I’ve attended trade shows of Microsoft, Google, and Apple and written about all of them and their products. Prior to my current role, I covered software and apps for ExtremeTech, and before that I headed up PCMag’s enterprise software team, but I’m happy to be back in the more accessible realm of consumer software. I’ve been reviewing software for PCMag since 2008, and I still get a kick out of seeing what's new in video and photo editing software, and how operating systems change over time. I was privileged to byline the cover story of the last print issue of PC Magazine, the Windows 7 review, and I’ve witnessed every Microsoft win and misstep up to the latest Windows 11. PC hardware is nice, but it’s not much use without innovative software. To find out which application best suits your video-watching needs, dig into the detailed, tested reviews below. Most of the software in this genre now offers iPhone or Android apps that let you use your smart phone or tablet as a remote control, and one product, PowerDVD, even lets you display content stored on your PC on the mobile devices screen and vice versa. PowerDVD even lets you play back and download Facebook and Flickr videos, with comments and likes preserved between the program and the site.Īnother thing you need when your intention is serious couch-potatoing is a remote control. Surprisingly, some of the software below can already play 4K video content.Ī couple of the applications here also include online features, such as movie databases, Web video search, and community features like ratings and forums or comments. And don't forget: Cinema 4K is coming, with quadruple the resolution of 1080p. AVCHD allows video creators to write HD video to DVD media, saving them the investment in a Blu-ray burner. A couple can even convert your 2D video to 3D, with surprising levels of success.Īnother HD disc format that deserves consideration is AVCHD, with its sub-formats, AVCHDREC, AVCHD 2.0 Progressive (60fps), and AVCHD 3D. Not only do most of these applications support a raft of different media file formatsincluding 3D formatsbut the better ones can even make your video look better, with upscaling, sharpening, lighting corrections, and anti-shake (aka stabilization) features. Blu-ray encompasses more than just one format, too: along with standard HD video, you've also got Blu-ray 3D and BD Live (for accessing Internet content during playback) to think about. Keep in mind that Windows still doesn't support Blu-ray playback natively, so you'll need some third-party software if you intend to play that disc format. Earlier versions of Windows couldn't play DVDs, but after Windows changed that, the playback software evolved with support for not only more disc media formats, but for Web- and file-based video as well. Most of them started life as players of DVDs, as the names WinDVD and PowerDVD suggest. To fully enjoy all of this video content, you'll want the optimal playback experience you get from good video-playback software.įor Windows users, the products included here offer just that. Add to this any video of your own, whether you shoot using an HD GoPro Hero ($460.00 at Amazon) (Opens in a new window), a DSLR, or even a smart phone. The number of options for movie and TV watching these days can be dizzying: You've got Netflix, Blu-ray, YouTube, DVD, and downloaded files just to name a few.
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