CyberLink PowerDVD 7.0 - Dream DVD Solution?

Cyberlink PowerDVD 7.0 is the latest offering of this software. When you hear about the pricing options of Cyberlink's PowerDVD 7 Standard, you will either love it or hate it. Cyberlink offers an a la carte offering to its base model DVD player, at the "low" cost of $49.95. A pretty decent price for a quality, feature-rich piece of software. However, buyer beware because Cyberlink has tried its best to confuse the marketplace by offering various versions of its PowerDVD product and then offering add-on packages for additional costs. I will elaborate more on the price structure below. To be fair, there are a ton of features in this Standard offering that could do more than just satisfy the base customer. If that is the case then the $50 is a steal.

What's Hot: 
When comparing the offerings of other DVD Players, $49.95 for the CyberLink PowerDVD 7 Standard version is more than reasonable. For that amount, you get a reliable player with some pretty neat features.

I'm not going to go into the price comparison of a software DVD player versus a stand alone DVD player. I'm a firm proponent of the superior video qualities of software DVD players, so it's really an apples and oranges comparison.


What's Not: 
As complicated as it is to select from the different DVD players at your local retailer, it's even more difficult to decipher which package of Cyberlink PowerDVD is right for you. Moreover, once a choice is made, you need to evaluate all of the available add-ons. Some might appreciate the extra features not bundled with the software which drivie the cost up. However, it's hard to justify the overall price if those features you require begin to unreasonably jack up the price.

If you're not pleased with the basic audio included in standard you can purchase the Advanced Audio Pack. This includes an impressive arsenal of audio codecs which will give you DTS:Neo 6 decoding, all the way up to Dolby Digital EX 7.1 Audio, and everything in-between. It's a fantastic pack, but it will cost $39.95 for Standard users. That's almost the price of Standard.

That's not all folks. If you are a laptop user, Cyberlink is kind enough to offer you a Mobility Pack, which will give you three power-saving options. These are designed to let your laptop battery last longer during movie watching time. All this for only an additional $19.95.

The third and final pack (for now) is the HD264 pack, which will grant you access to playback MPEG-4 AVC (also known as H.264) files. These are a popular video format for the Apple users. If your friends use Macs they will probably need this one which is a bummer considering that Cyberlink charges $39.95 for this single file format. 

If you're adding it up along the way, that's a total of $99.85 in upgrades alone. The grand total is $149.80. That's a lot of money to spend on DVD player software. Although these packs are optional, these missing features in the base configuration are available in competitors base offerings.

What's Hot: 
The installation & configuration of CyberLink PowerDVD 7.0 Standard is a real treat. For a program with as many features and such a high quality reputation, it's nice to see a fairly simple and clear process. The installation is standard, you're prompted for registration and then your user key to unlock access to your version.

From the configuration screen, you can customize the user interface, change the skin and modify a wealth of other configurations to suit your viewing environment.

Users who want even more control are able to dive into the Advanced Audio and Video Properties and then customize the player even further. Although not for the faint of heart, it's an awful lot of fun to play with and tweak because in the end you can really get your performance to look exactly as you desire.

The entire setup experience is appropriate to the reputation Cyberlink has established. It satisfies the entire spectrum of users from basic to expert allowing more control than you would probably ever need.

What's Hot: 
The user interface of Cyberlink PowerDVD 7.0 is pretty good. The buttons are clearly placed and viewing full screen is as easy as a click on the top right, or simply double-clicking the movie playing.

The interface as well is a fairly standard beige design but Cyberlink offers a fairly neat feature in their downloadable skins. By default, you can select from three included skins, and I'm hoping there will be more to come down the line. It's a little odd that there is so few choices and no instructions or methods for uploading your own. However, it's still a pretty nice addition which not many competitors have. Then again, users viewing in full screen mode will rarely ever notice the skin of the player.

In addition, even in full screen mode, by right-clicking you have access to the full wealth of options. Everything from subtitles, audio selection, to the controls such as fast forward or skipping chapters are there. It's all easily accessible with a mouse.

