Review of CyberLink PowerDVD 7 Deluxe
by
Mike Garcen
(2,703
pts
)
Published on
Oct 26, 2007
CyberLink PowerDVD 7.0 Deluxe is yet another offering from CyberLink to add to its expansive lineup of software DVD players. For $20 more than the standard version, Cyberlink tosses in some useful features to maximize the potential of your DVDs, while maintaining the clean and simple user interface.
1953 views
Introduction
| CyberLink PowerDVD 7 Deluxe |
| Installation & Setup |  | | User Interface |  | | Help & Support | | | Price to Value |  | | Product Features | |
|
CyberLink PowerDVD 7 Deluxe has new features and full options. CyberLink has been around for quite some time, linked from its start as a software DVD solutions company that is always on the cutting edge of the industry. For a long time, there was only a small group of competitors in this small field, but as the idea of Home Theater PCs grew, so has the potential for this type of product.
This seventh version in the CyberLink PowerDVD chain continues the tradition of steady and consistent improvements to the player. There's a lot of reputation in a product, and CyberLink uses this leverage to its advantage.
CyberLink PowerDVD 7 Deluxe version costs $69.95, exactly $20 more than the base Standard version, but still $30 less than the premium Ultra version of the software of the same name. The core of the player remains consistent between the Standard and Deluxe versions, as most of the differences to back up the cost are done behind the scenes. As I mentioned in my review on Standard, CyberLink PowerDVD 7 offers an awful lot of options, too many in my opinion, which are designed to let users choose the package they need and not pay for additional features.
| Installation & Setup | Rating |
What's Hot:
The installation and configuration of CyberLink PowerDVD 7 is a real treat. For a program with this many features and a high quality reputation to boot, it's nice to see a fairly simple and clear process. The installation is standard, and you're prompted for registration and your user key afterwards to unlock access to your appropriate 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. Not for the faint of heart, but an awful lot of fun to play with and tweak, but in the end you can really get your performance to look exactly as you desired.
The entire setup experience is appropriate to the reputation CyberLink has established, satisfying the entire spectrum of users, from basic to expert, allowing more control than you'd probably ever need.
| User Interface | Rating |
What's Hot:
The CyberLink PowerDVD 7 Deluxe user interface is pretty good. The buttons are clearly placed, and going full screen is as simple as a click on the top right, or simply double-clicking the movie playing.
The interface 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's such minimal choices, with no instructions or methods for uploading your own, but 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. From subtitles or audio selection, to the controls such as fast forward or skipping chapters. Everything is easily accessible and found. The one caveat is that you have to use a mouse.
What's Not:
That is my main disappointment with CyberLink PowerDVD 7 Deluxe, is that the entire interface is designed and solely usable via a remote.
As I mentioned earlier, I am a huge proponent of Home Theater PCs (HTPCs), which is in reference to hooking up computers within your home theater and your big screen television, to be able to playback your movie files from your computer. This is the reason Windows Media Center has sold so many copies, and it makes it even more confusing as to why 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. But for a commercial offering at a less-than-cheap price, that's one very large omission. Even competitors who refuse to design for Media Center itself have at least understood their customers' needs and designed their own 10' User Interface which is usable with a standard PC remote.
It's a sad lacking for an otherwise solid interface. If you don't mind using your mouse 100% of the time, it's a fun interface to play around with.
| Help & Support | Rating |
What's Hot:
CyberLink provides a few support and help options for its customers of PowerDVD 7 Deluxe. They provide your basic offerings of FAQs as well as e-mail options for technical support through a web form. An odd omission for a company that has a large number of high-end customers is that of a Forum. I actually find forums to be extremely useful, as then the entire community shares in support inquiries and should 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's the good news. The horribly insulting news is that they only provide support for people who have purchased their Support Package, which comes at an outrageous cost of $29.95, for TWO MONTHS of telephone support. That is pretty insulting 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. Sure 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.
| Price to Value | Rating |
What's Hot:
I must admit, that reviewing the Deluxe version after using the Standard version does make you appreciate it that much more when evaluating the cost to benefits ratio. The main flaw of the Standard breakdown was that there were so many features missing, that it makes the user feel like they're being cheated. Sure, there there are multiple add-on packs that can be purchased to fulfill the needs, but the combined price of all these puts it above and beyond the price of their ultimate Ultra version.
CyberLink PowerDVD 7 Deluxe does a much better job of balancing the entry-level and advanced versions. The $69.95 asking price is pretty reasonable considering the multiple add-ons included with it, and then a few other nice surprises. The price of these packs, $19.95 for the Mobility Pack with notebook power saving features, and $39.95 for the HD264 pack, easily make the version jump that much easier to justify.
In addition to that, the Deluxe version also includes a few of the Audio features, such as Dolby Digital EX 7.1. If you still desire the complete Advanced Audio Pack, you can purchase it as an add-on for $19.95. Fortunately, it's the only available add-on pack, so at least it's a little simpler to understand what you're purchasing.
| Product Features | Rating |
What's Hot:
CyberLink has some dedicated options for the improvement of video quality. As more users are connecting their PCs 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)-2, which 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 go remember specific scenes. Other items such as their "Say it Again," which allows you to repeat the last line, is seemingly no more than a quick rewind feature I just can't imagine many people requiring or using on a regular basis.
Add to that the inclusion of several features missing from the Standard version, such as the various additional audio features (like Dolby Pro Logic IIx and DTS Encoding), to make your listening experience that much more enjoyable. Also, you're given a more broad support for certain video file formats to playback such as DivX Pro and the aforementioned H.264 files.
The other main feature included is the UPnP support, which allows PowerDVD to sync up with any available UPnP devices. Probably not the most useful feature, but still a nice addition to an already comprehensive product.
What's Not:
A glaring feature throughout the CyberLink PowerDVD 7 offering is a 10' Media solution. Neither a plugin for Media Center, nor a stand alone application are included with the $69.95 price, which continues to be a dissapointment. For this high of a premium price, it's surprising to see them ignore such a large and growing market place of users with Home Theather PCs connected to their big screens, where they would not want to have to use a mouse to maximize their experience.
Images
Suggested Features
Lose the Standard version entirely, or drop it significantly in price. It's clearly their lowest preferred version, as they have priced everything around it to drive customers away from it. One requirement for myself would be a 10' interface. Any user that hooks this up to their television set will not want to be constrcited to useing a mouse.
Conclusion
I had previously covered the Standard offering of CyberLink's PowerDVD 7, which was a basic offering with the utmost limitations designed strictly to drive customers towards more expensive versions or add-on packs. The Deluxe product is little more than a few of those Standard shortcomings bundled in one offering for $20 more. Is it more attractive or affordable than the other versions? That will really depend on the user and their needs. If you were already interested or were going to purchase the Notebook power saving feature or the additional audio offerings, then the $20 is easy to justify. It's still $30 less expensive than the high end Ultra version, so for users without the complete ultimate features, it's a relatively fair pricing.
As I mentioned in my Standard review, CyberLink is clear that they do not prefer people purchase the Standard version. For only $20 more in the Deluxe version, you not only get two of the add-on packs, Mobility and HD264, a combined $60 value, but also a few additional audio codecs. It makes the purchase price easier to justify and I feel makes for a better all-around customer experience. At least with the Deluxe version, there's a lot less add-on packs to choose from.
Related Products
Intervideo WinDVD, Media Center, Media Player, Arcsoft Total Media