It is actually, surprise, the audio codec. A codec is a piece of software, or algorithm, that takes your data (music), compresses it to reduce file size and encodes it in a format for transmission. The same codec is also required to decode the encoded data so that we can listen to our music. Wonder how to get your VLC 3.0 to play encrypted blu-ray discs? You'll need two files: keys database and AACS dynamic library. Keys database get the file UPDATED! AAC, or Advanced Audio Coding, is another lossy codec that provides small audio files and works great for online streaming. AAC files aren't helpful if you need a near-replica of the original.
Summary: This article shows how to play Blu-ray with VLC on Mac and Windows 10/8/7 in detail, and at the same time how to solve VLC won't play Blu-ray.
Conceivably, VLC is the most popular as well as powerful free and open source tool in the market. The 2.0 and later version of VLC Media Player support Blu-ray media playback with some extra operations. You can download the latest version from VLC official website. However, for legal reasons, AACS and BD+ DRM libraries and keys still are not shipped. That means only Blu-ray disc with AACS libraries exposed (unencrypted Blu-rays) are supported by VLC. Feel frustrated? Don't worry! There are always solutions out there to get VLC and protected Blu-ray to play nicely. Below I will introduce some possible solutions. Check here.
How to Play Blu-ray Freely with VLC Media Player (Mac and Windows included)
Libaacs is a research project to implement the Advanced Access Content System specification. This research project provides, through an open-source library, a way to understand how the AACS works. This research project is mainly developed by an international team of developers from Doom9. Latest release is libaacs 0.11.0. As part of the MPEG-4 standard, AAC codec makes small digital audio files so that it can store a larger amount of audio files using less space while preserving sound quality. Normally, AAC can produce frequency ranges from 8 to 96 kilohertz. While AC3 provides a total bit rate of 384 kilobits per second. Its sample rates can up to 48 kilohertz.
Step 1: Go to videolan.org, download, install and run the latest version of VLC for your Windows or Mac system.
You'd better upgrade to VLC 3.0 first if you are still using the old version. Please note that you will need to download the VLC Windows 64bit version if it is a 64bit Windows compute
Step 2: Go to: http://vlc-bluray.whoknowsmy.name/ to download the KEYS DATABASE(KEYDB.cfg) and AACS DYNAMIC LIBRARY(libaacs.dll for Windows or libaacs.dylib for Mac).
Step 3: Place your file to certain folder and start playback
For Windows Users
Please notice that there are two different files of AACS dynamic library available at a Windows-based computer, and you should download the 32bit file for VLC 32bit, and 64bit file for VLC 64bit.
1. Go to 'C:ProgramData', create a new folder in it and name it 'aacs'. After that, place your downloaded 'KEYDB.cfg' file into it.
2. Go to 'C:Program FilesVideoLANVLC', then drop your downloaded 'libaacs.dll' file into it. If running 64bit VLC, you will need to find your VLC directory in 'C:Program Files (x86)'.:
3. Now, you can easily launch VLC and use it to play Blu-ray disc on Windows for free. Just need to click on 'Media' > 'Open Disc' > 'Blu-ray'..
For Mac Users
1. KEYS Database Put 'KEYDB.cfg' in ~/Library/Preferences/aacs/ (create it if it does not exist).
2. AACS Dynamic Library
3. Run VLC and insert your Blu-ray disc into the Blu-ray drive, and open it with VLC, then your encrypted Blu-ray movie will start playing in VLC.
Tip: VLC does not yet support Blu-ray menus so you must manually select title to play. Not all Blu-ray movies are supported.
Errors You May Encounter When Playing Blu-ray in VLC
Even you have successfully installed VLC 3.0 or above and follow all the steps above, you likely still encounter errors like:
• This blu-ray disc needs a library for bd+ decoding, and your system does not have it.
• This blu-ray disc needs a library for aacs decoding, and your system does not have it.
• No valid processing key found in AACS config file.
