Reviews for Roxio Easy Media Creator v.9.0 SuiteCD/DVD Authoring - PC - MPN: 227100
By member:
jcswring
- Jan 2, 2007
This is how an upgrade should be doneStrengths: Retains the suites strong points like menu interface, but also added new programs and features Weakness: There are over 30 programs so it takes a large amount of space Sometimes you have so many choices that you don't know where to start. This is where the suite shines. If you know that you want to make a music dvd, then the program will help you with all the choices. You can start by importing the music. If you are using nondigital formats such as lps or tapes, there is a guided assistant to do this task. It will even give you the digital data for the songs. You can also choose from music cd, or downloaded songs. Once you choose your music, then you can choose the burn a disc option. The program will burn a stereo quality disc since you have chosen song files to burn. There is a menu creator with a lot of backgrounds, fonts, and themed graphics. 100% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful? Top
By anonymous - Oct 21, 2006
Accessible, covers basics and much moreStrengths: All in one suite with programs to fix, convert, backup, alter media files Weakness: Various ways to do the same task, may take time to figure out the best way My old program still works but with new formats like dvd-vcr (set top)I'm forced to upgrade. I've discovered more features that I need to manage all my media. With the compression options I can fit more stuff onto discs. That let's me keep my themed video, music, and photos on one disc. The video conversion from tape to pc took about the time of the taped footage. The conversion worked really fast which I found is not the case with a lot of other software. And the menus make sense. I clicked on video, then import and went straight to the tape to pc menu. The tools read disc space and keep track of how much video footage I could handle. The menu maker was easy and full of options too. 100% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful? Top
Reply by member: carlw2k
Nov 2, 2006 I grabbed this up when it was first released and if it did everything that it says I'd be real impressed. Seems like Sonic combined a bunch of Roxio and a bunch of Sonic stuff into a "suite". That's why the overlap in functions (some better than others). The one problem that I found very annoying was the added Drag-to-Disk application that is supposed to make your DVD act like a hard drive. I had to uninstall this thing after it kept hanging my Dell PC. Also had to disable the context menu items or Explorer would hang. All in all I would say that some of it is very cool and powerful, other parts could still use a bit of work. I am anxious to see the first patch release.
By member:
reneevs
- Feb 4, 2007
It's not just the hardware that determines...Strengths: Will convert to almost any media type Weakness: Skipping steps is sometimes too easy. If something goes awry you may have to start again Luckily not much has gone wrong w/ this program. I did learn that my video converter was just okay and the video conversions were not the best quality. I got a better one and now the footage looks much better. I was afraid that emc was a fault, but it was a hardware thing. The iPod conversion look much better too. Of course the videos I get digitally are no problem, but the tape conversions take more work. There is a whole menu for the conversions though. I've tried the 2 methods included. The Cinemagic program cuts up the video from the start, It looks for pauses and natural stopping points to determine how to cut. This is a good way to quickly cut out unwanted footage or fix some parts of the video. It's faster to work with smaller footage. You can get a bigger chunk and use videowave. It takes more skill though although it is much more complex. Between the home video and taped shows I have the tools to edit and export. 100% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful? Top
By anonymous - Dec 13, 2006
Much ImprovedStrengths: Stronger linked programs than ever, more tools Weakness: Very large, needs a lot of hard drive space Could have been a mess with so many programs, but the overall inteface hold them together. Conceptually they seem like one big program but they are really multiple separate programs threaded together. That effects usage since you can stay on the same project but do different tasks seamlessly. It also covers almost every aspect of digital media. Some of the intelligent features include the ability to import media from devices and then jump to the editors. You can take snapshots of video, capture sound from various sources, and create media projects with a few clicks. 0% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful? Top
By member:
grndmthr68
- Jul 6, 2008
Don't waste your money.Strengths: DVD ability Weakness: Wouldn't burn properly or burnt sparodically. Interfered with other programs I have on computer. When I removed it, it messed up my original data. Total waste of my money and then it cost me to have someone come in to fix my computer so I could use the programs I had prior to loading it because 'uninstalling' it only took the obvious files out, not the ones most users have no clue how to access. This could be because I have an older computer but I cannot recommend it. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful? Top
By member:
troytara77
- Mar 7, 2008
