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Roxio vs. Nero

Katherine Stevenson — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 11:50:00 -0500

By now, anyone who knows their way around an optical disc drive knows the names Roxio and Nero. The two media-creation mavens have been on the scene since practically the dawn of CD-burning time. And through to today, inclusion of one or the other’s software is de rigueur with the purchase of just about any retail PC or optical drive. Of course, the bundled software packages are but abbreviated versions of the full-on suites Roxio and Nero offer. The stand-alone packages go far beyond the basics of disc copying, burning, and playing—and that’s never been more true than today.

In recent months Nero and Roxio have released new iterations of their respective media-creation suites and both are packed with enough features to challenge the commitment of even manic media-philes. Roxio Easy Media Creator 10 and Nero 8 Ultra have come out swinging with more media-creation capabilities than we know what to do with… literally. Still, we’re willing to jump into the fray to figure it all out. We’ll tell you how these two suites rate and help you decide whether it’s worth upgrading from the software you’re already using.

The Missing Link

No media suite is complete without AnyDVD

These suites might promise the world, but there’s one crucial task that they’re plain incapable of: ripping the contents of a commercial DVD. Roxio, Nero, and other software makers must adhere to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which states that it’s illegal to provide technology that circumvents copy protection. But as we all know, there are perfectly legitimate reasons for copying the contents of a disc that has been legally purchased, such as making a backup or converting it for use on a portable player. That’s where SlySoft’s AnyDVD comes in (49 euros, www.slysoft
.com). Produced in and sold from Antigua, West Indies, AnyDVD has but one solitary purpose: to free your disc content of copy protection. Once installed, the app hangs out in your task bar; the moment you drop a disc into your optical drive, AnyDVD scans the contents and removes copy protection when necessary from standard-def content, freeing you to proceed with your activities. An HD DVD- and Blu-ray-enabled add-on costs an additional 30 euros. Check out the free 21-day trial. Purchasing the full version makes you eligible for free upgrades for life!

Final Thoughts: Are Suites for Suckers?

Testing these two massive apps has us believing that less is more

We hate to give two competing apps the exact same verdict, but Nero 8 Ultra and Easy Media Creator 10 have impressed and appalled us to similar degrees. In the end, we felt they were both merely adequate as complete packages. Yes, it would be nice to have the handful of apps that each package excels at, but all the other add-ons jack up the price and tarnish the shine on the winners. 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. After all, iTunes, Windows, DVD Shrink, AutoGK, and the wonderful world of the web all offer serviceable free alternatives that will augment the basic burning software that comes with retail burners. And if you require more advanced features, you’re likely better off buying a few single-purpose programs than a do-it-all hodgepodge. That’s just our two cents.

Smooth Sailing for Blu-ray?

Katherine Stevenson — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 19:32:20 -0600

Starting with Warner Bros.’s dramatic defection to Blu-ray on the eve of this year’s CES, it's been a tumultuous couple of months for HD DVD, ending at last on Monday with Toshiba's announcement that it would cease developing, manufacturing, and marketing HD DVD players and media. And frankly, we have to give Toshiba props for accepting its defeat so readily and putting an end to a format war that had already lasted too long.

The question now is what the future holds for Blu-ray. Will its triumph over HD DVD prompt consumers to finally buy high-def disc players and movies en masse? Not according to Apple CEO Steve Jobs, who recently made the claim that optical discs are an obsolete content distribution method. And indeed, while the two optical formats have been duking it out, the Hollywood studios have been forging online-distribution partnerships. The most high-profile of these involves the updated Apple TV, which now lets you stream both standard- and high-def material that you buy or rent from iTunes directly to your TV. A set-top box by Vudu (www.vudu.com) offers similar functionality, as does the Xbox 360 via Microsoft’s Live Marketplace (in fact, movie director Michael Bay made waves a while back by accusing Microsoft of supporting HD DVD just to fuel format confusion and drive frustrated consumers to its online store).

It all sounds very juicy, but communications analyst Michael Inouye of market research firm In-Stat isn’t convinced of the online threat: “Until we get much larger data pipes for downloading, HD will be a pipe dream. I would imagine that quite a few consumers will not accept video ‘hiccups’ should they occur as they download the video (in cases where they stream the content). And if the consumer wishes to upgrade to larger data-transfer rates, it will likely come at a price.”

