CyberLink PowerDVD 12: Complementing Your Mobile Lifestyle
by Ganesh T S on January 31, 2012 9:01 AM EST- Posted in
- Home Theater
- HTPC
- Blu-Ray
- CyberLink
One of the interesting aspects of PowerDVD 12 is the support for online stores. 7Digital is Cyberlink's first partner in this venture. They offer singles and albums for downloads, albeit at a premium compared to iTunes. The gallery below shows the user interface of the 7Digital storefront within PowerDVD 12.
PowerDVD 12 also provides Facebook features, wherein media from friends (photos, in particular) can be viewed. A feature to download albums from friends is also provided. The Flickr section also provides access to photographs uploaded to that service. An interesting aspect is the ability to view the photographs in 3D by just clicking on the 3D icon in the bottom panel. This type of seamless 2D to 3D conversion ability is offered by PowerDVD in almost all circumstances.
The YouTube section is one of the best ways to enjoy the service. It allows one to sign in and customize the videos being presented. It is also quite easy to make sure that the 1080p quality stream always gets loaded (if available). The gallery below presents some screenshots of the YouTube section in action.
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ganeshts - Tuesday, January 31, 2012 - link
I am not going to disagree with this, but I did mention in the preamble to the piece that we are looking at avenues to enjoy commercial optical discs in the most legal manner possible. Usage of AnyDVD HD is very much in the grey area since it circumvents copy protection technologies (not that I agree with the law here, but we have to make do with whatever the politicians are putting out thanks to the bribes they get from the content owners (MAFIAA))Golgatha - Thursday, February 2, 2012 - link
I wonder if decrypting on the fly is really against the DMCA. You're not making a copy and the encryption isn't being removed...it's still on the disc ;-).Etern205 - Tuesday, January 31, 2012 - link
The Ultra comes with the extra 2 features bundles while Pro and Standard makes you pay extra?I don't see the point of getting pro or standard cause by getting Pro you actually pay more than the ultra and standard is useless since you can't play Blu-Ray.
ganeshts - Tuesday, January 31, 2012 - link
Well, not every customer wants a mobile app or mobile remote.. So, in that sense, the pricing strategy does seem OK..I agree that Pro is not a good choice if you want to play Blu-rays. I believe that tier was created for OEMs to snag (It is probably the version bundled with all the PCs having a Blu-ray drive)
erikstarcher - Tuesday, January 31, 2012 - link
Nice review. Now can we get one on TMT5 and WinDVD please?CharonPDX - Tuesday, January 31, 2012 - link
Yes, I know... But I have a combo HD-DVD/Blu-ray drive, and I still own a few movies on HD-DVD only. I know the older versions, that were current when HD-DVD was current, can play them, but have the newer versions kept that?piroroadkill - Wednesday, February 1, 2012 - link
I know for a fact they removed HD-DVD support at some point for no apparent reason. I very, very much doubt they re-added it.shriganesh - Wednesday, February 1, 2012 - link
Hi Ganesh!I am also Ganesh ;) Your reviews are detailed and very good esp regarding the CPUs used in devices and their architectures!
You have Engal Anna dvdrip! Are you Vijayganth fan??? ROFL!!
Ph0b0s - Wednesday, February 1, 2012 - link
Finally it looks like PowerDVD can decode DTS-HD MA 7.1 for those of us with 8 channel PAP sound cards. Up until now it could only manage 5.1. This is good news and a big feature inclusion, shame it was not tested... The only thing missing I would like to see them do is Truetheater HD motion for Blu-ray movies, so Blu-rays can appear to be more than 24 fps, with in between frames inserted. Maybe next release.ganeshts - Wednesday, February 1, 2012 - link
Yes, DTS-HD MA 7.1 decode is fully supported and confirmed to be working.