Roxio vs Nero Media Suites

Submitted by MadMonk on Wed, 07/23/2008 - 9:18pm

I was rather disappointed with the article.  In particular, the writer conceded that both suites were mediocre at best.  From past experience, the Roxio product is a complete waste of money.  Roxio has a rather poor reputation among serious amateurs that goes back several versions.  Nero, is in my opinion much superior to Roxio, but still falls short.

 

The writers conclude that they would have been better served by a software set more dedicated to the task, and I agree.  The best I have found short of professional commercial grade software is Ulead's Video Studio 11.5. It is not for novices, and has a healthy learning curve, but once you learn how to use it, it will do nearly anything a serious amateur or semi-pro needs.  It handles nearly every major format on the input side, and allows you to convert to WMV, MPEG2, H.264, BD, and other formats on output to DVD, web, and portable devices in both 4:3 and 16:9 frame sizes.  You can also adjust the compression bit rate allowing you to fit your output precisely on 4.7G and 8.5G media (that's a pro level feature not found in most consumer software).  It is worth every penny of the buy price.

 

As far as the other programs used to rip and copy DVDs, the two most useful I have found are not even mentioned.  First is UltraISO.  While not free, it is rock solid, versatile, and easy to use.  I've found the best way to store DVD content on hard drive is in the ISO format.  This program is indispensable to anyone who does a lot of DVD work.  The other is the best DVD ripper out there.  DVD Decrypter is so good, in fact, that commercial companies forced the author to quit updating it under threat of multiple lawsuits.  It is still widely available on the net in its last version with a bit of digging.  It can rip 99% of commercial DVDs to either ISO or VOB format, sidestepping every current type of copy protection, letting you burn a new DVD for backup or as a working copy.  It does quite a bit more, and there is a lot of information on how to use it to its fullest extent on the web.

 

How about some reviews of these?  I feel that would better serve your users.

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Nero / Roxio

Submitted by Glen2low on Tue, 04/15/2008 - 6:02pm

I have used both for creating DVD's and they each have their pluses and minuses. Now I'm at the point of I have a DVD I'm trying to make and Nero will do most of the things I want (I have Nero 7) but it will not let me adjust the size of the title font. I can adjust the size in MyDVD but it is limited to 99 pics for a slide show. Old version of MyDVD, 5 to be exact. So I do my best to work around the limitations. What I'd like to see is a list of all them programs out there and where I can get them. I really don't want to spend money on something I use maybe 2 or 3 times a year!

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Videohelp.com

Submitted by JohnnyCNote on Fri, 03/21/2008 - 5:48pm

This is one of the best sites I've come across, full of reviews, links and a great forum: http://www.videohelp.com/ . You can find just about any free and non-free app there is when it comes to CD's or DVD's, along with download links and users' comments.

They have hardware, software and media reviews, how-to guides - you name it. I've learned just about everything I know, particularly when it comes to DVD's, on this site.

Johnny C-Note says "check 'em out!" . . .

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There are many free

Submitted by Shalbatana on Wed, 03/19/2008 - 6:27am

There are many free alternatives out there. One just needs to know where to look.

I typically rely on Nero simply for ease of use and reliability. I do feel they are missing some great opportunities though. They should develop a "capture from LP or cassette" feature... though I hear there's a great stand-alone for that too.

I would also love to see them develop an intensive help system that even gets into setting up components, etc.

I use 6 Ultra, and find it invaluable, but tend not to install the bloat. That's the best way to use these products.

P.S. can someone, someday, come up with a media player that doesn't suck. Nero's is not only limited, it's fugly no matter the skin.

There's no time like the future.

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There are many free

Submitted by Shalbatana on Wed, 03/19/2008 - 6:15am

There are many free alternatives out there. One just needs to know where to look.

I typically rely on Nero simply for ease of use and reliability. I do feel they are missing some great opportunities though. They should develop a "capture from LP or cassette" feature... though I hear there's a great stand-alone for that too.

I would also love to see them develop an intensive help system that even gets into setting up components, etc.

I use 6 Ultra, and find it invaluable, but tend not to install the bloat. That's the best way to use these products.

P.S. can someone, someday, come up with a media player that doesn't suck. Nero's is not only limited, it's fugly no matter the skin.

There's no time like the future.

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DVD43 is a free alternative to AnyDVD

Submitted by bellz on Tue, 03/18/2008 - 11:52am

Maxpc said "We believe we’d be smarter, savvier, more Maximum PC, if you will, by choosing just the media-creation apps that suit our purposes from the various resources at our disposal."

...yet endorsed Anydvd, when there's a free alternative called DVD43. http://www.dvd43.com/

I'm not sure why you didn't mention it, but now you know.

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