14 DAY TRIAL // Creating a Blu-ray disc is no longer a financial issue since the price of the devices capable of achieving such purpose has dropped considerably and more and more users can afford them.
This, combined with the availability of devices capable of recording HD video, leads to an increased number of programs particularly designed for creating Blu-ray content and burning it to a disc.
Leawo Software’s Blu-ray Creator is among the latest solutions entering the market. With a price of $39.95 / €30.95 per year, the application can work with BD-25/BD-50 and DVD discs (DVD-5/DVD-9) as well as store the content in a BD/DVD Folder or pack it in an ISO file.
At the moment, we’re running a giveaway campaign for Leawo Blu-ray Creator and you can get a free license of the application, no strings attached.
Installing the product does not take long to complete and there are no third-party programs pushed onto the system.
However, at the end of the operation, the developer offers the possibility to install the K-Lite Codec package, which enables smooth playing of audio and video files. It is not necessary to install it if you rely on your own set of codecs.
Looks are nothing fancy as the developer seems to have focused on ease of use and a clear view of all the functions in the application rather than making it as eye-candy as possible.
Blu-ray Creator works with myriads of video formats, from the most popular to less used ones, and also offers some editing features. Adding the content you want to burn can be done by dragging and dropping into the interface. All entries offer details such as duration of the clip and estimated size after processing. Subtitles (SRT, ASS and SSA) are supported for each clip.
At the bottom of the screen, you can see the amount of disc space occupied by the entire project, as per your selection of media storage: DVD 5 or 9, BD 25 or 50. This is also the place to define the quality of the output result.
Leawo’s application may seem like a common product, but under the hood it packs all the features required for coming up with a great project. There are multiple categories for menu backgrounds to choose from and you can also customize the entire menu with built-in presets for buttons and themes.
The advanced section of the Menu Designer component provides the possibility to personalize the menu by choosing a solid color for the background, an image or a video file. Furthermore, background music can be added (and the number of supported formats is impressive).
Not the same flexibility in choices is available when picking the button style for navigating through the menu, though, because you have to select from the presets packed in by the developer. There is a wide selection available but chances are some users won’t find something to their liking.
Leawo Blu-ray Creator comes with some basic but very useful editing options. These allow trimming the video, flipping or rotating it, cropping and watermarking. Some adjustments are available for changing the brightness, contrast and saturation levels.
Protecting the resulting file with a watermark is also among the editing choices. The mark can be an image or a text and there is the possibility to customize transparency level and position on the screen.
Since all modifications are reflected in a preview screen right next to the original view, you can check in an instant how they apply.
Deeper insight into the media files in the list is present in the Media Information that offers details about the video (format, duration, bitrate, codec used, resolution, frame rate, aspect ratio); brief info about the audio track is also available: codec, bit rate, sample rate, channels. Moreover, the application automatically informs of the properties of the file after the conversion.
A very interesting feature is preparing regular videos for passive 3D view. Each entry in the list can be converted to a certain 3D mode: Red/Cyan, Red/Green, Red/Blue, Interleaved or Side by Side. An additional option lets you choose the 3D depth. Again, all changes are available instantly.
Obviously, because this process is a conversion of 2D content to 3D, the results are not quite impressive and this is the case with most software capable of such feats, but with proper gear, you will see a difference.
The Good
Video editing features help trim the clip as well as make the necessary adjustments in terms of contrast, brightness and saturation. 2D to 3D conversion is available. All changes can be previewed instantly.
