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Solutions to Fix DVD Not Playing Issue

Get a new DVD and you are eager to watch it on Mac or TV. Just insert the DVD disc into the DVD-ROM, and wait for DVD loading and playing in anticipation. However, not every time this task can be accomplished and you may encounter DVD not playing issue. How could this happen? Generally speaking, when a DVD won't play, it can be the fault of DVD disc itself, DVD drive or DVD player. If you're having same trouble playing DVDs, it is lucky for you to find this post which will explain why DVD not playing in details and provide varied solutions to fix DVD not playing issue.

Part 1: Why Can't Play DVD?

Part 2: How to Fix DVD Not Playing Issue?

Part 3: Best solution to Solve DVD Not Playing Issue

Part 1: Why Can't Play DVD?

You may fail to play DVD for a variety of reasons. And here, we will list the most common causes in details. When the DVD not playing issue occurs, again consider the following reasons.

A. DVD Disc Problems

Sometimes, it is your DVD disc itself that causes DVD not playing issue.  If DVD disc is responsible for the DVD playback failure, then what causes it? Please keep on reading.

Reasons:

1. DVD disc is dirty, scratched or damaged.

2. DVD won't play if DVD disc is a non-standard one, e.g., both IFO and BUP files of your DVD disc are missing, the DVD disc is made by yourself with some misconduct, etc.

3. The DVD disc is inconsistent with your DVD drive in terms of DVD region code. For instance, your DVD disc is released to play in Region 2, but your DVD drive is the product for Region 1 DVD disc playback. Thus, you will fail to play DVDs.

B. DVD Drive Problems

In some instances, it is common to insert your DVD into your drive and nothing happens. Generally, DVD drives have proven to be very reliable, which means such outright failures are not a common occurrence. Such problems are likely to be caused by:

Reasons:

1. The DVD drive is dirty or lacks lubrication, which is especially severe if your DVD drive is placed in a dusty and smoky environment.

2. Your external DVD drive mismatches with your Mac computer, or it get damaged partially or thoroughly.

3. Some external DVD drives can't work after macOS upgrading to El Capitan or macOS Sierra.

4. Mac default player QuickTime doesn't support DVD MPEG-2 format, which means if you play DVD in QuickTime, you will be disappointed.

5. Another Mac default player VLC supports DVD disc playback. Yet, sometimes, VLC won't play DVD if you accidently delete libdvdcss on Mac or forget to solve the system incompatibility issue after macOS upgrading.

C. DVD Player Problems

Another possible reason for DVD not playing on TV issue is DVD player problem. To dig further, what results in the DVD player problems? The potential reasons are listed below:

Reasons:

1. The cable connection between DVD player and television might be loose.

2. There is something wrong with DVD player settings.

3. The DVD Player's optical reader is working incorrectly (lens which 'reads' the data from DVDs).

Part 2: How to Fix DVD Not Playing Issue?

When you encounter DVD not playing issue arouse by these reasons mentioned above, it may be resolved with the following troubleshooting tips.

For DVD Disc Problems :

1. Clean Your Disc:

a. With a soft, lint-free cloth, wipe gently in a radial direction (a straight line between the hub and the rim). Never clean your disc in a circular direction.

b. Do not use strong cleaners, abrasives, solvents, or acids.

c. Do not use canned or compressed air, which can be very cold and may thermally stress the disc.

d. For stubborn dirt or gummy adhesive, use water, water with mild soap, or isopropyl alcohol. As a last resort, try peanut oil. Let the peanut oil sit on the disc for about one minute before wiping it off.

e. There are also commercial products available that clean discs and provide some protection from dust, fingerprints, and scratches. Cleaning products labeled for use on CDs will work as well as those that are labeled for DVD use.

2. Use a DVD repair software to repair damaged DVD disc.

3. Re-purchase or rent a new DVD disc to play on Mac or TV if the DVD disc can't be repaired.

4. Convert Region 2 DVD to Region 1 or remove region code from DVD to change region code to region zero with a powerful DVD region code remover.

For DVD Drive Problems :

1. Purchase a DVD laser lens cleaner on Amazon or eBay, which will help you clean up the dust and dirt from DVD drive (DVD player).

2. Change a new DVD drive after you make sure the current one is mismatched with your Mac computer or it's severely damaged.

3. Reset the System Management Controller providing DVD won't play only after macOS upgrading.

4. Try other DVD players for Mac like 5KPlayer, KMPlayer, MPlayer, etc. if there is nothing you can do to rescue VLC back to normal.

For DVD Player Problems :

1. To Reset Your Player:

a. Remove all discs from the player and turn it off.

b. Once the player is turned off, unplug it from the power source. No other cables need to be removed from the player or from other components of your home entertainment system.

c. Please wait five to ten minutes to ensure that your player has reset, and then plug it back into the power source.

d. After the player is plugged in, turn it on as you normally would, put the disc back into the player and see if it will load.

2.  Unplug the cables connecting the DVD player to the TV. Replug the cables and make sure the connections are tight. Make sure you have the DVD output cables going to the television input jacks

3. Your DVD player settings are seemingly much more complicated than you imagine. Don't adjust the DVD settings at random. Seek help from the expert if you are a layman.

4. To correct your DVD player's optical reader, follow this guide to solve DVD trays problems.

5. Buy a new DVD player if all else fails.

Part 3: Best solution to Solve DVD Not Playing Issue

Forget about the DVD player and DVD drive for Mac restoring work, if all the above solutions fail. One much simpler way is to play DVD on Mac in digital format without using a specific Mac DVD drive. To reach this, try Pavtube ByteCopy for Mac (Review) to remove all the DVD region codes, copyright protections and rip any DVD discs to MP4, MOV, MKV, VOB, MPEG-2, AVI, FLV, etc. QuickTime, VLC supported digital formats. Thus , you can play any DVD on Mac/TV without using DVD disc and buying a new external DVD drive.

butecopy for MAC

You may worry about this action will lower the video audio quality. Don't worry at all! This software can 1:1 entire copy DVD with original video structure or copy DVD only preserving the DVD video main title. Secondly, it can backup DVD to lossless MKV with multiple subtitle/audio streaming and all chapter markers then stream the DVD movies with VLC on Mac. All the output movie files in our test remain high video and audio quality, and there was hardly any quality loss. Futhermore, it also works as a perfect DVD movie editor and you are able to copy DVD with your desired video effects, for example: rotate the videos, trim video, crop video, add subtitles to video, etc.

Just download the best DVD ripper to fix all DVD not playing problems by following the guides below:

Related Guide with Pavtube ByteCopy for Mac:

How to convert your DVD to MP4 on Mac?

Best solution to copy DVD to lossless MKV

How to Rip/Convert DVD to MP4 with Multiple Audio Tracks on Mac?

DVD to MKV Conversion on Mac

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