PowerDVD

Description

CyberLink Corporation has been developing PowerDVD since 1997, and has built it from a simple DVD playback application into a full-featured home theater player that supports Blu-ray, 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, local video files, streaming services, and VR content. Windows does not include a built-in Blu-ray player — Microsoft dropped DVD playback in Windows 8 and later versions — so users who want to play discs are dependent on third-party software. PowerDVD fills that gap as the most widely used commercial Blu-Ray player for Windows.

CyberLink’s software licensing agreements with hardware manufacturers means that PowerDVD is shipped pre-installed on many Windows laptops and desktops that include optical drives, which has helped it to develop a large installed base. The current version positions as a home theater hub that goes beyond playing disks to local file management, 360-degree video, and media server connectivity.

Blu-ray and DVD Playback

PowerDVD plays Blu-ray discs, 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray discs and DVDs with full menu navigation, subtitle and audio track selection, and chapter browsing. Blu-ray playback requires HDCP-compliant hardware — a compatible graphics card and display connection — to satisfy the content protection requirements that Blu-ray licenses mandate. The player takes care of the AACS and BD+ copy protection decryption needed for commercial discs, which is why third-party software is needed for Blu-ray playback that Windows’ built-in media tools don’t provide.

Local File Playback

PowerDVD plays video files in a broad format range including MKV, MP4, AVI, MOV, WMV, HEVC, H.264, VP9, AV1 and high resolution files including 4K and 8K where the hardware supports decoding. Hardware-accelerated decoding – leverages Nvidia, AMD and Intel GPU decoding capabilities to offload the CPU and enhance playback performance on high resolution content. The media library is a way of organizing local files into a browsable catalog that is separate from the file system itself.

TrueTheater Enhancement

CyberLink’s TrueTheater technology uses processing to enhance the visual and audio quality of playback beyond what the source material contains natively. TrueTheater HD upscales standard-definition and HD content to higher output resolutions. TrueTheater Color increases saturation and contrast. TrueTheater Motion uses frame interpolation to boost apparent frame rates for smoother motion on displays that take advantage of it. TrueTheater Surround processes stereo audio using a spatial enhancement algorithm to create the illusion of a wider soundstage on headphones or stereo speakers.

360-Degree Video

PowerDVD plays 360-degree video files in an interactive spherical view, which allows navigation of the full field of view of the video during playback using mouse controls or a connected VR headset. Equirectangular and fisheye projection formats are supported.

Streaming Service Integration

PowerDVD 365 integrates streaming services — YouTube, Vimeo and others — directly into the player interface so that online content can be accessed from the same application used for disc and local file playback. Integrated streaming eliminates the need to switch between PowerDVD and a browser for online video.

Media Server and NAS Playback

PowerDVD connects to DLNA media servers and NAS devices on the local network, browsing their shared media libraries and streaming content to the PowerDVD player without transferring files to the local machine first. Network-attached media libraries integrate with local files and disc content in the unified player interface.

Support for Gesture and Remote Control

PowerDVD supports playback control via gesture recognition via webcam, enabling play, pause, volume, and navigation gestures without having to touch the keyboard or mouse. Remote control and media key support on keyboards and dedicated remote controls use standard Windows media control interfaces.

Photo and Music Playback

PowerDVD goes beyond video to photo slideshows and music playback, and is a cohesive media player for all file types, not just video. The photo viewer supports RAW formats in addition to the standard formats of jpg and png. Music playback supports FLAC, MP3, AAC and other audio formats with a visualization display.