This article will talk about VCD player software. VCD, also called video CD, is a video format created in 1993. Tough both VCD and DVD play videos, they are pretty different. It is well known that DVD stores videos in MPEG-2, but VCD encode videos in MPEG-1 codec. If you have a VCD, you will understand that the video quality is not as good as DVD. Fortunately, most DVD player devices and software have the capacity to decompress MPEG-1 videos.

Part 1: Top 5 Free VCD Players

Download Elmedia Video Player for macOS 10.12 or later and enjoy it on your Mac. ‎Elmedia Video Player is a free media player for macOS. It can play pretty much any file type, be it AVI, MP4, FLV, SWF, WMV, MKV, MP3, M4V etc. Elmedia Video Player is an all-in-one solution that doesn't call for any additional plugins or codecs. Download copy vcd tracks for free. System Tools downloads - VCD Copy X by NS Software and many more programs are available for instant and free download. Dec 30, 2020 Top 6 DVD Player software, free download for Windows & Mac. Get Windows Media Player alternative DVD player, to work on PC and Mac, with more filters and media effects to apply with. It is also the spare solution, to deal with Windows Media Player not work, or additional requirements towards DVD videos playing. Use MediaPlayerLite - the best Free VCD media player software. Open and play a VCD file fast (and other formats). Playing VCD files now completely free! Play VCD Files - Open movies and videos in many different formats. Video, Image & Audio Player MPEG-1, MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 playback. With the Mac VCD X, you can also save the VCD to your Mac. You just have to adjust the Video saving feature of the app and the VCD will be saved to Quicktime. VLC Media Player. Is VLC available for Mac? Does VLC player play VCD? Similar as Quicktime player, VLC Media Player is a free VCD player for Mac that you can use to play your VCDs.

Top 1: Blu-ray Master Free Blu-ray Player

As mentioned previously, VCD only offers moderate video quality. Therefore, it is important to look for a powerful VCD viewer to get the best experience. Blu-ray Master Free Blu-ray Player can meet your need.

Main Features of the Best VCD Player

• 1. Play almost all video codecs including MPEG-1 and VCD.
• 2. Optimize video and audio quality automatically.
• 3. Use hardware acceleration to improve the performance.

How to Play VCD on Windows 10 for Free

Install the best VCD player

Download the best VCD player for free and install it on your computer following the onscreen instructions. Put the VCD disc into your DVD drive and launch the VCD player.

Load VCD

There are two ways to open a VCD video. Click the Open Disc button in the home interface and select Open Folder to load the VCD immediately. Alternatively, load the VCD video from the File menu on the top ribbon.

Control VCD playback

After video loading, it will begin playing in the main interface. Now, you will get several quick controls at the bottom of the screen, such as fast forward, rewind, pause, and more. If the volume is not loud enough, adjust the slider next to the Speaker icon. At important format, you can also make a snapshot by hitting the Camera icon. For advanced users, there are more settings and controls available in the top menu.

Top 2: Elmedia Player

Elmedia Player is a VCD player for Mac. It just likes other media player to play a wide range of video formats, such as MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MP4, MKV, AVI, etc. Moreover, it allows you to stream videos via AirPlay, Chromecast, DLNA-enabled devices easily.

Pros

Free Download Vcd Player For Mac Windows 7

• 1. Integrate a user-friendly interface.
• 2. Support a variety of video formats and codecs.
• 3. Play high quality videos, like 4K.
• 4. Block ads automatically when playing online videos.

Cons

• 1. The advanced features need to upgrade to Pro version.
• 2. There is no compatibility for Windows.

Top 3: VLC Media Player

VLC Media Player is the popular VCD player software for PC, Mac and Linux. It is open-source, so that everyone can download the VCD player for free. VLC already includes plentiful video codecs, including MPEG-1, AVI, MP4, MKV, and more. Besides, you are able to play Blu-ray movies via VLC easily.

