Microsoft decided not to include Windows Media Center in Windows 10 and did not reintroduce it in Windows 11.
So, unfortunately, neither Windows 10 nor Windows 11 can play DVDs out of the box.
Microsoft is reluctant to pay license costs for DVD playback in light of the proliferation of streaming services and the rise of laptops without optical disc drives.
On the other hand, many people amass extensive DVD collections.
Let’s see, how exactly do they manage to play DVDs on Windows now?
For Windows, what is the best free DVD player software?
We’ll cover the most frequently asked questions regarding playing DVDs on Windows 10 & 11 and recommend the top 10 free DVD players for that platform.
The following DVD player applications have been selected according to their Operating System compliance, media playing performance, user interface, installations on CNET, Softonic, and other third-party download page sites, and user reviews.
Read the reviews below to learn more about the top free DVD player software for Windows.
Best Free DVD Player for Windows 2024
- PowerDVD
- VideoLan Media Player (VLC)
- PotPlayer
- 5K Player
- GOM Media Player
- Leawo Player
- KMPlayer
1. PowerDVD
It should be no surprise that the newest edition of PowerDVD, widely regarded as the greatest free DVD player for Windows, has various audio and visual playback options.
Three separate PowerDVD 19 editions are available: Standard, Pro, and Ultra.
Each has its price and set of video and audio playback tools.
PowerDVD Standard is compatible with Windows 8.1 and 7; however, it requires Windows 10 to play 4K videos.
PowerDVD can play DVDs and Blu-rays, but it can also download films, 360° VR videos, music, or image files and stream them to a TV.
The True Theater technology included in this legendary media player improves the hues of any video you play with support for high dynamic range (HDR).
If you want to use PowerDVD 19 to play back 8K or HDR movies, you’ll need to upgrade to the Ultra edition.
Usability And Interface
PowerDVD has two interface designs: one for use on a computer, and another, TV Mode, for usage on television via remote control.
Cyberlink’s Power Remote software allows you to use your phone as a remote control, allowing you to sit back and relax while watching your favorite shows.
While the TV Mode interface is straightforward, the PC version may use some fine-tuning in the finer points.
It can be unclear to tell where one dialogue box finishes and another starts in a cascade.
Furthermore, the contextualization of the popup menus isn’t always perfect, resulting in the display of several options that are irrelevant to the current work.
Playback
Replaying anything is a breeze. In addition to practically every video format available, it can play back a variety of audio formats, including WMA, MP3, FLAC, and ALAC.
You’ll be happy to know that it feels quite simple to transition between different formats and quickly move from online multimedia on hard drives to digital downloads as part of a marathon session with friends, as we do.
Cloud Storage
It’s now possible to share your home videos with loved ones by storing them on the cloud. Up to 40 high-definition movies can be stored in 100GB of available space.
Simply upload a file, then copy the link to that file and distribute it to your friends and relatives.
Then, if you or your friends wish to view the movies on a computer or smartphone, you may do so by installing the free PowerPlayer app (available for iOS and Android).
2. VideoLan Media Player (VLC)
As VLC has been around for a long time, we hardly feel the need to introduce it to anyone. Indeed, it is one of the most downloaded media players today.
Almost every DVD format is supported so that you can enjoy your favorites without problems.
The software is simple to operate, plays DVDs you enter instantly, and includes useful tools such as audio synchronization, slideshow, subtitle addition, and many others.
Users worldwide have praised the software as not just one of the top media players but also a capable DVD player due to its cross-platform interoperability.
Play Almost Every Format
VLC Media Player supports virtually any video file format. Open-source software has the added benefit of constantly including community-driven code.
Therefore, thousands of people worldwide may help shape this amazing resource.
The takeaway is that VLC is your best bet for playing music files that are incompatible with other players or have decoder problems.
Plays RAR Files
To the uninitiated, this may seem unusual or common, but it comes in helpful when dealing with large quantities of compressed music.
Rather than manually extracting the music’s media and utilizing valuable storage space, you may just open the RAR file from the File menu.
Have any idea what’s going to happen next? VLC does a fantastic job with it.
3. PotPlayer
Wish there was a media player to deliver high-quality playback with minimal hardware requirements. Then your needs will be completely met by PotPlayer.
Free DVD player for Windows that takes advantage of accelerated hardware support via Nvidia CUDA, DVXA, and QuickSync by Intel.
PotPlayer is one of the top media players, although others employ the same technologies.
It’s neat that if you have more than one sound card installed on your laptop, you may select the one you wish to use with this player.
Audio and video content from Blu-ray discs and other DVD formats is available for your enjoyment.
PotPlayer can work with various codecs, so don’t worry if you need to install some.
Settings And Usability
PotPlayer provides a wide variety of customization options. You can save your player configurations as an a.reg file once you’ve tweaked the settings to your preference.
If you plan on installing it on another system and prefer not to reconfigure it, this file will come in handy.
After the program is installed, you must double-click the exported PotPlayer settings file to apply them to your player before starting it for the first time.
Under the Playback tab, you’ll find the options for playing your videos.
Unfortunately, PotPlayer’s default settings disable a feature that can be quite helpful.
