CyberLink Lightweight, reliable, and user-friendly, CyberLink PowerDVD provides one of the best DVD recorders around.
The fact that CyberLink PowerDVD exists at all is surprising, since the PowerDVD software package is part of the brand’s other multimedia software collection, PowerAudiX, and as a result has very limited support in the office.
On the plus side, PowerDVD’s user-friendly interface shows why it’s so popular. The software is extremely configurable, with a choice of media options that include DivX, DivX, and XviD, plus DVD and Blu-ray ISO burning.
New to PowerDVD is the ability to copy pictures and videos to your USB drive without taking your PC offline. There are also some nice adjustments to the interface to help improve efficiency – you can even save a PC state that’s ready to restore.
There’s also support for different languages (thanks to CyberLink MediaCore), plus some interesting privacy tools. If you’re worried about people snooping on your computer, you can hide log files for PowerDVD, ensure only Windows Update can update the program, and even activate a system disk encryption to keep your media content safe from prying eyes.
Note that this is the Professional version of PowerDVD.
Performance
My tests showed that CyberLink PowerDVD is incredibly fast at burning Blu-ray discs. They start and load with a minimum of fuss, and I saw only a short delay between pressing Play and the Blu-ray player showing up onscreen.
Skip to a particular chapter in the video and there was no slowdown or stuttering. The playback speed is noticeably fast too, but a 4:3 non-anamorphic disc can sometimes be slower to load than an anamorphic one.
The software supports multiple formats and frame rates, and it uses the latest Blu-ray Blu-ray Profile 3.0, so there shouldn’t be any problems with previously unsupported discs. There’s also support for BD-Live, and the ability to choose your own screenshots from a video.
PowerDVD is a relatively mature product and is more mature than ever. The only area in which the program could do better is DVD-Video support, where the interface lacks a clear way to pause and resume a disc.
PowerDVD does a lot of other interesting things, but it’s not exactly exciting to use. I couldn’t see any need for the Settings menu, which is locked behind a hard-to-access prompt at the top of the main interface.
CyberLink PowerDVD Ultra 22 – Webcam and interface
One of the unusual features of PowerDVD is its built-in webcam. CyberLink MediaCore can capture HD video from the built-in cam at 60fps, for instance. Alternatively, you can use your webcam to launch a demo with a clever mouse-hover effect.
