Review: Roxio Creator Suite 9 multimedia package

One software suite for every multimedia task under the sun

Roxio Creator Suite 9 is less of a whole new product and more of general smartening up.

The Home utility is still the first port of call for using the software. It is task-led and doesn't expect you to know which application to use. This is by no means a bad thing, not least because of some less-than-helpful program names.

If you prefer, it is still possible to show a list of programs. The Home screen also now reads internet pages from Roxio with news of new products or updates.

Roxio is quick to point out that Blu-ray support is now built into Creator so you can take advantage of the bigger capacities as and when new drives are made available.

Blu-ray is not restricted to high definition video – the extra capacity can be used for backups and data projects.

HD-DVD support isn't available yet, but is planned to be released as a patch in the future.

As nothing has been taken away since the previous version, you can read a good overview of the basics in our review of Creator Suite 8 .

A particularly useful feature is the DVD Music project. Creating an Mp3 DVD is not new to Creator but there is now a random play option. This is ideal for background music as a DVD can hold many hours of music in Mp3 format.

A more advanced version of this, the AutoMix, is able to automatically generate playlists based on the mood of a song.

Capturing audio has been made easier with automatic record in the Sound Recorder program. It buffers a set time before the record button is pressed, which makes it less critical to have fast reactions – especially when recording from the internet.

Another convenient feature is the Mute System Sounds option. This prevents sounds from other applications such as notifications ruining recordings.

An Autopause tool helps to save hard disk space when making unattended recordings. This senses periods of quiet and pauses recordings.

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The Disk Copier utility has a lot more to it than the name suggests. As well as copying discs and burning ISO images, it can be used to convert video for a variety of devices, including Video iPods and PSPs.

At times the Disk Copier feels like a dumping ground for features that didn’t fit anywhere else. A renaming of the section might make it clearer. For example, you wouldn’t expect to find video conversion tools in the Disk Copier section.

Some of the projects defaulted to the Roxio format when saving a disc image, rather than the standard ISO. This might be a problem when sharing projects, so it’s something to watch out for.

One improvement to the MyDVD section is the greatly increased number of menu styles. Previous versions were rather limited and the extra styles give you far more to choose from. Should you want more, Roxio sell extra themes in batches of five for about £25.

Roxio Creator Suite also comes with Media Manager for organising all kinds of media on a computer.

It can import images from compatible mobile phones, which is ideal for anyone who values the pictures taken with their camera-phone, and there is also a tool for creating panoramas.

Tagging Mp3 files can be a frustrating task, especially if there was incomplete data when the files were ripped.

The Media Manager can be used to update these tags; the latest service from Gracenote uses audio footprints to identify music tracks, which is particularly useful for tracks recorded from tape or LP.

Being such a huge suite of tools, it’s impossible to cover every aspect of Roxio Creator 9 in a single review. But, if you’re looking for something to handle all your digital media needs, you’d be hard pushed to find anything as easy to use and comprehensive as Creator 9.

Also consider:
Pinnacle Mobile Media Converter
A video conversion tool aimed at iPod and PSP users

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