Here we introduce 6 free DVD players for Mac with features that make each one special and awesome, covering VLC, KMPlayer, XBMC, Mac Media Player, Apple DVD player and 5KPlayer, based on online opinion polls and a complete data analysis from download sites and reviews.
- Free External Dvd Player
- Region Free External Dvd Drive For Macbook Pro
- All Region Dvd Drive
- Region Free External Dvd Player
- Region Free External Dvd Drive For Macbook Air
- Region Free External Dvd Drive For Mac Laptop
- External Multi Region Dvd Drive
Go to 'DVD Region' tab and choose the geographic area you want. Then click 'OK' to finish the DVD region changing. How to unlock DVD region on Macintosh 1. Insert a disc into your Mac's DVD drive. Set the region code for your Mac following the window the prompts you to choose DVD region code. I've done the research and it seems both of these computers don't have the right drives to flash and reset the firmware. Can anyone possibly point me in the direction of an external firewire cd/dvd burner that is region free or can be made into one. Macbook Matshita CD-RW CW-8221 Firmware Revsion GA0J G5 HL-DT ST DVD-RW GWA-4165B Firmware.
Despite the popularity of streaming services, many people still keep some old DVDs, buy new DVD releases, and play these DVDs. Can you play a DVD on an Mac computer? Yes, but you need to make sure that you have a workable DVD player for your MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, iMac, Mac mini and Mac Pro. In this article, we put together the top 6 best DVD player for macOS Big Sur 11, Catalina 10.15, Mojave 10.14, High Sierra 10.13, etc.
Tips:
- If your Mac doesn't have a built-in DVD drive, you can check the best external DVD drive/player for Mac and choose a favorite one.
- If you want to play a DVD on Mac without a DVD drive, you can digitize DVD first with MacX DVD Ripper Pro. It can rip both homemade and commercial DVDs to whatever formats Mac computer accepts like MOV, MP4, M4V with ease, such that you can play DVD on Macbook Pro/Air, Mac mini, iMac without a DVD drive.
Top 6 Best DVD Player for macOS Big Sur, Catalina and Earlier
1. Apple DVD Player
Apple DVD Player is an app that is bundled within Mac OS X. If you have a SuperDrive on Mac, insert a DVD into the DVD drive and the DVD Player will open automatically.
It supports all the standard DVD features such as multiple audio, video & subtitle tracks as well as Dolby Digital 5.1 passthrough, DVD access URLs and closed captions.
Some people may think that Apple's DVD Player disappears with the release of macOS 10.14 Mojave, just like other 32-bit apps. But actually not. It has been updated to a 64-bit app. Simply use Spotlight, search for DVD Player, and then you'll find it at the top of the Top Hits. Double lick on the app icon and it will launch.
Comes bundled in Mac machines and is totally free to play DVD on MacBook Pro, iMac, etc.
It is fully compatible with DVDs authored by DVD Studio Pro and iDVD.
It enforces most restrictive measures of DVD technology, such as DVD region code and user operation prohibition.
It lacks a DTS decoder, which means DTS tracks cannot be played through the Mac's built in speakers or analog output.
Older versions of DVD Player won't work on external DVD drives.
How to Play a DVD Using Apple DVD Player on Mac?
You simply need to insert a DVD and the DVD Player app will start playing it automatically. If the auto-play doesn't happen, please tap the Space bar after the DVD is recognized.
2. 5KPlayer
Sometimes Apple DVD Player will not work, so you may have to download a third-party DVD player on Mac. Free 5KPlayer is one of the best choices.
It may be new for many people but it is an awesome region-free DVD player for macOS Big Sur, Catalina, Mojave, etc. Without any ads, malware or spyware, it is 100% safe to get both homemade and copy-protected discs playing on iMac 5K, Macbook Air/Pro, Mac Mini, and more with near HD quality.
The Mac-stylish UI is highly acclaimed among DVD users. Working as an all-in-one free media player, it can also play ISO image, Video_TS folder, 4K/8K UHD videos, 3D videos, etc, all at your fingertips.
