It has been said that no matter how far you go, if you journey far enough, you eventually will end up back where you started. Furthermore, according to The Wizard of OZ, that is probably where you should have always been anyway. We walk away, but eventually we go back home.

Home for ATI owners is the included ATI DVD software. Based on the CineMaster DVD engine, it is packaged with ATI Video cards to give users a built in DVD player that does a beautiful job. However, some users (like myself) left the ATI player behind. We wanted features the ATI player couldn't provide: a better interface, more controls, surround sound, zoom. Whatever the reason, many of us went searching elsewhere. Now the review list brings me back home again.

ATI/CineMaster has long held an honored spot with the elite players in terms of DVD quality. They have Consistently been among the finest in both audio and video since the release of their 1st Cinemaster based player. ATI was never feature-packed, nor easy to navigate; but nobody argued that ATI players coupled with ATI video hardware did a truly beautiful job with DVD playback. Great video that was compatible with most hardware (Even non-ATI cards!) and most DVD titles; plus booming LFE-backed audio that the competition could only envy. But always we were beckoned by PowerDVD and WinDVD with their extensive controls and features. Now ATI is back. ATI's 4.1 player is the 1st major update to the ATI/Cinemaster offering in almost 2 years (Prior updates were basically bugfixes and a few feature updates). Hey, they remodeled the old homestead while I was away? Maybe the Wizard had a point? Does ATI/Cinemaster still stand tall against PowerDVD and WinDVD, or does the review process crush them (And their little dog too!) as having done nothing but rewrap old technology? We shall see.