BUYER BEWARE - you can't burn the movie to disc...Strengths: Making a video is simpler than other software I have tried, BUT...(see below). Weakness: You can spend innumerable hours creating a video - BUT IT WILL NOT BURN TO A DVD. The tech support is HORRIBLE HORRIBLE HORRIBLE. You can pay money to speak to rude people ($30/$2 per minute, atop the money you already paid for the product) who still can't help you. You can use the live chat where you are just as likely to get disconnected as you are to get a cursory unhelpful answer (then they disconnect you without the ability for you to respond). I've spent 5 hours trying to get someone to help resolve my inability to actually burn the movie I've created and I only am increasingly frustrated. DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME, ENERGY, AND MONEY!! Did you find it helpful or unhelpful? Top
By member:
eajaffe
- Nov 25, 2007
Could not install it - CD brokeStrengths: none - could not install it Weakness: Perhaps the CDs are defective - I don't know. There are 2 CDs, and the first one kept hanging up. It said a file was missing. I took the CD out of the drive, flexed it slightly and it worked for a while and hung up again. I took it out again and it broke in 2 in my hand. (This has never happened to me before!) Did you find it helpful or unhelpful? Top
By anonymous - Sep 16, 2007
Well organized suite compensates for many programsStrengths: Can pick media type and then do everything needed to finish a task. The main menu links the progrmas. Weakness: Many programs to choose from, need to learn which ones are essential Before getting emc9 I was jumping from program to program and finding out that or the other needed upgrading. Now I only deal with the one program. It has the tools to make projects, even importing analog media. It will import the media, let you edit, make menus for disks, print labels,etc. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful? Top
By anonymous - Sep 10, 2007
Roxio support is ZERO, ZERO, ZERO. Expect nothing,...Strengths: NONE Weakness: ALL Roxio support is at about -10. That is 10 below zero.In the first box for cd code will only accept two letters. There are three to go in THAT box on the envelope. WON'T install. NO, I repeat NO tech. support. Can not return software. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful? Top
By anonymous - Sep 2, 2007
Easy Media - modern media suiteStrengths: Kept up with the latest formats, provides different type of media management Weakness: none worth mentioning I can't think of a program where it covered this big a range of tasks. Basic playing of media files is a big deal because if you dont' have the right software the files won't play. This one program has just about all standard formats in one place. It also has obscure ones like tivo and PSP. It saves on buying obscure format programs. With creator suite I archive the files and get them off my hard drive since it has limited space. It also allows editing from the disk so I don't have to edit first. The tools also let me convert video for my iPod, not just the iTunes files. I've also made song files with the audio widget. There's a lot more in the photo arena too. It does photo projects and will make them iPod format friendly. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful? Top
By member:
glennao
- Aug 19, 2007
Creator 9 - best upgrade I've usedStrengths: new programs give it more versatility, supports mobil devices Weakness: If you don't have an XP or Vista PC, think of upgrading or this won't work It's good to see that a company is keeping up with changing technology. Digital media has been around a long time, most notably photos, audio, and video. Of course the formats and quality are changing so we all need new programs to control these formats. EMC9 is a good way to keep up with the changes. It includes cellphone, PSP, and iPod programs too. It's good to see someone recognizes that devices don't have to be separated from traditional digital media. Another modern touch is xingtone which makes ringtones. You can combine this with the audio recorder and make unique ringtones. Best of all you don't have to pay fees for downloading. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful? Top
By anonymous - Aug 9, 2007
Disk burning a breeze, happy with other programsStrengths: Easy to install and use Weakness: Ranges from very easy to very complex, depending on the task Now that I have Vista I'm looking for certified programs. Roxio was certified so I gave it a try. There were the usual windows OS popups, nothing though drastic. Overall it was a clean install. My first task was making some back up disks. The dual layer disk with video clips went smoothly. The program even did the necessary conversions. Then I tried the iPod conversion. There were more choices than I anticipated, which was welcome. I tried the various compression choices on a small clip to check the quality. I couldn't see much difference so I use the maximun. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful? Top
By member:
DanMahan
- Aug 7, 2007
CreatorStrengths: Easy to create projects. Weakness: The software will not write to my DVD. After creating a video project there is supposed to be a "burn" button according to the manual. The burn button is replaced by a save button and when I select this, the computer freezes up. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful? Top
By member:
WaynePJ
- Aug 5, 2007
