Flawless 1080p BD Playback with VLC Player??

[tyner]

I know that many use AnyDVD HD running in the background to enable JRiver player to play BDs, and when I finish building my home theater I will be doing just that. But VLC is the only player that has both zoom and slow motion features, which I really enjoy using when playing good quality commercially pressed DVD movies.

But AFAIK VLC still can't play BDs, presumably due to the same encrypting issues faced by JRiver users unaware of decrypters like this one. So will AnyDVD HD enable perfect 1080p BD movie playback via VLC? And as easily as when using JRiver?

 

[Ch3vr0n]

No and no, nor is this an anydvd issue. VLC is an excellent video player and basic DVD player. It sucks at everything else. VLC doesn't have the proper libraries to enable full java menu support on BD's and more.

 

[RedFox 1]

Thread moved to High def software.

 

[tyner]

Thread moved to High def software.

I don't understand. Why was my post moved there? I posted here at the AnyDVD HD section because my questions pertained exclusively to that software.

 

[Ch3vr0n]

I don't understand. Why was my post moved there? I posted here at the AnyDVD HD section because my questions pertained exclusively to that software.

Because your problem is not an anydvd issue. As the forum subsection states: the anydvd sections are specifically for anydvd DVD or blu-ray related issues. Yours is neither. Yours is a playback question about VLC. Your issue is with VLC, not anydvd.

 

[tyner]

No and no, nor is this an anydvd issue. VLC is an excellent video player and basic DVD player. It sucks at everything else. VLC doesn't have the proper libraries to enable full java menu support on BD's and more.

What sucks for me is that JRiver doesn't have VLC's excellent slow motion; actually, it has no slow motion feature at all. Me and others have asked its developers to add this and were hoping it would be included in the last version but no luck. At least JRiver is said to have an excellent and fully functional zoom control.

But I just don't get how a player as popular as VLC hasn't been upgraded to plays 1080p BDs by now. I wish software brainiacs from forums like here would upgrade either or both players accordingly.

 

[DeepSpace]

It can play BDs, in fact I never used another player. So after AnyDVD has decrypted the disc, you can just open VLC and choose it. If you don't have Java installed, it will just play the main movie. Then you can choose the audio language and subs in the menu bar at the top.

If you install Java, you can still choose to directly play the main movie if you've seen the menu already or if you don't have the time do wait till all that stuff has played.

If you have any playback issues, then check if the drive is connected to USB 3.0 (if external).

It sucks at everything else.

Please tell me what "everything" is. I use this player for years now and only have one issue when playing H265 and a small graphical error when pausing and then playing it again. But I am not sure if it is since I have my new PC or if it also was like this on my old PC, so I don't fully blame it on VLC right now.
And for BDs, I watched the 4ks of Lotr and Hobbit with my grandfather at the beginning of this year, playing from the external harddrive they sit on. No single issue.

The small graphical issues of unknown source aside, I cannot understand why many people seem to blame or hate VLC.

 

[RedFox 1]

I don't understand. Why was my post moved there? I posted here at the AnyDVD HD section because my questions pertained exclusively to that software.

Ch3vr0n explained it perfectly so there is no need for me to repeat it.

 

[tyner]

It can play BDs, in fact I never used another player. So after AnyDVD has decrypted the disc, you can just open VLC and choose it. If you don't have Java installed, it will just play the main movie. Then you can choose the audio language and subs in the menu bar at the top.

If you install Java, you can still choose to directly play the main movie if you've seen the menu already or if you don't have the time do wait till all that stuff has played.

If you have any playback issues, then check if the drive is connected to USB 3.0 (if external).....I cannot understand why many people seem to blame or hate VLC.

Finally, someone here who actually cuts to the chase. Thank you! So glad hearing that VLC seems to do it all for you, and probably me too. 1080p BDs have so far been impossible for me. I just tried playing Criterion Collection's "Gilda" (1946) but got error message: "VLC is unable to open the MRL 'dvd:///D:/'. Check the log for details." Same thing happened when I tried playing Olive's "She Devil" (1957) and Warner's "Time Machine" (1960).

I am running Windows 10 pro version 21H2, build 19044.1889, Windows Feature Experience Pack 120.2212.4180.0 . LG WH16NS40 internal BD drive.

However, as implied earlier I have no where near the knowledge of software coders and only know that Java is something called a scripting language (??). How should I check to see if it's loaded on my system? If not, should I do so and how? Then what settings must I change and/or what must I download and install to play 1080p BDs?

And if I can get VLC to play my BDs will the menu resemble the disc's original menu and have at least nearly the same functionality?

Last but not hardly least, can you use the zoom and slow motion features on your BDs?

 

[cartman0208]

Actually you can even play UHD videos.
I just tried with a 60FPS movie.
As DeepSpace mentioned, you get a warning without Java (you can get it from java .com ) and then the main movie starts to play.
Looks smooth as expected


Edit: I never tried the slower or faster playback but it works and is actually quite funny to watch

 

[DeepSpace]

"VLC is unable to open the MRL 'dvd:///D:/'

You have to select Blu-Ray.
Strg+D to open the Medium selection dialog.
"Keine Disc-Menüs" (no disc menus) is the checkbox you use if you don't want to get the menu, but the main movie instead.

 

[DeepSpace]

The above instructions apply for the disc or a mounted iso. Then you of course have to choose the correct drive from the dropdown box at the bottom of the screenshot.
If you want to play a folder structure, I am not sure. For DVDs, you can just select the .ifo file, but I never tried (or never got it to work) with BDs. But then you can just play the biggest .m2ts file in the BDMV/Streams folder (if I remember the names correctly).

