“In today’s digital age, people expect to watch high-definition movies and stream videos with zero hassle, no questions asked. PowerDVD continues to lead the way on bringing a premium multimedia experience to users around the world,” said Dr. Jau Huang, CEO of CyberLink. “With a number of enhancements added in this release, PowerDVD raises the bar in combining the world of online media with high-definition playback, live videos and 360o content, truly creating an end-to-end solution for users and their entertainment needs. PowerDVD 18 is a best-in-class media player enabling people to maximize the full potential of their VR headsets, Ultra HD 4K TVs, home theater systems—even their PC.”

With the trend moving from full HD to 4K, PowerDVD 18 is designed to satisfy home theater PC users by supporting the latest video formats, including Ultra HD Blu-ray, HDR 10 content and HEVC/H.265 videos.

PowerDVD 18 continues to build on CyberLink’s leadership in 360o video and photo playback, making more content accessible to more users than ever before. Users who don’t yet own a VR headset can now easily watch 360o video on their PC with a new viewing mode enabling users to see every angle simultaneously. Now boasting integrated playback support for both YouTube and Vimeo 360o, PowerDVD 18 brings a world of curated VR content straight to user’s headsets or PCs. This extends to owners of new Windows Mixed Reality headsets who can access the same extensive library of online 360o video through CyberLink’s Power Media Player MR app.

In addition, PowerDVD 18 brings a new “Mini View” player to the program. This highly demanded feature keeps the player on top of other windows, ensuring uninterrupted viewing of local or online videos. When coupled with the new YouTube Live integration, the Mini View player allows users to multitask on their PCs, while never missing a moment of whatever they’re watching. With over 300 hours of video content being uploaded to YouTube every minute, PowerDVD allows users to enjoy the best of online media in 4K, HDR, 360o or full HD.

PowerDVD also now supports Fire TV casting, in addition to Roku, Apple TV and Chromecast™ streaming devices. It offers the easiest way to send movies, music and photos wirelessly from PCs to a TV. By using PowerDVD, users can apply CyberLink’s unique TrueTheater HDR, Color and Sound technologies to any streamed media content for playback that looks the way it should on a big-screen TV – with crystal clear picture quality and pitch-perfect audio.