Jun 20, 2013 As professional Blu-ray disc player for Mac, all latest Blu-ray discs on the market could be played back on this Mac Blu-ray player software on iMac or Macbook. Meanwhile, it’s also a free media player for Mac that offers totally free service to let Mac users play DVD, video (up to 1080P) and audios on Mac without any quality loss. Blu-Ray Player+ is a High-quality, 100% Free Blu-Ray Player, with no-watermarks over movie or any time-limits like other players around. It is specially designed for playback of your Movies that are stored in Blu-Ray’s discs you may have.
'Alternative to VLC - I've used and loved VLC for years but lately it's been choking and dying for no discernible reason and attempts to troubleshoot have failed. Sadly I have to move on to some VLC alternatives. Are there any other media players better than VLC or comparable alternatives to VLC media player?'
As one of the most popular media players in the world, VLC media player gains great reputation for its excellent service in movie playback. However, with the the arising of Blu-ray and copyright protection policies, VLC media player currently couldn't remain to be the first choice for home movie enjoyment. Many people are trying to find a VLC player alternative, or even some player that's better than VLC media player.
This post would share with you different VLC alternatives. It should be noted that some of these VLC alternatives may require you to install 3rd-party add-ons. You need to determine whether or not you would like to switch your VLC to them.
Part 1: 5 Alternatives to VLC Media Player for Windows
Most Windows users would adopt Windows Media Player to play movies. While VLC media player may become the first choice of 3rd-party media player options. Getting an alternative to VLC media player for Windows computer could be a very simple work, since there are a lot of options online. The below media player options are 5 best alternatives to VLC player for Windows.
1. Leawo Free Blu-ray Player
Leawo Free Blu-ray Player is an all-inclusive movie player freeware that could play back all kinds of movies, like Blu-ray, DVD, 4K movies, 1080P videos, ISO image file and even movie audios. As a region free Blu-ray player software program, it could help you easily play back the latest released Blu-ray discs without quality loss. It's also a free DVD player to play DVD discs/folders, an ISO player to directly play back ISO files, a free video player to play up to 1080P HD videos and a free audio player to play even DTS-5.1 audio in lossless quality.
2. RealPlayer
RealPlayer is a popular media player over the Internet. It supports various popular formats including WMV, WMA FLV, AVI, MP3, MP4, 3GP and more. In addition to this, it can convert your video files into different formats and download streaming content online, What's more, you can share your clips with friends on Facebook. But if you want to get more features, you should pay $49.99 to get the RealPlayer Plus 16.
3. KMPlayer
KMPlayer would be a good VLC alternative when you are looking for a bit more enhanced software for your PC. One of the major reasons that made KM Player popular is its support for a wide range of formats, such as MKV, OGG, 3GP and FLV etc. And, in general, those who have tried KMPlayer have somewhat been forced to stick onto the player, as KM Player offers a lot, for both common and advanced movie freaks. KMPlayer supports 3D Movies, though it does not consume that much system resources and you can even turn non-3D movies into 3D ones, if you have a 3D glass with you.
4. SMPlayer
This VLC alternative is free and powerful enough to handle almost all of your videos, regardless of format. It comes with all the codecs it needs bundled in. It has a built-in ability to remember where you left off in a movie, and what settings you were using, so you can pick right up where you left off. SMPlayer is built on MPlayer, so if you've used it before, you'll be familiar with SMPlayer. You can download subtitles for your film, and you can search for and watch YouTube videos on SMPlayer, too. There are cool filters you can test out, and you can change the playback speed in case you're out of time but you want to finish the movie.
5. Media Player Classic
Media Player Classic is designed to be a compact, no-frills sort of program, yet it does pretty much everything you'd expect from a media player. It works straight from installation without requiring any additional codec packs, except maybe for the most obscure formats. It's extremely lightweight and uses very few resources while playing. It supports VCD, SVCD and DVD playback, and with the support of DirectShow, it could play media files in a vast array of video format families including: AVI, MPEG, MKV, MP4, MOV, FLV, RM, WMV, MP3, AAC, FLAC, and a whole lot more.
