"Corel WinDVD Pro 11 is billed as a premium video playback software that can deal with Blu-ray, normal DVD, and 3D playback as well as more niche file formats"
Matthias Scherer
The Corel WinDVD Pro 11 software package is Corel’s latest video playback suite, and it’s tailored towards households where playback quality is taken seriously – the focus here is on HD and Blu-ray content, so having a computer that is capable of supporting these formats is crucial.
What we like best
Developers of any software for videophiles should take care to make it look presentable, and the WinDVD Pro 11 does not disappoint in that regard.
The initial interface is sparse, with the display being framed by a minimalist toolbar at the top and a control bar (with volume control, play/pause buttons, etc.) at the bottom. In the ‘Preferences’ section, you can set up things like playback from last position within a video and subtitle languages, but the user isn’t overwhelmed with too many different functions and settings.
Then there is the Corel Guide, which is the main user interface. The ‘Video Search’ function is a sort of integrated video library function that trawls streaming services by Netflix, Hulu and Amazon for films and shows, which you can then watch within WinDVD Pro 11.
The video tutorials are well-produced and very helpful, and updates are announced without annoying pop-ups and nudging emails.
Corel WinDVD Pro 11 is billed as a premium video playback software that can deal with Blu-ray, normal DVD, and 3D playback as well as more niche file formats such as MKV and MP4. Sadly, the computer we were using to test the software doesn’t support 3D so we can’t comment on the 3D playback or 2D-to-3D-conversion capabilities of the WinDVD Pro 11 software. However, we did pop in a Blu-day disc of 2010’s blockbuster Avatar and were hugely impressed – even with two tiny Sony speakers, the sound was great and the image quality crystal clear.
A normal DVD copy of Liverpool Football Club – Champions of Europe (we just had that one lying around… ahem) also played back nicely. Corel WinDVD Pro11 lets you take screengrabs of the video you’re watching without problem, you can also record certain short segments (up to 12 seconds) as well.
What we like least
The Video Search function was a bit of a letdown in terms of layout and usability. For example, you couldn’t minimise WinDVD Pro11 while we were browsing for videos, meaning we had to abandon our search just to change to another application. You can however open it in your browser, which solved that particular problem.
Nevertheless, the videos offered are a bit confusing: when we wanted to see the ‘New Releases’, no videos were available via Amazon, and among the latest Netflix results was Peep Show Series 2. Prices are given in USD, and Hulu isn’t actually available to UK users, so that was a bit misleading. We’re guessing that these bugs will be ironed out in coming updates.
Corel’s WinDVD Pro 11 software is not something you need when all you do is watch YouTube videos and the odd DVD. However, if you’re using your computer or laptop as a piece of entertainment equipment, you’d be well advised to check out WinDVD Pro 11. HD, Blu-ray and 3D are increasingly becoming standard requirements for film fans, and it’s great to have a userfriendly piece of software that lets you get the best out of each of those formats. If your computer is equipped with the right graphics specs and 3D support, Corel WinDVD Pro 11, at under £60, is well worth buying.
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Features
High-intensity Blu-ray 3D playback
HD upscaling
2D to 3D conversion
Integrated online movie search engine
Supports Blu-ray, BD-Live, BDXL, AVCHD, AVCREC, DivX for Windows 7, FLV, QuickTime, WMV, DVD-Video, MPEG & much more
Add On
Available as an upgrade
Download or CD
Both
Compatible with
Microsoft Windows XP
Windows Vista
System Requirements
- Intel Core 2 Duo T2400 1.83 GHz or AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ 2.0 GHz or higher (recommended)
- 1 Gb of RAM (minimum)
- NVIDIA GeForce 500/400/300/200 or newer
- Windows-compatible Blu-ray drive
- Frame Sequential/Polarisation-supported monitor
Type of Software
Video software player
‘But my computer already plays DVDs! It has a DVD drive’, I hear you cry. So why would you need software to play DVDs? Because Corel WinDVD 2010 is the simply the best software out there.
Most people never realise the difference because they watch DVDs through Windows Media Player, Quicktime or some of the freeware like VLC.
Ever get frustrated though at Media Player’s jerkiness or the fact that the others only support certain file formats.
This is where WinDVD comes in, it supports a massive array of formats and the latest edition has been optimised for Blu-ray disc and HD formats.
The upscaling tool makes the most of standard DVDs and can often give you close to HD results.
There are several cool in video features, with pan and zoom allowing you to make the most of you screen size, bookmarking allowing you to tag a favourite scene and image capture/quick clip allows you to grab a scene as still or clip and send it to friends.
The battery optimisation settings should allow you to get the best performance with the charge you have available, perfect for keeping the kids entertained on long journeys.
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