Hooray for a stellar Vista programStrengths: Works seamlessly with Vista, many programs to choose from Weakness: Best results from powerful pc, may be limited with slower pc Vista itself needs tremendous resources so any digital media program will need 512 Ram and a dual processor. At least in my experience. I wanted more than a disk authoring program so I expected a lot in a media suite. I'm not disappointed. This suite provides a full range of media programs, from media editing to media conversions. The conversions can be tricky with so many new formats. iPod and phones have their own formats so instead of getting small specialized programs the roxio suite covers them all. I can cut and compress video to make maximum use of my media players. For a one stop solution I would recommend roxio 9. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful? Top
By member:
rgheiberg
- Aug 3, 2007
Resource HogStrengths: Does everything Weakness: S....l...o....w....s down your system greatly I have an AMD Athlon 2600+ Windows XP and 512MB memory....not exactly a screamer but certainly not now. It takes several minutes to boot up now and launching Internet Explorer took 37 seconds. I read this in another review before I bought and blew it off. I shouldn't have. You shouldn't either. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful? Top
By member:
silver_photographer
- Aug 1, 2007
Not compatible with VistaStrengths: Complete CD and DVD authoring under XP Weakness: Completely buggy if it works at all under Vista Bought this in December after seeing that Roxio's site stated it was Vista compatible. It isn't. Since that time I've been trying to get a version that will work on any of the three Vista systems I have and none do. This includes the v.9.1 that Roxio sent me links to download. Specs : First system - nForce 4, AMD 3K w/1GB DDR. Second - MSI K9A w/ATI X600 and 2GB DDR-II. No change. Third - Asus M2N-E, AMD 4600+, 8500GT and 3GB of RAM. No change. Clean wipes on each install. No AV installed. There have been literally thousands of complaints about using Roxio products w/Vista including with the BBB. Buyer beware !! Did you find it helpful or unhelpful? Top
By anonymous - Jun 28, 2007
Vista compatible!!Strengths: Same reliable software plus Xingtone Maker, media device converter, Blu-ray, templates Weakness: I can't say I know of any I love version 8 and was nervous about moving up to 9. But then I have an iPod and will probably upgrade my cell phone soon. 8 doesn't have those features. The deciding factor was the Vista compatibility since I can keep using this suite even after I get Vista. I also noticed that the older programs have new things too. The photo program has new batch processing. I wanted to resize a bunch of photos from my digital camera so it only too one step to process them. The video program has a color corrector too. There are a lot more features but I haven't got to them yet. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful? Top
By anonymous - Jun 20, 2007
comprehensive, vistaStrengths: so many programs to handle media Weakness: no huge ones With digital media always in flux a good suite can save a lot of time and money. Roxio has many new formats so I don't have to download the video players/plugins. The conversion programs are also very strong. I can't believe someone added Tivo files. It makes it easy to backup the dvr and also edit programs I want to keep for awhile. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful? Top
By anonymous - May 29, 2007
Good for now and futureStrengths: Everyday needs like disk burning, photo, video, audio editing, backups are provided Weakness: some vista issues which can be solved easily I said that it covers the future because I don't have a portable player but I'm looking. Since this covers several types I know that I have the tools for media transfers. I also know that I will be transferring tapes, both audio and video soon so again I have th eprograms. Meanwhile I'm using the disk burning program and making changes to other media files. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful? Top
By anonymous - May 18, 2007
Vista compatibleStrengths: Great overall media program, especially for Vista users since there's not as many programs available yet; great price for what you get Weakness: Keep looking for updates I couldn't live without version 7.5 on my old pc and now it is the same with vers. 9. I still use my old pc for worksheets, document editing, etc. However the new Visa pc has thepower to utilize media and roxio 9 is a great complement to the power. I can edit videos much better now since th epower of the machine and program work well. I can also transfer files from my tivo and record tv. Roxio has the editing and conversion programs to handle these tasks. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful? Top
By anonymous - May 16, 2007
Keeps getting betterStrengths: Whole enchilada - has everything digital media, one package does it all Weakness: Need to load it all, be prepared for large program Even with the space it takes, it would probably take more if I had to load a lot of smaller programs. Also there is less conflict with having one program for multiple uses. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful? Top
By anonymous - Apr 14, 2007
Now I can do almost anything w/ media filesStrengths: Many many programs which cover the basics plus extras of handling media Weakness: Hardest thing was getting through installation I should explain about install, it sin't hard but there may be some issues. I have an old pc and there were some drivers that the program needed before it would funciton properly. I think it is easy to find the necessary answers at the roxio web site. Anyway on to the features... this is the greatest burning program. I can burn disks with just a few keystrokes since the program really simplifies the whole process. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful? Top