Support playing DVDs protected by region codes, CSS, RCE, Sony ARccOS, Disney DRM, etc;
Not only a free DVD player for Mac computer, but also an HD/4K UHD media player, downloader and Airplay sender/receiver;
Clean and awesome skin and UI.
Not found yet.
How to Play DVD on Mac with 5KPlayer?
After inserting a DVD, you simply need to open 5KPlayer, click the DVD button in the main interface, and then open and play your DVD.
Download 5KPlayer for Mac here: https://www.5kplayer.com/5kplayer-download-mac.htm
3. VLC Media Player
VLC is the most popular open-source and cross-platform media player that supports physical media (DVD, Audio-CD, VCD), almost all audios and videos (H264, MPEG4, MP4, MOV, AVI, Ogg, MKV, MP3, etc). It is the best option available as free DVD player for Mac OS X, Windows, Linux, Android, iOS, etc.
Technically, you can even use this Mac DVD player software to play encrypted DVD discs without the aid of any third party software, as long as your Mac computer has a DVD drive for you to insert and view your disc.
Great audio/video performance;
Support playback of encrypted DVDs from Disney, Sony, paramount, etc;
Support a wide range of media file types, including HD and Bluray discs.
The user interface is a little bit unlikeable, with skin options needing enhancement;
Free External Dvd Player
Run into problems like VLC won't play MKV, VLC won't play DVD and VLC audio sync from users feedbacks.
How to Use VLC to Play DVD on Mac?
1. Find VLC in Applications and open it.
2. Click Open media in VLC, choose Disc, and then select your DVD and hit Open. Then VLC will begin playing DVD on your Mac laptop or desktop.
Download VLC DVD player for Mac here: https://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-macosx.html
4. KMPlayer
KMPlayer is similar to VLC, which is also a solid open-source media player that can deal with any media and subtitle formats you throw at it, ranging from VCD, DVD, AVI, MKV, OGM, 3GP, WMV, QuickTime to compressed audio album.
The bonus features enable you to play damaged/incomplete AVI file, locked files while downloading and even play movies without worrying about formats and storage on Android and iOS. Editor from CNET gives KMplayer 4-star rating. No wonder it is one of the best DVD player for macOS to play DVD movies on Mac mini, MacBook, etc.
Easy access to subtitle management, brightness adjustments and frame captures;
Handle a bewildering variety of media files;
Stream local videos to your mobile device via Wi-Fi, provided you install Connect app on Android or iOS.
A preview-heavy Mac DVD movies player that throws ads and links constantly;
Sometimes fail to play DVDs on Mac due to Region Code issue
5. XBMC (now Kodi)
Labeled as the High Definition Hub for all kinds of media, XBMC Media Center joins our top 7 best DVD players working on Mac list with no ambiguity. This free open-source media center is a pretty good contender as 5KPlayer, being easy to use, slick and supported by a large community of users. It offers a number of options and settings that allow you to play DVDs on Mac OS right out of the box from the main menu something other free DVD players cannot do yet maximize DVD playback quality.
Look great from the start with lots of skins;
Stream video over a network with no effort.
Take some time to customize for Macs.
6. Mac Media Player
Macgo Free Mac Media Player is a basic but efficient program to play all kinds of media files right on your Mac, whether they originate on your computer or on a disk. As soon as you install this program, it's ready to go, so you won't have to worry about managing complicated configurations or setups before you start playing your files. It also offers super high definition visual effects & fabulous DTS5.1 audio spectacle.
A powerful high def video player with hardware acceleration capabilities.
Has the potential to use up plenty of system resources
FAQs
1. Is there a DVD player on Mac?
Yes. It is called DVD Player. This Mac DVD Player app isn't missing with the appearance of macOS Mojave. Where is the DVD Player in Mac? There're two ways to find and open it.
- Method 1. Go to System > LibraryCoreServices/ > Applications.