In-Stat analyst Gerry Kaufhold offers up another factor: “Cable TV operators and the TelcoTV services provide you with your subscription TV service and your broadband Internet service, so they will continue to make sure their pay-TV services provide the highest convenience, the best image quality, and the most recent new titles so that they won’t lose too much of their user base to the Internet-delivered services.” That should come as little consolation to the Blu-ray camp, however.

We’ll render our own hands-on assessment of the major movie streaming/downloading services in the May issue of Maximum PC, so stay tuned.

HP W2408

Katherine Stevenson — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 19:04:35 -0600

It’s easy to be seduced by the sheer size of a 24-inch LCD screen—any display that big just looks like it means business. And there was a time when large LCD panels were almost exclusively high-performance parts. That’s no longer the case. As the 24-inch LCDs reviewed here demonstrate, large screens are just as varied and prone to flaws as their smaller counterparts.

It might surprise you that the w2408 is the least expensive of the three LCDs here, because it seems to offer the most. It has a chic, shiny bezel like the Westinghouse—and a chic, shiny screen to match. The glossy surface can be real image booster, making colors appear more vibrant than they do on coated panels. But in a well-lit room the screen is like a mirror, reflecting you and everything else around, so consider your environment before buying.

The w2408 also offers ergonomic adjustments, including height and pivot, plenty of user controls via the OSD, and software that instructs the panel to assess environmental lighting and adjust the picture accordingly. It has DVI, VGA, and four USB ports. And it’s equipped with HDCP support.

But despite all the features in its favor, the w2408’s performance failed to win us over. The glossy 1920x1200 screen really enhances movies and games, and we didn’t notice visual anomalies in either circumstance, but a couple issues reared their heads in DisplayMate. Banding appeared throughout the utility’s grayscale test screens, and we detected some color-tracking discrepancies. These issues weren’t apparent in most real-world content, but they did show themselves in high-res illustrations. Enough so, at least, to temper our recommendation.

Ed Word: Are you there, Internet? It's me, Will.

Will Smith — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 12:42:40 -0600

Have you ever heard of this thing called “the Internet”? It turns out that it’s a great platform for publishing information. Color me impressed! I think this “Internet” thing just may change the future of magazine publishing.

Seriously though, I’m super-stoked to share the next phase of Maximum PC’s plans for world domination. First off, on MaximumPC.com we’re going to post time-sensitive content much, much earlier than we have in the past. Our current strategy of posting reviews months after everyone’s stopped caring is, admittedly, pretty lame. Starting with this issue, we’ll be posting our reviews online as soon as they’re written.

I don’t want anyone who’s paying for our magazine to feel as though they’re buying stale content, so starting with this issue, we’re rejiggering our reviews section. The number of pages devoted to reviews will shrink, but the reviews that do run in the magazine will be bolder and more visually lush, and will only focus on the highest-profile gear. These rock-star reviews will still appear online, mind you—along with all the other reviews that would have previously run in the magazine, but the online versions won’t have all the visual majesty of what readers find in print.

Regardless, from here on out, MaximumPC.com can be your first stop for the hard-hitting reviews you love—from external storage to audio gear to displays, we will continue to cover it all.

Because we’re running fewer reviews in the magazine, we’ll be able to dedicate these “extra pages” to other types of content. We’re going to expand the Ask the Doctor and How-To departments, as well as deliver bigger, bolder feature stories. Naturally, though, when we get the scoop on a breaking story, we’ll post it online lickety-split.

We’ll be able to harness all the tools at our disposal to bring you the in-depth tech news, brutal product reviews, and insightful feature stories you demand from Maximum PC, in the format best suited to the content, whether it’s print or online. We want Maximum PC to be your number one source for everything PC.

To help get the wheels turning, Katherine Stevenson will be taking on a new role as deputy editor of the magazine, helping me keep print and online running smoothly. Congratulations, Katherine!

I’m extremely excited to move more content online, but I’d like to get your opinion as well. Don’t hesitate to drop me a line at will@maximumpc.com and let me know what you think!