The VideoLAN Forums

On some Windows 8 reviews, like many other publications that got their information from Microsoft, originally reported that the Media Center and Pro Pack contain codecs for both DVD and Blu-ray movie playback. This is false. They only facilitate DVD playback, not Blu-ray. The quote most sites are referencing comes from Microsoft's blog. And, like most of the official Windows 8 pre-release literature, it contains ambiguous language regarding what's actually included in Windows 8:

"Windows Media Player will continue to be available in all editions, but without DVD playback support. For optical discs playback on new Windows 8 devices, we are going to rely on the many quality solutions on the market, which provide great experiences for both DVD and Blu-ray."

Further down, in the same blog post, are the actual contents of the Media Center and Pro Pack:

"...Media Center, including DVD playback (in Media Center, not in Media Player), broadcast TV recording and playback (DBV-T/S, ISDB-S/T, DMBH, and ATSC), and VOB file playback."

Again, the Media Center Pack does not include codecs for Blu-ray playback.

So you may look for a free way to play Blu-ray discs movie on Windows 8, so VLC media player will be the best way to play Blu-Ray in Windows 8 64-bit or Windows 8 32 bit for free.

To better support Blu-Ray playback in Windows 8, VideoLAN and the VLC development team present the fifth version of “Twoflower” which is VLC 2.0.4. The a major updated VLC 2.0.4 introduces an important number of fixes and improvements especially for Blu-Ray under Windows 8. However, for legal reasons, AACS and BD+ DRM libraries and keys still are not shipped.

This article will guide you to download and place the AACS and BD+ DRM libraries and keys in order to play Blu Ray on Windows 8 with VLC for Free.

Step 1: Install the latest nightly of VLC 2.0: Go to: VideoLan,then download the latest version for your system.

Step 2: Download the Blu-ray playback addon pack from: here, and install the Key file from addon pack – “KEYDB.cfg”

Windows 8 – [place in folder named "aacs" located in appdata directory]
* Open your user area (start->”your username”)
* Enable view hidden files and folders (Organise->Folder and Search Options->View{tab} and select “show hidden files…”->select ok)
* Open “AppData” directory
* Create a folder and name it “aacs” {no quotations}
* Place the KEYDB.cfg file in this folder directly from the unzipped Blu-ray playback addon pack.

Step 3: Download Install AACS dynamic library for VLC to use:

Windows 8 32/64bit: Visit here and Down Windows 8 32/64bit file in your VLC

Windows 8 – [Place in VLC program directory]
* Open “Computer”
* Open “Local Disk (C:)”
* Open “Program Files” [Or "Program Files (x86)" if running 64bit]
* Navigate to “VLC” directory
* Move appropriate file from unzipped Blu-ray playback addon pack to this directory (file located in “aacs/windows 32″ directory in pack)

Now, you can easily play Blu-Ray disc with VLC on Windows 8 64-bit or Windows 8 32 bit for free. Note: VLC 2.0 still doesn’t have menu support yet.

Tip: If VLC still can't help you play Blu-ray disc movie on Windows 8, you could visit here to learn more

Pro tip: the above procedure will work if you run the stable version of VLC (2.0.4) in Win7/8 x64, with caveats.

The stable version of VLC is 32-bit only, so instead of putting the 64-bit version of libaacs.dll in the VLC program folder ('Program Files (x86)\VideoLAN\VLC'), use the 32-bit version. Also, for this to work, when creating the
'aacs' folder to put the KEYDB.cfg keyfile in, you MUST create it in 'Users/%USER%/AppData/Roaming', not 'Users/%USER%/AppData'.

So far, with AACS-protected Blu-Ray discs, it works fine.

Hey, following the pro-tip I got the furthest I've got so far with my 64-bit machine (in that it doesn't complain about missing AACS stuff), but now VLC crashes when I try running a BluRay because of encountering "an error".

I'm running Windows 8 on a Dell Inspiron 15z.

Any insights would be greatly appreciated as this setup seemed to work with my 32-bit machine.

Use the 32 bits version of VLC.

I was using the 32-bit VLC. I did try the 64-bit version though, so maybe I didn't uninstall it properly ...

Same here

2.0.4 32bit on Windows 8 64bit Prof. crashes when playing start. Copied ACCS stuff from today

The 64bit experimental version is working for me. But maybe I will try 32 bit again as the pros say it is better.

Two things which are not mentioned in this thread:

1) Enable GPU in the codec page of the tools->preferences menu.
2) To actual load blu-ray disk, menu open->disc and specify blu-ray in radio button.

These were essential for me.

Is that right?

OK, so i have been messing around with this since i bought Prometheus on the weekend. My other Blurays are working fine, but Prometheus gives me the following error:
Blu-Ray error:
Your system AACS decoding library does not work. Missing keys?
Your input can't be opened:
VLC is unable to open the MRL 'bluray:///E:/'. Check the log for details.

