Blu-ray are still very popular in the distribution of films intended for home use: the high quality of the video and audio distributed in this format still puts it in a privileged position compared to simple legal streaming, given that films are unlikely very high quality (4K UHD HDR) are as enjoyable as streaming on a Blu-ray. While waiting for the technology (and the average speed of the Internet) to completely supplant the production of optical discs, to enjoy our new Smart TV or home theater system we will have to buy a Blu-ray. But how can we manage these optical disks on a normal computer ">
Blu-ray burners
Before going into the knowledge of the programs necessary to better manage Blu-ray, we will have to make sure that your computer has a Blu-ray player or burner. We then check the reader door and check if there are the Blu-ray logo (a B surrounded by an arch) or specific technology writings.
If we have no Blu-ray player or burner, we can remedy it by choosing one of the products that can be purchased at a good price directly online.
We can choose for example an external USB Blu-ray burner, very convenient to use both on a fixed PC and on a laptop (we can also store it away when not in use, so as not to clutter the area where the PC is present); the best models are available below.
- Portable External 4K Blu Ray DVD Burner Player (88 €)
- Moglor 4K Blu Ray DVD Player (89 €)
- techPulse120 Blu Ray Dvd Burner Player, 4K 3D USB 3.0 (90 €)
If instead we wanted to save money and focus only on an internal Blu-ray burner, which can be integrated into any case for fixed PCs, we can choose the models shown below.
- LG DVD / Blu-ray burner (68 €)
- Pioneer Internal Optical Drive Burner (76 €)
- Asus, Blu-ray burner (80 €)
Programs to read Blu-ray
Let's start with the programs needed to read Blu-ray Videos, so we can enjoy a movie directly from the computer monitor. For this guide I will recommend only the free programs, so that you can enjoy the movies without having to spend additional money on watching.Note : CDs with programs are available on some recorders, including some video players. We recommend using these programs (if available) for reading Blu-ray, so as to always obtain the highest quality.
Free Blu-ray Player
The first free video player that we recommend to use to read Blu-ray Video is Free Blu-ray Player.
Once the program is installed on the computer, we insert the optical disc into our burner, look for it in the Start menu and, having reached the interface, press the Open Disc button to be able to select the Blu-ray to open. In a few seconds we will have access to the menu of the film and we will be able to view it on our computer.
This player is available for free without time limits, but may not read some types of disc and provide a lower quality than expected (limitations that can be removed only by purchasing the full version).
Leawo Free Blu-ray Player
Another free program that we can use to view Blu-ray Videos is Leawo Free Blu-ray Player.
After installing it on our computer, insert our Blu-ray into the burner, double click on its icon (present on the desktop or in the Start menu) then open the disc icon, present in the center of the interface.
This will allow us to display the initial menu and start watching the film or special content.
This program is available for free without time limits and, compared to the previous one, it can read any disc, even at the highest quality!
VLC
If we are looking for a truly free and open source program to read Blu-ray, we can rely on the dear VLC, with the addition of some small changes (necessary to access the encrypted contents of the Blu-ray Video).
After installing VLC on our computer, go to the Blu-ray plugins page and click on Get the file (above) and on That file below, based on the version of Windows in use (if 32 or 64bit). We will thus obtain two very important files for reading Blu-ray on VLC: KEYDB.cfg and libaacs.dll .
The first file ( KEYDB.cfg ) we will have to place it inside the aacs folder, to be created within the path C: \ Users \% USERNAME% \ AppData (we can insert this path directly in the address bar within File Explorer, so as to immediately view the folder). The second file ( libaacs.dll ), we will have to place it instead in the main folder of VLC, that is C: \ Program Files \ VideoLAN \ VLC .
After this initial configuration we open VLC, press the CTRL + D keys on the keyboard, select the Blu-ray item in the window that will appear, make sure that the right burner is selected in the path Device to disk (in case we can always use the Browse button to fix ), then click Play at the bottom to start playing the movie.
Programs to rip Blu-ray
If instead we wanted to transfer the film contained within a Blu-ray into a convenient video file to save on PC, below we show you the best free programs to use for the purpose.HandBrake
One of the best programs to rip Blu-ray to the highest quality is definitely HandBrake.
Using this program for ripping is quite simple: we insert the Blu-ray into the burner, open the program and click on the disc icon or on Source -> Disc . After the initial upload, we will show the videos on the disc: select the one relating to the main film, choose the container ( MKV ), video ( H264 ) and audio ( AAC ) codec then click on the top of Start to start the conversion of the final video file. Depending on the speed of the processor in use, it may take from half an hour to 2 hours for the conversion: it is therefore better to get comfortable and wait.
