Playing Blu-Rays on a Mac is a little trickier. If you want to watch 4K Blu-Rays, you’ll need a 4K external monitor connected to the Mac. UHD Blu-Rays support 4K which is higher than Mac’s native display. Standard Blu-Rays have a resolution of 1080P. What if you want to watch higher resolution discs on your Mac? You’ll need to upgrade to Blu-rays. In other words, the quality of the DVD is much worse than Mac’s resolution. The resolution on most DVDs is 720×480, also known as 480P. Keep in mind, the native resolution of the new 2020 M1 Macs is 2560×1600. Most Macs natively support DVD files, and the default-free apps can open the movies with no problems. Generally, opening a DVD is not as complicated as opening a Blu-Ray on Macs. VLC was recently optimized for the latest M1 Macs. VLC is available for Macs and supports all kinds of media formats, including Blu Ray files. If Apple DVD Player cannot open the media, I suggest using VLC Media Player. The easiest app to use is called Apple DVD Player and it’s included in the Mac OS. You usually do not need software to play DVDs on a Mac because the default apps should be able to open the media. Do You Need Software to Play DVDs on a Mac? Most external drives support DVD burning too, but you should double-check the drive’s specifications to be sure. Just plug them into your Mac, pop in a DVD, and your Mac should automatically detect the media. These drives should be plug and play, meaning you don’t need any software to use them. Apple also has their own version called Apple USB Super Drive. Here is one recommended USB-C powered external DVD drive. Most external USB-C DVD drives will include the adapter for your convenience. If you want to use the external DVD drive with a PC or laptop that has USB ports, you can buy a USB-C to USB-A physical adapter. It’s also possible to connect a regular USB external DVD drive to a USB-C hub that has traditional USB ports. The easiest way to play DVDs on a new Mac is with an external DVD drive that can connect through USB-C. Don’t throw out that DVD collection! How to Play DVDs on a Mac? When you’re done reading this article, you’ll know exactly how to watch DVDs on a Macbook that does not have a DVD drive. How do you play DVDs on a Mac? What do you need? So you have a DVD collection, but you noticed that your new Mac does not include a DVD drive or even a traditional USB port.

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