Review: InterVideo WinDVD Recorder Platinum 5.0
| Setup and installation |  |
Take note that WinDVD Recorder's performance largely depends on the underlying TV tuner hardware, which you'll have to purchase separately. On our test system, WinDVD automatically found our two installed USB TV tuners: a new ADS Instant TV device and an older ATI TV Wonder box. When we used the software with the Instant TV card, it found the alternate audio channels but didn't play audio. We recommend that you test your specific hardware with the trial version first. InterVideo also provides a list of some supported TV tuner devices on its Web site and a longer roster of supported CD/DVD burners.
WinDVD Recorder's functions are built on top of WinDVD's familiar player interface, although input-source options now include TV devices. Of course, you can still use the software to play DVDs and media files on your hard drive, just as in past versions of WinDVD. The floating Player interface panel now has a record button, and the Chapter Skip keys double as channel-up/down controls.
The Player interface includes pop-out adjustment panels that provide access to secondary controls such as audio channels and subtitles. You'll also find some of WinDVD's great display-format customization options here; a number of color presets, for example, will quickly adjust for bright sports scenes or dark movies.
As with WinDVD, right-clicking the mouse calls up a long selection of playback-control options, including displaying video as the background on your desktop--perfect if you want to keep track of a show while you work on other projects. The software can automatically scan for channels, and the TV-channel setup dialog also lets you set favorites for skipping through stations. This is a modal dialog, however, so you can't flip through programs as you edit the channel list.
Since WinDVD Recorder simply lays its TV functions over WinDVD's original interface, they're not fully optimized for TV viewing. For example, the keyboard shortcuts don't provide consistent single-press access to the channel and volume controls, and you can't shrink the video display to a small corner of the screen or simplify it to remove unwanted controls.
