How to play or watch blu ray discs from Windows 10?

I am using Aisseesoft Blu-ray Player for a couple of years and it works great for playing all kinds of blu ray and dvd disc. It offers a straightforward interface and solid playback quality, including support for 8K, 4K video and high-definition audio formats like DTS-HD Master Audio and Dolby TrueHD. 

Official tutorial: https://www.netgeair.com/watch-play-blu-ray-disc-easily

P.S. I already tested it on a Windows 11 laptop and MacBook Pro.

If you’re gearing up to watch blu ray discs on Windows 10, make sure your computer actually has a Blu-ray drive. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve talked to folks who’ve bought blu ray discs but then realized they can’t even play them because their DVD drive isn’t the same. Check your specs to see if you’ve got an actual blu ray player in there.

A big mistake is not using software that's compatible with blu ray discs when you watch blu ray discs in Windows 10. Windows 10 doesn’t come with native blu ray support, so you need third-party software. I once tried to use Windows Media Player, thinking it might surprise me. Spoiler alert: it didn't. So, grab something like VLlC Media Player (you can make it work for Blu-rays with some extra setup), PowerDVD, or MakeMKV. Just make sure whichever option you go with actually supports blu ray playback.

Sometimes, if you’re using a free player, you might run into codec issues. This was a headache I experienced when trying different players and switching around settings. Make sure you have all necessary codecs installed. Pairing your software with codec packs like K-Lite Codec Pack can solve a lot of playback problems.

Blu-ray playback software often includes additional features like menus, chapter navigation, and high-definition audio support, which require more specialized software. Instead of embedding this functionality in Windows by default, Microsoft leaves Blu-ray playback to third-party developers who can incorporate these features and handle licensing.

While Windows Media Player comes pre-installed, it only supports basic video file formats like MP4, AVI, and WMV, but not Blu-ray discs. To watch Blu-ray discs on a Windows 10 PC, you will need third-party software that adds Blu-ray support or convert Blu-ray videos to common MP4.

How to convert Blu-ray HD videos to MP4 on Windows:

Step 1: Install MakeMKV on your PC.
Step 2: Insert the Blu-ray disc into your Blu-ray drive and open MakeMKV.
Step 3: Click on the Blu-ray icon in MakeMKV to start ripping the disc. Choose a location to save the .mkv file.
Step 4: Once the ripping is complete, open and load the .mkv file.
Step 5: Set the output format to MP4 and customize other settings as needed.
Step 6: Start the encoding process.

This method will enable you to successfully convert Blu-ray videos into the more widely compatible MP4 format.

How to watch blu ray discs in Windows 10? MakeMKV is a bit more niche, but it's still a great option if you want to rip your Blu-rays to MKV format. 

1. Download MakeMKV from the official website.
2. Install MakeMKV, which should automatically detect your Blu-ray disc.
3. Launch MakeMKV, and it should start ripping the movie to an MKV file.

Note that MakeMKV won't play Blu-rays directly, but it'll convert them to a format that you can play with any media player. There you have it! Three ways to play Blu-rays in Windows 10 without breaking the bank. Just remember, if you're planning to use any of these methods for commercial use (e.g., in a business or public setting), you'll need to purchase a license or use a different software solution.

The Blu-ray video format is a high-definition optical disc format designed to store large amounts of data, primarily used for video content. It offers significantly higher storage capacity compared to DVDs, with a single-layer Blu-ray disc holding up to 25GB of data, and a dual-layer disc supporting up to 50GB. The format is capable of providing high-definition (HD) and ultra-high-definition (UHD) video, often at 1080p or 4K resolution. Blu-ray discs typically use the MPEG-2, H.264, or HEVC video codecs, with accompanying DTS or Dolby TrueHD audio formats.

However, you can't play or watch blu ray discs on Windows due to licensing and copyright concerns. The Blu-ray format is protected by Digital Rights Management technology, which imposes restrictions on how the content can be accessed and played. Microsoft, as the developer of Windows, has chosen not to integrate Blu-ray playback support directly into the operating system to avoid the complexity of dealing with the licensing and encryption requirements associated with Blu-ray discs. Moreover, Windows' focus has been on supporting more widely used formats like DVDs, MP4s, and MKVs.

How about the PowerDVD if you want to watch blu ray discs in Windows 10? I've used this one myself, and it's pretty straightforward. PowerDVD is a popular Blu-ray player software that's compatible with Windows 10. Here's how to get it:

• Download the PowerDVD trial from the Cyber​​Link website. Yes, it's a trial, but don't worry, it works great for now.
• Install the software and launch it.
• Insert a Blu-ray disc and PowerDVD should automatically launch and play the movie.

PowerDVD offers some great features like 4K video playback when you watch blu ray discs from Windows 10, HDR, and even a built-in screen recorder. After trying it out, you can even purchase a key to activate it. However, the free trial does have some limitations. You won't be able to save any changes to your Blu-ray discs, and it only works for 14 days. After that, you'll need to purchase a key to unlock full functionality.

MPC-HC with LAV Filters - this one might sound a bit more tech-savvy, but trust me, it's still pretty easy. You'll need to:

• Download MPC-HC (Media Player Classic - Home Cinema) from the MPC-HC GitHub page.
• Download LAV Filters from the LAV Filters GitHub page.
• Extract the LAV Filters zip file to a folder on your computer (e.g., C:\LAVFilters).
• In MPC-HC, go to Settings > Options > Internal Filters > LAV Audio Decoder and select the path to the LAV Filters folder.
• Insert a Blu-ray disc and MPC-HC should launch and play the movie.

Note that this method requires some technical know-how, and you'll need to install and configure the software yourself. But hey, it's free!