VOB (Video Object) is a file format for storing DVD videos, including digital video, digital audio, DVD menu, subtitle and navigation content. You can find files with .vob extension in DVD Video_TS folder. To some degree, you need a DVD player with VOB playback support to play VOB files on Windows 10 and more.
The VOB files are formatted as MPEG-2 system streams. Thus, you may encounter Windows Media Player not playing VOB files, as well as QuickTime and other old media players. You need to download extra codecs or convert VOB to compatible formats to play a VOB file on Windows 10 successfully.
The direct and quick way is choosing a correct VOB file player. It is a good way to bypass VOB incompatible issues. This article will discuss best free VOB player for Mac and Windows 10 computers. Just read and check.
Part 1: Best Free VOB Player Software for Windows 10/8/7 and Mac
There are various free VOB player online and offline software. But if you want to get the highest visual experience, Blu-ray Master Free Blu-ray Player should be your first choice. It is a totally free and safe VOB player. You can play any DVD/Blu-ray disc with copy protection smoothly.
With the wide support of over 200 media formats, you can play popular video files on computer at will. Because of the most advanced kernel and newest playing technology, you can play DVD VOB videos on Windows 10 with smooth playback. Furthermore, you can adjust screen sizes and playing effects within the Windows 10 VOB player freeware.
- 1. Play VOB files and other videos in 200+ formats like ISO, RMVB, FLV, MXF, WMV, M4V, AVI, SWF, WebM, MPEG, etc., without conversion.
- 2. Decrypt and play any Blu-ray/DVD disc with 100% image quality.
- 3. Offer full, half, normal and double screen sizes for VOB playback.
- 4. Select any audio/video track, audio channel, audio device and more options.
- 5. Advanced acceleration and playing technology.
- 6. The free VOB player works with Windows 10/8/7/Vista/XP and Mac OS X 10.5 or above.
To open and play DAV files without conversion on Windows PC, the recommend choice is to hire a special software package, the DVR365 Player software that ships with the DVR365 digital video recorder. Currently there is no way to play DAV files on Mac computer. This is another free software, specifically customized for Mac OS, that plays SWF media. The viewer program provides basic options such as fast-forwarding, rewind, frame previews, etc. You can create and manage playlists on the software, zoom videos out and in, and set a default play quality.
What Makes Free Blu-ray Player the Best Free VOB Player
1. Play encrypted VOB videos
Not all VOB players can play VOB files with copy protection. Luckily, Blu-ray Master free VOB file player software can play encrypted DVD VOB files directly.
2. The latest kernel and DVD playing technology
VOB crashing issues always happen, especially when you are playing large VOB files on Windows 10. Fortunately, you can play VOB files on Windows 10 with the best viewing experience thanks to the advanced technology.
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How to Play VOB Files on Windows 10 with Best Free VOB Player
Download and install free VOB player on the PC. Click “Open File” to add your VOB file.
Once the VOB file is added to the VOB player freeware, click “Play”, “Pause”, “Resume” or “Stop” to control the VOB playing process on Windows 10.
Unfold the “Audio” or “Video” list on the top toolbar. You can personalize VOB details with simple options.
Choose “Effects” from the “Tools” drop-down list. You can adjust hue, brightness, contrast, saturation and gamma of the streaming VOB file freely.
Click “Screenshot” near the bottom of the VOB player free. You can change the snapshot folder or format from the “Preferences” window under the “File” list. Then you can click “Folder” next to “Screenshot” to get the snapshot quickly.
On top of that, it also allows you to play Blu-ray on PC/Mac, and watch DVD movies easily.
Part 2: Top 7 VOB Player Alternatives to Play VOB Files on Windows 10 and Mac
There are also other good VOB file players with powerful features. You can play and edit VOB files on Windows 10 and other platforms for free. Though most of them are not supported for encrypted VOB files.
Top 1: VLC Media Player
VLC Media Player is a portable, open source and free VOB player developed by the VideoLAN project. You can play DVD VOB movies and online VOB files with VLC on Windows 10 for free. There are also basic video editing features in VLC. However, sometimes you may encounter VLC audio delays, VLC not playing issues.
Top 2: GOM Player
GOM Player is a free VOB player that can play VOB and other video files on Windows 10. The built-in Codec Finder can search for the not-supported codec in GOM Player automatically. But the installer may bundle other unrelated programs. So you need to be careful while installing GOM Player.
Top 3: KMPlayer
KMPlayer is another free media player on multiplatform. The interface is not friendly to inexperienced users. Thus, you need to spend some time to access advanced features. The free VOB file player on Windows 10 always pop up annoying ads. Sometimes the ads will be outside of KMPlayer.
Top 4: MPlayer
MPlayer is a lightweight, free and open source VOB file player for Windows 10, Mac and Linux. The latest MPlayer can play incomplete or damaged VOB files for free. With the wide range of video format support, you can play VOB, ASF, WMA, WMV and other formats without installing any codec pack.
