CyberLink DVD Suite Ultra 6 review

CyberLink is best known for PowerDVD, but its range of products is broader than you think. DVD Suite Ultra 6 combines most of these into one suite. These include PowerDVD 7.3, PowerDirector 6.5, PowerProducer 4.2, Power2Go and PowerBackup 2.5.

The focus is on HD video, so PowerDVD 7.3 BD/HD plays Blu-ray discs as well as any H.264, MPEG2 and WMV high-definition content. It supports hardware acceleration, which means compatible graphics cards can be used to help decode HD video. We'd recommend a dual-core processor and an Nvidia GeForce 7600GT or an ATI Radeon X1900 XT or later for watching Blu-ray movies.

PowerDirector 6.5 HE lets you edit HD video in every format, including AVCHD and HDV. It will also import VOB and DVR-MS files. It's relatively basic, but the simple layout is ideal for novices who want automatic correction for shaky video or movie creation where clips are trimmed, transitions inserted and titles added.

When you want to output your movie, PowerProducer 4.2 (BD/HD) allows you to create Blu-ray discs complete with menus, and you can also burn Blu-ray content to standard DVDs, making it more economical. If you have an HDV or DV camcorder, you can record your movie back to tape. Alternatively, PowerProducer will create H.264, MPEG2 and WMV-HD files, and there's full support for 5.1-channel Dolby Digital audio.

Power2Go is CyberLink's answer to Nero. It includes a Vista sidebar gadget for dragging and dropping files to discs. As well as audio CDs and DVDs, you can burn data to Blu-ray discs; single- and dual-layer discs are supported. You can also password-protect specific files or folders as well as encrypt the data. Another handy addition is the ability to create and burn ISO files.

PowerBackup 2.5 supports Blu-ray discs and you can choose from incremental or differential backups. Backups can be scheduled, compressed, password-protected and encrypted. PowerDVD copy is a separate application for disc-to-disc copying. It can backup non-CSS protected discs and can automatically shrink movies to fit on particular discs.

Other utilities let you burn directly to discs, create jewel case and disc labels and make photo slideshows with music. The suite is managed from the PowerStarter interface, which is neat and easy to navigate.

For £65, DVD Suite Ultra 6 is excellent value. If you don't need high-definition support, you can opt for the Pro version, which costs £40. This includes the same applications, but lacks the ability to burn, edit or play Blu-ray discs or H.264 files.

There are a couple of niggles with the Ultra version. Despite the name, it doesn't come with the Ultra versions of any of the applications. This means that PowerDVD supports only stereo sound unless you use the CLMEI-2 surround-sound emulation. The only alternative is to use an S/PDIF output and connect an external Dolby Digital decoder. PowerDirector 6.5 HE can't output to DivX, and the automatic music generator is missing.

DVD Suite Ultra 6 is still excellent value, especially if you have a set of speakers with a built-in Dolby Digital decoder. It's more expensive than Nero or Roxio's suites, though, so it's worth the premium only if you'll use the Blu-ray support.

Author: Jim Martin