How To Play Blu-ray On Windows 10

Blu-Ray Source: Windows Cardinal

DVDs are relatively simple to deal with, only how to lookout Blu-ray discs on Windows ten? These discs are at present the standard for HD video on the physical format, and as more and more of usa use our PCs for dwelling entertainment, it's perfectly acceptable to want to play a Blu-ray on information technology. But it's not just a case of popping a disc in the drive and putting your anxiety upwards. You need something like PowerDVD 19 from Cyberlink.

Products used in this guide

The best: Cyberlink PowerDVD nineteen ($lxx at Amazon)
Costless and piece of cake: Leawo Blu-ray player (Free at Leawo)
Must-have tool: VLC for Windows (Free at VideoLAN)
Superlative encoder: Handbrake for Windows (Free at Handbrake)
Rip your collection: MakeMKV beta for Windows (Gratuitous at MakeMKV)

How to convert your Blu-ray discs to digital

MakeMKV Source: MakeMKV

This isn't for the light-hearted, mostly because it takes such a long time to practice, and it's piece of cake to make a fault. But at that place is a free fashion to do it using two pieces of software.

MakeMKV and Handbrake have been featured earlier in our roundup of DVD cloning software, and for a adept reason: Both are entirely gratis. While MakeMKV is technically still a beta, and it'south still potent.

Substantially, you apply MakeMKV to pull the information from the Blu-ray, then run it through Handbrake to compress it down. Y'all can, of course, skip Handbrake, only each file from a Blu-ray will be huge. So unless you take an awful lot of storage on manus, running through Handbrake is an first-class footstep to reduce the file size at the expense of outright quality.

How to spotter your Blu-ray discs on Windows x

VLC Source: Windows Central

You can watch the actual discs on your Windows 10 PC without having to convert them to a digital file.

The first option to mention is the good former Swiss Regular army Pocketknife, VLC. Natively, VLC won't only play your Blu-ray discs, then you'll need to do some tweaking.

It's not necessarily the best option, merely if you're a heavy VLC user already, it's at least an option.

Possibly a improve —and also free— method is the Leawo Blu-ray player application. It too supports DVDs, and while you're not paying for information technology, y'all're just getting a bare-bones Blu-ray player. Still, information technology's reliable and gets the task done.

If you're interested in something a fiddling more than characteristic-filled, there are numerous apps out there. The best is Cyberlink'due south PowerDVD xix. It offers support for 3D Blu-ray every bit well as regular discs, high frame rate playback, HDR, casting, and 4K UHD Blu-ray.

Additionally, PowerDVD will likewise play any of your ISO files from Blu-rays or DVDs directly, then you've got everything y'all need under one roof. It's a handy slice of software to have on a media PC, and yous can even utilise it to pull in content from YouTube and Vimeo, including 360-degree video.

The app you lot need

There are free ways to lookout man Blu-ray discs, but you become what you lot pay for and much more than too with Cyberlink's excellent PowerDVD 19. For the more astringent media enthusiast, it'south worth every penny.

Full-featured

PowerDVD 19

PowerDVD xix

Serious software for media fanatics

PowerDVD 19 is a fantastic piece of software that can play up to 4K Blu-ray discs with True Theater and total-screen enhancements for the best possible experience.

PowerDVD tin also play YouTube and Vimeo videos, as well as natively play 360-caste content. It'southward a great value and a powerful piece of software for enthusiasts.

Boosted apps

If y'all're looking for something a little less intensive or simply want to digitize your collection, these are the apps for yous.

MakeMKV

MakeMKV (Free at MakeMKV)

Simple to use and volition convert all your physical discs into digital files with ease.

Leawo Blu-ray player

Leawo Blu-ray player (Free at Leawo)

Bones, but functional, if you just want to play the disc and zilch more than, this is a great app to get.

VLC (Costless at VideoLAN)

VLC is a brilliant tool for Windows that, with some tweaking, tin play about anything imaginable.

Handbrake

Handbrake (Free at Handbrake)

Handbrake will convert your Blu-ray'due south raw files into something more useable for your PC or home media server. And it's free!

If you're hunting for a Blu-Ray player

The software is obviously a big office of watching Blu-Ray discs on Windows 10, but if your PC or laptop doesn't take a built-in drive, you're going to need one before you lot go anywhere.

This packet from Pioneer is an excellent place to outset since information technology also includes a CyberLink software suite, which, while non quite as practiced every bit PowerDVD, will at to the lowest degree get y'all moving in the correct direction.

Summit pick

Pioneer Xd07b

Pioneer BDR-XD07B

Pioneer'south external Blu-ray burner is ane of the slimmest options on the market, featuring a clamshell pattern and six-times write speed for all the popular formats, including triple and quad-layer discs. It has plug-and-play functionality and support for the latest macOS and Windows 10 software. Yous simply plug it into your computer via USB — it only requires USB iii.0 — and you should exist good to go. Every bit a bonus, yous get some free software from Cyberlink and a nifty conduct case included in the box.

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These are the best external Blu-ray drives for PC

Buyers Guide

These are the all-time external Blu-ray drives for PC

Even though your PC might not have come with a Blu-ray drive, you may be compelled to get 1, especially if you have a large moving picture collection. Whatever the need, these are the ones to get.

Richard Devine

Richard Devine is an Editor at Windows Fundamental. A erstwhile Project Managing director and long-term tech addict, he joined Mobile Nations in 2011 and has been plant on Android Primal and iMore every bit well equally Windows Key. Currently you'll find him covering all style of PC hardware and gaming, and you tin follow him on Twitter and Instagram.