Tired of clumsy interfaces of popular Blu-ray media players like CyberLink PowerDVD or ArcSoft TotalMedia Theatre? Leawo offers you something different; a minimalistic Blu-ray player that looks gorgeous, Leawo Blu-ray Player for Windows gives you another potential choice!

What is it and what does it do

Main Functionality

Leawo Blu-ray Player is a program for playing Blu-ray, DVD, and videos (including SD and HD).

Pros

• Simple yet powerful interface
• Large fonts for ease of read
• Drag-n-drop works
• “Quick & Simple Mode” or “Full Navigation Mode” available
• Smooth playback of Blu-ray discs (BDs), high definition (HD) and standard definition (SD) videos up to 1080P with multi-format support
• Preferred subtitles and audio tracks at will
• Full-screen playback support
• Arrival of menu on right click with keyboard short-cuts

Cons

• DVD playback issue (more on this in discussion)
• Relatively long BD loading time sometimes
• Occasional hiccup in BD playback specially if fast forward or rewind done
• Menu does not work (vide discussion)
• No font position/type/size/color options for subtitles
• No ISO file support
• No 3D BD playback
• Very high price for a media player

Discussion

The first thing you will notice when you open this player is that the interface is absolutely uncluttered unlike PowerDVD or TMT. It feels like Leawo has revisited Windows Media Player with a modern look and capability. Fonts are large enough to read (benefit for older eyes).

I have tested Leawo Blu-ray Player for Windows version # 1.1.0.25 (beta version) in Windows 7 Professional 64 bit. The following types of files were tested:

• Blu-ray commercial disc (BD50); Despicable Me (2010) & A Christmas Carol (2009): Both played but with no menu (in Roxio CinePlayer, menu worked).
• DVD commercial disc (DVD9); Despicable Me (2010) & A Christmas Carol (2009): Neither did play (Roxio CinePlayer didn’t work either). US DVD playing in India, region lock? It’s kinda funny though that BDs worked instead.
• HD video: 720p AVC-x264/AC3-5.1/MKV file with English subtitle (UTF-8): Worked with no problems.
• HD video: 720p AVC-x264/DTS-5.1/MKV file with English subtitle (UTF-8): Worked with no problems.
• SD video: DivX/MP3/AVI file: Worked with no issues.

During playback, the software takes ~ 150 MB of RAM whereas it takes ~ 50 MB in standby mode (your mileage may vary). You can right click to bring the menus (nicely slides in from the right). Menu options are available with keyboard short-cuts. In my opinion, subtitles should have had font position/type/size/color options (I like SPlayer for this reason). However, the most disappointing fact is that BD menu does not appear even if you operate in “Full Navigation Mode”.

I wish this player would play 3D Blu-ray discs, too (including side-by-side, half-over-the-under 3D MKVs). Of course, for stereoscopic 3D playback, you will need proper hardware. For those who are wondering, the following is the configuration of my laptop where this software test has taken place: ASUS G73JW | Intel Core i7-740QM, 1.73GHz | 8GB DDR3 | Nvidia GeForce GTX 460M, 1.5GB | OCZ 120GB SSD + Seagate 500GB Hybrid 7200rpm | 17.3″ FHD/3D | Blu-ray Write | Win7Pro64.

Conclusion and download link

Overall, this is an aesthetically cool Blu-ray media player with an unassuming but great interface that works; the program has promise. However, there is room for improvement; in particular, inclusion of menu, ISO support, and 3D options is mandatory for a modern and competent Blu-ray media player. On top of that, the program is very expensive — $49.95 for a media player. Based on that, I’m finding it hard to recommend this one. Rather, I’ll let you decide if you want this program or not. Properly playing Blu-ray movies is somewhat rare on Windows and the fact that this program works, as per my tests, says a lot. But, as I said, it is expensive. So you decide if you want this program or. For those that want freeware alternatives, check out either DA Player or VLC (you will need to download the unofficial Blu-ray plugin) — both are freeware.

Price: $49.95

Version reviewed: 1.1.0.25 (beta version)

Supported OS: Windows XP/Vista/7/8

Download size: 28.9 MB

VirusTotal malware scan results: 0/45

Is it portable? No

Leawo Blu-ray Player homepage