Part 2: 5 Alternatives to VLC Media Player for Mac
For Mac users, the default QuickTime player could be a wonderful VLC alternative Mac. However, we all know that the QuickTime player supports only a few video formats. If you download a MKV movie to your Mac computer and then try to play MKV movie on QuickTime player, you will be failed. If you need a Mac VLC alternative, the below media players would be good choices.
1. Leawo Free Blu-ray Player for Mac
Similar to its Windows version, Leawo Free Blu-ray Player for Mac offers multiple media playback solutions for totally free. It could work as region-free Blu-ray player (4K Blu-ray disc supported), free HD video player (up to 4K), free DVD player, free music player, and free ISO file player. You could select subtitles and audio tracks from source media files, or even add external subtitles. The support of audio decoding systems like Dolby, DTS, AAC, TrueHD, DTS-HD, etc. delivers cinema like movie experience at home with your Mac computer.
2. MPlayerX
MPlayerX is another open-source Mac video player that is quite similar to VLC. It'll play a wide range of video and audio files (again without the need for any additional codecs or software) and has a few other hidden features, such as multi-touch and Apple Remote support. The interface is based on that of QuickTime's with the same minimal approach and one feature I love about MPlayerX is the bookmark feature which remembers where you played up to last time – something which I think every video player should have.
3. Movist
Movist is a free, simple yet powerful player for Mac. It supports QuickTime, FFmpeg as well as subtitles. It is easy to use and available to adjust aspect ratios and configure keyboard shortcuts. It could even encode Quicktime and FFmpeg on the fly.
4. Miro
Miro is an open-source media player with a built-in torrent client and an interface that has taken a few leaves out of the iTunes book. Although it won't play media files different to any other media player, it has a built-in video converter with tons of presets (including for the iPhone and iPad). You can also share your media files over your local network with anyone who also has Miro installed and there's an iPad version in the works, which promises the ability to stream and transfer videos and music to it.
5. QuickTime
As the default media player of Mac computer, QuickTime is without doubt a wonderful alternative to VLC media player for Mac users to play movies. You don't need to install 3rd-party media players. However, if you want to play movies in different formats like WMV and MKV, you'd better install a QuickTime player plugin like Perian. Otherwise QuickTime player may fail to recognize WMV/MKV videos.
Part 3: The Best Alternative to VLC - Leawo Free Blu-ray Player
If you're looking for a media player that's better than VLC media player, you get Leawo Free Blu-ray Player. As an all-inclusive media player, Leawo Free Blu-ray Player is the best alternative to VLC media player, performing even better than VLC.
Leawo Free Blu-ray Player
☉ 100% free movie player to play Ultra HD 4K, 1080P Full HD and 720P video without quality loss.
☉ Free 4K Blu-ray disc player to play 4K Blu-ray disc, regardless of disc protection and region code.
☉ Support multiple audio decoding systems like Dolby, DTS, AAC, TrueHD, DTS-HD, etc.
☉ Adjust subtitles, video and audio during media playback for better movie experience.
Why Leawo Free Blu-ray Player is the Best VLC Alternative?
Leawo Free Blu-ray Player Video Demo:
Apple has gradually removed the configuration of the optical drive in Mac series computers. If you want to play Blu-ray disc on your Mac computer, you need to connect your computer with an external optical drive. Besides, useful Blu-ray software for Mac is required to playback Blu-ray disc successfully so as to give you a wonderful movie night. In the following, we are going to share the top 7 free Mac Blu-ray players with you and show you a full review. Keep reading and pick one for your Mac.
Here's 7 best Blu-ray player for Mac we recommended. Download and begin your movie time.