 

[tyner]

Actually you can even play UHD videos.
I just tried with a 60FPS movie.
As DeepSpace mentioned, you get a warning without Java (you can get it from java .com ) and then the main movie starts to play.
Looks smooth as expected


Edit: I never tried the slower or faster playback but it works and is actually quite funny to watch

Luckily, I still have no plans to begin buying 4K BDs, even if my HTPC could play them. It has a Rocket Lake Xeon W-1390 processor, which I had Steiger Dynamics install so I could run 32GB of ECC RAM. https://hometheaterheroes.com/no-more-4k-blu-ray-playback-on-intel-chips-and-windows-11/ Presumably, the processor in the top model Sony OLED TV I'm looking to buy will make my 1080 BDs look stunning.

Yes, zoom and slow motion are lots of fun to use, even though audio during slo mo gets a bit distorted.

 

[tyner]

You have to select Blu-Ray.
Strg+D to open the Medium selection dialog.
"Keine Disc-Menüs" (no disc menus) is the checkbox you use if you don't want to get the menu, but the main movie instead. View attachment 67334

I did Ctrl + D and checked Blu Ray and No Disc Menus. But when I tried playing Warner's Lolital (1962) I got this error message: "VLC is unable to open the MRL 'bluray:///D:/'. Check the log for details. Blu-ray error: This Blu-ray Disc needs a library for AACS decoding, and your system does not have it.
Your input can't be opened"

But let's be clear: I'm not interested in ripping commercial BDs and backing them up as ISO files onto BD-RE media, nor transcoding them to MKV files. I want to be able to play actual commercially pressed BD movies like these https://www.criterion.com/films/28566-the-flight-of-the-phoenix and https://www.amazon.com/Psycho-Blu-r...rds=psycho&qid=1662832045&s=movies-tv&sr=1-14

just like VLC can play DVDs. Can this be done or not?

 

[cartman0208]

Are you running AnyDVD HD while trying to play?

 

[tyner]

Are you running AnyDVD HD while trying to play?

I don't have AnyDVD HD but I'd certainly buy it if I knew it could make VLC play BDs as perfectly as everyone here says it can for JRiver. https://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php/board,72.0.html

 

[cartman0208]

The error you get is because the disc is protected.
Afaik it doesn't even matter what player you use as long as it can play Bluray files: If you have AnyDVD HD installed and running, it decrypts the disc on the fly. That's what I did in my former post. And that is mainly what the program is for.

 

[DeepSpace]

Luckily, I still have no plans to begin buying 4K BDs, even if my HTPC could play them.

That's what AnyDVD is for. if you mean "luckily you don't have to install Java because you don't want to get UHD BDs", than this is wrong. You also have to install it in order to play the menu of normal BDs.

I don't have AnyDVD HD

Oh, we all (or at least I) thought that you have it and want to know how to play BDs with it.
If you don't have AnyDVD, then take a look at this: https://vlc-aacs.whoknowsmy.name/
After that, BDs should work. Of course I cannot guarantee that it suppors all discs, but at least it worked for me when I tried it. Since I have AnyDVD, I always use it, so I cannot tell if it would've worked instead.

but I'd certainly buy it

As I said, I always use VLC to play my discs and I have no issues. Well, sometimes a menu did not work that properly, but I cannot tell the reason for that (java, the disc, VLC...).
If you don't like the trailer stuff and so on, you can also use it to remove it and to get around region restrictions as well.
There is a trial for AnyDVD, just install it and try it. Install Java and then try to play a few discs. If it works, then buy it. If you have an issue, then post again.

 

[tyner]

The error you get is because the disc is protected.
Afaik it doesn't even matter what player you use as long as it can play Bluray files: If you have AnyDVD HD installed and running, it decrypts the disc on the fly. That's what I did in my former post. And that is mainly what the program is for.

WTF! Well then why couldn't any of those responding give a straight answer about this. What a huge waste of time. I mean VLC is free but Red Fox stuff is not or I'd run the test myself. But I can't believe that as popular as VLC is that no one here has yet to see if AnyDVD HD can enable VLC to play BDs.

 

[tyner]

That's what AnyDVD is for. if you mean "luckily you don't have to install Java because you don't want to get UHD BDs", than this is wrong. You also have to install it in order to play the menu of normal BDs.


Oh, we all (or at least I) thought that you have it and want to know how to play BDs with it.
If you don't have AnyDVD, then take a look at this: https://vlc-aacs.whoknowsmy.name/
After that, BDs should work. Of course I cannot guarantee that it suppors all discs, but at least it worked for me when I tried it. Since I have AnyDVD, I always use it, so I cannot tell if it would've worked instead.


As I said, I always use VLC to play my discs and I have no issues. Well, sometimes a menu did not work that properly, but I cannot tell the reason for that (java, the disc, VLC...).
If you don't like the trailer stuff and so on, you can also use it to remove it and to get around region restrictions as well.
There is a trial for AnyDVD, just install it and try it. Install Java and then try to play a few discs. If it works, then buy it. If you have an issue, then post again.

As for downloading things to make VLC BD movie compatible, this page looks easy enough https://vlc-aacs.whoknowsmy.name/ but things this page wants me to do are too complex. https://vlc-aacs.whoknowsmy.name/

Therefore, instead, please say if installing AnyDVD HD on my system will instantly enable BD movie disc playback via VLC player.

But if yes, will I still need Java to play the original menu of the BDs? If yes, how do I know if Java is installed on my system?