• Missing AACS configuration file!
• Your input can't be opened.
• VLC keep Blu-ray loading but nothing presents.
This is because not all the commercial Blu-ray discs are supported by VLC media player so that you might encounter the problem from time to time. VLC can only deal with discs which its library has the corresponding AACS keys, yet the AACS and BD+ DRM libraries and keys won't ship with the Blu-ray discs, as their publishers seem to take everyone as a pirate, even you already spend money just for personnel movie enjoyment.
How to Play Blu-ray with VLC or Other Media Player without Limits
In case there are a lot of unsolved problems that you are experiencing every now and again when it comes to playing Blu-ray with VLC, there are better options that you can adopt so that you can continue to enjoy your Blu-ray videos. One of these alternative methods is EaseFab Blu-ray Ripper (available for Windows and Mac users), which is one of the powerful Blu-ray Rippers and converters in the market today. It has the ability to rip convert any commercial and homemade Blu-ray including DVDs to any format that you think of. These formats include AVI, MOV, MKV, M4V, FLV, 3GP, MPG, ASF, VOB, TS, HD MP4, HD AVI, HD MKV, HD WMV, HD MOV, MP3, WAV, AC3, AAC, MKA, OG among others. It Performance is a comparison to a common Blu-ray ripper. By just a single click, you can convert your Blu-ray movies, with fast speed and high quality.
It also provides optimized output formats for iPhone (iPhone XS Max), iPad (iPad mini, iPad Pro, iPad Air), Samsung tablets, LG, HTC smart phones and many other devices. A Mac version that named EaseFab best Blu-ray Ripper for Mac has been developed for Mac OS X users. It is user friendly and the steps involved in converting DVD are also simple.
1. Insert Blu-ray into your BD drive and launch EaseFab Blu-ray Ripper.
2. Add the files you want to convert and select your preferred output format.
3. Click the Convert button to initiate the Blu-ray ripping process. When finished locate your output folder and enjoy your movie.
To conclude, when you play Blu-ray files with VLC and found it didn't work, just don't give up your Blu-ray discs and there are several methods that can help you save your Blu-ray enjoyment. Renew your VLC, rip Blu-ray to VLC compatible format. Just like the saying goes, where there is a will, there is a way. Watching Blu-ray movies anywhere you like is easy as ABC now.
As companies continue killing off the headphone jack, Bluetooth’s presence is ever more ubiquitous. Now, you don’t have to be an audio geek for Bluetooth codecs to be of importance: these codecs can reduce latency, improve audio quality, and contribute to energy efficiency. If you’re going wireless, invest in headphones that support a high bitrate codec like aptX or AAC for iPhone users. In order to bring you up to speed in a matter of minutes, we’ve put together this guide for understanding Bluetooth codecs.
Editor’s note: this article was updated on January 22, 2020, to address Bluetooth LE Audio’s LC3 codec and the Samsung scalable codec.
What you should know
Not all true wireless earbuds support aptX and AAC, the Plantronics BackBeat Pro 5100 only support the latter.
- Basic terms, discussed by Robert Triggs, Android Authority.
- Sample rate (Hz): the number of points of data per second in an audio file. You need two samples to accurately capture any frequency, so audio is sampled at least twice the limits of human hearing (approximately 20kHz). Higher-resolution file formats tend to be exported at 96kHz or greater. A greater sample rate means a greater file size.
- Bit-depth (-bit): the number of bits saved for each audio sample. A higher bit depth records a signal more accurately. CD-quality is 16-bit, but high-resolution files extend this to 24-bit. A greater bit depth multiplies the filesize.
- Bitrate (kbps): usually measured in kbps or Mbps. This is the amount of audio data transferred per second over Bluetooth. For uncompressed files, this is calculated by multiplying the sample rate by the bit-depth.
- Data rates are unstable.
