Includes everything in Roxio Creator 2009, plus over $300 in extras--BIAS SoundSoap for noise reduction, SmartSound SonicFire Pro for creating soundtracks, and more
Capture your videos shot with your standard, HD or AVCHD camcorder; transform your footage into a movie using Creator 2009's flexible video editing tools, perfect for all levels of ability and interest
Make the most of your digital music with playlists for any occasion; Creator's new beat matching feature will automatically synchronize the rhythm from song to song
Make every picture perfect with Creator's touch-up tools and effects; create fun cards, calendars and other digital stories to share and enjoy with family and friends
Relive memories on DVD, on-the-go, or share with the world on YouTube or other popular destinations
Rating: - Similar to previous Roxio products -- BAD
I don't know why I got the Roxio Creator Ultimate 2009, considering all the problems I've had with the previous versions of Roxio. I am pretty computer savvy but even with a non-tweaked, newer system (Vista) it was a problem to install and crashes all the time. This happened with the previous versions on my stable XP machine also. Fool me thrice, I'm an idiot for buying this.
Rating: - Tech deficient people can use it too
For years I've been able to get senior members of the family to use Roxio software and not just rely on device functions. There is a lot more control and versatility with using media editing programs. With the holidays nearing my father finally dumped his 8mm camcorder and got a digital one. It also reminded us that it was time to deal with the tapes and get rid of the 8mm player tapes. I bought him the Ultimate version since he had already learned Creator 8 and wouldn't have to struggle so much with a new software program. The Ultimate box includes a video adaptor. At home we've been processing the tapes and getting them into shape. Version 8 didn't have the video chapter cutting software. This is even easier to use than the previous version. It has taken little time to add the id titles for all the clips. I can see that VideoWave has added more effects, but are main focus has been on getting the tapes done. Later we can go back and make changes.
Video file size can add up fast so we've been taking advantage of the file compression. This has lessened the number of disks we used for backup. We are also preparing some holiday dvd gifts by copying dvds. The enhanced burning speed is welcome since we have to burn a large number. We chose the dvd-vcr format since everyone has some sort of dvd player. We also plan to show some custom made clips during the holiday gathering. I still like that Roxio keeps the average user in mind. Many members of my family get frustrated with heary tech terms. I would recommend this program for almost everyone and not worry about your technical experience.
Rating: - A Nightmare to Install & Run
I bought this latest version because it is suppose to work with Vista. I have spent hours on installing & reinstalling the software but to no avail. I was on the phone with tech support and followed their very detailed (and long) directions including changing the system registry but the program does not install. Tech support is apparently aware that others are having similar install problems.
I did get the program to work at one time with the main module but not the other sub-applications that are bundled. I must say that I am using a PC of only a few months old and that I fairly knowledgeable with computers from my line of work. I could try to install it on my other systems but, frankly I don't want to!--I already have a headache and don't want my head to pop!
Rating: - List of features...My opinion...and problems
Let me break it down...
(I just got this, and have played with it for about a week. In this fist part I wanted to cover the features for those wondering what this thing actually does)
Media Import - is one of those organizer things. It detects and organizes your different files
Audio - Rips and converts CD's to MP3, WMA
Records Internet radio
Converts Audio Books to MP3
Tags audio (artist, title, composer, etc.)
Sound Editor - You are able to import and change audio
Create Music Discs - Create CD or DVD with MP3, etc.
Photo - Edit photos (crop, red eye, add text)
DVD - Copy DVD's, put video cam videos on DVD, add titles
Change file formats (ex. .MOV to . MP4)
Data Discs - Put data from your computer on a disc
Movie player - Watch movies on this
Sound Soap (Ultimate) - clean up hissing audio on audio and video tracks
Soundfire Pro (Ultimate) - Mix tracks according to BPM (I think) Mix audio tracks to put over your video (So basically, you could make a music video)
Bluray - (Ultimate) I think the Ultimate comes with the Bluray plug-in, but the box says you must purchase it in one section. I'm pretty sure it comes with it. One interesting feature concerning Bluray is that you can use your existing burner to burn Bluray, and if I'm reading the box correctly, burn Bluray onto regular DVD's?
