Can DVD Players Play CDs? [A Comprehensive Guide On Disc Players]

Are you wondering if your DVD player is capable of playing CDs?

Nearly all DVD players can play CDs. However, the earliest models of the DVD players didn’t play CDs because they were not designed with a 2^nd CD laser that is specifically for playing CDs. So, it’s safe to say that DVD players that were manufactured some 15- years ago or later are able to play the CDs.

You will normally see a cd logo on a DVD player if it’s compatible with CDs.

So, can you play a cd on a DVD player?

The simple answer to this question is yes, you can confidently play a CD on your DVD player.

The table below shows what a DVD player can play and cannot play.

Type of player	CD player	DVD Player	Blu-ray player	Ultra HD Blu-ray player
CD	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
DVD	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Blu-ray Disc	No	No	Yes	Yes
Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc	No	No	No	Yes

From the table above we have also seen what each of the following players can play and cannot play

• CD player
• Blu-ray player
• Ultra HD Blu-ray player

And to help you learn more about what type of disc each player can play, we have come up with a pyramid chart below.

From our pyramid chart above (backward compatibility) we can see that:

1. At the bottom position is a CD player: A CD player can play CDs but cannot play DVDs, blu-ray disc or ultra-HD blu-ray discs
2. At the 2^nd bottom position is a DVD player. A DVD player can play CDs and DVDs, but cannot play blu-ray disc or ultra-HD blu-ray disc
3. In 3rd position is the Blu-ray player, it can play a CD, a DVD and a blu ray disc. However, a blu-ray player cannot play ultra-HD blu-ray disc
4. And finally at the top level is the ultra-HD blu-ray disc player. An Ultra HD blu-ray player can play CDs, DVDs, blu-ray disc and ultra-HD blu ray discs

It’s clear that every newer technology is compatible with its predecessor technology. That’s the main reason why these players are referred to as backward compatibility.

Read also: Jabra active right earbud not working

Possible reasons Why CDs won’t play on your DVD player

With that said, if your player won’t play CDs, it’s probably a non-standard player.

Besides that, there could also be many other reasons why a particular or a group of specific CDs won’t play on your player. These include the following reasons.

• The disc is just scratched or broken.  If you have one particular CD that won’t play in your player, chances are the CD is scratched or broken.  It must also be noted that different players have varying levels of sensitivity to damage.

For example, if you try to place the same scratched Disc in a cd player and a DVD player, it would perform far worse in a DVD player than it would in a cd player because a DVD player is more sensitive.­­

• The disc was burned using a disc type that is not compatible with a particular player. The type of burner and the burning speed used to burn the cd can also cause compatibility issues between the disc and the player.

• The disc is a non-standard audio CD – Not all players can read and play data-formatted discs with .WAV or .MP3 or any other format files. For example, some players would only support a limited set of MP3 bitrates (ex. 128, 160, 192, 224, 256, 320 kB/s. Variable bit rates like 150 are _{­­­­­often} not supported.

 If your player can’t play CD, it could because it is a different data formatted disc.

• CD Laser is defective. Most DVDs have two lasers, one for playing a DVD and a second one for playing the audio CD. If the cd can’t play in your player, there could be  a problem with the  cd laser.

Chart showing DVD players and the CD disc types

ALL DVD PLAYERS	Movies	Music	Still Images
DVD-RW	Yes	No	Yes
DVD-R	Yes	No	Yes
DVD+RW	Yes	No	Yes
DVD+R	Yes	No	Yes
DVD-RAM	Yes	No	Yes
CD-ROM	Yes	Yes	Yes
CD-R / CD-RW	No	Yes	Yes
Super Audio CD	No	Only Cd player	No

Acronyms and their meanings:      

• DVD-RW (Digital Versatile Disk Rewritable)
• DVD-R Digital Versatile Disk Rewritable)
• DVD-RAM DVD Random Access Memory
• CD-ROM Compact Disc, read-only-memory
• CD-R / CD-RW (compact disk rewritable/recordable)

Can you play a photo CD on a DVD player?

Yes, you can play a photo CD on your DVD player without any issues. And if you have a hard drive or computer, it’s highly recommended that you save your photos there because Cd’s can easily get scratched or damaged. If saving your data elsewhere is not possible ensure to keep your photo CD with great care to avoid losing your data.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

Does Sony DVD player play CDs?

Yes, most Sony DVD players can also play CDs.  You can always check your manual to confirm if your model does support CDs. But be rest assured that most DVD players are CD and DVD player combined. So, you should not have a problem.

How to play DVD on CD player in car?

Unfortunately, you cannot play a DVD on a CD player but it’s possible to play a CD on a DVD player. When you insert your DVD into your audio CD player, nothing will happen! You should typically see something like ‘no disc’ meaning that the player can’t read your CD.

Can I play an mp3 CD on my DVD player?

Yes! Many DVD players will support many disc formats including MP3. So, you can enjoy playing your favorite MP3 CD on your DVD player without any problems.

Can you play a CD on a Blu-ray DVD player?

From our pyramid chart above, we can see that a Blu-ray player is capable of playing a CD. So, yes, you can play your CDs on a blu-ray disc player.

What happens if you put a cd in a DVD player

If you put a CD in a DVD player and assume it’s a music CD, it’ll likely play without any issues.

That said, many players will still support pretty any CD with different formats including audio MP3 assuming it was properly formatted (that’s for home made CDs)