DVD Won't Play on Mac/TV? Solutions to Fix DVD Not Playing Issue

Reasons:

1. DVD disc is dirty, scratched or damaged, reason for some Redbox DVD rentals won't play
2. DVD playing problems may be caused if DVD disc is a non-standard one, e.g., both IFO and BUP files of your DVD disc are missing, the DVD disc is made by yourself with some misconduct, etc.
3. You use a DVD burner for Mac to burn a DVD but end up with DVD playback failure. This problem might result from disk type issue (DVD-VIDEO, DVD-ROM, DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW, DVD+RW, etc.), DVD burn speed (2X, 4X, 8X, etc.), bad burn, etc.
4. The DVD disc is inconsistent with your DVD drive in terms of DVD region code. For instance, your DVD disc is released to play in Region 2, but your DVD drive is the product for Region 1 DVD disc playback. Thus, it's not strange to see the problem of "DVD won't load/play". Related: play region 1 DVD in the UK

Solutions:

1. Dampen a soft cloth to clean your DVD disc.
2. Use a DVD repair software to repair damaged DVD disc.
3. Re-purchase or rent a new DVD disc to play on Mac or TV if the DVD disc can't be repaired.
4. Burn DVD on Mac with a professional yet solid DVD burner. Plus, choose the right disk type based on your specific needs.
5. Convert Region 2 DVD to Region 1 or remove region code from DVD to change region code to region zero with a powerful DVD region code remover.
6. Rip and copy DVD to MP4, MOV, M4V, AVI, MKV, ISO image, MPEG-2 file, VOB, etc. digital formats so as to play DVD content on Mac/TV without using DVD disc. Also see how to copy a DVD on Mac.

Reasons:

1. Your DVD drive is dirty or lacks lubrication, which is especially severe if your DVD drive is placed in a dusty and smoky environment.
2. Your external DVD drive for Mac mismatches with your Mac computer, or it get damaged partially or thoroughly.
3. Some external DVD drives can't work after macOS upgrading like SuperDrive not working on Mac after upgrade.
4. Mac default player QuickTime supported formats list doesn't include DVD MPEG-2 format, which means if you play DVD in QuickTime, you get failure but nothing.
5. Another popular DVD player for Mac VLC supports DVD disc playback on Mac. Yet, sometimes, VLC won't play DVD on Mac if you accidently delete libdvdcss on Mac or forget to solve the system incompatibility issue after macOS upgrading.

Solutions:

1. Purchase a DVD laser lens cleaner on Amazon or eBay, which will help you clean up the dust and dirt from DVD drive (DVD player).
2. Change a new DVD drive after you make sure the current one is mismatched with your Mac computer or it's severely damaged.
3. Reset the System Management Controller providing DVD won't play only after macOS upgrading.
4. Resort to other top DVD players for Mac like 5KPlayer, KMPlayer, MPlayer, etc. if there is nothing you can do to rescue VLC back to normal.
5. Forget about the DVD drive for Mac if all the above solutions fail. One much simpler way is to play DVD on Mac in digital format without using Mac DVD drive.

Reasons:

1. The cable connection between DVD player and television might be loose.
2. There is something wrong with DVD player settings.
3. The DVD Player's optical reader is working incorrectly (lens which 'reads' the data from DVDs).
4. You insert other type of DVD discs into DVD player like Beachbody DVD, workout DVD, yoga DVD, etc.

Solutions:

1. Unplug the cables connecting the DVD player to the TV. Re-plug the cables and make sure the connections are tight. Then play DVD on TV to have a test.
2. Your DVD player settings are seemingly much more complicated than you imagine. Don't adjust the DVD settings at random. Seek help from the expert if you are a layman.
3. To correct your DVD player's optical reader, follow this guide to solve DVD trays problems.
4. As is known to all, DVD player, different from DVD drive, only supports you to play DVD movie and audio on TV. Suggesting you really wanna play Beachbody workout DVD content, yoga DVD video on HDTV, you need to rip workout DVD on computer first and then stream DVD content to TV for playback. Or you can constantly encounter "Beachbody DVD won't play" issue.