CyberLink PowerDVD 17 Ultra - Review 2022

If you've purchased a PC with an optical drive in the past 10 years, chances are good that the PowerDVD utility software came preinstalled on the computer. And though discs are increasingly being superseded past streaming media options, the software can still be useful for some media-playing needs. Indeed, this Ultra edition is a must for high-terminate home-theater PC enthusiasts. It offers the merely way to play 4K Blu-ray with HDR discs, and now information technology fifty-fifty lets you lot picket VR content on an Oculus Rift or HTC Vive headset.

Those are just the headline features: PowerDVD 17 Ultra offers lots of viewing benefits that tin aid you get more out of your media collection. In improver to its disc-related abilities, PowerDVD can play cloud-based content and piece of work as a home theater server. Furthermore, the highlight of the previous version was Boob tube Mode, which offers media casting to HDTVs, premium audio playback, and an improved PowerDVD Remote app—all of which remain central features in version 17.

Pricing and Startup

PowerDVD is available for Windows 10, 8.i, and 7. Information technology'due south a 32-bit application, merely the software also runs on 64-scrap PCs. There are three levels available for purchase. The full PowerDVD 17 Ultra ($99.95) comes with all features—this is the version reviewed here. The Pro version lacks UHD 4K Blu-ray, TV Mode, and other features ($79.95). Standard ($59.95) is just for bones DVD playing. Y'all can also get the software through a subscription to PowerDVD Alive ($44.99 per yr), which gets you all features and updates. A full-featured, gratis 30-twenty-four hour period trial version is available for those who don't want to commit before trying. Note that the bones free version of PowerDVD arranged with new PCs lacks near advanced features mentioned in this review.

Once y'all've entered the license key, you'll want to set your media library and sign upwards for a cloud storage business relationship. A link from the setup magician takes you to the cloud storage webpage, where you simply create or sign into an online account. The PowerDVD installer also places a tray icon in the notification area of the taskbar, which pops up to import media when y'all insert a USB drive.

PowerDVD Start

Interface

PowerDVD's interface is more modern than that of its closest competitor, Corel WinDVD, which looks somewhat stuck in the past. PowerDVD's UI is, still, more than complicated than that of another important competitor, Microsoft's Movies & TV, which also plays your local video files and offers a pic and Goggle box shop—of import because information technology'southward gratis and comes with every copy of Windows 10. PowerDVD's starting splash screen offers just two big selection buttons: PC Fashion and Television set Mode. You can set information technology to always go to one or the other if you prefer, and you can switch to the one you're not using at any fourth dimension.

In improver to being a player of disc-based video, PowerDVD handles all your media, including locally and remotely stored music, photos, and videos. And those are all accessible from a left console in the PC interface. If you adopt one app to dominion all your media, every bit opposed to using Windows x's dissever Movies & Television set, Photos, and Groove Music apps, then PowerDVD will entreatment to you.

There are sections for added media, CyberLink Cloud-stored media, local folders, playlists, online video (from YouTube and Vimeo), and devices (including DLNA-continued devices and attached storage). You can customize the menus so that just options you use frequently are displayed, and you can use wallpapers to gussy them up. As you'd await, the Television receiver layout features much larger buttons, and they're in a horizontal carte du jour instead of the PC version'south vertical layout. This view made playing a Blu-ray much easier than PC Way in testing.

When using Boob tube Way, you tin can't utilize the mouse for playback controls—simply the keyboard, an on-screen remote, or the Cyberlink's remote mobile app. The mere being of mobile apps, past the way, is a big differentiator between PowerDVD and the Corel and Microsoft software, which lack remote control (or viewing) apps. More on PowerDVD's mobile apps in a flake.

360-Degree VR

PowerDVD now supports 360-caste video, such as that from the Samsung Gear 360 and the Nikon KeyMission 360, or from online sources, such as YouTube and Vimeo. It tin take a double circular paradigm and convert that to an equirectangular view that you can navigate with the mouse cursor. The VR headset back up is cool, and I saw an impressive demo of the software using and Oculus Rift, in which you can have office in both animated and live 360 productions. Believe me, being in a movie can be a lot more fun than merely watching i.

I tried VR mode with an HTC Vive. The software provides a menu and instructions in the VR view for how to use it, and I was able to view digital still photos and both 2D and 3D videos through it. At first I was using a PC that didn't have the required graphics processor level, and though the HTC software worked, PowerDVD wasn't having information technology. Everything worked as advertised on a Razer Blade laptop, and I was able to await around my sample 360-caste video world.

4K Blu-ray

PowerDVD is the first software that supports 4K UHD Blu-ray drives, but those are pretty hard to come by, unless yous live in Japan. If you programme to play 4K Blu-rays, you'll also need all your equipment—Boob tube, PC, drive, and cables—to support HDCP 2.2 for DRM reasons. You lot tin can already go 4K Blu-rays that include HDR at BestBuy, and more are available for preorder. Needless to say, the content's visual quality is stunning, as I saw in a live demo provided by CyberLInk.

