Overview

WinDVD will play DVD, HD DVD, Blu-ray and other video formats in the highest quality possible.  You can watch movies on your home theater system, Desktop, or Laptop computer.  It includes several enhancement features for both audio and video.  WinDVD has a sleek and easy to use interface that can provide an outstanding multimedia experience.

Walk Through Review

Installation – 7

When installing WinDVD there are a few things we should point out.  First you will need the Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 Redistributable Package installed which will be downloaded and installed for you if it is missing.  You will also want to make sure and check or uncheck what types of files WinDVD will be the default player.

WinDVD will want to install both Real Player and QuickTime during installation.  Just uncheck these if you don’t care for them.

After installation is complete you will be prompted register the software by creating an account with Corel.

Features – 8

WinDVD includes a lot of features to enhance the audio and video experience.  The Cinema Enhancement seemed to increase the quality of older DVD’s.

Some new features in WinDVD 9 Plus are converting standard DVD’s to high definition with motion enhancement and fine tuning frame sizes to 1080p/60i while maintaining crisp edges.

There is the ability to adjust sound settings with the built in EQ and DSP effects.  Some effects are cooler with different types of movies so it is best to experiment.

The EQ had several presets or you can adjust it manually.

Creating video playlists is also a handy feature.

You can play audio files with some cool visualizations.

Performance – 7

While watching DVD’s or other videos with video enhancements it can take up a lot of system resources making it difficult to get the most out of WinDVD on older systems.

Changing the Mobile Power Optimizations will allow increased life of your laptop battery by turning off unnecessary processes.

Ease of Use: 8

Using basic functions to navigate through a DVD or video are very intuitive and easy to use.  When watching a DVD there are easy to use navigation controls located at the bottom which can be hidden.

Product Support – 7

Support can be accessed directly from the application by clicking on the Solution Center icon which you can access the help file from. From here you can also check for news, tips, product updates, and other specials being offered from Corel.  More support options are featured on the website such as FAQ, knowledgebase, and email support.

Conclusion

WinDVD is a very capable player full of enhancements to make video and audio spectacular.  In all of our tests DVD’s were played back flawlessly with near HD quality with Advanced  Upscaling technology.   We were not able to test out any Blu-Ray playback but from what we have seen so far I am certain it would look incredible.  Making older less quality videos look and sound better was easily achieved with the available enhancements.   You can download a 30 day trial of WinDVD then it will cost $79.99 for WinDVD Plus Blu-Ray or $39.99 for the standard version.

Download a Trial of WinDVD for Windows

Rating

• Installation: 7
• Ease of Use: 8
• Features: 8
• Performance: 7
• Product Support: 7