2 Proven Ways to Play Blu-ray Discs on Windows 10/11 [Free]

Ever wanted to play Blu-ray discs on your PC or laptop? This way you can watch your high-definition Blu-ray movies conveniently, without needing the heavy Blu-ray player device.

However, as we all know, Windows doesn't have built-in support for Blu-ray playback, and only specialized programs can decode and play commercial Blu-ray discs.

No more digging and testing, this article will show you two proven solutions to play Blu-ray discs on Windows, safely and for free.

 Cisdem Video Converter

Play and Rip All Blu-ray Discs Effortlessly

• Play commercial Blu-ray discs with built-in player for free
• Choose preferred sound and subtitles tracks
• Support screen capture, keyboard shortcuts and full-screen mode
• Rip Blu ray discs to digital formats to watch with any player
• Handle the latest released Blu-rays
• Also convert/download/compress/edit/merge videos
• Easy to use with intuitive interface

Free Download Windows 11/10/8/7 Free Download macOS 10.13 or later

Can I play protected Blu-ray Discs on Windows?

Yes, with the right Blu-ray player hardware and software.

Few computers come with a built-in disc drive. To play a Blu-ray disc on PC, you need to buy an external BD drive to read the disc.

Then you need a Blu-ray player software to decode and play the Blu-ray. VLC media player and Cisdem Video Converter are recommended free options after trying a dozen of Blu-ray players. Which tool to choose will depend on your specific needs and technical expertise.

How to Play Blu ray Discs with Menus in VLC on Windows

VLC media player is a free open source player that supports playback of unprotected Blu-ray and DVD discs. If you directly open a BD with VLC, an error message "this Blu-ray needs a Library for AACS decoding" will prompt. To make VLC play Blu-rays without errors, we need to download necessary decoding files first. And if you want to play with menus like you would on a Blu-ray player, the Java setup is also required. Check out the detailed steps below.

Step 1. Download and install VLC media player 32-bit or 64-bit from its official sites.

Step 2. Visit https://vlc-bluray.whoknowsmy.name/ to download following decoding files.

1. Go to http://fvonline-db.bplaced.net/ to download "keydb.cfg - English", and extract the file to C:\ProgramData\aacs\ (create the folder if it does not exist).
2. Download AACS library file (libaacs.dll) for Windows 32 bit or 64 bit, and put it in your VLC directory (usually C:\Program Files\VideoLAN\VLC if you didn’t specify installation).

*At this point you should be able to play Blu-ray content without menus.

Step 3. Download a working Java JRE for BD-J menu support and set up Java environment. The "jre-8u311-windows-x64" from Oracle works for me. You can also choose a more recent version. (JDK is not needed according to my experience.)

1. Set the JAVA_HOME variable: search for "Edit the system environment variables" in your Windows search bar, then click the "Environment Variables" button. Under User variables and System variables, click “New”. In the Variable name field, enter “JAVA_HOME”, and in the value field, enter your JRE installation path, such as "C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.8.0_311". Click OK to save changes.
2. Set PATH variables: click the "Path" entry under both variables and click “Edit”, then add a New line "%JAVA_HOME%\bin" to the list. Click OK.

Step 4. Play Blu ray in VLC with menus.

1. Insert a Blu-ray disc into the BD drive, and wait for your computer to detect it.
2. Open VLC, click Media > Open Disc, choose the "Blu-ray" option, make sure the "Disc device" is selected correctly. Leave "no disc menus" option unchecked, and click "Play".
3. Then you will see the movie studio logo and disc menu intro. Note: the menu buttons may not respond to the mouse click, you can use the keyboard arrows and Enter to navigate menus.

Use Cisdem Video Converter to Watch Blu-ray Discs [Recommended]

Cisdem Video Converter is a professional and easy-to-use Blu-ray player. It's able to bypass all types of copy protections on Blu-ray discs, and play the movies instantly without additional setup. It allows you to choose the audio track and subtitle language to play with, take screenshots, watch in full screen, etc. But it doesn't offer the menu feature as it's not specifically designed for playback after all.

You can also use it to digitize Blu-ray and play them with any player, such as Windows Media Player, or transfer to Apple TV, mobile devices like Android, iPad, etc.

What's more, Cisdem Video Converter is a multifunctional software that can also convert/compress/edit video files, rip DVDs, and download online videos from various sites such as YouTube, Facebook, Vimeo, etc. The disc playback function is totally free, while other advanced features may require an upgrade.

How to easily play Blu-ray discs with Cisdem Video Converter on Windows 10/11/8/7:

1. Download and install the Cisdem Video Converter.

Free Download Windows 11/10/8/7

2. Insert a Blu-ray disc to your Blu-ray drive, label side up.

3. Launch Cisdem, and click the second icon on the top.

4. To import the Blu-ray disc, there are two ways:

• Directly drag and drop the BD folder to the program interface.
• Or, click the add icon in the bottom left corner, browse to the BD drive, and click “Select Folder” to open it.

When the Blu-ray disc is loaded, you'll see all video titles, with the movie thumbnail, resolution, length, and size info. The longest and largest one is the main movie.  

5. Choose your preferred sound track and subtitles from the corresponding drop-down lists, if available.

6. Click the on Play icon on the movie thumbnail to play it.

Tip: How to convert Blu-ray to MP4 for smooth playback

If you have enough storage space, ripping the Blu-ray to your computer in common formats is also good option to ensure smooth playback and avoid potential stuttering.

1. When the Blu-ray is loaded, check the titles you want to convert, like the main movie, uncheck other titles like warnings and trailers.
2. Click the "Convert all tasks to" button to open the output format selection list, where you can choose popular video formats like MP4, MKV, MOV, etc., or select a preset profile under Device category.
3. Click the “Save to” field to specify output folder.
4. Click on the “Start” button to initiate the ripping process.

Bonus Tip: More Blu-ray Players for Windows

We've tested as many Blu-ray players as we could find, both free and premium products.