- Method 2. Click the little Spotlight icon in the top right corner of your Mac's screen. Search for 'DVD Player', and then the DVD Player app's icon should show up at the top of the Top Hits. Double click on the icon, and the app will launch.
2. Why is my DVD not playing on my Mac?
There are many reasons causing this:
- System issue usually after upgrading macOS.
- Bad or damaged superdrive. If your DVD drive is damaged, the player will not be open.
- Region issue on commercial DVDs.
- DVD disc is scratched or dirty. In this case, your DVD disc player can accept discs but they do not mount or are automatically ejected.
- Unsupported DVDs such as some commercial DVDs. If your DVD discs are not supported, the player will go to a black screen and then unexpectedly quit.
Solutions: As the reasons about DVD player not working above, you can find the corresponding way to fix DVD not playing problems, such as repairing or purchasing a new DVD drive, removing DVD region code, cleaning the dirty DVD discs, fixing the scratched DVDs, converting unsupported DVD to MP4 and the like, etc.
3. Why Apple DVD Player says 'Not Permitted'?
If this error message pops up for certain DVDs, it may be because it doesn't support the DVD protection or DVD type; if this error appears for every DVD, the problem might be the settings. For more details, you can read 'How to Fix Apple DVD Player Not Permitted Error on Mac'.
4. Why does DVD Player say 'supported disc not available'?
This message appears when there is no disc in the DVD drive or when it can't recognize video content burned onto certain types of DVD-RW discs. You can burn the content into a DVD-R disc. For more details, check article 'How to Fix Supported Disc Not Available'.
5. Why does DVD Player say 'skipping over damaged area'?
This is because your DVD is scratched. Check 'How to Fix Scratched DVD'.
6. Why does Mac automatically eject DVD?
Region Free External Dvd Drive For Macbook Pro
It happens because you insert a DVD whose region is different from the one the DVD drive is set to, and you don't change the region code when prompted, or when you have reached the maximum number of region changes.
7. How to play DVD on QuickTime?
Many users wonder how to play a DVD on QuickTime. But actually, QuickTime can't play DVD. You can either use the dedicated DVD Player app on Mac or a third-party program.
2006 – There is one laptop upgrade that gives no performance benefit, but it adds a long-desired feature of frequent travelers, which is a swap of the built-in Combo or SuperDrive for a different model, because Apple’s PowerBooks and MacBooks use Matsushita (Panasonic) optical drives, and it’s, impossible to flash firmware on these drives.
If these drives did everything they are advertised to do, this wouldn’t be an issue, but the fact is that most Matsushita SuperDrives, though rated at 8x, only burn at 2x unless you have either Apple’s DVD-R media or get very, very lucky on third party media.
The drive in the 12″ ‘Books also lacks the ability to burn dual-layer disks.
Finally, while this is possibly illegal and definitely voided my warranty, I wanted a drive that I could remove the RPC-2 firmware and replace with RPC-1 firmware, meaning a region-free drive.
Region Codes
DVD movies are region coded, so a movie purchased in the United States (Region 1) won’t work on a drive set up for South Korea (Region 3).
This is a non-issue for most people, and it was designed so that video pirates couldn’t buy a DVD released early or with different version in one market and sell illegal copies in another market where the movie was not approved or was released later or in a different version.
I think this is baloney, and as someone who travels frequently between the United States and South Korea, I have a mixed DVD collection that is roughly 70% Region 1 and 30% Region 3. I’m not sure where, but somewhere along the way I picked up a Region 2 (UK) copy of Sean of the Dead as well.
With a laptop drive, the manufacturer generally allows the region to be changed four times after it’s initially set, at which time it locks forever. The manufacturer can unlock a locked drive but will charge for the privilege, as this is not a warranty repair (nothing is broken).
Some manufacturers simply won’t do it at all, while others will do it once or twice before closing the door on you.
Going Region Free
On a Windows PC, going region free is much easier than on a Mac. There are software programs that intercept the DVD before the operating system even sees the region code and tricks it into thinking that it’s Region 1 regardless of what it really is. I used one such application on my ThinkPads for years and never had to worry about flashing firmware on drives or resetting region counters on the operating system.
