Checking Out What’s New with PowerDVD 11

As a long-time fan of CyberLink’s PowerDVD software, I got a hold of the company’s latest version a couple of weeks ago, and thought I’d talk a little about it here. As a commercial media player, PowerDVD 11 isn’t quite as scaled down as a VLC or MPlayer. Rather, it comes in three flavors; all quite robust. Out of the box, Blu-rays and all other HD content is supported, along with things like AVIs, MPGs, MKVs and so forth, as one would expect.

The reason I like PowerDVD is that I find the image quality for the films I watch through it to be more desirable than if I chose to watch it through VLC (I still use VLC for the odd movie or video I want to watch quickly, however). It’s hard to explain, but with PowerDVD, the image just seems a bit crisper, and the brightness levels are much closer to where they should be – as opposed to VLC, which for me seems to crank the gamma or brightness up.

Fortunately, PowerDVD 11 changes nothing that I’ve come to like about the player. But what about new features? One of the more noteworthy is “PowerDVD Remote”, an app that can be downloaded to either your Android device or iPhone/iPad, so that you can control your films right from your couch. Though I haven’t been able to test this, it functions by taking advantage of your wireless network. If both your phone or tablet and your computer are on the same network, the app will take care of the rest.

This isn’t a simple remote app that allows you to control just media, however. It even allows you to manipulate it in some regards, such as when viewing photos. You can easily take advantage of a swipe feature on a phone or tablet to rotate images, zoom in or out, or stretch. This could be just the beginning, so I look forward to seeing what else is possible in the future (how about the ability to apply filters or create slideshows just with swiping?).

As has been anticipated, PowerDVD 11 also introduces more 3D functionality, including the ability to view 3D photos (and slideshows). In addition, RAW camera formats have also now supported, so you won’t need to convert anything if you simply want to plug in your memory card and peruse your recent shots.

There’s a greater integration of social media here as well. Inside the software, you can sign into your Facebook account (via connect) which will open up certain bits of functionality, such as the ability to view Facebook and Flickr shots. While you can’t upload photos to either of these two services, you are able to upload videos to Facebook, which could be convenient for some.

In another feature I’ve yet to test, but Greg has (and has liked), PowerDVD 11 introduces some nice DLNA features, with streaming of course being at the forefront. In addition, TrueTheater effects will also be able to be seen on both regular and 3D video while streaming.

Overall, the latest PowerDVD release looks to be quite solid. Since its, I haven’t been viewing a ton of content in order to give it a more thorough test, but the software did serve me well a couple of weekends ago when my brother and I sat stuck to our chairs and watched the first three Terminator movies back-to-back ;-) Hey, gotta geek out sometimes!

PowerDVD 11 Ultra Contest!

Want a chance at winning a free copy of CyberLink’s PowerDVD 11 Ultra? Entering couldn’t be easier, although due to the rather simple nature of this contest (and it being an impromptu one), we’re going to stick to using Twitter as the main platform. To enter, simple re-tweet one of these two tweets:

https://twitter.com/#!/Techgage/status/68790828641943552
https://twitter.com/#!/Winniewong9/status/68747893825216512

OR

If you’re a regular member of our forum comminuty, simply post in this thread.

On May 20th, I’ll draw three names from those who’ve done so, and then contact each one via Twitter or our forums (whichever the case may be) to give them download instructions.

Good luck to those who enter!