Top 5: Final Media Player
Final Media Player is a free video and audio player for Windows XP/Vista/7/8/8.1 of both 32-bit and 64 bit. The free VOB player software can play VOB video files on PC without third-party codecs or plugins. You can even play some rare formats with Final Media Player smoothly.
Top 6: MPC-HC
MPC-HC is an open source VOB Player for Windows. Most common video and audio formats are playable. Well, you can use MPC-HC as a free DVD player to play ISO files, DVD VOB files and DVD discs on a PC. There are also customizable options you can use for DVD VOB video playback.
Top 7: UMPlayer
UMPlayer is a cross-platform VOB file player freeware that can stream or playback incompletely VOB files on Windows 10. The audio and visual customization filters work well. However, UMPlayer always lag, freeze or even restart the VOB video file. Sometimes UMPlayer cannot recognize the inserted DVD or CD.
Part 3: FAQs of Best Free VOB File Player Reviews
1. What is a VOB file and how do I play it?
A VOB file is the movie data file from a DVD disc in the VIDEO_TS. It contains video, audio, subtitles, DVD menus and other navigation content. The VOB files can be opened by various video players like VLC, Free Blu-ray Player, KMPlayer, etc. For playing the VOB file, you just need to download Free Blu-ray Player on your computer, then click Open File to import the VOB file and plat it immediately.
2. How do I convert VOB files to Windows Media Player?
Windows Media Player cannot play VOB files directly, and you should install the VOB codec or convert VOB to Windows Media Player supported formats. AnyMP4 Video Converter Ultimate is the VOB converter you will need. Step 1. Download AnyMP4 Video Converter Ultimate. Step 2. Click Add File to import one or more VOB files. Step 3. Select one from MP4, ASF, WMV, AVI, MOV, M4V, etc., from the drop-down list of Profile that Windows Media Player supports. Step 4. Click Convert to start converting VOB to Windows Media Player.
3. How to play VOB files in Windows Media Player?
For playing VOB files in Windows Media Player, you should convert VOB to Windows Media Player supported formats or install the VOB codec. Here we will take the later way to install VOB codec in Windows Media Player. Run Windows Media Player, go to Tools menu and click Options. Then click the Player tab to select Download codecs automatically and click OK. Then play the VOB files and click Install the codec. After that, you can play VOB files in Windows Media Player.
4. How to read VOB files on a Mac?
The built-in QuickTime Player does not read VOB files on Mac. For reading the VOB files on a Mac, you should download the VOB player. Free Mac Blu-ray Player is the free VOB files player on Mac. Just run this player on Mac, and click Open File to add the VOB file into this software. Then your Mac will read the VOB files immediately.
You can play VOB files on Windows 10 with any VOB player mentioned above. As for the all-round VOB file player, you can free download Blu-ray Master Free Blu-ray Player to have a try. You can get powerful DVD VOB playback features with no cost. The well-designed interface is also clear and easy-to-understand. You can play any DVD disc or movie without hassle.
My QuickTime player is not playing .avi files and says I need a codec. I am not able to play any .avi files on QuickTime. How could I fix this because I want to play these files with QuickTime?
Playing AVI files is one of the biggest worries for a Mac user. None of the four major Indeo codecs that are required to decode AVI files have been integrated into QuickTime. In some cases, even if the required codecs are available, the AVI video file does not play due to corruption. So, before we get to know how to play AVI files on Mac or how to fix AVI files that are not playing on Mac, let’s get a quick look at Audio Video Interleave (AVI) format.
Image Source: support.apple.com
Why AVI Files don’t Play on Mac?
Just like any other media player, QuickTime on Mac also examines both the audio and video codecs within the video file whenever you open any file on Mac. If the codecs are not used by the media player it won’t play the video. QuickTime media player does not recognize the Cinepak and ALaw 2:1 codecs used in the AVI video file format. And as a result, when you try to play AVI files in QuickTime, the player doesn’t play the video.
What is an AVI file?
The full form of AVI is Audio Video Interleave. Like any video file format, AVI is a container format that defines how video data is packed into a file. Unlike other video formats, it does not predefine or specify the protocol or procedure involved while recording or creating a file. As an AVI file structure has the organizational format of streams and stream data, it is defined by two lists namely List Chunk and Index Chunk.
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List Chunk: The list chunk has metadata, the size of the file, frame rates, and audio/video information.
Index Chunk: The index chunk is responsible for saving the locations of data within the container.
Note: If any of these crucial chunks are missing in your AVI video file, then your AVI file will not play.
What is a Codec?
A codec that is short for compressor and decompressor is responsible for decoding the video and audio tracks that have been encoded or packed in the .avi file.
It is to be noted that an AVI file or any video file does not come with codecs. Codecs are a part of the video player package like QuickTime.
However, if the codec used to encode the AVI file is not available in the QuickTime player, then your AVI file will not play. Thus, you can expand the codec library of the player by downloading the specific codec required to play the AVI video file.
