CyberLink Power2Go 6: Up to date all purpose burning software
Written: Oct 16 '07
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Very easy to use, compatible with all types of optical media
Cons: None
The Bottom Line: If you need a simple burning program, this is one of the best at any price.
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| Gr8ful's Full Review: CyberLink Power2Go 6 All-Media Disc Burning Softwa... |
As a user of Power2Go 4, I was happy to obtain a copy of Power2Go 6 from CyberLink and test drive it for review. Power2Go 6 has all the features that I liked from Power2Go 4 with several enhancements and a sleek new interface. I never used or owned version 5 but version 6 includes support for HD-DVD as well as Blu-ray disc. Version 6 also includes an audio converter and an audio ripping program. The new interface also makes the software even easier to use with simple menu navigation allowing you to choose your media format and project type before you begin.
CyberLink Power2Go 6
Power2Go 6 is an optical media burning program which allows you to write content to CD and DVD media. It is compatible with the most recent developments in optical media technology while retaining compatibility for the industry standards. The user interface appears to be graphically designed to fit in with Windows Vista’s Aero desktop but looks good with Windows XP as well. Power2Go 6 is designed for Windows 2000 and later; Windows 95, 98 and ME are not supported.
System requirements
* Operating system: Windows Vista, XP/2000 (Windows Vista, XP recommended)
* Screen Resolution: 1024 x 768 or higher
* Memory: 128 MB SDRAM for music and data burning - 256 MB DDR RAM (512MB recommended) for video burning
* CPU: VCD (MPEG-1) production: Intel Pentium II 450 MHz - DVD (MPEG-2) production: Intel Pentium III 800 MHz, or AMD Athlon 700 MHz (Intel Pentium 4 2.0 GHz, or AMD Athlon 2100+ or above recommended)
* Hard drive space: 1GB for making VCD videos; 5-10GB for making DVD videos; 15GB for making HD DVDs; 25GB for making Blu-ray Discs
Features
After installing the program you will find four very stylish opaque icons in the bottom right corner of the desktop for quickly copying discs or creating data, video and music discs. These icons work with a drop and drag feature; you simply drag what you want to burn to the icon representing the type of disc you want to create. This drop and drag feature is a nice part of the program but only the surface of a much richer utility.
When you run Power2Go 6 from the start menu, you are greeted with a menu which gives you the choice of the category in which you wish to work; data disc, music disc, photo/video disc, copy disc, mixed disc and disc utilities. After choosing the category, you can choose from options for each including but not limited to saving a disc image, burning a disc, ripping and converting audio, creating a mixed mode disc and erasing a disc.
Supported file types:
Audio
* MP3
* WMA
* WAV
Video
* AVI
* MPEG-1
* MPEG-2
* MPG
* WMV
* MPE
* DAT
Photo
* BMP
* JPG
* JPEG
* JPE
* GIF
* PSD
Supported media types
* CD
* CD-R
* CDRW
* DVD
* DVD-R
* DVD-RW
* DVD+R
* DVD+RW
* DLDVD-R
* DLDVD+R
* HD-DVD
* Blu-Ray disc
The main program allows you to browse content on your computer to put into the disc compilation. With audio you can create a playlist and burn it to an MP3 CD/DVD, WMA CD/DVD or an audio CD. With video and photo projects you can import video and images into a timeline for quick creation of DVD video discs and VCD discs. If you have a compatible drive, you can also create HD-DVD and Blu-Ray video discs as well.
The program is almost self explanatory. When you start the program, it pretty much walks you through the creation process of which ever type of media you want to create. The help menu is also full of helpful information for people unfamiliar with optical media or the burning process. Anyone with no knowledge of burning optical media can create their first CD or DVD project in just a few minutes with Power2Go 6.
Personal Use
I have used the software to create an MP3 audio disc, several audio CDs and two DVD video discs. The program was very easy to use and I had no problems with the functionality of the individual creation processes. The software recognized my HP dvd640i burner and the 8.5GB dual layer DVD-R disc without any need to configure the program. I was able to burn 2 hours and 45 minutes of video to the disc with no problem and it only took about 20 minutes at 2X speed which is the speed of my burner for dual layer discs. 4.7GB discs burn in under 8 minutes at 16X and CDs take less time than it does to pour a cup of coffee and put in sugar and cream.
This is not editing software so do not expect much choice in menu creation. There are themes you can choose from but no way to really customize the layout much at all. You can customize DVD menus to an extent but you’re pretty much locked in to the available formats and styles. If you want to have more editing power with your video before burning them to disc, you should take a look at CyberLink’s PowerDirector 6.
The best thing about Power2Go 6 is that you have a universal burning and ripping program that is easy as cake to use and is compatible with the latest media and most common file types. As with all CyberLink products, the software is designed so that a complete novice can use it as efficiently as a skilled pro.
Conclusion
CyberLink Power2Go 6 is advanced burning software from a very reputable software company made easy for anyone to use. If you need a simple burning program, this is one of the best at any price. If you’re looking for software to take advantage of HD-DVD and Blu-Ray, this is a great choice also because it supports both types.
Thanks for reading,
Gr8ful ;-)
Recommended:
Yes
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