Floppyhead - Digital Media and Home Theater Computers » Cyberlink

PowerDVD 8 Ultra now supports Dolby TrueHD

Kevin — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 18:38:35 +0000

Cyberlink has announced the release of PowerDVD 8 Ultra, which is the only viable option right now to watch Blu-ray (or HD-DVDs) on a computer since Windows XP or Vista does not have a native ability to play Blu-ray movies.

PowerDVD Ultra has been a maturing piece of software. Version 7 lacked HD audio codecs for Blu-ray movies, which I always thought was an odd ommission. PowerDVD Ultra 8 rectifies this by adding in support for Dolby TrueHD audio codecs. One of the big differences between Blu-ray discs and DVDs is the inclusion of lossless audio for stunning surround sound quality. From Dolby’s website:

Dolby TrueHD delivers tantalizing sound that is bit-for-bit identical to the studio master, unlocking the true high-definition entertainment experience on next-generation discs. When coupled with high-definition video, Dolby TrueHD offers an unprecedented home theater experience that lets you enjoy sound as stunning as the high-definition picture.

PowerDVD Ultra 8 supports the following home theater audio codecs:

Dolby TrueHD (7.1-channel)
Dolby Digital EX (7.1-channel)
Dolby Digital Plus (7.1-channel)
Dolby Meridian Lossless Packing (MLP)
DTS-HD (7.1-channel)
DTS (5.1 channel)
DTS 96/24 decoding
DTS-ES (Discrete and Matrix)

Only one roadblock remains with PowerDVD Ultra 8 in my opinion: seemless integration with Vista Media Center. Work arounds exist but it would be nice to have an easy to install and seemless integration with VMC.

Cyberlink PowerDVD Ultra | Watch HD-DVD or Blu-ray Movies on a Media Center

Kevin — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 02:24:50 +0000

Using Cyberlink’s PowerDVD Ultra, media center PCs are a perfect way to hedge your bet on the HD-DVD/ Blu-ray (high definition DVDs) format wars, especially if you have a projector or large screen HDTV.

Although Microsoft is a big supporter of the HD-DVD standard, they left out native support in Vista for high definition DVDs. Right now, the only way to watch HD-DVD and Blu-ray movies is through third-party applications.

To watch high definition movies, a couple of software options exist with Cyberlink PowerDVD being you best bet (check out the thread over at AVSForum.com). With the price of the Xbox 360 HD-DVD add-on falling to around $170, HD movies have become more affordable. The HD-DVD add-on can be hooked into a computer but you still need software to actually watch the movies. Cyberlink PowerDVD Ultra would be a perfect compliment.

One thing to keep in mind: Cyberlink has not integrated PowerDVD fully into Media Center as a plugin. You can launch it from within the Media Center interface, but PowerDVD will launch as an entirely separate program. This should improve in the not too distant future.

CyberLink MagicSports 4 Released for 2007 Kickoff

Kevin — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 21:37:51 +0000

Another day, another software release. The NFL season has arrived, along with Cyberlink’s MagicSports 4. Cyberlink is best known for its PowerDVD software that lets you watch Blu-ray and HD-DVD movies on a computer. MagicSports is basically a DIY highlight package maker for Windows. It sounds like an interesting piece of software for the sports fan. I have no idea how well it works.

CyberLink MagicSports 4 uses the following key events to determine the highlights of a football game:

Interceptions
Field goals
Gaining a first down
Touchdowns
Extra points after a touchdown

From the press release:

CyberLink has applied advanced video analysis techniques to create a new way of watching recorded football matches; instead of fast-forwarding recorded games, users can now browse a visual menu for their favorite highlights. Next and Previous Play buttons allow users to quickly jump from play to play.

Cyberlink Play Movie 1.5 Plugin | HD-DVD and Blu-Ray Media Center Playback

Kevin — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 01:19:51 +0000

Update: Cyberlink’s Play Movie plugin is OEM only, meaning you cannot buy it retail. � You have to get it from a manufacturer like Velocity Micro PC.� That being said, PowerDVD Ultra is the only PC-based option for watching HD-DVDs and Blu-ray discs.
Chris Morley at Velocity Micro PC (the only place offering a decent CableCard media center, in my opinion) briefly mentioned a new plugin, Play Movie 1.5, from CyberLink that improves HD-DVD and Blu-ray performance for media center pcs. From the blog post:

It�s CyberLink’s plug-in for Media Center that allows seemless playback of Blu-ray AND HD-DVD media! It will replace our PlayBD plug-in that only does Blu-ray. And to boot, it does hook into NVIDIA�s PureVideo HD and ATI�s AVIVO technology to enhance visual quality and reduce CPU overhead. Here�s the real kicker � it also plays DVDs and it�s noticeably better in image quality than Microsoft�s own MPEG2 decoder! So even if you�re not interested in Blu-ray or HD-DVD; if you�re a discerning A/V enthusiast, Play Movie 1.5 is the bee�s knees.

Hopefully this means that the plugin will not require you to leave the Vista Media Center interface, which is the main issue now with media center’s implementation of next gen DVDs. From Chris’s posts at AVSForums.com, it looks like the plugin will only support 2 channel audio. Crazy.

I also looked at CyberLink’s website but I saw no mention of the plugin. No press release or announcement. Nothing. This is definitely something to look out for though.