My husband recently got a new PC. He was trying to watch a movie on it and was frustrated to find out that he couldn’t. Hence the text below:
A lot of people are frustrated to find that Windows 10 doesn’t have a built-in program to allow you play DVD movies. But it isn’t just DVDs that can cause you problems with playback.
I worked for many, many years in television and the many different types of video files were the bane of our existence. A commercial made on a particular editing system would refuse to open on another one. Sometimes a file would refuse to open on the same system running a different version of the software. Where it really caused a problem was when we tried to open surveillance video provided to us by various law enforcement agencies. Every single one of them used a different format. Good luck finding America’s most wanted when you can’t open the video.
Thankfully, a very wise engineer introduced me to VLC. It’s free and I’ve yet to find anything it won’t open. VLC Play was developed by VideoLAN organization, a non-profit the promotes free, open-source multimedia solutions. You can choose to donate if you wish, but it’s not required.
And you can get it for Windows, Mac, and Linux! It’s also available in the Android and Apple app stores.
In addition to playing CDs and DVDs, let’s check out the other files it will play:
Video: MPEG-1/2, DivX® (1/2/3/4/5/6), MPEG-4 ASP, XviD, 3ivX D4, H.261, H.263 / H.263i, H.264 / MPEG-4 AVC, Cinepak, Theora, Dirac / VC-2, MJPEG (A/B), WMV 1/2, WMV 3 / WMV-9 / VC-1, Sorenson 1/3, DV, On2 VP3/VP5/VP6, Indeo Video v3 (IV32), Real Video (1/2/3/4).
Audio: MPEG-1/2, DivX® (1/2/3/4/5/6), MPEG-4 ASP, XviD, 3ivX D4, H.261, H.263 / H.263i, H.264 / MPEG-4 AVC, Cinepak, Theora, Dirac / VC-2, MJPEG (A/B), WMV 1/2, WMV 3 / WMV-9 / VC-1, Sorenson 1/3, DV, On2 VP3/VP5/VP6, Indeo Video v3 (IV32), Real Video (1/2/3/4).
DVDs: DVD, Text files (MicroDVD, SubRIP, SubViewer, SSA1-5, SAMI, VPlayer), Closed captions, Vobsub, Universal Subtitle Format (USF), SVCD / CVD, DVB, OGM, CMML, Kate.ID3 tags, APEv2, Vorbis comment.
To download, click here. You’ll be asked if you’d like to make a donation, but it’s voluntary. After you use it and see how great it is, go back and give them a little. They certainly deserve it for this program.
Then run the program from your downloads folder. You’ll need to give it permission to install.
Follow the instructions of the installation Wizard.
VLC is now ready to go! There are no ads, spyware, or tracking software in VLC.
It’s pretty straightforward and easy to use. You’ll find a pretty extensive support section by clicking here.
I’ll get more into how VLC works in later articles. I’ll end by showing you text I received from my husband.
Give VLC a try and let me know what you think.
Hi, I created a movie of 180 of my Irma Destruction photos, that played just fine on the DVD/CD I moved it to, flash drive played well also. ?? Trish
Video files like .MP4s will play from a hard drive, from a flash drive, or from a disk you’ve burned a file to, just as long as your PC has a player capable of handling them. A DVD movie is a different kind of file.
Got it…you probably recommended in the past, I know I have used it a long time.
My son in law recommended this to me about a year ago. Works great. So far have never had a problem. Thx for letting others know about it too.