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All reviews for PowerDVD
| 22 reviews, Showing 1 to 22 reviews |
I do like Power DVD and so far I have upgraded to the latest version. I Would have given 10 out of 10 but there is a very annoying problem in playing videos with accented sub-titles. Any accented letter is not displayed properly. There is some garbage displayed instead, that makes it hard to read the word. I have brought this to the attention of the support team but nothing has been done yet. Version 21 is the same in this respect. Luckilly, there are free players that do display the accented letters correctly and I use them whenver I view a video with accented letters.
Another problem, less serious, is that it will not work most of the time with Chromecast.
The bottom line is that Power DVD is a fantastic video player, with many features not found on any ather players. It is slightly overpriced but that should not stop any enthusiast from getting it.
Another problem, less serious, is that it will not work most of the time with Chromecast.
The bottom line is that Power DVD is a fantastic video player, with many features not found on any ather players. It is slightly overpriced but that should not stop any enthusiast from getting it.
Review by Jim on
Apr 24, 2021 Version: 20.02702.62
OS: Windows 10 Ease of use: 9/10
Functionality: 9/10
Value for money: 8/10
Overall: 9/10
For new users: PowerDVD, as for October 2020, represents one of the few video players that can play without issues Blu-Ray discs with the menu interaction. We know that players like MPC-HC or PotPlayer lack this important function, the interaction with the complex menu of our loved discs. The issue is not cosmetical, because there are film like Watchmen Director's Cut that can't be seen properly without menu. For the rest, the player works with the usual vanilla EVR renderer, use Wasapi audio output but there is a boost (normalization?) on the volume of the audio output by default (not good, that's altering the audio). This version is finally a 64 bit one; 10 bit HEVC videos are decoded as 8 bit.
Review by Ziggy1978 on
Oct 5, 2020 Version: PowerDVD 20 / 20 Build 2101 Patch
OS: Windows 8 64-bit Ease of use: 9/10
Functionality: 9/10
Value for money: 8/10
Overall: 8/10
Rating by on
Jun 5, 2017 Version: 17
OS: Windows 10 64-bit Ease of use: 1/10
Functionality: 1/10
Value for money: 1/10
Overall: 1/10
I've just noticed they have a price reduction for PowerDVD Pro and Ultra till 2 February 2016.
http://www.cyberlink.com/products/powerdvd-ultra/features_en_EU.html?r=1
Pro costs €47,99/$49.95/￡38.99/
Ultra costs €59,99/$59.95/￡44.99
By the way - is there a thread at the forum where the members can report sales, giveaways etc?
http://www.cyberlink.com/products/powerdvd-ultra/features_en_EU.html?r=1
Pro costs €47,99/$49.95/￡38.99/
Ultra costs €59,99/$59.95/￡44.99
By the way - is there a thread at the forum where the members can report sales, giveaways etc?
Review by AllisOne on
Jan 25, 2016 Version: 15.0.2211.58
OS: Windows 7 64-bit Ease of use: 7/10
Functionality: 7/10
Value for money: 5/10
Overall: 6/10
To me, video, Blu-ray and DVD on PowerDVD look the best out of any other video player out there and I tried them all: Total MediaTheatre, WinDVD, Zoom Player, KMPlayer, Media Player Classic HC, VLC among others.
I would have given it a 10 but new version 11 cannot play VP6-FLV, it's not supported, ridiculous considering the majority of FLV's on the internet are VP6. Otherwise, it can play any kind of video, MKV, AVI, DivX, ASF, MP4, MPG, WMV, FLV-AVC/AAC, Silverlight. The playback of high definition 1080p and 720p AVC/H.264 MKV's especially look great, sharp, crystal clear, vibrant colors and if you have good speakers, the DTS multi-channel surroud sound and even AC-3 Dolby sound like you're in a movie theatre. Subtitles internal or external display clear and crisp: SRT, UTF-8, PGS, etc. except that VobSub subtitles, like those created by HandBrake encodes are not supported, another reason I didn't give it a 10.
It works right out the box, you don't have to go crazy adjusting the settings like other video players out there for simple things; it starts up maximized instead of in a tiny little window, aspect ratio is automatically set according to the source, when watching a movie it automatically goes to full screen mode after a few seconds and a if you just move the mouse a little it will set it back to normal display, pressing the keyboard up/down buttons skips through the movie forward or back, space bar pauses/plays, pressing the "C" key captures a screen shot, etc. are already set up, no need to play around with settings.
