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Engadget giveaway: Win a GoPro Hero5 Session and CyberLink software!
With all that's going on in the world, you could immerse yourself in the media or strike out to define your own narrative. This week's giveaway is a starter kit for capturing the world as you see it and editing the output to your whims. CyberLink has provided us with its Director Suite 5 software package, including PowerDirector 15 for video editing (including 4K), PhotoDirector 8 for fine-tuning still images and more for audio and color editing. This software, along with a GoPro Hero5 Session for extremely portable capture, can get you started on your next creative project. All you need to do is head to the Rafflecopter widget below for up to three chances at winning this photo and video editing power combo, courtesy of CyberLink. Winner: Congratulations to Joel D. of Fort Collins, CO!
Engadget giveaway: Win a Samsung Gear 360 and video software courtesy of CyberLink!
Want to step into the 360-degree video editing arena at an affordable price? CyberLink just launched Director Suite 5, its $300 consumer-level editing bundle for fine-tuning your video captures in full 360-degree splendor. CyberLink's True360 tech allows users to work on their content with tools like PowerDirector 15 for finessing titles and transitions, and ColorDirector 5 for a wide range of color enhancements that even track along with moving objects. This week, CyberLink has provided a Samsung Gear 360 camera and its newest video-editing bundle, Director Suite 5 (including four programs), to get one lucky reader started recording, editing and sharing experiences in the round. All you need to do is head to the Rafflecopter widget below for up to three chances at winning this creative video package from CyberLink. Winner: Congratulations to Travis H. of West Allis, WI!
Cyberlink's PowerDVD 13 universal media player for Windows 8, iOS, and Android has an improved UI and 4K support
It's been well over a year since Cyberlink released a new version of its venerable PowerDVD software, but now version 13 has arrived sporting a shiny new look, 4K support and a fresh media upconverting trick. Among the UI highlights are: a dedicated movie library, the addition of cover art for movies and music, a mini music player and the ability to customize hotkeys and mouse controls. Oh, and the app is built to auto-scale the interface to play nice with hi-res Retina displays, too. As with the prior version, PowerDVD 13 uses Cyberlink's TrueTheater video technology to enhance picture quality but now it can apply that black magic to 1080p and Blu-ray video as well. Rounding out the enhancements is a BD-Live bypass feature that lets users avoid the interminable load times that normally accompany so equipped Blu-ray discs. It works on Windows 7 and 8 and will set you back $99 for the full-fledged Ultra version. The best news? Forking over that hundred bucks also gets you the PowerDVD Mobile and Remote apps for iOS and Android for free.
Cyberlink's PowerDirector app lets you edit movies on your Windows 8 slate (hands-on)
We're still a ways away from the official debut of Windows 8 hardware, but given its impending release, there's plenty of software being cooked up for the new OS with a split personality. Cyberlink, best known for its ubiquitous PowerDVD software, is among those preparing for Win8's tablet assault with some touch-optimized video editing software. Called PowerDirector, it'll be available on Windows 8 launch day and will retail for around 10 to 15 bucks as a standalone app in the Windows Store -- should you spring for the full version of PowerDirector, the finger-friendly version's free. We got to see the new app in action, so join us after the break for a demo video and some impressions.
PowerDVD 12 brings syncing and transcoding for mobile devices
It's been less than a year since CyberLink revealed PowerDVD 11 and now along comes PowerDVD 12. Among the new features in 12 is the ability to sync media -- we can only assume this excludes protected content -- to PowerDVD Mobile for Android as well as automatically transcode videos for most of the popular mobile devices. Said mobile clients are only free, though, if you opt of the $99 Ultra version of PowerDVD. PowerDVD Mobile is available for everyone else for $19.99, as well as PowerDVD Remote for $4.99. Overall it seems like an iterative update that might not hit the spot at $45 (for an upgrade), but there are other new features like OGG and FLAC support that might just push you over the edge.
