NS_E_DVD_PARENTAL (0XC00D116E) DVD playback blocked

You pop a DVD into your Windows PC, and Windows Media Player (or maybe VLC) just gives you a blank screen or a pop-up with error code 0XC00D116E. The disc spins for a second, then nothing. This usually happens with a movie that has a rating — PG-13, R, or something with a number like 7 or 12. The app sees the rating metadata on the disc and refuses to play it because your Windows parental controls are turned on.

Why this happens

Windows has a built-in DVD parental control system. It's separate from the parental controls you set for user accounts, but it works the same way. When you insert a rated disc, Windows checks the movie's rating (like 4 for PG-13, 6 for R) against a limit you or someone else set in Windows Media Player. If the disc's rating is higher than the limit, you get NS_E_DVD_PARENTAL. The real trigger: someone — maybe you, maybe a kid, maybe an IT admin — set a rating limit to block certain content. Now every disc above that threshold fails.

Here's the kicker: the limit might be set to "0" which blocks everything. Or it's set to some low number like 3, but the disc is rated 5. Either way, the fix is the same: turn off the parental rating filter.

How to fix NS_E_DVD_PARENTAL

You have two options. Option 1 is the direct fix — disable the rating limit. Option 2 is a workaround if you don't want to mess with settings.

Option 1: Disable the rating limit in Windows Media Player

1. Open Windows Media Player. If it's not pinned to your taskbar, search for "Windows Media Player" in the Start menu and click it.
2. Look at the top of the window. You'll see a menu bar with "File", "Play", "Tools", and so on. If you don't see that menu bar, press the Alt key once. That makes it appear.
3. Click Tools, then click Options.
4. In the Options window, click the DVD tab. If you don't see a DVD tab, you might be on an older version of Windows Media Player. That's fine — skip to Option 2.
5. Under "Parental controls", you'll see a slider or a drop-down box labeled "Rating limit". The number might be 0, 3, 7, or something else.
6. Change that limit to Unrated (or the highest number, like 7 or 8). The exact label depends on your Windows version. In Windows 10, it's usually a drop-down with numbers 0–7 and "Unrated". Pick "Unrated".
7. Click Apply, then click OK.
8. Eject the DVD, close Windows Media Player, then reopen it and insert the disc again. It should play now.

What you should see after step 6: The drop-down should show "Unrated" or the highest number. If it shows anything else, you didn't change it. Try again.

Option 2: Use a different player (fastest workaround)

Windows Media Player is old. It's been dead for years. If Option 1 doesn't work, or you don't want to deal with it, just use a different media player. VLC Media Player is free and it ignores Windows parental controls completely.

1. Go to videolan.org and download VLC.
2. Install it. It takes about 2 minutes.
3. Open VLC, click Media > Open Disc, then select the DVD drive and click Play.
4. The DVD will play. No parental controls. Done.

Option 3: Check for third-party parental control software

If you still get the error with Windows Media Player after disabling the limit, and you're not using VLC, check if you have any third-party software running that controls DVD playback. Things like CyberLink PowerDVD or ArcSoft TotalMedia Theatre have their own parental control settings. Open the software, look in Settings or Preferences, and find the parental control or rating limit option. Disable it the same way you did in Windows Media Player.

What to check if it still fails

• DVD region mismatch: The disc might be from a different region than your DVD drive. This gives a different error (like "wrong region"), but it's worth checking. Look on the disc case for a region number (1, 2, 3, etc.). Your drive's region is set in Device Manager under DVD/CD-ROM drives.
• Drive firmware: Some older drives just refuse to play rated DVDs. Check the manufacturer's website for a firmware update.
• Another user account: If you're on a shared PC, another user's parental controls might be interfering. Log out and log in with an admin account, then try Option 1 again.
• Last resort — use a different DVD: I've seen one disc with a bad rating metadata file that triggers this error even when controls are off. Try another DVD. If it works, the first disc is the problem.

In my years doing help desk, I've seen this error about once a month. Nine times out of ten, it's the Windows Media Player rating limit. The other time, it's some kid messing with settings. The fix is almost always Option 1. If you're still stuck after trying all three options, you might have a corrupted DVD driver. Uninstall the DVD drive from Device Manager and let Windows reinstall it automatically on reboot. That's rare, but it happens.