Sweet Suites
Every retail rewritable DVD drive comes bundled with basic CD/DVD burning software--including limited, OEM versions of some of the suites we review here. However, boxed software packages may provide extra features such as audio and video editing, customizable DVD menus, and backup.
For this roundup, we examined seven boxed software products: Ahead Software's $100 Nero 6 Ultra Edition, ArcSoft's $70 DVD & CD Suite 6.5, MedioStream's $100 NeoStudio 5, NewSoft's $90 Presto DVD PowerSuite 1.1, Pinnacle's $50 Instant CD/DVD 8, Sonic's $100 MyDVD Studio Deluxe 5, and Ulead's $100 DVD MovieFactory 3 Disc Creator. All of the suites consist of a number of separate software components, which we refer to by name in the discussion that follows.
One vendor missing from our roundup is Roxio. The company's Easy Media Creator 7--an almost complete redesign of Easy CD & DVD Creator 6--was in beta at the time of our review, but the software will be shipping by the time you read this. What we saw looks promising, with a dazzling interface and better-integrated components. (Look for our review next month.)
We trotted the seven suites through a series of common and not-so-common tasks, judging them on both features and usability. Despite a reputation for bugginess when it was first released last summer--and an interface that remains obtuse in spots--Nero 6 now seems stable, allowing us to award it our Best Buy for its power and breadth of features. That's not to say it didn't have serious competition: Of the remaining suites, most did something well--as you'll see in our evaluation of each suite on eight basic tasks. But each seemed to lack at least one important feature, limiting its appeal as an all-encompassing upgrade from whatever might have come with your DVD burner.
After identifying eight core multimedia and data tasks, we scored each suite on that task (see the chart on DVD Recording Software Suites). Read on to see which suites we liked, and why.
DVD Authoring, Video Editing
Competition was fierce in this, the glamour category for DVD software. All of the suites include a program that lets you author DVD movie menus and at the very least trim your video clips. The differences lie in support for such features as motion backgrounds and buttons, advanced video editing and effects, and freely placeable menu text and buttons.
Ahead's NeroVision Express 2 offers the best control over the look of DVD menus--it even lets you adjust the starting point and length of the video used for motion backgrounds and buttons. NeroVision Express also provides easy-to-use storyboard and timeline video editing. The program's biggest weaknesses are its mundane templates and its stock images (for buttons, and the like).
For editing video, our favorite was ArcSoft's ShowBiz DVD 2: Its exceptionally logical workflow; well-designed, powerful storyboard and timeline editors; and ability to export video creations to a number of different file types won it high marks.
Sonic's MyDVD Studio Deluxe 5, a longtime front-runner in the entry-level DVD authoring field, deserves a look, too, because of its beautiful motion backgrounds. The program won't permit you to freely place menu buttons or text the way Ahead does, but it's very easy to use, and it produces professional-looking results.
The rest of the packages layered too many weaknesses in with their strengths. Pinnacle's Expression simplifies applying DVD styles, layouts, and artwork; unfortunately, we found it to be a weak video editor. And the NewSoft and Ulead suites are similarly uneven: Both are a snap to use, but NewSoft's Presto DVD PowerSuite offers limited menu creation abilities, and Ulead's DVD MovieFactory lacks timeline editing.
Taking a more automated approach, MedioStream's NeoProducer analyzes your audio and video clips, and then automatically transforms them into a suave production that doesn't require an ounce of creative talent.
Five of the seven suites--those from Ahead, MedioStream, NewSoft, Sonic, and Ulead--let you capture video straight to disc in DVD-Video or DVD+VR format; they also allow direct editing of discs burned in a set-top DVD recorder or in a rewritable DVD drive using DVD+VR. Support for DVD-VR is less pervasive--only NewSoft, Sonic, and Ulead support it.
Photo Editing, Slide Shows
Every DVD authoring program in this roundup has the ability to create photo slide shows and store them on disc.
However, the programs that give you the most control over look and feel are Ahead's NeroVision Express 2 and ArcSoft's ShowBiz DVD 2. Both of them support a wide range of file types, transitions, and photo archiving (so you can include the original-resolution photos on the slide-show disc), and both give you the ability to place text over a photo. Ahead enjoys a slight edge with its integrated photo editing (and ArcSoft takes a ding for not permitting you to apply effects across a range of photos--you must arduously apply them to each image).
The other programs we saw offer some, but not all, of these features. Neither Sonic nor MedioStream lets you place text over your photos, and the latter allows virtually no control over your slide show.
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