Full Review

23 October 2007 - If you already have a software suite for creating and copying discs, it seems unlikely that you’ll want to do to the expense of upgrading to a newer, sleeker suite. After all, every new PC or notebook comes with some form of burning software.

This is something Roxio has taken into account, as the latest version of its top-selling suite has enough headline changing features to at least make you curious. It’s a staggering 1.53GB in size, so you can’t fault it’s compressive features list. The main interface, which is Roxio Central, is impressively clean and easy to use. Vista’s Aero interface is an obvious comparison. It handles the core functions of Audio, Data, Media Devices, Photos, Video and Tools, while the other functions are hidden away inside separate applications. The list consists of BackOnTrack, CinePlayer, Creator Classic, Label Creator, Media Manager, Music Disc Creator, MyDVD, PhotoSuite, Sound Editor, Video Copy & Convert and VideoWave. If you’re thinking that it’s a large install and you won’t actually use all these features, Roxio allows you to select which tools you want, which is a neat trick.

As if to reinforce the Vista association, you can now have Creator sitting in Windows Sidebar, which is great if you regularly need to convert music or video files to disc. Another great little gadget comes in the form of Mobile Photofit, which resizes images suitable for support on any mobile device.

In the past, this program hasn’t been the most effective at handling system resources, we’re thinking Version 8, but this latest version has been streamlined a great deal to handle large file sizes. Which is good because there is support for HD DVD and Blu-ray discs, where files of between 15GB and 50GB in size are quite common.

One of the major concerns of version 9 and now this latest suite has been how Roxio handles sound. The audio converter has been improved and now handles a wider variety of formats far more successfully. This is great if you create your own music, as you can use Easy Creator to author it to CD with a great deal of success.

Now backup tools allow you to store your data to disc, naturally, but it will also handled external drives if you require. There is also an imaging tool that keeps a database on the hard disk of which disc files are stored on. This makes find that one elusive file a good deal easier to find.

It’s worth having a look around, as the pricing is a little awkward. Roxio sells Creator 10 on its website for £60 plus £19 postage. However, a quick search on the internet and we found it for less than £50 at Amazon.

VERDICT
If you want to edit photos, video and music and then copy and create discs those files in as wide an array of formats as possible, Easy Creator 10 is currently the best solution on the market. It’s not without its flaws but these are minimal and don’t get in the way of you using what is an essential tool.