PowerDVD Mobile for Android brings streaming media to your Honeycomb tablet
Heads up, PowerDVD fans, a new streaming solution is in the Android Market that's designed specifically for your Honeycomb-powered tablet. It's known as PowerDVD Mobile for Android, but don't let the name fool you, because smartphones need not apply. The software allows users to stream media from PowerDVD on their computer directly to the tablet, share media between tablets, and stream media from the tablet to DLNA-certified TVs. Additionally, users will find CyberLink's all-in-one media player that combines support for videos, photos and music, along with the ability to touch up snapshots and create slideshows. If you're looking to hop on board, the software sells for $20 in the Android Market, although users of PowerDVD 11 Ultra may activate a free version with a code that's provided in the desktop version of their software. As usual, you'll find the full PR after the break.
LaCie ships USB 2.0 Slim Blu-ray external burner for $265
Still slinging a laptop with USB 2.0? Fret not, as that's all the bandwidth you need to handle LaCie's Slim Blu-ray burner. As the title implies, the new unit is little more than a nicely styled external BD burner, designed to tag along with your ODD-less netbook / ultraportable and provide Blu-ray burner / viewing enjoyment at a moment's notice. $264.99 gets you the device itself, CyberLink's Blu-ray Disc Suite and a two-year warranty, and if you're curious about toasting speeds, it'll write to a BD-R at 6x (dual-layer at 4x), a BD-RE at 2x and a blank DVD at 8x. The rest of the nitty-gritty, as well as a purchase link, awaits you in the source. %Gallery-109656%
Plextor ships PX-B120U USB-powered Blu-ray drive for $100
We aren't saying your nifty new netbook can actually handle the stresses of playing back a Blu-ray Disc, but if your USB-equipped laptop has the oomph, Plextor has a new device to bring the spoils of BD to your previously lackluster machine. The new PX-B120U is a USB-powered BD-ROM drive, which not only plays back Blu-ray flicks but also burns DVDs and CDs of the blank variety. The standout feature, of course, is the ability to function entirely off of USB power, with no extra AC cabling needed. Furthermore, the device can be converted into a living room player when connected to the forthcoming PlexMedia, and while we wouldn't expect a wealth of extras, the $99.99 MSRP is shockingly tempting. %Gallery-97832%
PowerDVD 10 Ultra 3D Mark II update finally adds 3D Blu-ray support
If you're one of the 2 people who have lost sleep anticipating the Mark II update to Power DVD 10 after our previous post, it's time to relax. Support for 3D Blu-ray playback has officially been added and it's even certified by the Blu-ray Disc Association - a first for software players. To sweeten the pot, a new "Enhanced" version of TrueTheater 3D can now upconvert DVDs or just regular video files with basic 3D effects thanks to optimized GPU hardware acceleration or a high end CPU -- that is if you're willing to submit your eyes to watching it. Coinciding with this release, the company's free BD & 3D Advisor software has also been updated to help users assess what aspects of the Mark II's smorgasbord of video playback / upscaling updates their computer can handle. So if your machine has the hardware and you've been dying for more 3D content -- Blu-ray or otherwise -- consider your wish granted.
PowerDVD Ultra 10 bring 3D Blu-ray to HTPC fans
Never wanting to be a step behind the stand alone Blu-ray players, Cyberlink just released the latest version of PowerDVD that adds a few nice features including support for 3D Blu-ray Discs (Update: at least, it will, when the Mark II upgrade arrives in a few months.) Now of course you'll still need a 3DTV and a video card that supports stereoscopic output -- which are actually pretty common -- and of course a 3D Blu-ray Disc. The last might be the toughest to come by though as none have reached retail shelves by themselves yet. Both Samsung and Panasonic are including 3D Blu-ray Discs with their 3D bundles, but that isn't much help to HTPC fans who might already have a 3D display. Assuming you have everything else, the $99 for the Ultra 3D version shouldn't be too hard to swallow but if you still aren't sure, you can try it out the 14 day trial before you buy.