Better Video Viewing

The Corel and Microsoft applications can both play video files from your drive or discs, but PowerDVD adds TrueTheater image correction and enhancement. This tin can really heighten the watching experience and give more intensity and clarity in both the video and audio of a picture. The effect can occasionally be a bit oversaturated and too dissimilarity-y, simply at its best it tin can actually bring washed-out footage to life. WinDVD offers lighting and color correction, just non an automatic picture add-on like TrueTheater's. Both besides offer epitome stabilization, though I found PowerDVD's more proficient. Information technology doesn't fix big camera movements, but it works well for jittery shaking.

Another TrueTheater enhancement is Motility, which upwards-samples video to make motion smoother. TrueTheater also corrects colour, lighting, and sharpness, and you tin can even arrange the strength of these effects with slider controls. You get to these simply by tapping the eye icon below the video. You can even use a split up-screen view to compare the effects with the unadjusted image.

Finally, TrueTheater as well offers new HDR enhancement abilities, though this last feature is but bachelor if yous're watching on an HDR10-capbale HDTV. It looks even amend than previous TrueTheater color and lighting enhancements, since it actually provides a larger color space.

Casting to Larger Screens

One feature of the Goggle box Fashion (and one that's shared with Microsoft Movies & TV) is the ability to bandage video and audio to an external device such every bit an HDTV, either wired or wirelessly, using Wi-Fi and Miracast, or through DLNA. An unfortunate limitation of this technology, however, is that it doesn't let y'all stream Blu-ray Discs, DVDs, movie folders, or ISO files. 1 surprising capability, though, is that information technology can stream your video to Apple TVs. But PowerDVD isn't the just PC media-playing software that tin do that: Apple tree iTunes tin, too, and even with big Hollywood movies you buy from Apple tree'southward content store.

Different iTunes and Windows Movies & TV, PowerDVD doesn't include any content-buying pick. You have to download your movies and shows through some other means and and so can organize and play them back in PowerDVD. Information technology does let you watch trailers, rate titles, and interact with the MoovieLive online fan community.

Photos

It's worth noting that PowerDVD also offers some decent photo capabilities. It can view raw camera files, play slideshows from a binder of images, and upload disk-based digital photos to Facebook and Flickr. Unfortunately, it tin't apply its TrueTheater paradigm enhancements to even so photos.

PowerDVD and Photos

Cloud Storage

PowerDVD Ultra includes a year of 30GB of CyberLink Cloud online storage. If you're a CyberLink Live subscriber, that corporeality continues equally long as yous subscribe. If not, you tin purchase online storage at $nine.99 for 10GB for a year, up to 100GB for $100 per year. It's non the cheapest storage effectually, compared with iCloud Drive, Google Drive, or OneDrive, only it ties in nicely with your CyberLink products. You can upload photos and video from the programme, besides as from the mobile apps and then play the media from any device. You can enjoy content and create folders, but not upload files, from the web interface.

Mobile Apps

Its mobile apps are 1 aspect of PowerDVD that prepare the product apart from the competition. The two apps, PowerDVD Remote and Power Media Player (available for Android, iOS and Windows Phone), work as remote controls for bigger PC and HDTV screens and equally a player for all your content stored on the PC. They also tie in with the CyberLink Cloud. Any content you store there will be playable in the Histrion app, only the same thing could be said for Apple iTunes and Windows Movies & Television and Groove apps.

PowerDVD Remote

Setting up the remote app is a simple matter of making sure the phone is continued to the same Wi-Fi network as the calculator running PowerDVD and then entering a code from the application's Devices page. The app shows an overlay of its functions, which are pretty clear fifty-fifty without this mini-tutorial. It's a well-designed app that includes keyboard and mouse functions, volume adjustments, and skip controls. The remote app would exist easier to use if you didn't need three modes—Navigation, Playback, and Mouse. The same problem of the PC mouse existence unable to click on-screen buttons exists for the app. Y'all can however, click on the PowerDVD play controls at the bottom of the screen.

The Media Play app sports a woodgrain, bookshelf-like domicile page with choices for Music, Video, and Photo. I was able to load and play video from my test PC running PowerDVD, and after logging into a CyberLink Cloud account, I could play videos from that source, too, even when I wasn't on the same Wi-Fi network equally the PC. The video doesn't play until information technology's completely downloaded, however. Video stored on OneDrive tin stream to the service's mobile apps before full download.

Power for Home Theater Fans

If y'all download a lot of media to your PC and want a manner to play information technology on a big screen, CyberLink PowerDVD 17 Ultra is a good fashion to go. The Microsoft Movies & TV app and iTunes offering playback with casting to larger screens, also, as well as stores for purchasing commercial video and music. Withal, they lack PowerDVD's TrueTheater prototype improvement and mobile remote-command and media playing apps. Meanwhile, PowerDVD'due south closest competitor, Corel WinDVD, lacks mobile apps, VR support, and a cloud storage option. All of this earns CyberLink PowerDVD our Editors' Choice for disc-playing software.