Part 1. Before We Start – Professional Mac Blu-ray Player Recommend
Before we start, one thing you need to notice that free Mac Blu-ray player cannot provide a comprehensive Blu-ray playback function. If you want to get better movie-watching experience, you may need a more professional Blu-ray Player for playing the BD disc on Mac. That's why we recommend VideoSolo Blu-ray Player(opens new window) before we start.
VideoSolo Blu-ray Player wins many loyal users for its expert performance in playing Blu-ray disc, Blu-ray ISO, and Blu-ray folders on Mac. It supports decrypt disc DRM protection and unlocks region code so that you can play Blu-ray discs smoothly. VideoSolo unswervingly pursues higher video/audio quality to deliver a cinema-like experience and now provides up to 4K video quality without any loss of frame. DTS and Dolby Digital are supported now. Additionally, it also provides a menu for you to take full control of the Blu-ray playback, such as adjusting the subtitles, audio tracks, and titles.
3 Simple Steps to Play Any Blu-ray Movie Discs on Mac
To play Blu-ray disc, you need to prepare an external optical drive connected with your MacBook Pro, iMac, etc. Then connect your Mac computer to the Internet.
To play Blu-ray disc, you need to prepare an external optical drive connected with your MacBook Pro, iMac, etc. Then connect your Mac computer to the Internet.
Step 1. After download and installation, launch VideoSolo Blu-ray Player on your Mac. Then click 'Open Disc' button to load the Blu-ray movie.
Step 2. Then the program will pop up a window for you to choose. Select the Blu-ray disc and press 'OK' to continue.
Step 3. After finishing the Blu-ray movie loading, a Blu-ray menu will appear. Then, you can select the 'Subtitle', 'Audio Track' and 'Title' that your preferred. Or you can directly start watching the Blu-ray movie on Mac by clicking 'Play Movie'.
VideoSolo Blu-ray Player(opens new window) is really a good choice for unlocking region code and giving a cinema-like experience. Free to download and have a try!
For More Detailed Guide, just read on:
Part 2. Full List – Top 7 Free Mac Blu-ray Player 2021
Top 1. VLC Media Player for Mac
Developed by the folks at VideoLAN, VLC Media Player is a versatile player for Mac & Windows which can play back DVD, CD, VCD. Better still, the 2.0 and later version can perform as a Blu-ray player to help you play non-protected Blu-ray disc on Mac with some extra operations. We also list detailed steps on this article: How to Play Blu-ray Movie with VLC on Windows & Mac(opens new window). But not all Blu-ray disc can be supported due to the update of disc protection.
Pros:
- No spyware and safe.
- No pop-up advertisement.
Cons:
- Need extra steps to play Blu-ray disc.
- Not all Blu-ray movies are supported.
- No Blu-ray menus so that users must select a title to play manually.
- Some playback problems like VLC subtitle delay, no sound will appear when playing commercial Blu-ray.
Top 2. Leawo Blu-ray Player for Mac
Leawo Blu-ray Player for Mac is a real Blu-ray player that offers comprehensive solutions for users to play Blu-ray disc/folder/ISO image. It also provides the Blu-ray menu to let you fully control the media playback. But during my using, it appears several problems that made me feel annoyed. It always crashed when start to play the Blu-ray disc. You can read from the link below to get the full review: Review for Leawo Blu-ray Player – Play Blu-ray/DVD on Computer Freely(opens new window).
Pros:
- Support Blu-ray disc in all regions.
- Provide Blu-ray menu control.
- Able to play video/audio files like 4K MKV, HD AVI, SD MP4, etc.
- Simple to use and safe.
Cons:
- Crash several times when start playing Blu-ray/DVD disc.
- A little hard to use the virtual mouse to control the Blu-ray menu
- The speed of loading Blu-ray disc takes 35 seconds which is slower than other products.
- Use too much CPU of computer.
- Supported by ads.
