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In addition to expected features such as Blu-ray playback and HDMI sound, PowerDVD 8 is tightly integrated with the company's "MoovieLive" [sic] portal, which lets users share information about DVDs they've watched using the software.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect, however, is the "Movie Remix" feature, which lets

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you re-edit your DVDs by cutting and rearranging movie scenes. You can also overdub the existing audio track with your own, and overlay text and graphics.

Remixes can be saved to disk as a change log which does not include any data from the original film. "That's how [the software] gets around copyright issues," explains Manal Ma, CyberLink's vice president of sales and marketing.

This means remixes can be freely shared with other PowerDVD users via MoovieLive. The need to own the disc will inevitably restrict the popularity of the service, but it still opens up novel possibilities for creativity, and we look forward to a slew of remakes along the lines of YouTube's popular Five Second Movies.

Prices are still to be confirmed, but PowerDVD 8 is due on sale at the end of March.