ArcSoft TotalMedia Theatre is a complete media player that brings all the elements you need to play Blu-rays, DVDs, HD movies or online videos.
The user interface doesn't appear to be very impressive, but the minimalistic appearance definitely attracts power users who generally look for an easy-to-use program.
The menu bar is on the upper part of TotalMedia. Here you can configure SimHD settings (manually or automatically), 3D stereo settings (including the selection of a display), Audio / Video Center (audio output, audio effects, equalizer, display, and video effects).
SimHD has the purpose to significantly improve the quality of DVDs and low-resolution videos (including YouTube videos), so that image sharpness increases, making videos look more realistic.
In the Audio/Video Center there are five different video effects - Vivid, Bright, Blue, Black and White, Theatre - and you can adjust brightness, contrast, hue and saturation.
In the Settings section you can configure user interface language, set the path for captured images and bookmarks, adjust the parental control level (and set a password), select file associations, as well as select power manage mode.
On the left side of TotalMedia's main window is Media Manager, where you can access the library, shared content, online content (from YouTube, but you can't currently view or download videos), and create playlists.
TotalMedia mainly focuses on playing Blu-rays, and it does so wonderfully. Also, navigating through the video is easily done.
During our tests, the application crashed once, when a video was playing and we brought up Task Manager. The video automatically stopped, and after we selected it to play again, TotalMedia got stuck and had to exit. Also, whenever you play a video, the Windows 7 color scheme switches to basic.
All in all, ArcSoft TotalMedia Theatre has shown us some pretty strong features for a media player, especially when it comes to playing Blu-Rays.
Limitations:
· 15 days trial
· Nag screen
What's New in This Release:
· Plays Blu-ray 3D movies and watch 2D DVD movies in 3D in real-time
· Includes a powerful Media Manager to help you organize and search for videos easily and quickly
· Newly improved SimHD supports De-Noise, Dynamic Lighting and increased frame-rate conversion
· Provides a Smart Menu so you can view detailed information about the currently playing DVD or video file without interrupting playback
· Includes online video streaming directly from popular streaming websites
· Redesigned elegant Audio/Video Center and intuitive user interface
· Supports 3D formats: JPS, MPO
· Supports MPEG-4 ASP files
· Supports external subtitle files: SRT, SMI, SSA, IDX, and SUB
· Supports video formats: AVS, WTV, MKV (with multiple audio tracks and subtitles)
· Supports audio formats: ALAC, wmal, APE, FLAC, LPAC, OFR