All Region Dvd Drive
Mac users don’t have it so good. While there is a website devoted to region free computing (www.rpc1.org), the Mac section is much smaller than the PC section. Worse yet, the brilliant programmer who figured out Macintosh ports of PC drive flashing utilities, a guy who used the handle XVI, has retired, and thus no new flashers have been forthcoming.
All hope is not lost, as there are utilities out there for older drives and for Windows. With access to a PC, a drive can be flashed and then moved to your Mac.
Other obstacles to getting a region free drive in your Mac is the Mac OS itself. Some drives are not supported for burning under Apple’s iApps, though Toast will usually burn anything, and a utility called PatchBurn can restore burn functionality in Apple’s apps with certain drives. The folks on the rpc1.org Mac-specific forum are very helpful, and there are many archived posts about which drives work and which don’t.
I spent a lot of time on that forum, and after much research I decided on the Pioneer DVR-K05 slot loading SuperDrive for my pair of PowerBooks. If you own a tray-loading iBook, you can get the DVR-K15, which is the exact same drive except for the tray mechanism.
Software Alternatives
Either way, you want a utility called DVRFlash, an updated firmware, and enough time to read the forums and all of the instructions. This is a fairly complicated procedure that requires you to go into the Terminal. While some members of RPC1.org will point you in the right direction to find instructions, most will just rudely diss you for asking the same questions that everyone else has asked and already had answered.
I followed the directions in the readme, it worked, and that was it for me. Like the guys on the forum, I don’t have the patience (and, unlike them, I also lack the knowledge) to talk someone else through mucking with the terminal. The instructions provided with the files are simple enough, though, so if you print the directions and take your time, you should do okay.
Region Free External Dvd Player
All right, so you’ve spent your time and money, and now you have a region free drive in your PowerBook. What next? You aren’t ready to watch multiple DVD regions yet; you still need to deal with the region change counter in OS X. Fortunately, rpc1.org has links in their forum to a program called Region X, which is also now available as a universal binary. What Region X does is allows you to reset OS X’s region change counter, so after you’ve switched back and forth between Regions 1 and 3 four times and your Mac tells you that no further chances are permitted, you can go into Region X and just reset the counter back to 4. It’s that easy.
Region Free External Dvd Drive For Macbook Air
Of course, there is a much easier and cheaper way to watch multiple regions on your ‘Book, although it doesn’t work with every drive and on occasion has made unwanted region changes to non-region-free (RPC2) drives according to posters on rpc1.org. The solution is use VLC (Video LAN Client) instead of Apple’s DVD Player.
To make this work you must go into System Preferences for DVD Movie and either set VLC as the default application or set it to ignore. This will cause OS X to think of the non-Region 1 DVD as a data disk and mount it in the Finder. VLC doesn’t query region code and will just play the movie, though the interface is nowhere near as nice as Apple’s, and there are some stability issues.
Region Free External Dvd Drive For Mac Laptop
Region Free Drives the Best Choice
Finally, you should consider the risk if it does change your region and the fact that it might just not work on your particular computer and drive (it’s been known to happen). I tried VLC on my PowerBooks, and it worked great, but I found the interface annoying and the quality a bit jittery compared to Apple’s DVD Player, which is why I went to the trouble and expense of getting region free drives.
In the end, if you travel and have movies from more than one region, it’s worthwhile to pursue a region free movie solution. For infrequent multi-region users, I’d recommend giving VLC a try first, but for hard core region switchers, a region free drive is the way to go.
My thanks to everyone at rpc1.org and to the great work of XVI, Las Vegas, and The Dangerous Brothers for making the utilities and firmware available.
The Latest on Region Free DVD Viewing
External Multi Region Dvd Drive
- Watching DVDs from Different Regions on Your Mac, Andrew J Fishkin, Best Tools for the Job, 2008.12.04. Hardware and software solutions for watching DVDs intended for a different region.
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