How To Play Dvd On Macbook Air

The removal of DVD and CD drives from the Mac range has been and then ruthless that i would take thought the optical storage format was dead. Truthful, the likes of Netflix and Amazon Prime number Video are now a massively pop way of consuming films and Goggle box shows – simply when (frequently) those services haven't got the movie you desire, or if y'all merely don't want to pay a monthly subscription, your old trusty DVD picture library comes into its own.

In this article we evidence how to play a DVD on a Mac. Nosotros start by covering the straightforward scenario: when y'all've got an older Mac that has an integrated optical bulldoze. Then we move on to selecting, buying and connecting an external DVD drive, and finally wait at how to run the DVD on a separate Mac and access information technology using the Remote Disc feature.

For related tasks, read our tutorials showing how to rip a DVD to a Mac and how to burn DVDs on a Mac.

Play a DVD through your Mac's optical drive

Playing a DVD on a Mac that has an integrated optical bulldoze couldn't be easier. Insert the DVD into the SuperDrive; the DVD Player app should open automatically, and first running the disc.

(DVD player has become more than difficult to find in macOS Mojave, incidentally. If information technology doesn't start playing automatically, open Spotlight by clicking the magnifying glass icon in the peak right, or striking Cmd + Space. Then start typing DVD Actor and yous'll see it at the superlative of the search results.)

Like all DVDs it should open at the Menu, and yous can then click Play to start the flick. Yous tin use the mouse to click on menu options.

When the moving-picture show plays the onscreen controls quickly vanish, but if you nudge the mouse they'll appear again. At the bottom of the display are shuttle controls, which you can use to play/cease the movie, skip chapters, command book and so on.

Connect an external DVD bulldoze

Sadly the in a higher place technique won't be bachelor – at least in this straightforward course – for anyone who bought their Mac in the by few years. Recent Macs have no concrete drive for you to play CDs or DVDs.

But in that location's another uncomplicated solution: purchase and connect an external optical drive, and play the DVD through that.

If yous want to stick with the official Apple tree kit, the company sells a USB SuperDrive for £79/$79. This connects happily to any USB-equipped Mac or MacBook… merely once again, check your machine's ports advisedly, because that's USB-A, and many recent MacBooks just have USB-C. (Apple sells a USB to USB-C adapter for £19/$19.)

One time connected information technology acts only like an internal SuperDrive: insert a DVD and it plays as normal. Similar other SuperDrives you tin besides use information technology to play CD sound and tape both CDs and DVDs.

Equally ever, bear in mind that Apple's offer is a proficient one that will work well with your other Apple kit, merely it's not the cheapest. The LG GP57EW40 Portable is an appealing pick at £34.25, but our roundup of the best DVD and Blu-ray players for Mac suggests other alternatives to consider.

Utilise another Mac and Remote Disc

Another feature yous might be able to use is Remote Disc. This allows you to insert a DVD into a bulldoze on one Mac, and watch it over a network using another. To turn on Remote Disc, follow these steps:

Open System Preferences on the computer with the DVD drive, and click on Sharing.
Tick DVD or CD Sharing. Note that this choice just appears if you lot've got an optical drive – on other Macs the first option volition exist Screen Sharing.

You'll now be able to insert the DVD into this bulldoze, and apply it on some other reckoner. Annotation that this doesn't work for audio CDs or copy-protected DVDs (which is most commercial DVDs). For these you need to still use a direct continued SuperDrive.

How to play a DVD on Mac: Apple Remote Disc