching your favorite movies, your search ends up here itself as we bring you 7 best free as well as paid DVD players for your laptop.

1. What are DVD Region Codes?

DVD region codes are a part of the digital rights management technique leveraged in order to regulate the distribution of DVDs globally including its content, release dates, and prices according to the region. A commercial DVD you purchase encompasses regional coding which limits its playback in a certain geographical region and you’ll get an error if you try to pay it outside that particular area.

That is managed by region-locked DVD players on the other half, which will only play DVDs that have been encoded to their region (plus those with 0 or ALL area code). Depending on the DVD manufacturer, a disc can have any combination of region codes. DVD Region codes assigned to different geographical regions are as follows.

This means that if you are in The United States (region 1) and try to play a region 2 DVD from Japan, you will most likely run into an error. However, only certain restrictions are able to withstand this harsh ever-evolving digital ecosystem and we’ve got workarounds for this one too.

2. How to Bypass DVD Region Codes?

Getting a DVD Region error might be super annoying and thus, we’ve found some easy ways to bypass DVD Region codes and play almost any region coded DVD on your DVD player. So, without much ado, just follow along.

1. For Windows

By simply changing the region code of your Windows PC DVD drive, you can run any region coded DVD you desire and this is how to do it. Make sure to find out the DVD Region code of the DVD disc you are having. You can check that out from the cover of your DVD.

NOTE: On a Windows PC, you can change your DVD Region code only 5 times so make sure you’re proceeding carefully.

STEP 1. Open My Computer/This PC on your Windows laptop and right-click anywhere on the main window. Click Properties.

STEP 2. Your device properties will show up on the next screen. On the left panel, from the options, select Device Manager.

STEP 3. Next, in the Device Manager window, double-click on the DVD/CD-ROM drives to expand it.

STEP 4. Now, right-click on your DVD Drive and select properties.

5. Select the DVD Region tab and change the DVD Region according to your DVD. Press OK to confirm your selection.

2. For macOS

Your DVD drive on macOS will automatically detect the region code of the first DVD disc you played on it and will set that code as default DVD drive code. To change it, follow these steps.

STEP 1: Insert a DVD in your Mac having the different DVD Region code.

STEP 2: If you haven’t exhausted the 5 maximum DVD region change tries, you’ll be prompted to change your DVD Region code.

STEP 3: Choose a region code compatible with your DVD.

NOTE: If you’re not prompted to change your DVD Region automatically, your DVD drive is already in a compatible region code. Else if you’ve exhausted the maximum number of tries, DVDs with incompatible region code will be ejected automatically.

Talking about DVD region codes, how to bypass them, now we head over to a more interesting part as we’ll show you some of the coolest DVD players to enhance your viewing experience, both free and paid ones whichever you prefer, depending upon your usage.

3. Best 7 DVD Players for (Windows/Mac)

1. DVDFab Player 6

DVDFab Player 6 is the latest DVD, Blu-ray/4K Ultra Blu-ray player with the latest specifications among competitors. DVDFab Player 6 has a completely revamped user-friendly interface contrast to outdated boring UI’s that you’ll totally fall in love with. You have a simple and clean PC mode and a full-screen TV mode optimized for large screens.

What really stands out about this DVD player for Windows 10 and Mac is its elegant and lucid UI crafted to deliver a peculiar viewing experience that you’ll get used to. It is super easy to manage gigantic libraries of movies, TV shows, your phone and camera media, all in one place. It is capable of playing any media flawlessly may it be a MPEG, WMV, WebM, H.264, MP4, AVI, VOB, or an MKV video of any resolution up to 4K UHD/FHD effortlessly which makes it the best 4K DVD player.

Pros: Modern and lucid user-friendly UI, 4K Ultra Blu-ray support, HDR10, and 3D Video Support, Multiple UI languages.

Cons: Although its free version is full of amazing features, however, you’ll be unleashing its full potential in the paid version only.

Platforms: Windows 10/8.1/8/7 (32/64-bit) and macOS 10.11-10.15

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2. Leawo Blu-ray Player

Leawo Blu-ray player provides wholesome media playback experience with lots of customizations by which you can personalize your movie-watching experience. It has various inbuilt features such as snapshot snapper, power manager, and customized themes which makes it a versatile player. It is adept at playing 4K video in MKV, MP4, and all other major formats.

Leawo is a region-free 4K DVD player for Windows 10 and Mac so it really doesn’t matter which region coded disc it is, you’ll be able to play it without any bypassing. Leawo Blu-ray Player software provides comprehensive navigation to play Blu-ray, DVD, video, ISO, and audio files with complete playback control and various available operations such as full-screen playback, volume control, fast-forward, fast-backward, playlist, etc.

Pros: Region-free all Blu-ray disc playback, 4K Video support including all major video formats.

Cons: Difficult keyboard and mouse controls, UI only available in the English language.

Platforms: Windows 7/8/10 and Mac (64-bit) OS X.

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3. VLC media player by VideoLAN

VLC Player is probably the most popular media player that everyone must have heard of once. VLC has been around for a long time now and has been working like a charm for most. With evolving tech, however, it somewhere lacks behind in terms of updating its UI. Other than that, it is capable of playing almost all types of multimedia files.

The fact that it is an open-source media player available for free across all major platforms is something other players aren’t able to achieve yet. It has a sober user-friendly UI that comes with customizations if you consider downloading skins.

Pros: Free lightweight media player which plays all formats and gives you advanced controls.

Cons: Sober UI, For customization, you need to download skins as there’s not much-inbuilt customization.

Platforms: Windows, macOS X, GNU/Linux, Android, iOS.

