CDRunner Review

CDRunner looks like the one stop shop for all your media and audio needs. It is not just any regular media player; it is a complete media tool, which also plays the role of a Media Server and Ripper. It packs tons of features and offers extensive media support. It allows you to play a wide range of media formats including audio and video. The latest, 2016 version has been enhanced to offer compatibility with Windows 10.

Better Scaling and Wider Media Support

This iteration of the tool includes scaling support for Windows 10. As was our experience with the previous editions of this tool installed on Windows 8 and older versions, the elevated scaling at 125% offers a much better visual experience. But, it is still largely a matter of personal choice as opposed to being a scientific deduction.

Support for wide range of media is one of the greatest strengths of CDRunner. The tool is capable of automatically identifying just about any type of media. Whether you have inserted an Audio CD in your CD drive or plugged in a USB drive loaded with MP3, CD-Runner will pick it all. For serious audiophiles, CD-Runner could be a treat as it extends support to FLAC, known to be the highest quality audio format on account of being the product of lossless audio compression technology.

More Features

The product can also rip the Audio CDs pretty effectively and quickly. In no time you can have the high quality audio from the CD saved on your hard disk drive. If you need to find the CD info, CD-Runner will download it for you from the freedb database.

The latest edition has been upgraded to ensure that it keeps up with the latest trends in the media technology. It now offers high quality video playback not just in HD, but also in 4K Ultra resolution. The new compatibility mode has been added for the systems that use the 3840 x 2160 pixel, 4K display resolution.

This instalment of app also comes with a new and enhanced installer. If you have used any of the previous editions before, you may find the installation wizard a bit unfamiliar. Nevertheless, it seems that the developers have tried to make the installation process less complicated and more straightforward. In spite of being an honest attempt, we felt that it is much the same barring a few cosmetic changes.

This latest version also offers the enhanced playback support for Direct Stream Digital (DSD), meaning the ability to play formats for Super Audio CD (SACD) including .dsf and .dff.  The CD ripper has also been updated and now it offers the new modes for digital ripping. We also found that it has the new Windows Audio Session API (WASAPI) output support. This simply means that it offers the bit-perfect output and all the audio streams in any particular session can be managed as a single unit. This also means that you get better sound clarity. The file tags have also been updated for all the supported audio files.

Many Glitches Fixed

The users had reported glitches with the previous editions while using the standard scaling for Windows 10. The 2016 version has updated the drivers and resolved this issue.

The size toggle on the touchpad faceplate wasn’t as smooth in the previous editions when you tried to switch the orientation from landscape to portrait or when you increased the size from small to large. There was a clear visual staccato that was difficult to not notice. But, we did not notice the recurrence of this issue in the 2016 version and hence it is safe to say that it has been fixed.

Summary

CD-Runner has introduced some major enhancements in its latest edition, making it one of the finest media tools available. At a price tag of $19.95, you also get free upgrades for the next 12 months. If you are looking for an advanced media player that doubles as a media server, CD-Runner could be your pick.