Once Again, I have the Power... (Cyberlink PowerDVD XP 4.0 Standard)

Member Name: Mitnik

Product:	Cyberlink PowerDVD XP 4.0 Standard
Date:	22/11/03 (975 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Support for most DVD and CD movie formats, extra features for movie buffs, convenient video and audio presets

Disadvantages: Parental controls could be easier to setup

Firstly the all important facts:
Company: CyberLink
Available: Now
Category: DVD software
Platform: Windows
Requirements: Windows XP, 2000, Me, 98, 98 SE, 95, OSR2, or NT 4.0 SP5+; Intel Pentium II 350-MHz* or above, or any Athlon processor; DVD-ROM, DVD-R/RW, DVD-RAM, or DVD+RW drive with 1394, ATAPI, SCSI, or Card Bus interface; PCI sound card, USB audio box, or motherboard built-in audio device; 64MB RAM; hard-disk requirement of at least 40MB; display card supporting DirectDraw overlay.

(Cyberlink have also just added this to the website: If you're using SRS TruSurroundXT, Dolby Headphone, or Pro Logic II, or if you're playing DTS DVD titles, we recommend 400-MHz or faster. )

And now on with some waffle:
Well I made the "upgrade" to Windows XP Media Center Edition 2004 (Rumoured to be more stable than XP Home & Pro) Once of the bits of software that refused to make the move was WinDVD (I suspect Micro$oft's Media Player 9 has a hand in the problems) Anyways that left me searching about for another solution for my DVD/VCD Playing Needs, I did infact give Media Player a go, but it lacked the control and features I wanted/needed to get the most out of my cd's, So I had to look elsewhere, it was PC World that finally pointed me in the direction of PowerDVD XP 4.0 Standard (by giving it too me free when I bought a Printer cartridge?! Yes, the cashier couldn`t quite understand the "special offer" either) Anyways, I better stop all this waffling and actually get down to reviewing...

and finally the review:
The first thing I spotted (and so coincedently the first thing I`ll point out) is that CyberLink's PowerDVD XP 4 is so packed with features that I truly doubt anyone will use them all. But, like the SUV owner who never uses the four-wheel drive or deer grill, you'll feel good just knowing those functions are there. (or at least that`s the only logical explination I can
come up with.. I for one am not a Single Mother who only takes her kids to School so I really do not have any need for a SUV (There`s a rant there somewhere, you can feel it can`t you?!))

The second thing I noticed was the amount of times I said to myself, geez.. now if only this software was the default for my Logix 3000 DVD Player. You see PowerDVD possesses so many features, that I`m sure you too will wish you had it built into your regular DVD player. It supports major and newer media formats, including DVD, DVD VR, VCD, and SVCD. While manufacturers struggle to find a standard DVD storage format, the company has decided to offer playback support not only for the common DVD-ROM, but also for the variety of drives currently available: DVD-RAM, DVD-R/RW, and DVD+RW. Moreover, you can play audio DVDs in the emerging DVD-A format. (I for one was seriously impressed by that level of flexibility in Medium)

The third thing I spotted, and probably the feature I got most exicted about was the fact that With powerdvd is has the capibility to take a DVD/VCD that's been recorded in Widescreen and via some magic that I think could possibly be so dangerous they`ll never reveal how it`s done on Magic Exposed it can enhance the picture to full screen without losing any of the quality. Truly Amazing..

The fourth thing I spotted was The screen capture feature, and that really is tons of fun it lets you take a frame from your favorite movie scene and either send it to friends or make it your desktop wallpaper. Although it`s a great little extra, you may have to turn off your PC's hardware acceleration to make it work (or at least that was the only way I could get it to work properly).

If like me you have a daughter, a wife, a telephone, a front-door, and a persistant salesman from Swalec you`ll truly appreciate the "Resume From Playback" feature. Some hardware DVD players already have this convenience but I really do think al
l DVD players, hardware and software, should have it too. If you stop a DVD and play it later, PowerDVD will ask if you want to resume the playback or play it from the beginning, Very Handy indeed.

If your drive is configured to start automatically, Upon inserting a DVD PowerDVD should run without prompting and should play the inserted media almost immediately. By default, the movie screen that launches is a window with a 16:9 aspect ratio (wide-screen) that takes up a little less than a third of a 17-inch monitor with a 1024x768 resolution. Below it is the console for PowerDVD controls. You can expand the movie window to take up the full screen, or reduce it to its original size (from full screen) by hitting the F5 button. Video quality is excellent, at least for a CRT screen, but this will also depend on the quality of your video card. (I have a 3Dfx - Voodoo 5 5500 for those wondering)

Directors and cinematographers have a nasty habbit of deliberately making some movies either too dark or too bright. In either case, the movie may be too visually extreme for some viewers. Using PowerDVD's preset profiles you can easily ligthen or darken to your own satisfaction with just a few mouse clicks, a highly usefull feature for those with sensitive eyes.. I`m not technically adept enough to explain the process but it does the changing in such a way that you end up not casting too much scene-changing light in the movie and so in my books that means it works just perfectly. Another usefull part of this feature is the fact You can also adjust these settings manually to suit your taste or to suit different movie genres. You can even save the settings as presets.

If like my wife you have one or two Tom Cruise Fantasies you`ll love the Pan & Scan and Digital Zoom, these work best when the movie is in full screen and with these features you can easily zoom in on the "Best Bits." Without much effort, both features will let you zoom in on t
he action and, with Pan & Scan you can then use the mouse, to move the screen around. A convenient rectangular map on the upper left corner indicates which quadrant you have zoomed in on.

It`s all very well being able to see and zoom into the action but what about hearing it too? Well here the software doesn`t let you down either it offers many preset options for audio settings (more options than any other package I've seen). It really is in it's configurable audio properties that PowerDVD Truly Shines It supports many advanced audio formats, such as DirectSound3D and Dolby Pro Logic II. If you select the TruSurroundXT setting, you`ll find movies gain more bass while spreading the sound effects wider to create a theater-like sound, even on a modest two-speaker setup. Moreover, the audio settings menu offers an instant preview of the sound you've chosen, rather than having to click Apply or OK each time. It`s this that can truly bring a movie to life..

I`ve always been a firm believer that Parents need to play there part in censorship, and PowerDVD can help here too with it's Parental controls so that as a parent or guardian you can prevent younger kids from watching R or NC-17 rated movies. Unfortunetly It is somewhat clunky to set up and nonintuitive to use. Just remember to set up at least two accounts, one with unlimited access, the other with the rating limit you set for children or teenagers.. If you just follow a bit of common sense a read the instructions you`ll figure out the administration options, and once done PowerDVD will be effective in blocking your children from viewing titles rated too high.

And so, In Summary: PowerDVD XP 4 Standard offers DVD movie playback with lots of cool extras. If you have a decent speaker setup and want more control over audio and video settings, then PowerDVD is the software that will leave you living "Happily Ever After".

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