Accessories

Defective software
The WinDVD 8 software came with a serial installation number that could not be used because one of the characters (a circle with a slash mark across it) is not on the keyboard. I sent an e-mail to WinDVD 8 and they never answered
me. Amazon refunded me for the full purchase price. Amazon deserves an A+!

Don't buy anything from Corel
I own WinDVD 6 Platinum. I bought it directly from Intervideo, before they were bought by Corel. I paid for the disc. Spent over $ 100. Worked just fine. My computer crashed, I reinstalled the program and I need a new activation key. I have spent one month trying to extract the key from Corel. No help. No tech support. Their e-mail address does not work. They want me to buy a new product. But I won't.

Won't work on Vista PC
I tried to install the download version on a fairly high end Vista PC. WINDVD 8 installed okay, but I could not get it to "activate" with the SN/key provided by Intervideo. The key was accepted when I first launch the program, but it keeps returning to the same activation screen over and over again. I tried uninstalling and reinstalling to no avail.

I had no such problem installing (and activating) PowerDVD Ultra, a competing DVD Player Windows Vista compatible PC application sold by Cyberlink.

The user interface on WINDVD 8 Platinum appears better than PowerDVD, but Intervideo's support for HD DVD and BluRay DVDs is available only via an alternate version (Intervideo website downloadable only). HD DVD and BluRay support comes standard in Cyberlink's PowerDVD Ultra, but at 30 dollars higher price. You have to read the "fine print" to be made aware of this and finding this so-called "alternate" version on their website is obscured to say the least; almost like Intervideo does not really want to sell it, least not in the boxed (retail) version.

I think the other reviewers are right on with all the bad reviews of this product and certainly with respect to Vista installations.

BE WARNED....
I wished I had known a couple of things prior to October 17th 2007:
1) I wished I had known that WinDVD 8 ain't no WinDVD 7.
2) I wished had known that buying WinDVD 8 would be a waste of forty-something bucks, a waste of endless hours with Corel's tech support, and a waste of time (try 20 days?) of following Corel's Tech support instructions, including hours of 'holding' for someone to pick up, uninstalling regedit's (?), downloading Microsoft patches and getting not one, but two useless new product keys.

But MOSTLY what I wished I had known was that WinDVD 7 was the best of the last and I should have paid better attention to where I stored the program disk.

Simply put, my computer had some issues and in getting them resolved, anything not already installed on the hardrive with purchase had to be re-installed. I couldn't find the WinDVD 7 program, so I went to my local store, found out they no longer had WinDVD 7, but WinDVD 8 'would work just fine!". HAH!!!

I've given up trying to get the program working and I don't even have Vista! I have XP. I figured the MOST I could do was warn people. Don't think WinDVD 8 is just a better WinDVD 7. It's not! And don't think Corel's tech support can help you -- they can't.

Lastly, if anybody has a working copy of WinDVD 7, put it away in a safe place. You might need one day and they ain't making no more....

Can't Install
Hard to review this product when you cannot even get it to install. The CD key/serial number does not work. I've check the ulead forums about this problem and it seems to be one that gets little if any attention from the company. I think I'm above average when it comes to computers and have never come across this problem with software before. I hate to imagine the frustration it would cause a novice to get this software up and running. I would not recommend this product to anyone.