I have tried a few different suggestions - go 32bit, try 64bit, download KEYS and put it in ASS folder in APPDATA, and try putting it inside roaming folder, etc.

With so many people having different results of success or failure my question is, is there something about new Bluray disks or some bluray disks, that need a new or different KEYS file in order to play?

I'm using Windows 7 64bit / LG disk player

With so many people having different results of success or failure my question is, is there something about new Bluray disks or some bluray disks, that need a new or different KEYS file in order to play?

Yes, this is the reason.

With so many people having different results of success or failure my question is, is there something about new Bluray disks or some bluray disks, that need a new or different KEYS file in order to play?

Yes, this is the reason.

Thank you, Jean-Baptiste Kempf. So i guess the next question is - Is the new key file available now, and if the answer is no then will it be available in the future?

No idea.

Thanks for your reply. Are the developers aware of this issue? Are they still doing updates?

Pro tip: the above procedure will work if you run the stable version of VLC (2.0.4) in Win7/8 x64, with caveats.

The stable version of VLC is 32-bit only, so instead of putting the 64-bit version of libaacs.dll in the VLC program folder ('Program Files (x86)\VideoLAN\VLC'), use the 32-bit version. Also, for this to work, when creating the
'aacs' folder to put the KEYDB.cfg keyfile in, you MUST create it in 'Users/%USER%/AppData/Roaming', not 'Users/%USER%/AppData'.

So far, with AACS-protected Blu-Ray discs, it works fine.

I too was getting the error message about "AACS decoding library does not work".
The libaacs.dll version (32bit vs 64bit) must match your VLC version. So if you are using the 32 bit version of VLC on a 64 bit Windows OS you must use the 32 bit version of libaacs.dll.

If you are confused, check what folder that VLC is installed into. If you have a 64 bit version of Windows and VLC is installed in C:\Program Files (x86)\VideoLAN\VLC then you need to use the 32bit version of libaacs.dll

After I started using the correct libaacs.dll VLC played my Blu-Rays just fine.

I followed the instructions for this exactly. I tried both the 32 and 64 bit versions on Windows 8. I downloaded my KEYDB.cfg from the link given on this page. I place copies in AACS directories in both the appdata directory and roaming subdirectory. My libaacs.dll is in my VLC directory. I keep getting the following message:

Blu-Ray error:
Your system AACS decoding library does not work. Missing keys?
Your input can't be opened:
VLC is unable to open the MRL 'bluray:///I:/'. Check the log for details.

I have the exact same problem

I get missing
Blu-Ray error:
Missing AACS configuration file!
Your input can't be opened:
VLC is unable to open the MRL 'bluray:///D:/'. Check the log for details.

Then your configuration file cannot be found...

Having followed all of the instructions above, I can now view AACS blu-ray in 5-10 minute segments. After playing for a while the video stops and VLC 2.0.5 (running under Windows 7-64, 32-bit with 32-bit dll) simply stops and must be restarted. I can jump past the breakpoint and continue, but only in 5-10 minute increments, sometimes less. As I'm hoping to view Lord of the Rings Extended Ed., this suggests that at ~30=2x15 restarts will be required for each of the three films. Still worth what I paid for it, but I'm looking for suggestions for improving my viewing experience.

This is very weird. First time I hear about it.
Can you share the messages?

I made the folder in appdata named it aacs, than placed the KEYDB.conf in it. Still not playing.

I made the folder in appdata named it aacs, than placed the KEYDB.conf in it. Still not playing.

With that little details, we cannot do much...

FWIW I was having trouble but got it to work with the 64-bit version of VLC 2.0.4 (32-bit version of 2.0.5 didn't work for me just to re-iterate what has been noted before) on a Win8 64-bit machine. It doesn't seem to like unchecking the 'no disc menus' box at media -> open disc -> blu-ray menu however, which is no big deal for me.

Thanks for the help

I just wanted to let everyone know that I was not able to play any Bluray movies with my HTPC that is running Windows 8 64 bit before following the procedures that were explain in post#1 and post#2.

I would like to thank jordangaga and talon_262 for their posts. If you follow those steps it will work perfectly.

Thanks for tips. Fixed my problem.

Alright, so I've been able to play a handful of my Blurays (mostly just the older ones; nothing new has been able to play likely because of the outdated keys or something) but now, even my older blurays won't play.

To be specific, I've been rewatching Game of Thrones season 1, and up until today it has worked just fine. But now, I get this error:

Blu-Ray error:
AACS Host certificate revoked.
Your input can't be opened:
VLC is unable to open the MRL 'bluray:///F:/'. Check the log for details.

Has anyone seen this issue?

I'm running Windows 8 64-bit with VLC 2.0.5 32-bit (with the correct libaacs.dll)