Review by Grace

I’ve been using PowerDVD for years, upgrading nearly every year when new versions are released. It’s a powerful application for viewing videos, DVDs and Blu-rays, offering a huge arsenal of features… more features then any other video player I own. For me, it’s easily my favorite player for viewing blu-ray movies on my computer as it does so perfectly, with no issues… unlike other programs I have that claim to play blu-ray movies (but don’t).

PowerDVD also acts as a library system for your videos as it allows you to browse all your movies and select which one to watch. It’s a good idea that personally I’m not 100% pleased with. It seems to me it’s in constant scan mode, searching my computer endlessly for videos. I haven’t found a setting to turn this option off, so the result can be a slight lag when browsing of my movie directories, despite the fact that my computer is running on SSD storage. I also hate the fact that it’s constantly searching my computer for videos without my permission as I feel like it’s an invasion of privacy. This has been a problem since at least the last version, likely going back to at least version 12, so it’s nothing new.

Being the most powerful and feature-filled video player I own also has it’s drawbacks… all my other video apps will pop open a video clip instantly and begin playing… PowerDVD takes a bit longer, which makes it a poor choice for a quick video player.

I will note that I have had no issues with file associates being hijacked by PowerDVD as several other reviewers have complained about. I don’t remember the procedure for installing it, but I do always use ‘custom’ or ‘advanced’ options, so possibly the file association issue occurs when people choose to do a quick installation.

My biggest complaint for this version is the lack of improvements. For the first time, my keyboard’s media buttons such as pause and the volume control work perfectly with PowerDVD. Aside from that, for me at least, I have found absolutely no difference in how I use the program from version 13, and even version 12. It doesn’t seem any faster or slower then previous versions either.

Overall, PowerDVD 14 is a great program for people who want a full-featured video player. For those looking for a simple and cheap way to view video clips… this is not it. I would also recommend anyone with a copy of PowerDVD 11 or newer to check into the improvements, as there aren’t a whole lot to make this a worthwhile upgrade.