DVD not working with Big Sur 11.6

The problem is not fixed with Monterey. However, if you have the System/CDs & DVDs preference pane set to this:

All you'll have to do is go to the File Menu, select Open DVD Media and click on open in the window that comes up and you'll be running the video disc in DVD Player, i.e. one menu selection and one click.

Updated my M1 MacMini yesterday, tested several DVDs using using both Apple's DVD play app and VLC app on OWC external DVD player (LG drive). Works as advertised.

Which M1 Mac and who's external DVD device are you using?

I'm lucky? Mine is the base MacMini with 256 SSD, 8 gig ram. I guess the next step is to look at what software is installed. I'm bog standard, nothing exotic. No games. Few odd drivers for external devices: Garmin GPS and Android File Transfer drivers are the most radical. Burn for DVD video mastering as iDVD is no longer is available. Canon MP printer/scanner drivers. Single display connected via HDMI.

DVD Player is version 6.0. Are you using the USB A ports or USB C? I've noticed some externals don't like USB-C to A adapters. Are your DVD drives USB 2 or USB 3? My OWC drive is USB 3. Wired keyboard & mouse or bluetooth? Apple brand or Logitech KB/M with dongle?

No problems here on M1 Mac Mini M1 16/512 and BS 11.6 with tons of loaded sw at startup. Therefore the problem IS NOT widespread but related just to some configurations. Did you try it logging in with another user? (here is Region 2, BTW...)

I was prompted to install 11.6 yesterday. I had watched a dvd through an external drive with no issues the night before doing this. I did the update, and now the computer recognizes the dvd, but can't play it. I spoke to technical support, who said it's an incompatibility issue. It seems my only options are to either buy a new external drive and trust that it's compatible with my operating system, or hope that apple corrects the issue they needlessly just created. And I can't uninstall the update. I wish I had ignored the call to update. So frustrating.

Earlier I posted Apple's DVD Player was working for me after the 11.6 update. Last night I tried to play a commercial DVD and it wouldn't play. Then I discovered some of my disks would play, others wouldn't. Deleting .plist and application support files from three different Library folders and a restart didn't change the iffy behavior.

My guess there is something in the disk encoding on commercial disks preventing playback. Various copy protection schemes have borked playback in the past (Sony, I'm looking at you.)

As always, VLC plays fine. For years my default setting in System Preferences is to ignore DVD Videos so I can manually launch the appropriate player. I have both Region 1 and Region 2 disks in my collection and this allows me to bypass the region reset of Apple's DVD Player app. VLC ignores region setting and doesn't mess with the DVD hardware's limit of 5 resets.

Hey. I don't understand your last paragraph. I don't know what Region 1 and 2 refers to or VLC.

I have a documentary from the 80's on an external drive I got on amazon in 2014. It worked fine until the update. Thanks

Commercial DVD videos are sold specific to regions of the world. Region 1 is USA (and most of North America), Region 2 is UK. DVD players are coded for the regions they will play back. Look at the back of your set top player and you'll find an icon of a globe with a number, that's your region.

DVD drives in PC's will play any region (there are 8 or 9) but you're limited to 5 resets if you try to play disks from different regions. After 5 it's locked to the last region you played.

VLC is a video player which is available for most OSes and will play a variety of formats. Google it. You'll like it.

Thank you so much. My player doesn't have that info on it but

I was able to download the software and started watching the video.

I wish technical support could have explained this to me.

I asked on the phone but they declined.

Now, thanks to you, I don't have to buy a new dvd player.

As I spent more time with this app, I found it to be a little challenging regarding the pause function. It was harder to see the controls too, so I wound up watching the video on my old computer which can't produce sound due to an external speaker which broke inside the headphone jack, but when connected to a bluetooth speaker, sounds fine. Apple really should fix the problem which they created!

solution from twitter

1.

Move to

/System/Library/CoreServices/Applications

on Finder (since it's hidden, use Move to Folder Cmd+shift+G)

2.

Open DVD Player using Rosetta

(Select app and Cmd+I , check Rosetta)

Please try to the following procedure.

1. If "DVD Player" is running, choose the window, and type ⌘+Q

2. On Finder, type Shift+⌘+G

3. Type "/System/Library/CoreServices/Applications/"

4. "Go"

5. Choose "DVD Player"

6. Type ⌘+I

7. Check "Open using Rosetta"

8. Type ⌘+W

9. Add "DVD Player" to "Dock" by drag-and-drop

10. Open "DVD Player"

11. Insert a DVD in a disc drive, and play a DVD

This problem happens on macOS Big Sur 11.6 & Apple Silicon M1 Mac, doesn't happens on Intel Mac.

If "DVD Player" open automatically when you insert a DVD, it still doesn't works. Please choose the window, type ⌘+Q, and re-open "DVD Player" from "Dock".

I can't check replies from now on. Sorry.