Virtually all computers these days come with DVD drives. You’ll also usually find some kind of DVD movie playing application supplied with a new PC or DVD drive.

Why, then, would you want to stump up £40 for CyberLink’s PowerDVD 7 Deluxe? Well, compared to many of the basic players pre-installed on computers, PowerDVD 7 Deluxe has got features coming out of its ears.

For those who like to watch movies on the move PowerDVD 7 Deluxe offers some very useful extras, such as advanced audio settings for helping users with tinny laptop speakers or headphones get a more cinematic feel from their film soundtracks.

On top of that is an interesting feature called ‘See-It-All’. This actually speeds up playback of the film you’re watching slightly if your notebook’s battery shows signs of flagging, in an attempt to race to the end of the film before power evaporates altogether.

Real film fans will probably notice even the most minor of speed increases, so they might not appreciate this particular asset, but there’s plenty in PowerDVD to appeal movie buffs too.

The latest version supports high definition video – not from Blu-ray  or HD-DVD discs, unfortunately – but from high-def MPEG-4 (H.264) format video that has been burned to a DVD.

PowerDVD’s video image enhancement (CyberLink Eagle Vision 2)  also allows for a certain amount of tweaking, so that users can get the picture looking just how they want it. A good thing too, since the automatic setting is far too garish.

On the audio side, PowerDVD is very capable, providing support for all major Dolby and DTS formats, as well as DVD-Audio.

There’s no doubt that PowerDVD Deluxe has much more to offer than the average DVD player. But to really get the most out of it, you need to have the hardware to match – a large, high quality monitor and a powerful 5.1 or 7.1-speaker surround sound system.

If you’re willing to splash out for that sort of kit, then £40 more for CyberLink’s excellent software will be a drop in the ocean. Casual viewers, meanwhile, will be better off sticking to their existing free player.

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