To learn more about the use of this excellent program, we invite you to read our guide on Converting videos to MP4 or MKV on PC and Mac with Handbrake .
MakeMKV
Another free program that we can use to rip Blu-ray into a convenient video file is MakeMKV.
With this program we will be able to quickly convert the film of the disc into an MKV file, compatible with any Smart TV or other modern device. To use it, simply insert the Blu-ray into the burner, open the program, click on the disc icon at the top left, wait for the loading then select (in the list of contents on the left) the video of the film; to finalize the operation, choose a destination folder in the Output folder field, choose a conversion profile in the Profile field, then click the Make MKV button at the top right.
The conversion process will start and we will be able to check the progress in real time: depending on the power of the PC, it may take even a few hours to complete the process.
If you want to discover other programs to rip CD, DVD and Blu-ray, we invite you to read our guide to the 10 programs to copy DVD (Ripping) on PC .
Programs to decipher Blu-ray
Practically all Blu-ray Video on the market have advanced protections to prevent pirates from copying films; these limitations will prevent us from using some of the programs already reported, in particular those of ripping. Since personal copying of the content is allowed, we can temporarily remove Blu-ray protection systems using the programs available below.AnyDVD HD
The best Blu-ray decryption program is without a shadow of a doubt AnyDVD HD.
By leaving this small tool active (it will be placed silently in the lower right bar, among the system icons) we will be able to decrypt any protected Blu-ray on the fly, without clicking on any button, we will in fact just have to insert the disc and use the desired ripping program.
AnyDVD HD is available for free for 21 days, after which it will stop working unless we purchase a license.
DVDFab Passkey for DVD
Another useful program for removing Blu-ray protection systems is DVDFab Passkey for DVD.
With this program we will be able to decode on the fly all the contents of the Blu-ray (as seen for AnyDVD), and rip the contents of the optical disc on our hard disk, so as to have a copy of the entire Blu-ray saved inside the computer, ready to be ripped.
The "on the fly" decoding features of the program are free for 30 days, after which we will have to purchase a user license in order to use the program without limits; compared to AnyDVD however, we can use the Lite version when the test expires, which allows you to rip all the Blu-ray on the hard disk inside a folder or generate an ISO file (obviously longer than the encoding on the fly) .
Programs to burn empty Blu-ray discs
If our intention is to burn empty Blu-ray discs on the market (for data backups, films etc.), in this guide we will show you the best free Blu-ray compatible disc burning programs.
ImgBurn
The best free program that we recommend to use to burn an empty Blu-ray is ImgBurn.
We can use it for all the purposes with which a Blu-ray is usually used; for example, if we have to burn an ISO file of an original Blu-ray Video, just click Burn an image, select the ISO file to burn in the Source field, insert the empty disc in the burner, select the latter in the field Destination and finally click on the button at the bottom left (with the icon identical to that of the button pressed on the home screen).
If instead we want to burn files or folders inside a Blu-ray (recreating the structure of a Blu-ray data), select in the initial screen of the program Burn files and folders, click on the buttons next to the Source section ( Search for a file or Search for a folder ), select the burner in the Destination field, insert an empty Blu-ray into it and then click on the button at the bottom left (with the icon identical to the one pressed on the home screen).
The program is always free and has no limitations: we can burn any type of Blu-ray, burn multiple discs at the same time and also check the burned data, so as to be sure that you have not done anything wrong.
Ashampoo Burning Studio FREE
Another very complete free program to be able to burn any type of Blu-ray is Ashampoo Burning Studio FREE.
This free suite allows you to burn a Blu-ray data in a very simple way: we open the program, click on Burn Data, insert the disc in the burner then choose all the files or folders to be included; when ready, we click Burn to start the burning process. In addition to burning data and ISO, we can use it to create customized Blu-rays with audio and video data and to copy the structure of an original Blu-ray, so that we can burn it later.
The program is always free but may require a (free) license, obtainable after registering via email (with the relative subscription to the newsletter).
If you are looking for other free programs for burning, we invite you to read our guide on How to Burn CDs and DVDs for free (Windows and Mac) .
Conclusions
As we have seen, with a series of free programs (or trials), we can manage all types of Blu-ray very well, avoiding to spend a capital on expensive and difficult to use programs.If we have a damaged Blu-ray in our hands, we can attempt recovery by reading our guide on how to recover files from a damaged, damaged or unreadable CD DVD BR disc .
We are looking for free programs to convert Blu-ray videos from one format to another "> Best programs to convert videos.
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