What's Not: 
The biggest disappointment with Cyberlink PowerDVD 7.0 Standard is the lack of remote capabilities. As Imentioned earlier, I am a huge proponent of Home Theater PCs (HTPCs), which refers to hooking up computers to your home theater and your big screen television. This operation enables you to playback your movie files from your computer. This is the reason Windows Media Center has sold so many copies. It puzzles me that Cyberlink not only omits a plugin for Media Center, but they include no way to control the interface via remote.

Technically, if you have a remote with mouse controls, or basic playback controls, you can at least have the bare minimum playback abilities. I think that it's one very large omission for a commercial offering at a less-than-cheap price. Even competitors who refuse to design for Media Center have at least understood their customers' needs enough to design their own ten inch UI which is usable with a standard PC remote. If you don't mind using your mouse 100% of the time, it's a solid and fun interface to play around with.

What's Hot: 
I've spoken previously about the features available via Add-On packs and my views about them. In fairness to CyberLink PowerDVD 7.0, I'll be going over just the product features available in the Standard offering. Even without those Add-On packs, you'll probably be more than satisfied with your investment because there is a plethora of unique options available to make the most of your DVD viewing experience.

Cyberlink has some dedicated options for the improvement of video quality. As more users are connecting their PC's to a variety of higher quality and larger displays, the demands on the software players has grown. To deal with that, Cyberlink uses their own decoder and image technology, called Cyberlink Eagle Vision (CLEV). CLEV is designed to brighten and enhance colors, as well as providing a smoother interface whether on a standard display, or on a stretched 16:9 (widescreen high definition) television set.

Cyberlink touts a number of other control and viewing features, some of which are nice, and some of which you probably wouldn't use very often. The zoom and bookmark features are great, allowing you to remember and go to specific scenes. Other items such as "Say it Again" allows you to repeat the last line seem no more than a quick rewind feature. I can't imagine many people requiring or using it on a regular basis unless they have lost some of their hearing capabilities in combat, for instance.

What's Not: 
I'm a little less impressed with the audio features. With the standard offering, you get a very limited number of options. You do receive their "Multi-Environment Impression," which is technology to utilize eight channels of audio, but it lacks all the standard surround sound technologies any audiophile will require. Cyberlink may counter this argument with their Audio Add-On, but it would have been a good gesture to at least include a well known Dolby or other sound technology with the included price of Standard.

What's Hot: 
Cyberlink provides a few support and help options for its customers of PowerDVD 7.0 Standard. They provide your basic offerings of FAQs, as well as email options for technical support through a web form. Not having a forum is an odd omission for a company that has a large number of high-end customers. I actually find forums to be extremely useful because customers share support inquiries and this should, therefore, lower the overall number of support requests.

What's Not: 
Essentially, Cyberlink does not provide telephone support. Technically, they do offer voice support between the hours of 1pm to 10pm, Central time. That is the good news. The insulting news is that they only provide support for people who have purchased their Support Package. This is an outrageous price of $29.95, for two months of telephone support. That is offensive considering the software itself only costs $49.95. I can understand the rising cost of domestic support, but even a case by case offering, say $5 or $10 per call would at least be more agreeable than almost $30. You have two months of unlimited calls, but how often do you foresee the need to call in two months? It's a paltry offering from a company I've come to expect more from, and hopefully one that will change in time.

A requirement for myself, would be a 10 inch interface. Any user that hooks this up to their television set will not want to be constrcited to using a mouse. In addition to that, simplify the buying process for people. Either go with a variety of versions, or choose the add-on packs. To have both is both confusing and frustrating (for reviewers as well as customers). I suggest they either remove telephone support or add a less insulting pay scale model.

Let's be clear on at least one point. Cyberlink makes the least amount of money from it's bare basic Standard version of it's PowerDVD 7.0. That's the only reason I see why they would possibly make it as confusing a purchasing experience as possible. With such a variety of more expensive versions, then Add-On packs which provide various other features (some of which are included and others not), it can be disconcerting. Just making heads or tails of what you're getting for the $49.95 is challenging enough, consequently, it's a good thing that the product itself is very simple to use. Once you have it up and running, you can tweak it if you need to, or just leave the default. I found both settings more than viewable and better than what a cheap $50 DVD player could provide.

If you're in the market for a basic software DVD player and don't need any bells or whistles, you could do much worse that Cyberlink's Standard offering. Then again you could do better too.

Intervideo WinDVD, Media Center, Media Player, Arcsoft Total Media