Disaster Recovery (Ultimate?)- Back up your hard drive
Other stuff - If you want to work with .MOV, you have to download Quick Time from Apple,
Product comes with a 250 page booklet which is a nice touch, although the deeper features of the product are not covered
You can take recorded Tivo and convert the files to be watched on DVD or mobile device
If you have the right hardware, you can import old LP's, VHS and cassettes and manipulate them (I think you can clean up the audio with SoundSoap)
You can make calendars, greeting cards, etc.
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My Opinion (after one week)
The good - you get a good sprinkling of decent apps all in one package. It's user-friendly, and lets you prepare stuff with tags for big names like YouTube, PSP, iPhone etc. without having to be bothered by file types etc.
The bad - A lot of the functions I have no use for. Why use Media Import and Data Discs when Vista already does this?
Sound Editor is cool, but I have Sound Forge (which I'm assuming most people don't, so this could be cool for making ringtones, etc.)
Movie Player - Do I really need another movie player?
Photo Editor - (Why buy, when GIMP is the nicest freeware out there?) The user friendliness of Roxio makes it easy to touch up a photo or remove red eye, but lacks more sophisticated functions.
Making Slide Shows - MS Movie Maker does a great job already
So why did I buy it? - I wanted to convert and burn audio and video file formats. $100 is pretty steep for this function, but it's all in one place now. The "Ultimate" plug-ins might be worth it in the long run, especially for the Bluray. I'm going to play around with SonicFire and SoundSoap to see if they're any good.
I guess Roxio is for people who don't know (for example) how to send something to their mobile device, and they need a program to do it for them. Other than that, I'd say it's a good program, but it seems like it is a "doubling up" of programs that I already have on my computer. But for those who don't have all of these programs, or want a main program to manage all your media, this one isn't bad.
burnt a DVD movie in something crazy like 15 minutes! (Impressed with this) Importing the DVD breaks it down into chapters, etc. so you can just import Ch 3 of a given movie.
Converted a medium sized file from DVD to MPEG-4 and it took a few hours (longer than I expected given the fast speed of the DVD burn)
burnt an MP3 disc in about 5 minutes
*******
PROBLEMS - and there are many!
ANNOYING CRASHING!!!! - Tried converting video file, and keep getting the message " Roxio VideoConvert has stopped working "
Tried converting another file to MP4 (h.264). It took a few hours, the converted file didn't work, and when I went to try to convert the original file again, I get the same "Roxio VideoConvert has Stoped Working" message. It seems that VideoConnvert corrupts the original file somehow, and it makes Roxio crash if you try to use the original file again. I'm definately very disappointed with the video conversion, and it's one of the main reasons I bought the software.
Another annoying occurance - tried converting a video file with a thing called SyncIt! The nice thing about this feature is that you can select a device that you want your file to go to (ex. mobile device) and it is supposed to convert the file so that the device can play it. First of all, the whole SynchIt! window is tiny (about the size of two desktop icons) Why it's so tiny, I don't know, because SynchIt! will use 90% of your processor, so it's not like you'll be doing anything else with your computer during the meantime. Next, it took an hour to convert the file. During that time, my mobile device went to sleep. Instead of asking me to wake it up, or saving the file, it just said something like, "process cannot be completed" and shut down. So I wasted a few hours of my time, and maxed out my processor during that time....for nothing.
Tried to burn a movie but accidentally put a coaster (bad disc) in, and the burning program tried to burn for like 10 minutes before recognizing that the disc was bad.
Program (home screen) won't fit to screen and you can't drag the sides to make it smaller. The result is that I can't see the bottom of the page. How can a program not fit right on a screen?
Lightscribe drivers weren't installed. Had to run a diagnostic that referred me to a page that had the drivers. http://www.lightscribe.com/downloadsection/Windows/index.aspx?id=1106
The big icons and clean look take a way a lot of the functionality of drop down menus. It's so spartan that there are no menus to check on settings for things like setting screen size or what drive is linked to a certain program.
Burnt a music disc. It puts a propriatary file called "Launch" and with the "user friendliness" there is no way to peruse what actual files will be burned to the disc before you burn, so you can get rid of this.
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