It has a built in video library, just click on the Video tab and the directory where your videos are display in thumbnail or list form. Just double click to open, or it can open a video from Windows Explorer as well. It integrates seemless with Windows Media Center and you can easily set up a remote control device to use with it just by paring it using a 4-digit code PowerDVD lists on the Device Tab an dconfigure it.
As far as pictures and music go, it has capabilities for that but I prefer Winamp for my music and ACDSee Pro for my pictures.
PowerDVD 11 Ultra is the best video player for viewing high definition videos, Blu-ray or DVD's on your PC. But you be the judge, Compare and see and listen for yourself.
I would have given it a 10 but new version 11 cannot play VP6-FLV, it's not supported, ridiculous considering the majority of FLV's on the internet are VP6. Otherwise, it can play any kind of video, MKV, AVI, DivX, ASF, MP4, MPG, WMV, FLV-AVC/AAC, Silverlight. The playback of high definition 1080p and 720p AVC/H.264 MKV's especially look great, sharp, crystal clear, vibrant colors and if you have good speakers, the DTS multi-channel surroud sound and even AC-3 Dolby sound like you're in a movie theatre. Subtitles internal or external display clear and crisp: SRT, UTF-8, PGS, etc. except that VobSub subtitles, like those created by HandBrake encodes are not supported, another reason I didn't give it a 10.
It works right out the box, you don't have to go crazy adjusting the settings like other video players out there for simple things; it starts up maximized instead of in a tiny little window, aspect ratio is automatically set according to the source, when watching a movie it automatically goes to full screen mode after a few seconds and a if you just move the mouse a little it will set it back to normal display, pressing the keyboard up/down buttons skips through the movie forward or back, space bar pauses/plays, pressing the "C" key captures a screen shot, etc. are already set up, no need to play around with settings.
It has a built in video library, just click on the Video tab and the directory where your videos are display in thumbnail or list form. Just double click to open, or it can open a video from Windows Explorer as well. It integrates seemless with Windows Media Center and you can easily set up a remote control device to use with it just by paring it using a 4-digit code PowerDVD lists on the Device Tab an dconfigure it.
As far as pictures and music go, it has capabilities for that but I prefer Winamp for my music and ACDSee Pro for my pictures.
PowerDVD 11 Ultra is the best video player for viewing high definition videos, Blu-ray or DVD's on your PC. But you be the judge, Compare and see and listen for yourself.
Review by Peppino on
Jul 23, 2011 Version: Ultra 11.0.1719.51
OS: WinXP 64-bit Ease of use: 10/10
Functionality: 9/10
Value for money: 10/10
Overall: 9/10
I still use PowerDVD version 5.0 with my XP Home op system which works OK to play ordinary DVD movies on my computer, to flip through the chapters of a movie, and such simple basic operations. I don't try to play .avi or other formats. I tried a later version of PowerDVD which didn't work right. They started bloating PowerDVD with version 7.0 and later although I don't know the exact sizes of the latest versions because I have no reason to try them. The introduction of Blu-Ray makes it too complicated for me wee noodle, so I'll stick with DVDs.
Review by JohnnyBob on
Feb 18, 2011 Version: 5.0
OS: WinXP Ease of use: 5/10
Functionality: 5/10
Value for money: 5/10
Overall: 5/10
Totally bloated rubbish.Counld't play Blu-ray at all. Took it back for refund. I now use ArcSoft.
Pity because it was good once.
Pity because it was good once.
Review by insipod on
Feb 15, 2011 Version: 10.0
OS: Vista Ease of use: 4/10
Functionality: 1/10
Value for money: 5/10
Overall: 5/10
Payed $100 for Power DVD Ultra 8, 6 months later bought a new tv that supports HDMI 1.3 power dvd ultra 8 only supports HDMI 1.2,For $100 you would think you would get decent support you dont.
You have to pay another $100 for Power DVD 9 which supports HDMI 1.3.Swore I would never buy this program again.Get it from a P2P site,far better value, I will willing pay for programs that offer decent support.
You have to pay another $100 for Power DVD 9 which supports HDMI 1.3.Swore I would never buy this program again.Get it from a P2P site,far better value, I will willing pay for programs that offer decent support.