Top 3. Macgo Mac Blu-ray Player
Macgo has two version of Mac Blu-ray players. What we introduce today is its free version - Macgo Blu-ray Player, a blue icon software. It can deencrypt commercial Blu-ray disc easily. But as a free Mac Blu-ray player, it doesn't always play smoothly and sometimes drop frame or get stuck. Unless if you upgrade to the pro version, the watermark in the center will not disappear. This free version doesn't support Blu-ray menu nor DTS/Dolby sound.
Pros:
- Play commercial Blu-ray disc easily
- High video quality
Free Blu Ray Player Mac Catalina
Cons:
- Watermark in the picture center.
- Usually get stuck.
- Requires high CPU usage.
Top 4. Free Mac Blu-ray Player
Free Mac Blu-ray Player is capable of playing Blu-ray disc, Blu-ray folder and ISO files without limitation. Users can choose any chapter, audio track and subtitle freely to have a wonderful Blu-ray watching experience. It also acts as a common video and audio payer like MP4, MOV, M4V WMV and so on. Free Mac Blu-ray Player offers good video quality but sometimes it will drop frame.
Pros:
- Provides Blu-ray disc menu.
- No ads and safe.
Cons:
- Watermark on top left corner.
- No permission to switch to full screen.
- Technical upgrade is slow and latest upgrade is 2019.
- It can't open the newly-released Blu-ray movie disc.
Top 5. Aurora Blu-ray Media Player
Another Mac Blu-ray player software is Aurora Blu-ray Media Player. It is an ideal Blu-ray player software for Mac. Aurora Blu-ray Media Player can open DVD, ISO, VCD, and HD videos. With Aurora, you can also get the best sound experience via output channels such as TrueHD 2.1 and DTS HD 7.1.
Nevertheless, as powerful as Aurora Blu-ray Media Player is, the software has watermark on its trial version. Also, the interface is not user-friendly. One might get confused when using it for the first time.
Pros:
- Supports multiple languages of subtitles and soundtrack.
- Superb sound experience.
Free Blu-ray Player For Mac
Cons:
- Has watermark on free version.
- Possesses a rather complex interface.
Top 6. DVDFab Player for Mac
DVDFab Player is one of the most advanced MacBook/MacBook pro Blu-ray players. The program can open Blu-ray discs with main movie titles and background audio. What’s more, it offers menu playback controls for DVDs and Blu-ray. Lastly, DVDFab Player supports HEVC, 4K UHD, and other digital media files such as AVI and MP4.
However, DVDFab Player is not a free Blu-ray player. It only provides 30-day free trial version. You’ll have to pay for it after 30 days. Also, there may be some quality loss of the video due to transcoding involved.
Region Free Blu Ray Player Mac
Pros:
- Supports 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray and DVD.
- Supports most formats such as MKV, MP4, AVI.
Cons:
- Free trial only lasts 30 days.
- Doesn’t support Windows XP and Linux.
- Due to transcoding involved, there may be some quality loss.
Top 7. MakeMKV
You may be familiar with MakeMKV. It’s a software used for converting video from encrypted discs into MKV files by preserving useful and important information. It can store most video/audio tracks with all its meta-information.
However, MakeMKV BETA also has many flaws. It only supports MKV output format and it cannot rip DVD audio. What's worse, the software sometimes fail to open some HD-DVD discs.
Pros:
- Provides lossless quality.
Cons:
- May fail to open some HD-DVD discs.
- Converts discs only to MKV format.
- Preview is not available.
- DVD audio cannot be ripped.
These 7 free Blu-ray players for mac are the most famous free software in the current market. Actually, we only found these 7 Blu-ray players for Mac because it really requires high technology. You can pick one according to this full review. If you want to play a commercial Blu-ray disc on Mac and get a better experience, we recommend VideoSolo Blu-ray Player(opens new window), a powerful and professional Blu-ray player for Mac. Just use it and enjoy your movie night!