Pros

• 1. Free of charge.
• 2. Play VCD on a wide range of platforms.
• 3. Keep the original video quality.
• 4. Convert VCD videos to popular video or audio formats.
• 5. Include basic video editing tools, such as trim.

Cons

• 1. It cannot create playlists or manage videos.
• 2. Most features are hidden in the menu bar and not friendly to beginners.

Top 4: Macgo Free Media Player

As its name said, Macgo Free Media Player is a free VCD player for both Windows and Mac. Though it offers a pro version, the free one is enough if you just want to open a VCD. Moreover, the video playback quality is good, according to our research.

Pros

• 1. Compatible with hardware acceleration.
• 2. Play VCD videos without lag.
• 3. Support playback on external drive, USB stick and more.
• 4. Easy to control and not require much technical skill.

Cons

• 1. It lacks some important features, like playlist.
• 2. The VCD player cannot play protected contents.

Top 5: X-VCD Player

Free Download Vcd Player Software

X-VCD Player is free to download for playing VCD. According to our test, it is virus free and rated as clean. It is compatible with Windows XP/Vista/7/8/10 32-bit. Moreover, it lets you choose specific tracks on your VCD disc for playback.

Pros

• 1. Free to use on PCs.
• 2. Zoom out or in when playing VCD.
• 3. Support most VCD discs.
• 4. Control VCD playback smoothly.
• 5. Easy to navigate in the concise interface.

Cons

• 1. It is not available to Mac or 64-bit Windows.
• 2. The interface seems outdated.
• 3. The built-in features and codecs are limited.

Part 2: FAQs about VCD Player

What is the difference between VCD vs. SVCD?

SVCD stands for Super Video CD and is the successor to video CD. VCD encode videos by MPEG-1, which SVCD contains MPEG-2 video and MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 audio. SVCD can store more data and long videos, but VCD can only store one hour digital video. The good news is that standard DVD player support both SVCD and VCD.

Why my VCD won’t play?

There are many factors can lead to VCD won’t play on computer, including both hardware and software issues. For example, if your DVD driver cannot read VCD, it won’t play. Moreover, you also need a proper VCD play program to open the disc. In such situation, you’d better check your DVD drive and then perform the troubleshoot.

Can VLC play 4K videos?

If you want to play 4K videos in VLC, you should update your media player to VLC 3.0 or later. The new versions support 4K video playback, though some users reported the crash and lag issue.

Conclusion

This post has identified and shared top 5 free VCD players for Windows, Mac and Linux. Though VCD is an old video format, many people still have a large collection of discs. Therefore, you need a media player to enjoy your video playback. If you are looking for the best choice, Blu-ray Master Free Blu-ray Player is worth to try. It is not only easy to use, but also able to offer high quality experience. More questions? Please write them down below.

What do you think of this post?

Excellent

Rating: 4.9 / 5 (109 Votes)

Here we introduce 6 free DVD players for Mac with features that make each one special and awesome, covering VLC, KMPlayer, XBMC, Mac Media Player, Apple DVD player and 5KPlayer, based on online opinion polls and a complete data analysis from download sites and reviews.

Despite the popularity of streaming services, many people still keep some old DVDs, buy new DVD releases, and play these DVDs. Can you play a DVD on an Mac computer? Yes, but you need to make sure that you have a workable DVD player for your MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, iMac, Mac mini and Mac Pro. In this article, we put together the top 6 best DVD player for macOS Big Sur 11, Catalina 10.15, Mojave 10.14, High Sierra 10.13, etc.

Tips:

1. If your Mac doesn't have a built-in DVD drive, you can check the best external DVD drive/player for Mac and choose a favorite one.
2. If you want to play a DVD on Mac without a DVD drive, you can digitize DVD first with MacX DVD Ripper Pro. It can rip both homemade and commercial DVDs to whatever formats Mac computer accepts like MOV, MP4, M4V with ease, such that you can play DVD on Macbook Pro/Air, Mac mini, iMac without a DVD drive.