Problems Associated With Running AVI on Mac Using QuickTime
When an AVI file is opened using QuickTime player, it scans the file to see which codecs have been used to encode the data in the container/AVI file.
The AVI format video will play as expected if the video and audio in the codec are compressed using a codec that exists in the QuickTime package. Nevertheless, problems arise while playing AVI files on Mac when the codec does not exist in the library and leads to an unplayable AVI file on Mac. The file may also refuse to play if the AVI file is corrupt. Fix corrupt AVI files on Mac before trying any workaround.
Unplayable AVI Files Return The Following Errors:
- “QuickTime is missing the software needed to perform this operation. Unfortunately, it is not available on the QuickTime server”
- 'You may experience problems playing a video track in 'file.avi' because the required compressor could not be found”
Additionally, the latest version QuickTime X does not have a few major codecs like Indeo or native DivX support and you might end up with the question “How to play unplayable AVI file on Mac?”.
Now that you have understood the complications associated with AVI files that are unplayable on Mac, the following workarounds mentioned below have been provided to help you fix if Mac or MacBook not playing a video.
Methods to Fix Unplayable AVI files on Mac
1. Find the Right Codec to Play the AVI File on QuickTime:
Find the codec used to encode the file using QuickTime by opening the file using QuickTime and select the Show Movie Info option from the Window menu.
The video file information is listed, and you will be able to find codec information after format properties. Check if the QuickTime version supports the codec that is listed in the video properties.
Check on the QuickTime support site if the codec is supported by the player if you don’t find the codec preinstalled with QuickTime. If you don’t find the respective codec or if it is an unsupportive codec, then your AVI video won’t play. In case it is supported then you can go ahead and install the codec after downloading it from the author or the publisher’s site.
Note: Download the codec from genuine and trusted sources to avoid compromising your system security.
2. Download and Install Standardized Video Encoders
There are two major industry-standard codecs for Mac that can extend the playback capabilities. The following codecs have been referred to as the most preferred codecs that enable you to open .avi files on Mac:
- Install 3ivx D4 codec:
This codec enables greater video quality at lower file size values up to fifty percent when compared to the MPEG-4 standard designed by Apple. This decoder increases the efficiency of the video storage and transmission of files that are rendered too large. It is an integration of a huge set of video and audio codecs that allow playback of almost all the AVI files with AAC audio and video of MPEG-4. You can fix your unplayable AVI file by installing 3ivx D4 on your Mac. Further, there is no need to download any other components like plug-ins to play the AVI file unless a proprietary codec is used to encode the file.
- Install DivX for Mac free codec to fix AVI files in Quick time:
While you can play the majority of AVI files after you install this free codec for Mac, its major disadvantage is that the audio sometimes might be distorted or only the video is played. For this reason, the DivX codec for Mac is a secondary option when compared to 3ivx D4 codec.
Note: Only one among the above two codecs are to be used at once as they share the same set of library files to decode the video. Hence it is recommended to install only one codec to avoid malfunction of the QuickTime player.
3. Use an Alternate player to Play AVI files on Mac:
VLC or Video LAN Client is a cross-platform media player that supports a wide variety of AVI video and audio codecs. Therefore, choosing VLC as an alternative media player to play the unplayable AVI file on Quick Time is one of the easiest ways.
Because of its large library of free encoding and decoding libraries, you will no longer need any additional codec download or proprietary plug-ins.
4. Play AVI Files By Converting Into QuickTime Supported MOV Files:
Another workaround to fix the unplayable AVI video on Mac is to convert the AVI file into a QuickTime supported file format like MOV.
Post conversion, the file will be playable on Mac. However, most of the converters break the index of the AVI file while conversion, this method is least recommended. Lastly, if the converted video file stops playing halfway try AVI index repair on Mac.
Note: Have a copy of your AVI file before converting them to any other compatible format as your AVI file might get corrupt due to improper conversion and leads to permanent inaccessible AVI files.
AVI Still Not Playing In Mac?
If the AVI video file remains unplayable even after getting the correct codecs, using the compatible player, or converting to MOV, it is probably because the video file is corrupt. The only solution to this is to try an AVI video repair software. Choose a professional AVI video repair tool like Remo AVI Repair.
Remo Repair AVI fixes and works on a duplicate version of your original AVI file to prevent modification on the original file. The self-explanatory interface helps you to fix the video in just 3 clicks. Download the Remo Repair AVI tool now to fix your unplayable video and preview it for free before saving.
Remo Repair AVI Can Also:
- Repair AVI files that are corrupted
- Repair AVI files if their index is corrupted
- Repairs AVI files if there is no audio or playing only audio in the video file
Conclusion:
With the mentioned free workarounds or by using the above-mentioned AVI repair tool, you must have fixed your unplayable AVI videos on Mac. However, you can always make use of Remo Software’s technical assistance team as they will guide you with the repairing process of the software if needed.