Many of the teachers in the District, including myself, have had problems getting their new external dvd players (Samsung), to play. Please test your dvd player prior to using it in class. Here is the solution:

The way the player should work is after connecting the usb cable from the dvd player to the Lenovo and placing the dvd in the tray, you should hear the dvd spinning and loading. If all goes well, a window will eventually appear on your screen and the video will play.
If doesn’t play, it is because the media software player, “VLC media player,” needs to be updated (I had to uninstall and reinstall the player on my Lenovo in order to get it to work).

Solution: Update or reinstall the “VLC media player,” When you place the dvd in the tray, a window will appear notifying you that the VLC media player needs to be updated (If the window doesn’t appear, then you can initiate the update by clicking on the “VLC media player” button / Main Menu / Help / Update). Say yes and follow the steps. Restart your Lenovo. Try playing the dvd once again. If it doesn’t work, please don’t throw it against the wall or sell it on Ebay. The player needs to be uninstalled and then reinstalled. Call IT, or if you are in a rush, contact me and I will get it set up for you.

Important: Even when you get the VLC player to appear, it will look like it is broken. Pass your cursor over the play button. See if it slightly highlights (light blue). Believe it or not, it works. You have to be patient. The data is transferring from the dvd to your computer. After approximately 5 minutes, the dvd menu will appear and it will be ready to play.

One more thing, The “VLC player” is the only software on your computer that can properly play your dvds. But, I have noticed that it had not been set as the ‘default’ player for dvds. To have “VLC” automatically turn on when a dvd is inserted in the external player, set it as the default.
Open the Search tool. Type, “Default,” And select “Default App Settings.” Scroll down to “Video Player” and select “VLC media player.”

Note: You wouldn’t have any of these problems on a Mac.