audio options when working in this format.
A $25 plugin will add HD DVD authoring
support to Vision and allow you to play
commercial HD DVD and Blu-ray discs in
ShowTime, the suite’s playback app.
Other suite mainstays include
PhotoSnap, which provides a decent
array of photo-editing options and effects
and a degree of user control that put it
slightly ahead of a free editing program
such as Picasa; and SoundTrax, which
lets you create audio tracks from various
source materials, with support for multiple
discrete channels.
Nero rounds out these standards (and
puffs up its package) with a handful of
applications that are clearly geared toward
enthusiasts. Examples include the previ-
ously mentioned DriveSpeed app; InfoTool,
which provides information about your
installed hardware, software, drivers, etc.;
RescueAgent, for recovering damaged
fi les from an optical disc; and BackItUp3,
which lets you perform and schedule full or
incremental backups of any drives, folders,
fi les, or connected devices.
Nero 8 has been optimized for Vista,
and in our tests it ran stably with the new
OS, even in 64-bit mode. Vista users might
also appreciate the one-click Copy to Disc
sidebar gadget. And folks who like to share
audio or video online might benefi t from theExport button inte-
grated into Nero’s cre-
ation apps—if it actu-
ally worked. When we
selected the Export to
Web option, our video
was converted to an
appropriate format,
but then we were
left hanging about
what to do next. The
drop-down menu for
selecting a community
offered no options, nor
was there any place
to add a site. The
Help button simply
took us to the web,
where we could have
downloaded a PDF of
the entire Nero Vision
manual. No thanks!
We’d just as soon not
have the feature than
pore over a manual to
fi gure it out.
While we’re fans
of Nero’s core burning, recoding, and
editing apps, and we can even see using
some of its other tools on a semi-regular
basis, we’re just not convinced we need
to spring for the infl ated package—especially when some of its features feel
half-baked.Apps like InfoTool lend Nero its hardcore character.7
NERO 8 ULTRA
$80 ($50 upgrade), http://www.nero.comTHE MISSING LINK
No media suite is complete without AnyDVD
These suites might promise the world, but there’s one cru-
cial 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, http://www.slysoft
.com ). Produced in and sold from Antigua, West Indies,
AnyDVD has but one solitary purpose: to free your disc con-tent 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 pro-
tection 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!ROXIO
NERO
vs.
52 MAXIMUMPC | APR 08 | http://www.maximumpc.com