RioDVD Reviewer's Comments
RioDVD, produced by RioSoft Inc., is a good DVD player software system. The program has quality picture detail and adjustable settings, but needs improvement in audio support, navigation and help documentation.
RioDVD allows you to adjust the movie easily using your specific room setting-you can click the video effect button and select the mode that best matches your room (for example-darker room or lighter room). The program also includes the ability to change the viewing screen from the standard view to either the pan & scan (allowing you to move the screen view back and forth on a wide view movie) or digital zoom (allowing you to zoom in on your favorite scene). RioDVD can also play a movie in the background while you are working on other computer tasks. And this player can capture scenes and save them directly to the hard drive without interrupting the movie. You can also bookmark your favorite scenes to revisit later.
Ease of Use:
RioDVD's control panel is more complex than that of most DVD players. Its view size is small, making it difficult to spot functions. This system also requires you to select a "switch" function each time you alternate between the control button options. Also, the colors of the control keys are similar to the player color, making it difficult to distinguish them.
Ease of Installation:
RioDVD is easy to install and setup. We encountered no difficulties in the process.
Video Quality:
RioDVD presents excellent video viewing options also, such as vivid, bright, mild, or mono settings. These effects can be accessed through the video effects settings tab on the control panel or by pressing the shortcut F2 key. But RioDVD lacks some video settings common in top DVD players. This software does, however, offer video mode variations; for more information on video mode options, read our article on video interlacing.
Audio Quality:
RioDVD player's audio support allows the user to choose from 2, 4, or 6 speakers to customize the surround sound. Although Dolby Digital Surround sound and HiFi Audio can be enjoyed with these speaker settings, 7 or 8 speakers will allow you to take full advantage of scene's rich in sound effects using multi-channel sound support.
The new Rio DVD 3.1 version includes digital surround sound DTS 5.1.
Help/Support:
RioDVD provides an adequate amount of documentation to help you run the program. The player contains basic explanations of each feature and setting, but the software lacks an index search option, making it a bit harder to find what you are looking for. Their website offers a limited number of FAQs and email support.
Summary:
RioDVD is a good DVD software player but lacks the sophistication of top-of-the-line DVD player products. The program needs improvement in documentation and navigation. With adjustments, RioDVD would be a far more competitive software product.
