How to Install DVD Codec to Play DVDs in Windows 10

While Microsoft has discarded DVD playback capability in recent versions, it provides users with a paid Windows DVD player that is available at $14.99. Besides purchasing the functionality that was free in the past, most people are looking for free solutions. Installing DVD MPEG-2 decoder is said to be one of the ways. Many people hold that a right DVD codec for Windows 10 will add the DVD playback capability, but which may not be the case in Windows 10. The following is why.

As mentioned earlier, DVD playback capability has been removed in Windows 10 out of box. When you upgrade to Windows 10, the DVD playback functionality doesn’t exist at all, so simply installing a DVD codec for Windows 10 will not work it out.

However, if you have bought Windows DVD player or installed a compatible DVD movie player app on your computer yet still fail to open DVD movies, it is very likely that the problem is related to codecs and you will receive a message like “Compatible DVD Decoder is Not Installed”. In such a case, you can install a DVD MPEG-2 codec to fix this issue and #part 2 will show you how to do it. Meanwhile, there are also free solutions to DVD not playing if you don’t want to buy the Windows DVD player, which we will introduce in #part 3.
Skip to the correct part based on your case required.

Based on the premise that you have Windows DVD player or one of other DVD players installed on your PC but can’t play DVDs in Windows, you can install a DVD codec to resolve the problem. There are many free codec packs on the Internet, most of which include the MPEG-2 DVD codec.

K-Lite Codec Pack is the most received codec pack for Windows. It can resolve most video, audio, and DVD not playing errors caused by missing codecs.
Download K-Lite Codec Pack: https://codecguide.com/download_kl.htm (The basic version can do just fine)

When the download finishes, run K-Lite Codec Pack installer, and follow the instructions to install the codec pack on your device. It selects MPEG-2 as one of the components by default, thus, you can use the default selections.
Now, you should be able to play DVDs on your computer.

Many Windows-supported free media players have support for CD, DVDs, and even Blu-rays. By taking advantage of such a player, you will be able to watch DVD movies on Windows without installing additional DVD codec and cost.

Tip. We have compiled the best free DVD players for Windows 10. You can visit this post to know details.

Especially, VLC media player has much to recommend it. This free, portable, and cross-platform media player has strong capability of media file playback and can play virtually all files you add into. Meanwhile, it works a treat, delivering users with smooth and seamless video playback experience.

An alternative solution to play DVDs in Windows 10/11 is to transcode DVDs to digital videos like MP4 or MPEG files. The best side of this method is you are able to play and store desired content from DVD discs in digital form, which is more convenient and accessible. For this purpose, you can use WonderFox DVD Ripper Pro. It is an advanced DVD ripping/conversion tool for Windows OS. With it, you can convert DVDs to MP4, MPG, WMV, or other Windows well supported video formats and play the converted movie files in Windows applications without problems. WonderFox DVD Ripper Pro is easy to use and powerful.

Free download Free download the software and follow the instructions below if you are interested in this method:

This article has shown when and how you should install DVD codec for Windows 10. Moreover, you can try the alternative ways when DVD not playing is unsettled with DVD codec.