Play/Watch DVD on MacBook Air - Rip DVD to MP4/M4V on MacBook Air. MacBook Air is one of the best-selling Mac ultraportable notebook computers in 2020. With the new Mac laptop, users will have better processor, 128GB-1TB large storage, True Tone display, advanced graphic card, thin and classic design, etc. After you’ve installed Remote Disc on any Mac or PC with a CD or DVD drive, the MacBook Air can connect to that computer and read the disc in the drive as if it were its own.
- Macbook Air Dvd Player
- How To Watch Dvd On Macbook Air Screen
- How To Watch Dvd On Macbook Air Keyboard Cover
- How To Watch Dvd On Macbook Air 2
- How To Watch Dvd On Macbook Air
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Apple Airplay allows wireless streaming of audio, video, and photos, together with related metadata between devices. With airplay, all of a sudden, your great photos, the perfect party mix and wonderful movies are on the big screen and the best speakers. (Read How to use AirPlay on iPhone or iPad and watch Amazon Prime on Apple TV using AirPlay)
In this article, I will show you how to immediately stream DVDs to your Apple TV with the help of AirPlay Mirroring.
![Air Air](https://cdn.cultofmac.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/P1040502.jpg)
The problem with DVDs and Apple TV
Many people have a lot of DVDs (technically, the specification is called DVD-Video). You probably know the VIDEO_TS and AUDIO_TS folders with the VOB files. The problem is: This format is not compatible with your Apple TV and can’t be streamed directly via AirPlay.
Solution 1: Rip DVD to Apple TV
So you have to re-encode it first (for instance with Handbrake, an open source video transcoder).
And to cope with protected DVDs, you can turn to Pavtube DVDAid for Mac or BDMagic for Mac to help you easily convert DVD files to playback on Apple TV on Mac with just a few clicks so that you can play DVD freely without any external tool.
But since re-encoding takes some time, needs software & know-how and eventually some space on your hard disc, here is another solution.
Solution 2: Playing DVDs with AirPlayMac with DVD drive
Here’s my hardware. Just a common Macbook Pro with the Superdrive (an external USB CD/DVD drive). But you can use any another Mac with DVD drive, as long as it is compatible with AirPlay Mirroring (Mac requirements for AirPlay Mirroring).
Apple DVD Player Software won’t work
The first thing that comes into your mind is probably using the DVD Player Software that usually opens when you insert a DVD. But this won’t work and will just show you the error message “The viewer could not be moved to selected screen.” Why? Seems like a copyright thing that it’s just not legally allowed and therefore suppressed by Apple.
AirPlay DVDs with VLC
Macbook Air Dvd Player
When it comes to playing videos, in most cases VLC is the answer. Go to “File > Open Disc…” in VLC and open your DVD. (Here is how to stream DVD to VOB for Playback on Mac via VLC, also you can sync iTunes video with VLC)
Enable AirPlay Mirroring and make sure that you see the VLC window on your TV. Double Click in the video window for fullscreen and start your movie. Here we go… video and audio is streamed to your TV.
How To Watch Dvd On Macbook Air Screen
Just in case if there are any performance troubles: Here are some Tips for improving AirPlay Mirroring Performance.
And what about the legal thing? Seems like the combination of open source software and French law helps us here because software is not recognised as patentable in France/EU (details see If VLC can ship a free DVD player, why can’t Microsoft?)
I haven’t tried this for Blu-Ray disc (because I neither have a drive nor discs) but I think this should work for Blu-Ray, too.
I would say that this is a great solution which will replace my Phillips DVD Player (saves some space in the living room). What do you think? Crazy, eh? Now, pass the popcorn, the movie’s about to get really good…
'I just purchased a MacBook Air and really like it, but I still need to occasionally use DVDs for installing software and watching movies. What options do I have?' - Asked by Steven Lange
'I'm considering getting a MacBook Air, but don't understand how people survive without a DVD Drive to install programs and stuff. Does it have one?' - Asked by Jack L
The MacBook Air is a slim, ultra-portable computer developed and manufactured by Apple Inc. Whether 13.3-inch or 11.6-inch of MacBook Air has no physical drive to play CDs, DVDs or Blu-rays on. In such circumstances, playing DVD movies on a MacBook Air somewhat more challenging for the DVD collectors.