Top 6 Best DVD Player for macOS Big Sur, Catalina and Earlier

1. Apple DVD Player

Apple DVD Player is an app that is bundled within Mac OS X. If you have a SuperDrive on Mac, insert a DVD into the DVD drive and the DVD Player will open automatically.

It supports all the standard DVD features such as multiple audio, video & subtitle tracks as well as Dolby Digital 5.1 passthrough, DVD access URLs and closed captions.

Some people may think that Apple's DVD Player disappears with the release of macOS 10.14 Mojave, just like other 32-bit apps. But actually not. It has been updated to a 64-bit app. Simply use Spotlight, search for DVD Player, and then you'll find it at the top of the Top Hits. Double lick on the app icon and it will launch.

Comes bundled in Mac machines and is totally free to play DVD on MacBook Pro, iMac, etc.

It is fully compatible with DVDs authored by DVD Studio Pro and iDVD.

It enforces most restrictive measures of DVD technology, such as DVD region code and user operation prohibition.

It lacks a DTS decoder, which means DTS tracks cannot be played through the Mac's built in speakers or analog output.

Older versions of DVD Player won't work on external DVD drives.

How to Play a DVD Using Apple DVD Player on Mac?

You simply need to insert a DVD and the DVD Player app will start playing it automatically. If the auto-play doesn't happen, please tap the Space bar after the DVD is recognized.

2. 5KPlayer

Sometimes Apple DVD Player will not work, so you may have to download a third-party DVD player on Mac. Free 5KPlayer is one of the best choices.

It may be new for many people but it is an awesome region-free DVD player for macOS Big Sur, Catalina, Mojave, etc. Without any ads, malware or spyware, it is 100% safe to get both homemade and copy-protected discs playing on iMac 5K, Macbook Air/Pro, Mac Mini, and more with near HD quality.

The Mac-stylish UI is highly acclaimed among DVD users. Working as an all-in-one free media player, it can also play ISO image, Video_TS folder, 4K/8K UHD videos, 3D videos, etc, all at your fingertips.

Support playing DVDs protected by region codes, CSS, RCE, Sony ARccOS, Disney DRM, etc;

Not only a free DVD player for Mac computer, but also an HD/4K UHD media player, downloader and Airplay sender/receiver;

Clean and awesome skin and UI.

Not found yet.

How to Play DVD on Mac with 5KPlayer?

After inserting a DVD, you simply need to open 5KPlayer, click the DVD button in the main interface, and then open and play your DVD.

Download 5KPlayer for Mac here: https://www.5kplayer.com/5kplayer-download-mac.htm

3. VLC Media Player

VLC is the most popular open-source and cross-platform media player that supports physical media (DVD, Audio-CD, VCD), almost all audios and videos (H264, MPEG4, MP4, MOV, AVI, Ogg, MKV, MP3, etc). It is the best option available as free DVD player for Mac OS X, Windows, Linux, Android, iOS, etc.

Technically, you can even use this Mac DVD player software to play encrypted DVD discs without the aid of any third party software, as long as your Mac computer has a DVD drive for you to insert and view your disc.

Great audio/video performance;

Support playback of encrypted DVDs from Disney, Sony, paramount, etc;

Support a wide range of media file types, including HD and Bluray discs.

The user interface is a little bit unlikeable, with skin options needing enhancement;

Run into problems like VLC won't play MKV, VLC won't play DVD and VLC audio sync from users feedbacks.

How to Use VLC to Play DVD on Mac?

1. Find VLC in Applications and open it.

2. Click Open media in VLC, choose Disc, and then select your DVD and hit Open. Then VLC will begin playing DVD on your Mac laptop or desktop.

Download VLC DVD player for Mac here: https://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-macosx.html

4. KMPlayer

KMPlayer is similar to VLC, which is also a solid open-source media player that can deal with any media and subtitle formats you throw at it, ranging from VCD, DVD, AVI, MKV, OGM, 3GP, WMV, QuickTime to compressed audio album.

