If you have a Blu-ray player and don't want to or can't use a native Mac media player app, Mac Blu-ray Player can be used to view Blu-rays in addition to DVDs, but some may find the price tag for the full version too high.

The installation and setup of a free trial version of Mac Blu-ray Player for Mac went smoothly. The initial menus are intuitive and well-designed. The trial version will only function a limited number of times, however, before the user must buy the full version at $59.95. Technical support is available, and the developer's Web site is user-friendly. After we inserted a disc, the program recognized and started playing it quickly and cleanly. Menus for controlling the movie playback are easy to locate and use. In addition to DVDs and Blu-rays, the player can handle several other video file formats and those for audio. The program purports to allow users to include their own subtitles, though we didn't test this.

While Mac Blu-ray Player is well-designed and functional, those looking for a simple disc player app may find its high price off-putting. However, if you have an external Blu-ray player and your Mac does not have native software to accomodate it, this program may be an attractive option.

Editors' note: This is a review of the trial version of Mac Blu-ray Player for Mac 2.7.6.