At this point it doesn't look like Managed copy will ever get here
Oh Managed Copy, the feature that made such a big stink so early on in the Format War still can't seem to become a reality. It was bad enough that it took until the very last version of the AACS to even be defined. Now here we are six months later and although last month all the studios have signed the new AACS license, Managed Copy doesn't seem any closer. It doesn't matter that all the discs being shipped today support it, because evidently the license servers aren't anywhere near being operational. In fact the only thing that has seemed to have happened in the last six months -- other than discs shipping today that support it -- is that we caught a demo of it from Pioneer in September at CEDIA and Cyberlink was telling people at CES that PowerDVD will support it this year. Don't get us wrong, we still think it's coming, but it just need to go ahead and get here already.
3D stole the show at CES 2010
Not sure why we've been putting this off, but we'll just come right out and say it: there's no doubt that this was the year for 3D at CES. We walked the show floor for countless hours and can tell you that just about everyone was showing something related to 3D at their booths. Most of these demos required a bit of a wait to experience them (thanks, hype), and everywhere you went people were talking about 3D. Granted, not all of that talk was positive, but it was talk nonetheless. Whether or not the technology will be seen in history as a success in the market place is obviously still up in the air, and much like a finely crafted episode of Lost, 3D at CES this year was littered with more questions than answers. %Gallery-82768%
AMD readying a demo of the Blu-ray 3D standard, might not wait for it to exist first
AMD and CyberLink, which recently integrated SENSIO 3D technology into its PowerDVD player, are already touting a 2010 CES demo promising to show off their implementation of "the forthcoming Blu-ray stereoscopic 3D standard." While the world continues to wait for an announcement on what the 3D Blu-ray standard will actually entail (backwards compatible 2D combo discs, and Full HD stereoscopic technology are definitely on the list) AMD is ready to leverage its position as a contributing member of the Blu-ray Disc Association and make sure that when discs hit the market -- likely around the time Avatar is released at home -- it has compatible software and hardware available. We've prepped and ready for the glasses-required trials that promise to be featured at many booths during next months Las Vegas experience, so a note to potential exhibitors: sports and videogames are the best bet for an impressive 3D showing, bring Space Harrier 3D for extra bonus points.
PowerDVD 9 patch to bring bitstreaming to Radeon 5000 users
So you've had the Blu-ray drive in your PC, and you just picked up the latest Radeon 5000 series video card, but you still don't have the TrueHD or DTS-HD lights lit up on your receiver. Well the wait is over this Friday -- if you use PowerDVD -- because Cyberlink is set to release a patch for PowerDVD 9 that will enable bitstream goodness to those equipped. Yep, that means the wait is over and you can finally build a HTPC that will match even the best Blu-ray player feature for feature.
PowerDVD 9 with native Media Center UI goes live
We've given up on waiting for Microsoft to natively support Blu-ray in Windows Media Center, but the good news is that the 3rd parties seem motivated to fill in the gap and the latest player from Cyberlink leap frogs ArcSoft's TotalMedia nicely. Although there are some additional under the hood enhancements -- still no HDMI 1.3 support, but seems to be coming with some sort of "Advanced Pack" -- that are welcomed, the big news in PowerDVD 9 is the Windows Media Center interface. Rather than just add a shortcut to the main menu that launches the application, Cyberlink has done some good work building a native MCML application. It pretty much looks exactly like it did when we filmed it at CES, and for the most part we like it, but we still think it could be a little more like the Media Center UI -- mostly we're referring to the scrub bar. %Gallery-46101%
Engadget HD CES schwag giveaway: Blu-ray discs and more