The bonus features enable you to play damaged/incomplete AVI file, locked files while downloading and even play movies without worrying about formats and storage on Android and iOS. Editor from CNET gives KMplayer 4-star rating. No wonder it is one of the best DVD player for macOS to play DVD movies on Mac mini, MacBook, etc.

Easy access to subtitle management, brightness adjustments and frame captures;

Vcd Video File Player

Handle a bewildering variety of media files;

Stream local videos to your mobile device via Wi-Fi, provided you install Connect app on Android or iOS.

A preview-heavy Mac DVD movies player that throws ads and links constantly;

Sometimes fail to play DVDs on Mac due to Region Code issue

5. XBMC (now Kodi)

Labeled as the High Definition Hub for all kinds of media, XBMC Media Center joins our top 7 best DVD players working on Mac list with no ambiguity. This free open-source media center is a pretty good contender as 5KPlayer, being easy to use, slick and supported by a large community of users. It offers a number of options and settings that allow you to play DVDs on Mac OS right out of the box from the main menu something other free DVD players cannot do yet maximize DVD playback quality.

Look great from the start with lots of skins;

Stream video over a network with no effort.

Take some time to customize for Macs.

6. Mac Media Player

Macgo Free Mac Media Player is a basic but efficient program to play all kinds of media files right on your Mac, whether they originate on your computer or on a disk. As soon as you install this program, it's ready to go, so you won't have to worry about managing complicated configurations or setups before you start playing your files. It also offers super high definition visual effects & fabulous DTS5.1 audio spectacle.

A powerful high def video player with hardware acceleration capabilities.

Has the potential to use up plenty of system resources

FAQs

1. Is there a DVD player on Mac?

Yes. It is called DVD Player. This Mac DVD Player app isn't missing with the appearance of macOS Mojave. Where is the DVD Player in Mac? There're two ways to find and open it.

• Method 1. Go to System > LibraryCoreServices/ > Applications.
• Method 2. Click the little Spotlight icon in the top right corner of your Mac's screen. Search for 'DVD Player', and then the DVD Player app's icon should show up at the top of the Top Hits. Double click on the icon, and the app will launch.

2. Why is my DVD not playing on my Mac?

There are many reasons causing this:

1. System issue usually after upgrading macOS.
2. Bad or damaged superdrive. If your DVD drive is damaged, the player will not be open.
3. Region issue on commercial DVDs.
4. DVD disc is scratched or dirty. In this case, your DVD disc player can accept discs but they do not mount or are automatically ejected.
5. Unsupported DVDs such as some commercial DVDs. If your DVD discs are not supported, the player will go to a black screen and then unexpectedly quit.

Solutions: As the reasons about DVD player not working above, you can find the corresponding way to fix DVD not playing problems, such as repairing or purchasing a new DVD drive, removing DVD region code, cleaning the dirty DVD discs, fixing the scratched DVDs, converting unsupported DVD to MP4 and the like, etc.

3. Why Apple DVD Player says 'Not Permitted'?

If this error message pops up for certain DVDs, it may be because it doesn't support the DVD protection or DVD type; if this error appears for every DVD, the problem might be the settings. For more details, you can read 'How to Fix Apple DVD Player Not Permitted Error on Mac'.

4. Why does DVD Player say 'supported disc not available'?

This message appears when there is no disc in the DVD drive or when it can't recognize video content burned onto certain types of DVD-RW discs. You can burn the content into a DVD-R disc. For more details, check article 'How to Fix Supported Disc Not Available'.

5. Why does DVD Player say 'skipping over damaged area'?

This is because your DVD is scratched. Check 'How to Fix Scratched DVD'.

6. Why does Mac automatically eject DVD?

It happens because you insert a DVD whose region is different from the one the DVD drive is set to, and you don't change the region code when prompted, or when you have reached the maximum number of region changes.

7. How to play DVD on QuickTime?

Many users wonder how to play a DVD on QuickTime. But actually, QuickTime can't play DVD. You can either use the dedicated DVD Player app on Mac or a third-party program.