Review by isapc on
Mar 17, 2010 Version: POWER DVD ULTRA 8
OS: Windows 7 64-bit Ease of use: 7/10
Functionality: 3/10
Value for money: 2/10
Overall: 3/10
I just tried the new 7.0 trial. The dvd I played was badly
pixelated. So I tried different dvd's still the same. So I
installed it on my notebook. The Problem was the same.
Just going keep using 6.0 for now.
pixelated. So I tried different dvd's still the same. So I
installed it on my notebook. The Problem was the same.
Just going keep using 6.0 for now.
Review by Timmychuck on
Oct 25, 2006 Version: 7.0
OS: WinXP Ease of use: 9/10
Functionality: 5/10
Value for money: 5/10
Overall: 5/10
BLOAT.
BLOAT.
BLOAT.
Not to mention THE 96MB INSTALL SIZE!
Nero 7 comes to mind..
Has new features that the average user will never use. Do we really need support for MPEG-4 AVC (H.264)? That file format is still in it's infancy. Oh, and the picture quality while viewing DVD's is the same as 6.
If you already have 6 installed on your computer, don't bother with this bloated mess!
BLOAT.
BLOAT.
Not to mention THE 96MB INSTALL SIZE!
Nero 7 comes to mind..
Has new features that the average user will never use. Do we really need support for MPEG-4 AVC (H.264)? That file format is still in it's infancy. Oh, and the picture quality while viewing DVD's is the same as 6.
If you already have 6 installed on your computer, don't bother with this bloated mess!
Review by Detour on
May 4, 2006 Version: 7
OS: WinXP Ease of use: 10/10
Functionality: 9/10
Value for money: 8/10
Overall: 8/10
Power DVD version 6 does not play MPEG 2 files with a multiplexed MPEG 1 Audio Layer 2 (MP2) (0xc0) stream, even when an MP2 third party audio codec (Moonlight Cordless) is installed.
Review by ken.dearden on
Jan 2, 2006 Version: 6
OS: WinXP Ease of use: 9/10
Functionality: 8/10
Value for money: 8/10
Overall: 8/10
This is my favorite software DVD Player.Very good picture quality and seems very reliable,it dont keep crashing.It supports quite a lot of audio and video formats as well.
The only thing I dislike is that it is becoming more bloated.
The only thing I dislike is that it is becoming more bloated.
Review by laspis59 on
Nov 8, 2005 Version: 6.0.2003e
OS: WinXP Ease of use: 10/10
Functionality: 9/10
Value for money: 9/10
Overall: 9/10
Appalling, rubbish and untimately frustrating. Every time I try to play a Copy Protected DVD (that I bought out of a shop, mind you, not copied at all) it refuses to play it because its afraid that I'm going to connect my TV-Out to a VCR in an effort to violate copyright laws. I have absolutely no intention on making inferior VHS copies, so it's extra bad. The interface is nice, it works quite well when it does actually work, but if you want to play anything except a DVD or (S)VCD' forget it, AVI's etc. The aspect ration is almost always wrong and won't let you change it. I'm disgusted with it and thank god that I didn't pay anything for it as it came free with my DVD Drive.
Review by AwesomeDude on
Jan 31, 2005 Version: PowerDVD XP
OS: WinXP Ease of use: 9/10
Functionality: 1/10
Value for money: 1/10
Overall: 3/10
I'm not very enamored with the picture quality PowerDVD displays, and frankly never have been (this includes both with or without hardware acceleration). What this player has is good sound options (like Dolby Headphone), although they cost and cost plenty.
IMO players like this will soon be ousted by freeware alternatives, as interest in PC video continues to grow.
IMO players like this will soon be ousted by freeware alternatives, as interest in PC video continues to grow.
Review by Zisguy1 on
Jan 24, 2005 Version: 5.0
OS: Win2K Ease of use: 9/10
Functionality: 8/10
Value for money: 6/10
Overall: 7/10
It does its job well but you need to install a ac3 filter for Xvid movies with ac3 audio. Its not a real media player because it doesnt handle streaming content. Gabest Media Player Classic has more options and plays streaming content and can replace Windows Media Player and best of all its freeware.
Review by muppet meat on
Jul 30, 2004 Version: 5.0
OS: WinXP Ease of use: 10/10
Functionality: 5/10
Value for money: 2/10
Overall: 3/10
It's hard to praise this tool too highly. It works well when playing commercial DVDs, and just as well when playing your own DVD authoring project off hard disk. I've found that if your self authored DVD doesn't play correctly in PowerDVD then it won't play correctly in a standalone DVD player either - knowing this saves a lot of DVD burn time!