Although the announcements at CES weren't particularly wonderful this year, the schwag was pretty sweet. In fact at the Blu-ray Disc Association press event some of the best schwag of the entire show was dispensed -- assuming you like Blu-ray Discs, which we do. You'd expect that if discs were given away, the titles wouldn't be anything to write home about. But in this case, the BDA gave out six movies and a few of them were not only the hottest selling this year, but one of them (The Dark Knight) was the hottest of all time. So we're passing on the goods to our favorite people, which is of course our readers. Up for grabs is four sets of the following movies; The Dark Knight, Batman Begins (Limited Edition Gift Set), WALL-E, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, Pineapple Express, and Dr. Suess' Horton Hears a Who! We're also including a Blu-ray branded bag to tote 'em in and one lucky winner will also receive some additional schwag. If you're interested, leave a comment below and we'll randomly pick four winners for the discs and one of those four will also get a TiVo doll, a Cyberlink wallet and a few other goodies -- see below. The rules: Leave a comment below. Any comment will do, though we'd prefer to hear about your favorite CES announcement. You may only enter this specific giveaway once. If you enter this giveaway more than once you'll be automatically disqualified, etc. (Yes, we have robots that thoroughly check to ensure fairness.) If you enter more than once, only activate one comment. This is pretty self explanatory. Just be careful and you'll be fine. Contest is open to anyone in the 50 States, 18 or older! Sorry, we don't make this rule (we hate excluding anyone), so be mad at our lawyers and contest laws if you have to be mad. Winners will be chosen randomly. Four winners will receive one (1) copy of each of the following movies on Blu-ray; The Dark Knight, Batman Begins (Limited Edition Gift Set), WALL-E, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, Pineapple Express, Dr. Suess' Horton Hears a Who!, and a Blu-ray bag. Approximate value is $239.99. In addition one of those winners will also receive a TiVo doll, REALD 3D glasses, Cyberlink wallet, Samsung notebook and pen, and Rock & Roll beads from The Digital Experience. Approximate value is $5. Entries can be submitted until Monday, January 26th, 11:59PM ET. Good luck! Full rules can be found here.
CyberLink bundles Media Server 2 with JVC's NX-BD3 Blu-ray HTIB
You know, we're actually kind of shocked that more companies aren't doing this, but CyberLink and JVC may have just started something without even being aware of it. Rather than trying to push daunting Blu-ray HTIB systems and media server software separately, these two decided it'd be easier to sell a setup in which the consumer was assured that their media would integrate seamlessly right out of the box. The so-called digital home entertainment network solution bundles CyberLink Media Server 2 with JVC's NX-BD3, and given the DLNA certification, there's nothing holding you back from streaming in networked media for playback on the system. Windows Home Server baked into your next HTIB? It could happen, folks.
Video: Cyberlink's native Media Center Blu-ray player
At this point most aren't happy with Microsoft's progress of adding new features to Windows Media Center, but lucky for Blu-ray fans there are other companies willing to pick up the slack. The first to create Blu-ray software that tried to focus on the Media Center crowd was ArcSoft with its TotalMedia Theater, but although it was better than anything else out there, it is far from seamless. Competition is good and at Microsoft's booth we got to see a demo of the new Cyberlink PowerDVD Media Center player. It was far and away more seamless than the older PowerDVD and although it was very Media Center like, it still wasn't the same -- the most obvious difference is the scrub bar, which looks nothing like the Media Center scrub bar. This is an early version and is far from snappy. You can see in the video there are some pretty long delays when loading the disc, but to be fair it was tested on a netbook. Ultimately we liked it more than TotalMedia Theater, but we still long for native Blu-ray playback.
CyberLink unveils PowerCinema 6 HTPC software
Most recently, CyberLink has been ensconced behind the DIRECTV2PC operation, but now it's stepping out again on its own to showcase the PowerCinema 6 software. Designed to give HTPC owners easy access to multimedia (photos, TV shows, music, etc.) as well as handle TV recordings / scheduling and channel management, the new piece now boasts support for high-definition TV -- an obvious requirement for you and your peers. Obviously, that means you'll also find MPEG-4 AVC (H.264) support, though it doesn't include a player for Blu-ray Discs. If that's not a bother, the software can be acquired right now for between $49.95 and $129.95 depending on the bundle you choose.
DIRECTV2PC actually goes live, for real this time
Heads-up, DirecTV users. That DIRECTV2PC software that you've been waiting so anxiously for is finally available for download. Like, for real this time. Just as a refresher, the CyberLink software enables PC users to stream HD recordings from their DirecTV Plus HD DVR receiver to a connected computer in the home, and if that sounds like something you'd be interested in, may we encourage you to hit the read link and follow the steps to downloading. Oddly enough, the direct URL to CyberLink's site only seems to work when you connect through DirecTV's site, but we're hoping a fix is in the works.[Thanks, Albert]