Roxio Easy Media Creator Suite 9 [OLD VERSION]

Roxio Easy Media Creator Suite 9 [OLD VERSION] | Curbing of Creativity

software:

Roxio Easy Media C...

	Roxio Easy Media Creator Suite 9 [OLD VERSION] Windows \| Roxio, 2006 average customer review:based on 245 reviews view larger image
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Extremely pleased

I feel compelled to write a review of this product after seeing so many negative reviews. I came on to Amazon to see what people were saying about v.10, since I was very happy with v. 9 and thought I might upgrade. I gave EMC another try after having a horrible time with version 8. My computer (an AMD Athlon 64) kept freezing while using v. 8; I'd get halfway through a project and lose everything. I made a few DVDs with that version but only after hours and hours of labor and stress.

Version 9 has been sooo much better. None of the freezing or error messages. I was very nervous using it, saving my work every few minutes, but I didn't need to be. I have now made countless DVDs of vacations and birthday parties and other events without any problems. Cinemagic is great, and I can tweak it the way I like (unlike before, when it would always freeze if I tried to tweak).

I downloaded the product through Roxio, rather than using a CD. I don't know if that makes a difference, even though it shouldn't. It seems like version 10 might work better with Vista from the reviews I'm seeing. I don't think I'll bother upgrading yet, since v. 9 is working very well for me (knock on wood!).

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Curbing of Creativity

I wish that I had never purchased Roxio Creator Suite 9. First of all, when I attempted to burn a DVD, It gave me the response that I needed to activate MPEG-2... I tried that, and I ended up with a "bad installation error" and it shut down. I finally managed to get in touch with technical support, and they gave me a patch to fix the problem, though they gave me a long process of useless steps in order to cover their tracks that they simply messed up. When the patch finally worked, I proceeded to attempt to burn a DVD. However, the program doesn't accept Winamp video files as burnable files, even though they are .avis. I had to convert them all... not fun times.

With that task completed, I finally managed to add files in order to burn them to a DVD. >_> Imagine my surprise when I ran into another problem. Making an attempt to create transitions between files makes Roxio crash. The final straw for me however, was, ironically, the menu template system. They give you these pre-made templates, but you can't customize your backgrounds (trust me, I tried, many many times). So, for my lovely Suzumiya Haruhi AMVs (Anime Music Videos), and other anime- related projects... I have the background of a beach scene. Why a beach scene? Because the other options were either a bouquet of flowers or a forest (none of the above fit with an anime about a crazy Japanese schoolgirl on the search for espers, aliens or time travelers). If you want more templates, you have to buy them, and they are just as mundane.

I am not pleased with this product at all. Granted, if you're only looking for a program to make a couple of photo slideshows and small video clips about your trip to Fiji, or Bob and Jill's wedding, then Creator Suite 9 may be enough... may being the operative word here. However, if you are like myself, and are creating your own videos, creating AMVs, saving your anime, or something a bit more creative, then DO NOT use Roxio Easy Media Creator Suite 9. Instead, use Nero. Nero has all of the capabilities of Roxio, plus the added bonus of being able to recognize more file types, allowing you to make customized menus with customized music (gee, I didn't even touch on that problem, but do I really need to??), and make transitions between files. Also, Nero picks up film effects (sepia, hazing, etc.) MUCH better than Roxio. I certainly hope that this review helps, and that I can save someone else from making the same mistake that I did!

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