- Bluetooth devices have an assigned range (typically 10 meters for headphones). This is because the further you get from the source, the more interference from physical barriers (e.g. walls, cars, people) and other frequencies (e.g. radios, televisions, Wi-Fi signals).
- Psychoacoustics studies how humans perceive sound. A psychoacoustic model is applied to digital media, and determines what can be deleted to save space without a noticeable loss of sound quality.
- This is how MP3 compression came into the world. Its influence on strategic compression extends to virtually every audio format.
- There are three main types of audio compression formats, uncompressed, lossless, and lossy.
Uncompressed, lossless compressed and lossy compressed formats each have their own place in the digital audio ring.
Bluetooth codecs
Now that you’ve passed Wireless Audio 101, let’s continue.
In terms of software, a codec determines how Bluetooth is transmitted from the source to your headphones. It encodes and decodes digital audio data into a specific format. Ideally, it transmits a high-fidelity signal at the minimum specified bit-rate. This results in the least amount of space and bandwidth required for storage and playback, respectively. A lower bitrate means better compression and worse sound quality, a high bitrate means better sound quality and worse compression. So how do codecs navigate this compromise?
Low-complexity sub-band codec (SBC)
Represented is the max transfer rate (kbps) of each respective Bluetooth codec (greater is better). Each waveform depicts a transfer rate of 100kbps.
SBC divides the signal into multiple frequency bands and encodes each one independently. Think of SBC as the lowest common denominator among Bluetooth codecs. It’s not the best. It is, however, mandatory among all A2DP-enabled devices, making it virtually universal. Manageable transfer rates (192-320kbps) are delivered at the expense of significant data loss.
Qualcomm aptX, aptX LL, aptX HD, and aptX Adaptive
Now, Qualcomm’s proprietary codecs, aptX, aptX LL, and aptX HD receive frequent recommendations here at SoundGuys, not to mention aptX Adaptive. Though only aptX LL supports a latency of less than 40 milliseconds. What’s more, Android’s wireless efficiency is inconsistent depending on what source device is used.
Bluetooth's Achilles' Heel is its limited bandwidth. High transfer rates may overload available bandwidth, causing a stutter—or complete crash—of the streaming service.
Why choose aptX over SBC? Greater transfer rates preserve more data. The simpler aptX codec supports 48kHz/16-bit LCPM audio data (352kbps), while aptX HD supports 48kHz/24-bit LCPM audio data (576kbps). Though both are lossy formats, they’re leagues ahead of SBC. Plus, they support a fine enough bit-rate to keep everything running smoothly and sounding phenomenal.
Advanced audio coding (AAC)
AAC performance differs depending on your source device.
AAC is the audio standard for lossy digital audio compression. It also happens to be the license-free standard for YouTube, Sony’s PlayStation 3, and is preferred by Apple. If you have an Android phone, you won’t really benefit from AAC as its performance is unreliable: it’s a power-hungry codec that Android remains unprepared to handle efficiently. iPhone users do benefit from its higher-resolution playback though. It has a transfer rate cap of 250kbps, creating a file similar to that of a mid-quality MP3.
Sony LDAC
Some of Sony’s Bluetooth headphones use a codec called LDAC, which has higher bitrates than aptX, AAC, or SBC. You need a compatible phone, however.
Like Qualcomm, Sony has its own Bluetooth codec, LDAC. Its variable bit-rate is the defining feature. In theory, it should consistently transfer up to 3x the data compared to SBC. Our studies revealed that its highest bitrates (990 and 660kbps) lose fidelity above 20kHz. What’s more, both aptX and SBC outperform LDAC when it streams at 330kbps, which is the default chosen by many phones. In order to change this, you have to enter developer settings and force a higher bit-rate, but smartphones’ “best efforts” vary greatly.
Phone | LG V30+ | Samsung Galaxy Note 8 | Huawei P20 Pro | Huawei P20 | Google Pixel 3 XL | Google Pixel 3 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
LDAC 'Best Effort' Setting | 990kbps | 660kbps | 660kbps | 660kbps | 330kbps | 330kbps |
LDAC was initially limited to Sony products but has since been brought into the broader Android OS fold with Android 8.0 “Oreo” and is now part of the Android Open Source Project (AOSP).
