Playing Blu-rays

Commercial Blu-ray discs are encrypted with AACS. VLC can play them, but it needs a decryption key database first. This guide walks you through the one-time setup.

Install VLC

VLC comes preinstalled on BlossomOS. If you removed it, install it again from Arc Store:

org.videolan.VLC

Open in Arc Store

VLC ships as a Flatpak and already bundles the Blu-ray libraries ( libbluray and libaacs). You do not need to install any extra packages, only the key database below.

Download the Decryption Keys

The key database is maintained at fvonline-db.bplaced.net. If you are unsure which file to pick, use the direct download:

http://fvonline-db.bplaced.net/fv_download.php?lang=eng

Extract the downloaded archive. Inside you’ll find a KEYDB.cfg file.

Copy the Keys to the Right Place

Because VLC runs as a Flatpak, its configuration lives inside ~/.var/app instead of the usual ~/.config.

1. Extract the downloaded ZIP file.
2. Rename keydb.cfg to KEYDB.cfg (note the uppercase letters).
3. Copy KEYDB.cfg to the following destination: ~/.var/app/org.videolan.VLC/config/aacs/ (create the directory if it doesn’t already exist).
4. Once the file is in place, launch VLC, insert a Blu-ray disc and play the disc.

Blu-ray Menus

Blu-ray menus are built with Java (BD-J). To use them, install the Java plugin extension for VLC:

org.videolan.VLC.Plugin.bdj

Open in Arc Store

After installing, restart VLC and the disc menus will work like on a standalone player.

Turn Off Blu-ray Menus

If you don’t want to install the extension, or a disc’s menu misbehaves, you can skip the menus and jump straight to the movie:

1. Open VLC
2. Go to Media → Open Disc…
3. Select Blu-ray and check No disc menus
4. Click Play

To make this permanent, go to Tools → Preferences → Input / Codecs and set Default optical device options accordingly, or simply keep using the Open Disc dialog.

Keys Stop Working?

The key database is updated constantly as new discs are released. If a disc suddenly refuses to play with a missing-key error, download a fresh copy of the file from fvonline-db.bplaced.net and replace your existing KEYDB.cfg.

Troubleshooting