Watching Movies from the Kelvin Smith Library - Part 3 - Playing with VLC Media Player

Make sure you have headphones with you if you want to watch inside the library! You can use analog headphones which plug into the headphone jack, or bluetooth headphones, the link to how to connect that is down below. 

Step 1: The VLC Media Player by VideoLAN is a free, up-to-date, cross-platform video player. 

Step 2: To watch a DVD, simply pop your disk into the disk drive and VLC should instantly start to play. 

Step 3: When you are in the VLC program, there are a few things that you should know about. If you click 'Playback' there are the 'Title' and 'Chapter' options which allow you to navigate through the disk without using the menus, and you can actually see everything right there. 

Step 4: For international DVDs, when you pop one into the drive and the program starts running, you can select 'Playback' > 'Title' and select the title you want. This should allow you to play the media without any difficulties. 

Step 5: However, if VLC does not launch, go into your Files on your computer > 'This PC' > right-click on the DVD > 'Play with VLC media player'. You could also just launch VLC, select 'Media' in the left corner > 'Open Disc' > hit 'Play'. 

Step 6: Remember that this only works for DVDs, your computer cannot read Blu-rays so if you insert it into the computer, nothing will happen. 

Step 7: Instead, you can use an external USB Blu-ray player, which will also play DVDs. 

Step 8: Plug in the external player and put in the media. You will notice a few errors from the VLC program, because VLC will think that it is a DVD and you have to set it to open as Blu-ray. 

Step 9: Go to 'Media' > 'Open Disc' > Select Blu-ray as the Disc Selection, and hit 'Play'. 

Step 10: Next, select 'Playback' > 'Title' and choose any title you want, and this will play the movie. 

Step 11: If you notice the encoder error, go to this link and download the indicated files (You do need to know which VLC you are using to choose the right AACS Dynamic Library File): https://vlc-bluray.whoknowsmy.name/ 

If you have any more questions, contact freedmancenter@case.edu