By member:
natcrid
- Apr 7, 2007
No need to look furtherStrengths: Best of media programs here Weakness: Had trouble with XP service pack 1, needs pack 2 If you want to take advantage of the suite it requires XP Serv. 2 or Vista. I guess that makes sense since it is more of a state of the art package. I don't consider myself an early adopter but I do have blu-ray disks and an iPod. I can watch the disks through the viewer and convert music to the iPod. I don't always get music from Apple so now I have the tools to make several different sourced music into iPod compatible files. The editing programs seem good to me too although I don't use them a lot. I think that I may get some type of video portable player soon and then I'll have a chance to fool around more with the editing programs. At least I know I have them and don't have to get new programs for another year or so. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful? Top
By member:
dlanor30534
- Mar 21, 2007
Roxio Easy Media Creator 9Strengths: All encompassing suite of media applications, from audio, stills, to video. Price. One of few video applications that promised to work with Vista. Weakness: Still glitchy with Vista, purchased primarily as video editor and found it to be very confusing and not friendly. Purchased product to edit home movies and found it hard to do things like split a scene (had to go to a drop-down from a certain menu). After splitting about 6 scenes the program crashed - repeatedly. Trick - save frequently. There are probably a lot of features under there somewhere but the initial hassles have me looking for a different program. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful? Top
By member:
nellieames
- Mar 11, 2007
Changes from 8 enough to upgradeStrengths: new portable device programs, new improvements Weakness: no big ones I used vers. 8 all the time and thought it would last for a few years. Then I got a media cellphone and needed software to tranfer and edit. ver. 9 has all the features I need including recognition of the cellphone. That allows the back and forth transfer of files. I can use my phone as a media player and show slide shows. I can take the so so camera pics and make them better on the pc. I can even make my own ringtones and not pay another party. That is much better than my carriers software pack. Of course I get all the other media programs. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful? Top
By member:
elisedr
- Jan 16, 2007
Not a niche product, but an everyday usable suiteStrengths: Create, modify and convert digital media with the various programs here. Weakness: Can we have a streaming video capture? I know there are legal questions but that's my number one wish. Okay, so you can't copy streaming video, but you can capture streaming audio. I played a dvd movie and was able to record the soundtrack. I could make sound bites and music files with this program. You cna also get internet streaming audio. Not all sites let you download the files so this is a good way to get radio shows and listen to them at your convenience. This is also a great program to transfer the audio files to an mp3 player. Of course it transfers photos and videos too. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful? Top
By member:
rumgirls
- Nov 28, 2006
Did I really need new burning options? No question...Strengths: Great set of tools, particularly for video, audio, and photo Weakness: I don't always want the drag to disc icon, but it's easy to shut off. I don't like being sold things I don't need like trendy handbags and shoes. I thought that software can be this way too, but sadly technology changes make upgrading a necessity. I waited a few months before buying 9 because I didn't have a portable player. Of course I got one for my b-day and didn't like some of the freeware I tried. The compression is amazing. I don't feel I need a bigger drive on the mp3 player. I also like the auto tagging. It filled in some data that was missing in some of my music files even though they started out as digital files. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful? Top
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Solutions for new media
Strengths: Handles almost every media type. Strong editing programs as well as burning and backup utilities.
Weakness: Roxio may need to add more wireless options for home media
I know that roxio sells many of the programs in suite 9 as individual boxes. I don't know how they can afford that since the cost of the suite is much less than buying several of their packages. You can find a photo editor with enough tools to replace nearly any other program. It isn't a professional editor though so don't expect pixel editing. It does have multiple photo editing so you can do things like quick resizing. I've used the color correction and clone tool with good results. I haven't played much with the video editor so no comments yet. Another good feature is the sound capture tool. If you want to make sure that your dongs, even from downloaded sources are backed up without limitation, you can play it and save it as another file, even changing the format. It also captures internet programs. A clever feature is that you can record sound even before you started the record. Say you are listening to an internet program. You decide you should have recorded it. As long as it has been playing you can still capture it from the beginning. I haven't seen this anywhere else.
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