Besides, even if you equipped your Mac with an external DVD drive, problem remains when you play the unsupported discs like commercial DVDs, store-bought DVDs, or region code protected DVDs etc. In order to playing DVDs on MacBook Air without any issues, there are some options available to you. Today I would like to introduce you the best reliable workaround to deal with that.
How to Play Any DVDs on MacBook Air Flawlessly?
If you want to play and watch any DVDs on MacBook Air, first you should make sure that a DVD drive (USB 2.0 or above) is connected with your MacBook Air and the internet connection is well. Then download a Mac DVD to video ripper from network resources, which lets you easily converting your DVDs to video files in any popular video format.
For DVD ripping software, VideoSolo DVD Ripper is highly recommended here. The tool not only be used as a free DVD media player, but also allows you to rip the DVD disc, DVD folder, DVD IFO files to video/audio formats including MP4, MKV, AVI, WMV, M4V, MOV, FLV, MP3, WMA, AAC, M4A, etc. with fast conversion speed and high output video quality on Mac OS X (including Mac OS X 10.7 or above (macOS High Sierra)). In addition, the built-in editor lets you personalize your video in clicks.
Now download this program and follow the WIndows tutorial below as example (Mac tutorial is the same) and convert your DVDs to playable video formats for your QuickTime or other player software on MacBook Air.
Step 1. Download and Install VideoSolo DVD Ripper
How To Watch Dvd On Macbook Air Keyboard Cover
Free download the Mac version of the program, start the installer and install it on your MacBook Air following the instructions.
Note: Sufficient disc space must be reserved if you want to backup your DVDs on your Mac.
Step 2. Add DVD Movies
Insert the DVD disc into your external DVD drive connected with your MacBook Air, and run the program, it will read the DVD automatically. Then click 'Load Disc > Load DVD Disc' to import the DVD movies. It allows you to preview the loaded DVD in the right viewing window and you can also take snapshots as you like. After loading, you can select subtitles and audio tracks for the video. Batch conversion and file merging are all supported.
Step 3. Choose Output Format
How To Watch Dvd On Macbook Air 2
The following step is to choose an output format. Simply click the 'Profile' button and choose a desired format for your MacBook Air from the drop-down list. As is shown in the following picture, you are available to nearly all popular output formats. Take advantage of the instant search function, you can also find your format quickly. If you want to play the ripped file to other apple devices directly, just select a format under the corresponding category to get video files with optimized settings for iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV, etc.
Step 4. Edit Video (Optional)
Next, optional, click 'Settings' icon to customize parameters for your output file, such as resolution, bitrate, frame rate, etc. What's more, this program allows you to clip, crop, rotate, add 3D or watermark to the videos. And you can also adjust other effects like brightness, contrast, saturation and hue of the video.
Step 5. Start Ripping DVD Movies on MacBook Air
When you're satisfied with all settings, go back to the UI and click 'Convert' button to start ripping your DVD to your preferred video format that is highly compatible with your MacBook Air. When it's done, click 'Open Folder' to find the converted video files.
How To Watch Dvd On Macbook Air
Now you can enjoy the new created file from DVD on your MacBook Air freely. The whole process is very easy. Then you can share the video on the Facebook or Twitter with your friends and families.
Bottom Line:
If you have a MacBook Air, you have to worry about watching DVD movies while on-the-go, since no one wants to lug around an external DVD drive with them. Occasionally you want to play commercial DVDs or backup your DVD movies for permanent preservation. To deal with these issues, you need to rip and digitize DVD collection with VideoSolo DVD Ripper, and things will be a piece of cake.