VLC Media Player
Jessie T. used our Ask the Burning Geek form to ask the following question:
“I’m looking for a software that can play DVD movies in addition to ones I download. What is the best software to do this?”
So to answer her question I thought it would be best to add it to our blog so everyone could benefit. Or perhaps someone else has a better recommendation that I would welcome in the comments section. Please list what you are currently using to playback video, DVD, Blu-Ray, etc.. on your Windows, Linux, or Mac machines.
Ok, what I think is the best free DVD/Video player currently is VLC Media Player. Why do I think it’s the best? Well for starters it’s open source and a non profit organization run by volunteers which usually means they are trying to offer the best solution naturally. Others than being free the main reasons I like this are:
- It’s fast loading. No clunky high res image menu screens trying to load.
- It supports almost all playback mediums like DVD and DVB and video formats like DivX, MKV, MP4, x264, etc…
- It can stream video from streaming video sites
- It can play AVCHD format which is used on HD camcorders
- Cross platform support. Works on Windows, Linux, Mac, BSD, Solaris and others
- It’s an excellent basic audio and music player with playback supporting MP3, AAC, AC3, Vorbis, FLAC
Included Decoding and Encoding API’s
One of the major reasons VLC is so popular is because of the built in DVD Decoder that is included. This function enables the player to run DVD movies that contain CSS or the content scrambling system which is a copy protection code added to movies to prevent the unauthorized use of duplicating or copying. All major (paid) DVD Player Software including PowerDVD incorporate a DVD decoder within the software so playback is seamless. Without this crucial addition you can not playback DVD movies. However software like Windows Media Player does not include a built in DVD decoder thus this free software does not playback DVD discs. This is one of the best reasons to have VLC on your system. If you don’t use it as your main video/audio player, it’s good to have as a last resort just in case your regular player takes a dump.
VLC Interface
As you can see in the following screenshot the main user interface is pretty basic and straightforward. The software does support interface skins by utilizing the skins2 interface. This is a nice addition because of the blandness of the main skin. But hey, it’s free and it works.
And here is a screen capture of the video player playing back a video file:
Here is a short video on how to stream video over a network by using VLC Media player:
Drawbacks of using a Free DVD Player
Having free software is great but what happens when it stops working or if you need support? Well in the case of VLC they have a ‘Common Problems’ wiki page that you can browse around and look for a solution. There is also a support forum run by volunteers which is a good resource to use if you get stuck. But don’t count on direct one on one support that you would expect to receive if you paid for it. But for the most part you can get solid and reliable answers in their forum.
You may also run into some playback issues with certain video or audio files. This would be due to incompatible video/audio cards or corrupted drivers, or even missing codecs. Here you would need to head over to the forum and see if anyone else has had this issue and if there is a solution for it already. If not, post your problem and wait for someone to help with it.
Upgrading from Free to Paid DVD Player Software
While VLC is free and always will be they do accept donations to support their cause. So if you find yourself constantly using their software I would recommend to donate a few bucks to keep the development going with it. But where should you turn if you want a full blown DVD Player Suite? A few top choices are PowerDVD (which is the best DVD Player with additional features), Roxio Creator which in addition to DVD playback, you can also create and burn DVD video.
But since I’m hyping up the free portion of this type of software I think you should download VLC Media Player and try it for yourself.
If you are already using VLC let us know what you think in the comments section below. Or if you have any other recommendations for free DVD playback please let us know too.
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About The Author: Rob Boirun
I am the Team Leader here at BurnWorld. I am an audio/video enthusiast and have been in this industry for over 10 years. I love testing DVD/Blu-Ray and Video software. I have tried almost all there is and am honored that I can bring you my thoughts on each. Be sure to follow be on my Google Profile
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