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Sonic MyDVD Studio Deluxe 6
the search for the perfect consumer media-creation tool goes on. That doesn't mean some of the candidates haven't come close. Nobody has put more of the pieces in place than Roxio with Easy Media Creator 7; they combined video editing, image management, pan and zoom, DVD authoring, CD/DVD recording, and DVD-9 recompression in a single, wonderfully balanced and easily navigated tool. But the DVD authoring-a key part of the equation for me and just about anyone reading this magazine-was a big disappointment. Nero tried to combine the same elements with Nero 6 Ultra Edition, although they didn't come as close to the perfect all-purpose application; the reloaded version added a better photo tool, and the versatility of the Recode application (much more than a 9-to-5'er) was especially impressive, but the integration was clumsier than it should be and the DVD authoring not much better than Roxio's.
Coming from the DVD authoring side (rather than the recording side, like Roxio and Nero), Ulead threw their hat into the ring with DVD Movie Factory 3 Disc Creator, adding a nice CD/DVD recording application. Then there's Sonic Solutions, who arguably invented the consumer DVD authoring category with MyDVD. Nobody touches them on DVD authoring elegance and power in an entry-level tool, and version 5 added the newly acquired RecordNow CD/DVD recording application (in a limited version), a cool new wizard, and modest video editing-clip-trimming and transitionsas well as rock-solid slideshow capabilities. But they couldn't match the jack-of-all-trades razzle-dazzle of Easy Media Creator 7, which had upped the ante in the feature-wealth department.
Sonic says that doesn't matter now, and in at least one respect, they're right. The first, and harder-to-quantify, reason is that Creator and MyDVD play in different markets, sell through different channels, and target and reach different audiences (Roxio used to say it didn't matter because they sold so many more units). But the second reason-in a rather striking recent development-is that Sonic announced plans to acquire Roxio's software division on August 9, with the expectation that the deal will be completed in the fall [see "Sonic Acquires Roxio, " p. 7]. Which does kind of render the question moot, although it raises all sorts of other questions, like how the...