Also very useful is the high quality directx drivers which it installs, which means that a lot of third party freeware tools (eg. IfoEdit) will find these drivers and work well on your PC.
My copy came bundled with my PC - so the price was right as well! Don't even think of using anything else!
Also very useful is the high quality directx drivers which it installs, which means that a lot of third party freeware tools (eg. IfoEdit) will find these drivers and work well on your PC.
My copy came bundled with my PC - so the price was right as well! Don't even think of using anything else!
Review by mpack on
Jul 30, 2004 Version: 5
OS: WinXP Ease of use: 9/10
Functionality: 9/10
Value for money: 10/10
Overall: 9/10
I like this player very much. I gave a 9 on functionality because it sometimes freezes on some movie that are scratched up. I think it is great. HAs dvd or CD/File mode. One of the few programs that plays VCD DAT files (easily too). Got it free and like that it is easy to use. Right click on screen and you can got to the chapters. Wish they made a remote control for it and a way to fast forward all those preview frames on some dvds.
The picture can be adjusted 4 ways, has 4 skins, and it even has parental control. The full screen is awesome if you have a 1.8ghz pc. It is true full screen covers the whole monitor.
The picture can be adjusted 4 ways, has 4 skins, and it even has parental control. The full screen is awesome if you have a 1.8ghz pc. It is true full screen covers the whole monitor.
Review by ghostlamp on
Feb 24, 2004 Version: 4.x
OS: WinXP Ease of use: 10/10
Functionality: 9/10
Value for money: 10/10
Overall: 10/10
If you were lucky you got PowerDVD bundled with your New DVD Drive/Computer, if you were unlucky you got WinDVD or nothing (though frankly a bundled version of WinDVD is WORSE than nothing!).
PowerDVD is one of the first programs I install on every new machine I build or repair. No DVD equiped PC should be without PowerDVD & DVDDecrypter www.dvddecrypter.com
PowerDVD is one of the first programs I install on every new machine I build or repair. No DVD equiped PC should be without PowerDVD & DVDDecrypter www.dvddecrypter.com
Review by chuffster on
Feb 11, 2004 Version: 4.0
OS: WinXP Ease of use: 10/10
Functionality: 10/10
Value for money: 10/10
Overall: 10/10
Used to have 4.0XP. 5 came with my new computer, even after the latest build patch, it doesn't play The Prince of Egypt VCD (2-disc promo with I Love CCM Remakes and Newsongs collection, Korean). It's the only VCD I have to test. Neither disc plays. Before the latest patch, the picture broke up (high error rate it appeared to be, like a digital satellite system in the middle of extremely heavy rain). After the patch, it just doesn't play at all. Works fine in Windows Media Player. And PowerDVD does work great for DVDs, so I guess that's what is important...
Review by Markie on
Feb 3, 2004 Version: 5.0
OS: WinXP Ease of use: 10/10
Functionality: 7/10
Value for money: 10/10
Overall: 8/10
Great Tool ! ! ! Unless of course you live in the US and have a problem. You can call for support ! ! that is, you can call Taiwan or Europe ... You can go online ! ! ! but ... you wont find your answers there because their support pages suck and have few items of interest. This really is a great tool, I only wish I could use it on the machine I want. I hope the best for anyone using the program, and hope you never have any problems.
Review by Lazloe on
Sep 12, 2003 Version: 4.0+
OS: WinME Ease of use: 9/10
Functionality: 8/10
Value for money: 6/10
Overall: 6/10
rev. 5 has problems playing svcd's encoded with cinemacraft-encoder - macroblock errors. - Went back to rev. 4
Review by weissgold on
Aug 6, 2003 Version: 5
OS: WinXP Ease of use: 1/10
Functionality: 1/10
Value for money: 1/10
Overall: 1/10
Really nice and thoro. My only problem is that their own Divx decoder does not let me use directshow filters on these movies (such as subtitles).
If you can read this then please at least add an option to disable that codec.
If you can read this then please at least add an option to disable that codec.
Review by burgul on
Aug 6, 2003 Version: 5
OS: WinXP Ease of use: 9/10
Functionality: 9/10
Value for money: 9/10
Overall: 9/10
| 22 reviews, Showing 1 to 22 reviews |