The Most Complete Multimedia Player for Home Theaters & PCs PowerDVD plays more than just DVD and Blu-ray discs. It is an all-round multimedia player for downloads, movies, videos, audio, photos, VR 360˚ content, and even YouTube or Vimeo.
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CyberLink PowerDVD can not only process traditional DVDs and Blu-ray, but it also supports digital video formats such as MKV, H.264, 3D, and even 4k. This new build, version 15, also supports online video from providers like YouTube and Vimeo, or you can upload your own on CyberLink Cloud. The suite, although pricey, offers a home-theater experience for those who consume a lot of media on the go.
ProsOptimized media: CyberLink PowerDVD's TrueTheater Smart Enhancement can automatically optimize your video and audio quality. Skin tones appear more lifelike, and movies' black levels are richer, thanks to customized adjustments in hue and saturation from TrueTheater Color. Video noise reduction removes the haziness effect of compression found in many online videos, delivering a more vibrant picture.
Video enhancement works on movies under 2,048 pixels x 1,152 pixels, making it compatible with most FullHD sources.Auto-tune your audio: TrueTheater Sound applies smart tweaks to give your audio a boost. The enhancements bring a deeper bass level, immersive ambient sound, better vocals, and captivating surround-sound effects. The optimization is more noticeable on audio headsets but can improve audio quality on standard speakers, too.The Swiss Army Knife player: PowerDVD 15 can process a large amount of video, audio, and image formats. Using your hardware memory, the player churns out 4k video without stutter. PowerDVD also allows you to view high frame-rate videos (from 120 frames per second, up to 240 fps), like those made by the new iPhone 6 or GoPro without Apple iMovie.
We appreciate the direct NAS playback and DLNA support.Watch longer using less power: PowerDVD performs admirably without wasting system resources. Better power consumption means longer battery life for your devices.A DVR for online streams: Download YouTube or Vimeo movies to watch offline at your convenience. Hear a song that you like?
PowerDVD can rip audio tracks for later listening. CyberLink Cloud allows you to store videos, sync music, make playlists, and stream them directly wherever you are. TrueTheater enhancements are also available for online videos. ConsBuying a ticket to your own show: With so many free options out there, it can be hard to justify paying for a media player.
Cineastes will want to pony up for the premium version, as PowerDVD greatly enhances your entertainment when hardware is limited to your laptop and a mobile device. PowerDVD Standard is pretty minimal, missing many important features like Blu-Ray playback. It's more cost-effective to splurge for the Pro or even Ultra option.Bare-bones Web search: PowerDVD may support YouTube and Vimeo, but search functionality leaves much to be desired.
Keywords bring up video thumbnails without information, like dates and view counts. Unless you already know which video you would like to view, copying and pasting direct URLs from the services' respective Web searches was the best way to get to your content on PowerDVD.
CyberLink also allows you to log in to your accounts, but managing them still requires a browser. Bottom LineIf you're in the market for a more sophisticated video watching experience, PowerDVD delivers. With its Smart Enhancement and TrueTheater technology, CyberLink delivers a cinematic experience without the expensive hardware. PowerDVD plays more than just DVD and Blu-ray discs. It is an all-round multimedia player for downloads, movies, videos, audio, photos, VR 360 content, and even YouTube or Vimeo.Enjoy all your favorite movies and premium videos in better-than-original quality in your own home theater with support for popular media casting devices, plus most file formats and codecs. For those who like to be on the cutting-edge of entertainment PowerDVD 19 also delivers the most immersive 360 VR experience possible with new spatial audio support.screenshots.
Full Specifications What's new in version 19.0Version 19.0:. 8K Video Quality. TrueTheater Quality for 4K Video. Cinema Quality Audio Playback (More Formats)GeneralPublisherPublisher web siteRelease DateApril 16, 2019Date AddedApril 21, 2019Version19.0CategoryCategorySubcategoryOperating SystemsOperating SystemsWindows 7/8/10Additional RequirementsNoneDownload InformationFile Size1.12MBFile NameCyberLinkPowerDVDDownloader.exePopularityTotal Downloads14,149,649Downloads Last Week140PricingLicense ModelFree to tryLimitations30-day trialPrice$99.99.
First, the caveats:. You must be running Windows 10 as an upgrade from a Windows 7 or Windows 8/8.1 installation,. If you've done a clean install, or your copy of Windows doesn't meet the criteria, you'll have to pay $15 for the program. The free version of Windows DVD Player will only be available to the PC that qualifies. (This is in contrast to buying the app, which lets you install it on your other PCs.).
This freebie is available only for a limited time—Microsoft hasn't explicitly said for how long yet , but the rough window they've given is that it'll end at or before the Windows 10 upgrade offer ends. To get the program, you don't need to do anything—the free version will come to you as a download through Windows Update. If you haven't gotten it yet, you can bypass the wait by going to Settings Update & Security Check for Updates. If is among the available updates that begin to download and install, you'll have the free Windows DVD Player app afterward. Once the program's been installed, you'll get DVD disc playback—and that's it. It won't play backups of DVDs (i.e., VOB files), nor play Blu-ray discs. If you're looking for more functionality, you have to use another program.
Option 2: Go Third-PartyThere are a slew of third-party applications you can use instead of Windows 10's DVD Player. (In fact, you might want to check if such a program came free with your DVD or Blu-ray/DVD disc drive; it should still work in Windows 10.) But our pick of the bunch is VLC, an excellent bit of software. To get it, head to. As you install it, leave all the selected file formats as they are if you want VLC to be your default media player. When you first insert a DVD, Windows 10 will ask you what you want to set as the default action for that media type.
If you want your discs to play automatically once you insert them, choose to open them in VLC. Windows 10 will then remember that as the AutoPlay setting. If for some reason that doesn't work, or you want VLC to be the default auto player for other DVD types (like Enhanced DVD movies and DVD-Audio), head to Control Panel AutoPlay and you can change Windows 10's default action. What About Blu-ray Discs?Finding a free way to play Blu-ray discs in Windows 10 is a bit trickier. VLC doesn't have full support for Blu-ray playback; it lacks the libraries needed to decrypt the discs. If you Google for those libraries, you can find a, but be warned that the source of those files is unverified. Your best alternative, if you're determined to not shell out extra cash to watch your Blu-ray collection (and you want an option that you can trust), is to rip them to MKV.
If you want to go this route, is an excellent piece of software that makes this very easy. It's free while in beta (and has been for years); though you'll get a message saying you only have a 30-day trial, these beta versions are usable for no charge until the current version becomes out of date. (At that point, you'll just need to download and install the new version of the beta.).
Going the MKV route will require you to have enough hard drive space to accommodate the rips (they can be pretty large—about 35-40GB), and the patience to wait for the rip to complete. For reference, when making an MKV using our LG UH12NS30 Blu-ray drive (which has a 12x read speed), it took 31min, 13sec to create 32.9GB worth of files from our 39.81GB Watchmen disc. That might sound like a pain, and it is less convenient, but one nice benefit to MKVs is that you can put them on other devices or stream them over your network (either to a console or another PC) once you're done. So it's a trade-off.