HWA Alliance’s LHDC and LLAC codecs
Android Authority The Huawei P30 Pro also includes a headphone jack for listeners serious about audio quality.
LHDC stands for low-latency and high-definition audio codec and was developed by the Hi-Res Wireless Audio (HWA) Union and Savitech. This codec allows for three times the data transmission afforded by SBC and supports a maximum bitrate of 900kbps with a max sample rate of 96kHz. The Huawei Mate 10 was the first smartphone to support LHDC. It’s supported by Android 10 and up, and is part of the AOSP.
The low-latency audio codec (LLAC/LHDC LL) is an alternative to LHDC and boasts low-latency features that are ideal for gamers. End-to-end latency is as low as 30ms, and it supports bitrates of 400/600kbps and a max sample rate of 48kHz up to 24bits. The Huawei P30 was the first smartphone to support LLAC.
Bluetooth LE Audio LC3 codec
Bluetooth LC3 was announced at CES 2020, and specifics are expected later this year. We know the LC3 codec promises to deliver improved efficiency and aid the deaf and hard of hearing. According to Fraunhofer, the company that helped develop LC3, packet loss management is more advanced which results in a smoother degradation process. This means when you reach the outer edge of the wireless range afforded by your headset, rather than hearing distinct, distracting stutters and drops, the data loss will be audibly smoother.
LC3 is a transparent codec, meaning total harmonic distortion minimization is limited not by LC3 but by a phone's hardware.
LE Audio benefits the hearing impaired by expanding the functionality of Bluetooth hearing aids due to multi-stream support. Multi-stream audio allows multiple audio streams to be transmitted between a smartphone and earbuds simultaneously. In practice, this means your hearing aids can stream audio while also keeping you aware of your surroundings.
Similarly, it can transmit different broadcasts to a single pair of true wireless earphones simultaneously: rather than a single 160kbps stream, it may send two streams of 80kbps each. If you and your friend are at a bar watching a game, one of you can tune into the home team’s announcer with the left earbud while the other can opt for information about the visitors via the right ‘bud.
Samsung Scalable Codec
The Samsung Galaxy Buds are the perfect companion to the Samsung Galaxy S10 phones.
The Samsung Scalable Codec was announced with the Samsung Galaxy Buds developed in tandem with AKG. It prioritizes stability by making constant adjustments to streaming rates, so listeners are less likely to experience connection stutters and drops. It’s similar to how LC3 audio is said to manage packet loss, both result in less audio chopping by actively accommodating bitrate to signal strength.
Now what?
Aacs Codec
As you can see, it’s easy to get lost in Bluetooth jargon. Though this is a lot of information to keep straight, remember that higher transfer rates are good, but no matter how great the kbps: you need both your phone and headphones to speak the same language. Again, aptX and aptX HD are usually your best bet with consumer-grade headphones. Qualcomm’s codec is becoming increasingly prevalent and low latency is a feature that many of us greatly appreciate.
We’ve barely scratched the surface here. In fact, we’re just beginning to look upon the surface. If you want to learn more, head over to our all-encompassing Bluetooth codec guide.
Aacs Codec Download
Next: Why I’m sticking to wired headphones
AAC, aptX Low Latency, and the upcoming LC3/LC3+ codecs will have the least delay over wireless. However, we can't guarantee which codecs will be available to you with your computer—that varies from device to device. Android devices in particular are all over the map when it comes to latency, but Windows should be fine.
Aacs Codec Vlc Player
This depends on your source device. iOS devices will fair best with AAC, while Android devices will do well with aptX or aptX LL. LDAC is fine, but its higher kbps performance isn't quite as reliable as 660kbps and support for the codec is relatively difficult to find compared to aptX.