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4. RealPlayer 20/20 by Real

Our next player in the list is RealPlayer, which is also widely known for its flawless video and audio playing capabilities. Recently, Real Player got a complete makeover and has a shiny new UI on top of its well-known and efficient features. A cool feature included in this player is that besides playing media, you can burn a disc with it as well, which becomes super handy when needed.

With the latest update, you can now download videos from thousands of sites on the web within one click, get social by connecting to Facebook or its own community to share what you’re up to. You can also make videos private that you decide not to share with anyone. Real Player is one of the most anticipated and free DVD player for Windows 10.

Pros: Get socialized with its large community, One-click video download from the web, hide private videos, inbuilt video to mp3 converter.

Cons: With tons of latest additions, its UI might feel a bit cluttered, Being able to perform various tasks, it also consumes more resources.

Platforms: Windows and macOS.
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5. BlazeDVD Pro

BlazeDVD Pro is another region-free DVD player for you enabling you to play any region coded DVD. It has an uncomplicated organized layout with a modern touch that lets you browse through your media cozily. With BlazeDVD, you’ll be fine with playing any kind of media files smoothly as it supports all major media formats while having comprehensive controls, making it a strong contender for the best free DVD player for Windows 10.

It has an extensive list of features which include Learning mode, in which you can repeat playback between two points in a video, inbuilt screen capture, Picture-in-picture mode, intuitive parental controls, Intelligent bookmark to save the exact frame when you left a video, and an inbuilt power saver. All these features combined with an indulging playback and flexible control panel makes it a great DVD player.

Pros: Clean UI and distinctive control panel, Intelligent video bookmarking, inbuilt parental controls, and power saver.

Cons: Most of the features are not accessible in the free version.

Platforms: Windows 10

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6. PowerDVD by Cyberlink

PowerDVD by Cyberlink is a dynamic movie & media player with one of the latest configurations and a modern bunch of tools. Recently, it got a major update in which Cyberlink has managed to pour in a vast bunch of features such as 4K DVD Player, and HEV+C H.265 video formats support. In addition to a wholesome media playback experience, it allows you to manage all of your media seamlessly.

It has a super indulging UI, optimized for large screens which will allure you in no time. Some of its fascinating latest features include auto video bookmarking, Cyberlink Cloud access to watch your content anywhere and on all of your synced devices. It also has a family sharing option to easily share your favorite movies or TV Shows across your family members. Overall, PowerDVD turns out to be a decent DVD player for Windows 10.

Pros: 8K and 4K Ultra HD playback support, auto video bookmarking, family sharing options.

Cons: All of the alluring features are available in the Ultra version only, which is a really pricey plan comparatively.

Platforms: Windows 10, 8.1, 7

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7. KMPlayer

KMPlayer is a free DVD player for Windows 10, macOS, and other mobile platforms that will please the “dark mode” lovers in the first sight itself. KMPlayer is a robust media player able to play every media file efficiently with extensive 4K, 8K, and 60FPS video support. It has a nice revamped UI with a streamlined menu and lucid controls.

It leverages hardware acceleration to play the latest high performing video formats such as HEVC (h.265), h.264, and VP9. Its added features let you watch and download videos from YouTube, Instagram, and Daily Motion right from the KMPlayer, GIF Capture from the currently playing media, and supports 42 languages. Along with the bunch of latest features, it is a powerful 4K DVD player.

Pros: Lightweight, 60FPS playback support, allows video capture in GIF format, clean and organized UI.

Cons: Its latest version has messed up with some audio codes and thus you’ll experience some troubles with music playback with some formats.

Platforms: Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android

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4. Conclusion

With that, we’ve covered some of the predominant names in the media player realm with the latest configurations and greatest features. Digital media has evolved at an unimaginable pace since its inception and, with that, media player manufacturers have paced up with it, fleshing out groundbreaking media playback and management solutions over time.

With recent advancements in the tech space such as 4K video resolutions, Cloud & AI enhancements, etc. we saw most of the DVD players going hand-in-hand with all these technologies and embracing them into their software such as most of the manufacturers rolling out a remarkable 4K DVD Player.

Comparing various immersive DVD Player Softwares, we also ended up to a final verdict that the DVDFab Player 6 delivered a greater overall experience to a regular media playing user than any other player so you should definitely consider it if you’re looking for an extraordinary DVD Player.

5. Comparison of Best 7 DVD video player software for PC & Mac in 2020

6. FAQs

1. How to play DVD on laptop?

To play a DVD on a laptop, you’ll essentially need two things, first being a DVD player/writer hardware in your laptop and second being a good DVD Player software. If you’re not having any of these two things, continue reading along the next question to solve this issue.

2. How do I play a DVD on my computer?

If you’re having a DVD player/writer on your computer, the only thing you’ll need is a good DVD player software which, luckily, we’ve described above. If, however, you do not have a DVD player/writer, you’ll have to ask for someone’s help to burn the DVD image into an ISO file and play it on your system using any daemon software like dtlite.

3. How to play DVD on Xbox One?

To play DVD on Xbox One, install the Blu-ray Player app from the Microsoft store and after that, simply insert any Blu-ray disc into your Xbox One. Alternatively, if you are not able to play it, retry after setting your Xbox console to the offline state.

4. How to play DVD on Windows 10?

Recent Windows 10 PCs generally ship with DVD drives but some latest laptops without it. If you’re having a DVD player/writer attached to your system, you can just download DVDFab Player 6, the best DVD player for Windows 10 and start playing DVDs. If you’re not having the hardware, you can refer to the FAQ no (2).

5. How to play DVD on MAC?

If your Mac ships an inbuilt DVD drive, or you are using an Apple USB SuperDrive, try inserting a DVD into the drive. Apple’s built-in DVD player automatically opens.