You can set it to always go to one or the other if you prefer, and you can switch to the one you're not using at any time. PowerDVD's starting splash screen offers just two big option buttons: PC Mode and TV Mode. PowerDVD's UI is, however, more complicated than that of another important competitor, Microsoft's Movies & TV, which also plays your local video files and offers a movie and TV store-important because it's free and comes with every copy of Windows 10. PowerDVD's interface is more modern than that of its closest competitor, Corel WinDVD ( at Amazon), which looks somewhat stuck in the past.

The PowerDVD installer also places a tray icon in the notification area of the taskbar, which pops up to import media when you insert a USB drive. A link from the setup wizard takes you to the cloud storage webpage, where you simply create or sign into an online account. Once you've entered the license key, you'll want to set up your media library and sign up for a cloud storage account. Note that the basic free version of PowerDVD bundled with new PCs lacks most advanced features mentioned in this review. A full-featured, free 30-day trial version is available for those who don't want to commit before trying.

You can also get the software through a subscription to PowerDVD Live ($44.99 per year), which gets you all features and updates. Standard ($59.95) is just for basic DVD playing. The Pro version lacks UHD 4K Blu-ray, TV Mode, and other features ($79.95). The full PowerDVD 17 Ultra ($99.95) comes with all features-this is the version reviewed here. There are three levels available for purchase. It's a 32-bit application, but the software also runs on 64-bit PCs. PowerDVD is available for Windows 10 ( at Amazon), 8.1, and 7.

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Powerdvd 17