CyberLink PowerDVD Ultra
Version 24.0.1922.62 · CyberLink Corp. · Windows 10 / 11 (64-bit) · ranked #199 in the library
A media player that handles physical discs, high resolution video files and network libraries in one interface, with upscaling and audio enhancement that make a modest source look and sound considerably better on a large screen.
Read the installation section below before you start. The order of the steps matters on this release.
About this release
Overview
PowerDVD is the player people install when the built in one will not open what they have. It plays physical discs including the high definition formats, plays essentially every video and audio file format in circulation, streams from network shares and media servers, and presents all of it through one interface with a proper library rather than a file open dialog. On a machine attached to a television it also has a full remote friendly mode designed to be driven from across a room.
The Ultra tier is where the processing lives. Video enhancement upscales lower resolution material to the display resolution with detail reconstruction rather than simple interpolation, corrects colour and contrast on dull sources, and stabilises shaky handheld footage during playback. Audio enhancement handles dialogue clarity, bass extension on small speakers, and virtual surround from stereo output, all adjustable live rather than set once and forgotten.
Format coverage is the practical selling point. High resolution video codecs including the newer efficiency formats, high dynamic range content with tone mapping to standard displays, lossless audio tracks, subtitle formats that other players mangle, and physical disc menus that work as the disc author intended. The library indexes local folders and network locations, groups material by type, pulls in metadata, and remembers playback position across every item.
What it does
Feature breakdown
Physical disc playback with menus
Standard and high definition disc formats play with their authored menus, chapter structure and multiple audio and subtitle tracks intact.
Broad file format support
Modern high efficiency video codecs, high dynamic range content with tone mapping, lossless audio formats and the subtitle formats other players render incorrectly.
Video enhancement and upscaling
Detail reconstruction when upscaling to the display resolution, colour and contrast correction on flat sources, and stabilisation applied live during playback.
Audio enhancement
Dialogue clarity, bass extension for small speakers, virtual surround from stereo material and downmix control for multichannel sources.
Library across local and network sources
Indexes local folders, network shares and media servers into one browsable library with metadata, grouping and resume position on every item.
Television friendly mode
A large interface designed for remote or gamepad control on a screen across the room, with the same library and playback capability as the desktop view.
Changed in this build
Version 24.0.1922.62
- Support added for the newest high efficiency video codec profiles with hardware decoding where available.
- High dynamic range tone mapping improved for standard range displays.
- Library indexing rebuilt for faster first scan on very large collections.
- Audio enhancement panel simplified with source based presets rather than raw parameters.
- Reduced processor use during playback of high bitrate material on machines with hardware decoders.
Installation
Follow these in order
- Disconnect from the network before running setup.
- Extract the archive to any folder with a couple of gigabytes free.
- Pause real time protection until installation completes.
- Run setup as administrator and select the interface language.
- Open the player, add your media folders to the library and let the first index finish.
- Enable hardware decoding in settings if your adapter supports it, then restore protection.
Release notes
From whoever packed it
- The account and cloud components are removed. It opens straight into the library.
- The first library index on a large collection takes a while. Leave it running rather than cancelling it.
- Video enhancement is processor intensive. Turn it down on older machines if playback stutters.
System requirements
Minimum and recommended
| Operating system | Windows 10 version 22H2 or Windows 11, 64-bit only |
|---|---|
| Processor | Intel Core i5 or AMD equivalent, i7 class for high resolution enhancement |
| Memory | 4 GB minimum, 8 GB recommended |
| Graphics | Adapter with hardware decoding for the formats you play, 2 GB VRAM recommended |
| Storage | 2 GB for installation plus room for the library database |
Questions about this release
Answered before you ask
- Does it play high definition physical discs?
- Yes, including their authored menus, provided the drive in the machine can read that format.
- Is enhancement applied to the file itself?
- No. It is applied during playback only. The source file is never modified.
- Can it stream from a network drive?
- Yes. Network shares and media servers are indexed into the library alongside local folders.
Download
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