I remember attempting to watch my Blu-ray movie on my computer but then having it not play. My computer gave me no indication that there
How do I know if my computer can play Blu-ray disk? Check whether your computer has a “Blu-ray” sticker on it. Another way is to access the system settings of your computer and check whether your disc player specifically has a Blu-ray drive. A Blu-Ray drive, along with a Blu-ray player software, is necessary for Blu-ray disc compatibility.
There are a few other ways to tell if your computer can play Blu-ray disc. This includes applications that check whether your computer has the necessary hardware components or having an IT professional look at your computer’s components. If your computer does not have the ability to play Blu-ray then there are still routes you can take for your computer to achieve it. If your computer does have it, then you can still improve your computer’s Blu-ray capabilities.
Further Explaination on Whether Your Computer Can Play Blu-Ray Disc
Most modern computers and laptops, that come with a disc drive, have the capabilities to play Blu-ray DVDs. This includes a powerful CPU like modern AMD processor and Intel processors, a powerful GPU and software to play a Blu-ray disc.
The part some computers may lack though is a Blu-ray disc drive along with the Blu-ray player software. One option is to get an external Blu-ray disc drive.
For Mac users, Apple currently does not create Blu ray drives. The USB SuperDrive on their website also will not play Blu-ray. The only option is to get a third-party external Blu-ray drive with software that can play Blu-ray. A third party drive could be the Pioneer BDR-XS06 Slim Portable Blu-ray Writer USB 3.0 BD/DVD/CD 6x External Slot Burner (Silver) for MAC. An option for the software could be Aiseesoft Blu-Ray player for Mac.
CyberLink’s Blu-ray Advisor is free software that can tell you whether your computer is capable of playing Blu-ray. It will scan your computer for different hardware components to assess whether your computer can play Blu-ray. This can be an easy way
You can also bring your computer to an IT professional for them to assess it. They may be able to help you if you can supply just the hardware parts that make up your computer.
Another way is to try to assess your computer or laptop on your own. If your computer is Blu-ray compatible, usually it will have a little Blu-ray sticker on it, indicating that it is able to play Blu-ray DVDs.
If that option is not working out for you, then you can access your computer’s system settings and check whether your optical drive/disc player is made up of a Blu-ray drive.
The wording in the settings should be similar to Blu-ray but I have seen some disc drives that can play Blu-ray and the wording of the drives does not make it obvious. What I would recommend is to search the name of your disc drive online and check the product page for your specific Blu-ray drive
Why a Blu-ray CD Drive is Better
Blu-ray CD drives equipped with the right Blu-ray player software allows for higher resolution videos such as 1920×1080 and frame rates up to 29.97. They also include better audio quality for your videos. This is assuming your computer has audio hardware and screen hardware that can keep up with the software.
External Blu-ray CD drives can be advantageous because they can save room on your personal computer. Some external Blu-ray CD drives allow for users to burn CD’s to an external storage device. This includes a USB drive, external hard drive or any other external storage device of your choice.
Freeing up space on your computer can lead to faster read and writes on your computers storage device, therefore, a faster computer.
Blu-ray drives can typically rip, burn and play both Blu-ray disc as well as regular DVDs and CDs. If you have the option, then it is typically better to go with the Blu-ray drive because of how it is also compatible with regular CDs or DVDs.
Blu Ray Player Software For Windows & Mac
Assuming your Blu-ray drive came with software that can play Blu-ray disc, I suggest using that one. If it happens not to and your computer also does not have software that can handle Blu-Ray disc I have put together some software that can handle Blu-Ray disc.
Leawo Blu-ray player is compatible with both Mac and Windows. The software can handle up to 1080p videos and can be downloaded for free.
5kplayer is compatible with both Mac and Windows. It can play Blu-ray from 1080p to 4k up to 5k videos. This software is also free and offers great quality for videos of your choice.
FreeSmith Video Player is compatible with Windows. It can handle Blu-ray up to 1080p videos. This software is free but it has a few cons. Per reviews, it can be laggy, no fullscreen options and can take a while to load your videos. These cons could be the fault of the machine the users are working and not the actual software so it may still be worth using.
MacGo is compatible with Mac and Windows. It can handle Blu-ray up to 4k videos assuming you go with the paid version. This software does come with a free version but the free version has fewer features such as a downgrade in quality videos. The website provides a list of comparisons between the different versions, where a user can get a better idea with which one suits there needs the best.
MacGo does support many different file types which makes watching Blu-ray movies easier but it does use a lot of CPU power so it will be beneficial to close idle applications while it is in use.
AnyMP4 is compatible with Mac and Windows. It can handle Blu-ray videos up to 4k. This software is free but it also has a paid version that comes with more features.
These are a few examples of Blu-ray software players that I trust but there are many more to choose from online. Make sure you are getting your software from reputable sources also.
Related Questions
Can VLC play Blu-ray? VideoLan Client (VLC) can play most Blu-Ray movies but it does not support Blu-ray decryption. It can play many multimedia files as well which include DVDs, Audio Cds, VCDs and multiple other streaming protocols.
Can VLC play 4k videos? VLC can play 4k videos as of version 3.0. The newer version includes support for HDR color and 8k video feeds.
Can you play Blu-ray on Windows Media Player? Windows Media Player cannot play Blu-Ray because it is not one of the video formats that it supports. Windows Media Player does not have the related codec to process it therefore they lack