CyberLink DVD Suite 5.0

10-in-1 software suite: create, backup, burn, and play 1.Edit videos with PowerDirector - NEW VERSION! 2.Watch DVDs and videos with PowerDVD 3.Author DVDs with PowerProducer - NEW VERSION! 4.Archive files with PowerBackup - NEW VERSION! 5.Create photo slideshows with MediaShow 6.Make music discs and burn data with Power2Go - NEW VERSION!

7.Duplicate DVDs with PowerDVD Copy 8.Burn directly to disc with InstantBurn - NEW VERSION! 9.Design disc labels with LabelPrint - NEW VERSION! 10.Access all applications from one location with PowerStarter

You can kill two birds with one stone, people sometimes cheerfully remark, as if this were a good thing. They never seem to point out that you'd have to be a vicious, animal-hating sadist to do so; albeit an efficient one. But if it's efficiency you want, then DVD Suite 5 Pro kills ten birds with one stone - figuratively speaking, so don't be phoning the RSPCA about CyberLink. The suite contains ten utilities that handle everything DVD related, and all these programs are seamlessly integrated under one very tidy central interface.

For playing movies, CyberLink's own PowerDVD (version 6 Express) is included. It uses CLEV 2 (CyberLink Eagle Vision) technology, which is supposed to adjust image contrast and brightness for a richer picture. Obviously this varies according to your LCD display and its settings, but watching several of our favourite DVDs we did indeed find the picture quality impressive.

The controls are accessed via a pop-up bar that allows you to play/pause and so on, plus skip directly to any point in the movie, and a shuttle dial is also included for fast-forwarding, slow-mo and reverse playback. A single click resizes wide-screen movies to full screen, or indeed 4:3 can be resized to wide-screen, and all common video formats are supported by the player, including the new high-definition MPEG-2 HD and WMV-HD.