Hmmm...
You may need to:
sudo dpkg-reconfigure libdvd-pkg
Follow the prompts and if you get an error for libdvdread4, then run:
sudo apt install libdvdread7
No error was given.
just this:
libdvd-pkg: guest package [libdvdcss2/1.4.2-1~local] is already installed.
guest package - are you running in VMWare?
no my os zorin os lite is running on my physical laptop and fully installed. no windows. am I using the wrong terminal? I use 'terminal emulator' that comes with the os
I just was checking on that package name.
Otherwise, I am at a loss as to what is causing the issue.
Ok well thank you anyway. I suppose I'll wait if anyone else has any advice regarding this.
I don't know if this reply only Zorin 16, but try anyway;
sudo apt install zorin-os-restricted-addons zorin-os-restricted-extras
I guess you followed this?
Doubleposting 
Try also physically clean the DVD drive if possible like a can of compressed air. Better yet, a DVD cleaner if you can get your hands on one. and make sure that there aren't any dirt on the DVD.
Alright I'll try cleaning my DVD drive when I can. and yes I did read that It's FOSS article. I also tried
sudo apt install zorin-os-restricted-addons zorin-os-restricted-extras
and update, upgrade, and reboot and my DVD still wont play.
What about other DVDs?
I tried Terminator 2: Judgement Day and a home made burned DVD, neither played. Do I need a special codec or something that I might not know about?
Nope, the steps you've done should be sufficient and my DVD player plays anything I throws at it, so I'm bit baffled.
Is the DVD player plugged in...?
absolutely because i can hear it make noise when i insert a dvd and when i click eject icon it ejects the drive.
I am sure you see my train of thinking here, though. You already tried as much as you could software side.
I am wondering if the issue is hardware related.
Over time, the lens over the laser gets a little cloudy. The usual 'solution' is to increase the power to the lens using the potentiometer, if the manufacturer included an adjustable one.
I suppose I will see what I can do then on the hard ware side. I'm not sure what else to do. When I had windows on this same laptop it worked great but I guess linux works differently. Thank you all so much for your time and help, Ill see what I can do from here on out.
Here is what I do to watch DVD's in Linux and this works every time.
sudo apt-get install libdvd-pkg
First time install, click yes both times activate line below.
sudo dpkg-reconfigure libdvd-pkg
Reboot afterwards
Also make sure you have ubuntu-restricted-extras and ffmpeg installed.
You'll need all of the above also if you're ripping DVD's with Handbrake.
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Has a weird bug where you need to open it with sudo privileges. I have multiple computers at my disposal, all with Linux on them. I like Linux Mints Xapps, they work really well in XFCE. their Xplayer is based on Totem player from many moons ago, with the added bonus of being able to play music and Movies.
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I remember I had a similar privilege issue regarding DVD player/recorder when I was using Ubuntu Mate. In my case, it was solved by issuing the following command in terminal:
sudo chmod 4711 /usr/bin/wodim; sudo chmod 4711 /usr/bin/cdrdao
Hi, sorry I abandoned this topic. At the time I was to frustrated and ended up just removing my dvd drive. However I’m going to install Zorin on a new pc and will try out what you said. Then I’ll just post my result.
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