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Review: Cliprex DS DVD Player

Nick

Nick

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copy-of-cliprex2.jpgCliprex DS is a simple but versatile DVD player that’s slowly gathering popularity in the Softonic download charts. It’s also one of the few DVD players to be based on Microsoft’s patented DirectX technology. The fact that it’s been designed with Windows specifically in mind means it’s a good option for those who’ve had problems with other DVD players.

The first thing you notice about Cliprex DS is that it’s pretty basic. This is a no-thrills player that’s probably proved a popular download because of its ease of use. Your playlist appears in a small left-hand windowpane whilst the film plays on the right. The only visible controls are the standard DVD functions plus the shuttle bar so you can pinpoint specific time points in the film.

While it may be simple, Cliprex DS is certainly not limited in versatility. We found that it had no problems playing DIVX, XVID, MPEG and WMV files and the developers claim its capabilities also extend to ASF, Video CD and Super Video CD formats. Of course, it can also play all standard commercial DVDs too. However, the viewing size options were rather limited with only 4:3 and 16:9 ratios available. This can be set to automatic though, to detect the optimum size based on your hardware and the file being read.

The best thing about this player is its playlist function. You can easily organise and queue your own personalised list of programming for the night and just sit back. Whilst some players hide the playlist or don’t even offer one, Cliprex DS presents it in an easy-to-use manner. Adding files is as simple as dragging and dropping them into the playlist, meaning you can create an evening of programming in seconds rather than going through the ‘File > Open’ route. A few nice little extras are options to save the playlist for use at a later date or even publish it to a website to share your viewing tastes with friends.

One problem you might find is that the codecs that come bundled with the package are a bit limited. This can be easily remedied however by downloading the K-Lite pack or if that fails, using afreeCodecVT to detect exactly what codec you need.

We were impressed by the quality and playback of Cliprex DS although much obviously depends on the quality of your machine, the file being read and the sound system you have installed. One nice audio feature is the ability to pick and choose the audio stream you listen to, meaning that if the DVD allows it, you can isolate background noises or just speech.

There are a few other nice features which give Cliprex a little extra such as a bookmark manager for your favourite films and an angle selector allowing you to view scenes from different angles within certain limits. If you have to shut down suddenly or leave the film midway through, it also automatically saves the position you were at for later replay.

Overall, Cliprex doesn’t offer the sophisticated interfaces or extended options of something like Power DVD, but it does everything that most people need from a DVD player. For anyone who wants a player that’s straightforward and extremely stable in a Windows environment, then it’s definitely worth a go.

Nick

Nick

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