Other alternatives are Potplayer and KMplayer. Like MPC-HC, they have cleaner interfaces; VLC has become rather baroque (bordering on a Rococo kludge) in that regard.
DVD is pretty easy to decode and play, though I’m not sure of the legality of how VLC does it (use of the libdvdcss
library, a piece of software of questionable legality due to the DMCA). Other software uses other means that the law has pretty much given up on trying to stop.
Blu-ray, on the other hand, is pretty hard as the licensing restrictions are pretty onerous. In fact, that is why the “Pro package” costs more; partly to cover the licensing fees for 100% legit DVD/Blu-ray decryption.
Lastly, most (but not all) Bluray drives are capable of reading DVDs and CDs just fine. Most.