DVD player software
 (PowerDVD 5 vs. WinDVD 5 Platinum)

Power DVD XP 5.0 Deluxe and WinDVD 5 Platinum are the latest evolutions of the world most acclaimed DVD software programs that offer maximum video and audio playback entertainment on the PC. Both come complete with numerous customizable video controls, such as Screen Capture, Auto-Resume Playback, adjustable Color Cast Controls, and much more.
 The greatest improvement since last version (for both!) is about audio: they offer DTS Digital Surround, SRS TruSurround XT, Dolby Pro Logic II, and more.

You can ask: which is better (since the price is similar, about 70-79$ for downloadable version)? Both are great with DVDs (may PowerDVD 5 is a little better with DVDs), but WinDVD Platinums is fully compatible and excellent even with DiVXs (and not only with DVDs). In the latest releases, PowerDVD has become good even with divx, so it is perhaps slightly better.
For both there is a cheaper version (about 50$)... where is the catch? In the audio performance, since the cheaper versions do not have DTS Digital Surround, and all the excellent audio features of the full price ones.

OVERALL: Both Great