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The new Easy CD Creator 5 Platinum software suite from Roxio is a fine first product from this Adaptec spin-off. Improvements over version 4 include a slicker, more intuitive interface; the ability to encode MP3s (with playlist creation); and support for Windows Media Audio.

At the heart of version 5 are the Project Selector, which helps you move between programs in the suite, and the new SoundStream app that makes creating audio CDs easy and intuitive. SoundStream incorporates version 4's Spin Doctor audio restoration program (record from vinyl, remove hiss and scratches, then save to digital format), and its equalizer and normalizer (to process songs to uniform volume). It also adds a realizer (for boomier bass and brighter highs) and an MP3 encoder. You get just about everything you need to process and record audio material.

A few gripes: You can see only the first 30 or so characters of song names, and you can't drag and drop files from Explorer windows to the playlist--instead, you have to work from a folder.

Welcome additions on my $100 shipping copy included a disc-recovery and disc-repair utility; a simple video editor; MPEG-1 video encoding; and DirectCD packet writing support for Hitachi and Toshiba DVD-RAM drives.

A few annoyances from earlier versions persist. The user interface isn't the same for all programs in the suite. Overwriting with DirectCD can take three or more times longer than the original write. You cannot test a hard drive for transfer speed--critical to proper writing of a CD--if it doesn't hold the right number of files. There's no batch function for testing multiple hard drives or partitions.

Easy CD Creator 5 Platinum is still the most comprehensive CD authoring package available. But it's a must-have upgrade only if you're unhappy with version 4, or another package--in which case, a $50 competitive upgrade offer sweetens the deal.

SUMMARY

Easy CD Creator 5 Platinum PRO: Handles virtually all CD-related chores, including MP3 encoding and video CD editing. CON: Holdover bugs and annoyances; different interfaces for programs can be irksome. VALUE: Worth upgrading to if you want the extras. List price: $100, competitive upgrade $50 Roxio 408/934-7283 www.roxio.com

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