The Show thumbnail option is placed at the bottom of the current window.
Activating this feature will show you a preview of the currently playing video at any time throughout the playback.
Moving the mouse pointer over the seek bar during playback will bring up a preview of the video in a small box directly above the seek bar in the player window.
4. 5K Player
If you’re using Windows, 5K Player is an excellent free DVD player. High-definition (HD) video plays back flawlessly on it.
In fact, that’s why 5k Player exists. In addition to playing DVDs on Windows, it has additional features. Online videos and videos you’ve downloaded to watch later can be played on it.
Enables DVD Playback
Many of you aren’t aware that Windows 10 doesn’t let you watch DVDs. 5KPlayer gets over this pesky restriction, so you can watch DVDs without installing any extra software.
An optical disc can be inserted into a player, or a local DVD image file can be chosen. However, Blu-ray discs might not work in the player.
Hardware Acceleration
Simply put, 5KPlayer can play just about any video format.
With its built-in Hardware Acceleration, 5KPlayer can easily play 4K and 8K videos due to the computer’s graphics card and central processing unit.
In contrast to other media players, this one has no trouble handling high resolutions.
You can watch 4K videos without any delays or interruptions, even if your computer isn’t particularly powerful.
5. GOM Media Player
If you want to read subtitles while watching movies, then you need GOM Player.
It works with every popular subtitle format and can even find and sync subtitles for videos that don’t have one built in.
The subtitles can be toggled on and off with the press of a button, and their position and size can be modified using a corresponding control in the interface.
User Experience
GOM Player’s sleek design comes at the sacrifice of usability, however. Only the most essential playback controls are displayed.
You’ll need to use the menu system if you desire to do anything else, like modify the audio or video settings.
Like many other media players, you can change the look of GOM Player by applying a skin. The default appearance can be fully altered by installing a new theme.
On the other hand, these skins are just ornamental, so altering the look won’t make a difference if you don’t like the menu system.
Once you become acquainted with GOM Player and its oddities, it has the potential to replace your current media player.
The desktop software may be managed from the convenience of your couch using a mobile app called GOM Remote.
360-Degree Videos
That GOM Player can play 360-degree videos is probably its most intriguing feature. If you own a 360-degree camera, this feature is crucial for checking out what you’ve captured.
This video player’s mouse wheel scrolling feature makes it easy to skip through multiple clips at once.
Additionally, a simultaneous view of all four sides can be seen in the four interactive windows on the right.
Videos shot with 360-degree cameras can be played on other devices as well. The best thing is that you can watch 360-degree films on YouTube without ever leaving the app.
Attention to detail like this is what makes GOM Player a compelling product.
6. Leawo Player
Regarding Windows, Leawo is a close second to the finest DVD player. The Bluetooth Blu-ray player can also play DVDs, high-definition videos, ISO files, and audio.
Leawo is compatible with Windows 7, 8, and 10.
Leawo can convert 720P, 1080P, 1080i, and 4K videos without compromising quality (2160P). Finally, Leawo supports hardware acceleration, which can vastly enhance video playing quality.
Devices And Formats
Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7, Vista, and XP are only some of the Windows versions that Leawo is compatible with.
It is compatible with various music and video file types, including DVD, MP4, MKV, MOV, MPEG, AVI, and WTV, as well as MP3, M4A, FLAC, and many more.
High-quality video playback is also a welcome feature, with support for files up to 4K resolution in MKV, MP4, and TS and 1080p resolution in all other common media file types.
Needs Improvements
Leawo Blu-ray Player is an excellent DVD player, but it still needs to improve because there are instances when the software is unreliable, and there is no audio or sound when playing DVDs, Blu-rays, or videos.
Leawo is a DVD player that can also play HD video files and does so smoothly.
However, the software’s file management features are abysmal; you won’t have an easy time adding videos or music to your playlists or customizing how you access them.
7. KMPlayer
KMPlayer is a free Windows DVD player that supports many different file types, including DVDs, VCDs, AVIs, MKVs, OGGs, OGMs, 3GPs, WMVs, MPEG-4s, FLVs, and QuickTime movies.
It can process a variety of subtitle formats.
Users also have the option to record audio and take screenshots throughout this time. Playing back content in a 3D format at home is like being transported to a movie theater.
Advanced Features
KMP employs DirectShow filters and offers support for both built-in and third-party codecs for all mainstream audio and video formats, supporting Blu-ray and DVDs.
Music, videos, pictures, playlists, closed captions, and even CD images can all be played on it.
The program supports all modern operating systems, such as Windows 8 and above, as well as 32-bit and 64-bit architectures.
It supports various languages and has customizable skins and shortcut keys. The use of both CPU and RAM is relatively low.
After the playing is complete, the laptop can be automatically powered off.
KMPlayer is a famous video player that, such as VLC, can play AVI files despite their incompleteness or corruption and protects media files throughout the sharing or downloading process.
There is no cost involved.
Final Word
DVDs may appear to be a relic of the past, but the movie and TV fans still prefer to keep their collections in physical form.
The aforementioned free DVD players for Windows 10 & 11 are among the most popular and well-known applications available.
