CyberLink PowerDVD is a media player for Microsoft Windows providing DVD
playback, with Blu-ray playback available in higher editions. The
current version, PowerDVD 15, is available in three editions: PowerDVD 15
Standard, PowerDVD 15 Pro or PowerDVD 15 Ultra.
PowerDVD is distributed on physical media or by download from the CyberLink
website. It is often bundled with a variety of PC systems and peripheral
devices a strategy which has enabled CyberLink to claim it as "the market's
#1 media playback product with annual distribution of over 100 million units".
PowerDVD Live was introduced in 2013, as an annual- or quarterly-fee subscription
model including cloud storage, similar to Adobe Creative Cloud, under which
consumers could ensure they remain on the latest version while paying but
would lose the ability to use the software if their subscription lapsed.
PowerDVD was the first Blu-ray 3D software player to achieve certification
from the Blu-ray Disc Association under the new Blu-ray 3D standard.
Features DVD and Blu-ray disc playback.
DTS-HD 7.1 channel surround sound. DLNA
Video file playback of formats including mkv, flv, wtv, 3gp and 3g2, and rm, rmvb
if RealPlayer is installed. Support for subtitle formats include
smi, ass, ssa, psb, srt and sub. 4K UHD
Upscaling of DVDs and standard definition video files to HD, including
videos from YouTube Support for 3D photos and movies,
including Blu-ray 3D. GPU-accelerated conversion of 2D movies
into 3D. MoovieLive.com, a CyberLink "web site
for collection information and reviews on films played back using the
application" that "acts much like CDDB does for CDs, querying the MoovieLive
service and downloading any pertinent information on it such as its title, a
rating, how many others have watched this movie and so on."
MovieMarks, which combines bookmarked movie scenes and review comments which
can be shared online via MoovieLive.com. Live Comments, which lets PowerDVD users
post opinions and comments to Facebook, Twitter and MoovieLive while a movie is
playing. PowerDVD Remote for control of playback
in PowerDVD with an iOS or Android device
PowerDVD Mobile for streaming playback of content from the PC on an Android or
iOS device, and transcoding content to copy to the device.
Limitations To watch Blu-ray in PowerDVD 11 or
above, the user's computer must be HDCP compliant, with an appropriate
videocard, cable and monitor; there is no such limitation on version 10 and
earlier releases, and so VGA, composite or S-Video interfaces can be used to
connect monitor or TV to PC. When installed on laptops, this limitation
doesn't apply, but newer Blu-ray protected discs can be played only in
more recent versions and most of the time need an Internet connection to do
so. HD DVD support is not available since
PowerDVD 9. Support for Windows XP was dropped in
version 15. Version history
Criticism CyberLink supports PowerDVD with updates
for a limited time after a version is released, which became a problem once
Blu-ray Disc support was included with the release of PowerDVD 7 Ultra in
December 2009: Blu-ray copy protection requires player software or firmware to
be updated periodically to allow playback of newer discs. For CyberLink
customers wanting to watch a Blu-ray Disc mastered after the date on which
their version of PowerDVD went EOL, this means they might be unable to do so
until they have upgraded to a newer release of PowerDVD. Since version 9,
the software provides notification if an unplayable disc is inserted: users with
a version still in support are prompted by this notification to update to the
latest patch, those with a version that is EOL are prompted to upgrade to the
current release and on clicking are taken to the CyberLink website to buy a
copy of the current version at a discount.
Versions 7 Ultra, 8 and 9 were updated for only 12, 24 and 26 months
respectively, and this requirement to buy a new PowerDVD release every other
year for continued Blu-ray capability led to many complaints about
incompatibility from users of PowerDVD 9 and earlier when Star Wars was first
released on Blu-ray. Subsequently, versions 10 and 11 have continued to
receive updates for longer than the previous three versions did, and the
support notice for the EOL of version 10 directed customers with "PowerDVD 10
Ultra retail version installed" to "download and install an update to
PowerDVD 11 Ultra", essentially a free upgrade for customers with the
highest-tier version, after 47 months of support for version 10.
DVD Audio support is not available in version 11. Support stopped during
version 9, although Cyberlink advertised versions 9 and 10 as being able to play
DVD Audio discs. Cyberlink has refused to offer assistance to customers who
bought versions 10 and 11 believing they could play back DVD Audio discs using
them. For users with international disks,
PowerDVD does not have an option to set preferred languages or disk menus. This
causes serious issues with Japanese Blu-ray disks of international titles,
as PowerDVD often ignores the Japanese menus in favor of the primary menu.
There is no fix offered by Cyberlink other than to switch versions to a
Japanese one. Decoders
See also Comparison of video player software
References External links
Official website MoovieLive