The $100 Ultra and 365 ($55 annually) versions of PowerDVD support all the latest (and not so latest) technologies, including 3D, 360-degree video with spatial audio, 8K UHD, HDR and more. You can even cast to your TV using Cyberlink’s Android and iOS apps, which are free. It also “pins” YouTube videos for offline viewing. PowerDVD 20 will stream videos from various sources, including any local DLNA server (such as the NAS box I use to store my movies), YouTube, and Vimeo. Especially with older or lower-resolution material. PowerDVD’s TrueTheater enhancements can make a world of difference in the quality of video playback. Not all are available with all material or hardware, however HDR color enhancement, for example, is only available if your PC’s graphics hardware supports it. The latter is useful if your camera didn’t take care of this on its own.

While it’s not obliging of antiques, PowerDVD’s real value lies in its TrueTheater enhancements: HD upscaling, HDR color, lighting, motion compensation, noise reduction, and stabilization. The program is also a more than capable librarian and organizer with playlists, rankings, and the like. Some legacy (RealMedia) and oddball codecs (some FLV, and even some older AVC) that VLC handles easily won’t play, or play only as audio with PowerDVD. It also plays a very wide variety of the most popular video, audio, and image files, though it’s not quite as universal as the company has at times trumpeted. It still does that, as well as supporting new Blu-ray and Ultra HD Blu-ray movie discs if you have an HDCP-capable GPU. As you might suspect from the name, the program started life as a tool to play DVD movies (including copy-protected commercial titles) from a PC. Legacy featuresīefore I get to the new stuff-a basic overview of what PowerDVD 20 does and what makes it better than the rest. But it could use some work in the dialogs and menus. CyberlinkĬyberlink’s PC interface is attractive and efficient with basic tasks. And I’m being picky-you’ll adapt in short order.

To be fair, most video player configuration dialog boxes and menus are even less efficient, while not being nearly as good-looking. Additionally, the popup menus aren’t always completely contextualized, showing numerous selections that aren’t germane to the task at hand. Cascaded dialog boxes are convoluted, and it’s occasionally difficult to see where one ends and the other begins.

The TV Mode interface shown above is simple and easy, but the PC version below, while attractive and efficient enough for basics such as browsing and playing, could use some work in the nooks and crannies. Use your imagination, or look at the next image. Normally, this page will show all available movies. PowerDVD 20’s TV mode interface is designed for use with a remote control.

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