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Question about EULA for bundled Blu Ray software (e.g. PowerDVD)

post #1 of 5
5/6/12 at 6:44am
Thread Starter 
Hello everyone,

My question is simple, yet fundamental.

From a EULA point-of-view (not technical point-of-view):

If I buy a Blu Ray drive, say, a retail LG 12x Blu Ray burner that is bundled with Cyberlink PowerDVD software:

Can I only install the software on the system in which I install the Blu Ray burner or can I install it anywhere I choose? I.e. is the privilege to use the software contingent on owning/using the drive that it came with?

Does anyone know if this is the case and if the same applies across most, if not all, manufacturers of Blu Ray drives?

My dilemma is that in the $$ it costs to buy PowerDVD or WinDVD, I can buy a drive that is bundled with software. Even though I already have a drive, why should I pay the same for less?

I understand some software is intentionally designed to only work with certain brands of hardware (like the one it was bundled with), but I'm interested in knowing the answer to the above question despite that.

Your help is most appreciated.

TIA,
Waqqas
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post #2 of 5
5/6/12 at 12:05pm
You could try reading the EULA.
I doubt that the bundled software is tied to any specific hardware ID attached to that particular drive. Usually the OEM versions of the software are feature limited in some way and they use that to entice you to "upgrade" to the full version and pull your credit card out and pay up post drive sale.
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post #3 of 5
5/7/12 at 3:52am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by qz3fwd View Post

You could try reading the EULA.
I doubt that the bundled software is tied to any specific hardware ID attached to that particular drive. Usually the OEM versions of the software are feature limited in some way and they use that to entice you to "upgrade" to the full version and pull your credit card out and pay up post drive sale.

Well, I don't have access to the EULA, which is why I'm asking.

In case my post was not that straightforward, let me put it this way:

Is it legal to install/use bundled Blu Ray software on a system other than the one where the bundled drive is installed?

That should make it easier to answer
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post #4 of 5
5/7/12 at 5:19am
Quote:
Originally Posted by waqqas31 View Post

Well, I don't have access to the EULA, which is why I'm asking.

I can not answer your question but if you read the reviews for Blu-ray burners on Newegg you will see most folks say the bundled software sucks and recommends the OEM version (which can be hard to find). Normally, the OEM version is just the bare drive and it is cheaper.
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post #5 of 5
5/7/12 at 6:18am
Software bundled with hardware is usually (in my case PDVD10) a limited edition. The version of PDVD10 that came with my drive would play BD but audio was Stereo Only! The upgrade to the full version of PDVD10 Ultra was not cheap and sort of a pain if you need to reinstall because you have to do it twice, once to install the limited edition off the disc and then again with the upgrade code so you have to keep track of 2 activation codes. Better to just buy the full version on sale. There was also a strange activation/installation failure because my onboard Realtek audio was disabled. If you get a free limited edition with the drive just enjoy the stereo!

Edit: The software is not tied to the drive.
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