WinDVD 9 Plus -or- PowerDVD 8 Ultra

[lgspencer]

Both Corel and Cyberlink are on the threshold of coming out with upgraded products, WindDVD 9 Plus and PowerDVD Ultra 8. Has anyone had a chance to preview these upgraded products or have access to the specifications / requirements? If so, can you please share?

I am currently using the WinDVD 8 OEM version for VAIO on my Sony VGC-RC310G Desktop. I have had moderate success playing BD's. Some play perfectly, some with jittery images, and some just don't play at all. I think this may be related to the fact that my PC is one of the first Blu capable desktops, released in 2006.

I would like to upgrade to one of the new player versions mentioned above. I am in no *great* rush, and can wait for the better choice (for a little while, anyway). I would prefer to wait for the upgraded versions of either product to save some $$. I've read that today is the scheduled release day for WInDVD 9 Plus, although there is still nothing on Corel's US site. I have not heard about release dates for PowerDVD Ultra 8 -- has anyone?

I am thinking that I would probably be best served by getting the software which requires the lower amount of system resources. I've researched this thread and it seems that the conventional wisdom / opinion is that PowerDVD (at least ver 7) seems to require fewer system resources versus WinDVD.

The BD Advisor tool "recommended" a CPU upgrade (I've got: Intel(R) Pentium(R) D CPU 3.20GHz), but I really am not interested in doing so, just getting the best performance with what I've got.

Any suggestions or advice are most appreciated!