Article by: Jackie Mueller (Hardware Reviewer)
Edited By: Nathan Glentworth (Owner / Head Editor)
Product was submitted by: Asus
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PRODUCT INSTALLATION AND TESTING
A variety of software is included with the BW-12B1LT. The main attraction is a Cyberlink software suite that contains PowerDVD 9, PowerBackup, InstantBurn, and Power2Go. Also included are E-Hammer and E-Green programs from Asus.
PowerDVD 9 is a well known BD/DVD playback program and even though Asus doesn't include the most recent version (PowerDVD 11 is the latest), this will get the job done if the main objective is simply to watch movies. It also supports Blu-Ray 3D playback, BD-Live, and will play other HD file formats as well.
Blu-Ray is a useful format for backups and PowerBackup can make that process easier, especially for less technically inclined computer users. All you have to do is choose the folder(s) you want to back up, select the destination drive, and select the type of backup. You can also schedule backups and restore files from backup, among other tasks.
Power2Go is a tool used to burn data discs, copy discs, create and burn disc images, rip audio from music CD's, and erase rewritable discs. I burned some disc images and data discs and it worked great every time, as did creating my own disc images. Don't expect to copy a retail movie though - the software won't work on encrypted discs.
InstantBurn can also be used to burn discs by simply dragging and dropping files onto your optical disc drive listed in the My Computer folder. It can also be used to erase files on an RW disc, as I've shown here.
