Windows 8.1 DVD/Bluray/Video App

strangeotron

I have a bluray drive on my laptop but oddly no app to run DVD's (even windows media player doesn't). Is there a good free app that will do it including HD?

gjchester

strangeotron wrote: »

I have a bluray drive on my laptop but oddly no app to run DVD's (even windows media player doesn't). Is there a good free app that will do it including HD?

Companies have to play a licence to licence the Codec for DVD and Blueray but there is an open source solution of
VLC by Videolan. This is free and plays most things (including DVD's)

http://www.videolan.org

Blu-Ray can be problematical to play if the content is encrypted, and a lot of commercial disks are, so its hit and miss if they will play.

Fightsback

gjchester wrote: »

Companies have to play a licence to licence the Codec for DVD and Blueray but there is an open source solution of
VLC by Videolan. This is free and plays most things (including DVD's)

http://www.videolan.org

Blu-Ray can be problematical to play if the content is encrypted, and a lot of commercial disks are, so its hit and miss if they will play.

A good alternative is also SMplayer:

http://smplayer.sourceforge.net/en/downloads

RumRat

I'll second VLC...It'll play anything you throw at it.

strangeotron

will it play hi def?

enfield_freddy

no but it plays Rod Stuart DVDs , is that close enough?

strangeotron

enfield_freddy wrote: »

no but it plays Rod Stuart DVDs , is that close enough?

i'm afraid not

philnicandevan

and when VLC lets me down (rare occasion) I use this player instead..

http://www.!!!!!.com/blu-ray-player/specs.html

strangeotron

Yes but can VLC run things in hidef - that's the point of bluray after all!

enfield_freddy

no , Bluerays were made to be played on a dedicated Blueray player and viewed thru a Hi def TV


you are attempting to watch them thru a very restrictive computer


so if you want Hi def , use a proper dedicated player

gjchester

strangeotron wrote: »

Yes but can VLC run things in hidef - that's the point of bluray after all!

You need to be a little more specific. Whats Hi-Def?

VLC is a player, it can play moves encoded with set format codecs, but that's not the end of the story.

VLC can play H.264 encoded files (the codec Blu-Ray uses) but I could encode a grainy 640x480 ex VHS tape video in that format, the format itself is not an indication of the definition and quality of the source file.

H.264 can also be lossy or lossless. Take a hi-def source and set the encoding settings for a small file size and you lose definition but get a smaller file, useful for phones or tablets. Similarly set it as lossless (or as close as possible) and you get a big file that's got lots of definition.

In addition Blu-Ray disk are encrypted so you can't simply read the video as a file, (See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Access_Content_System) while there have been some hacks no-one has legitimatly reverse engineered the encryption (unlike for DVD), and if they could any future releases could simply disable the key.

So can VLC Play Hi-Def Absolutely, question is more does your source have any DRM or copy protection that means you cannot read from it.