Roxio Easy Media Creator® 8 Suite

Citation

Pitta, D.A. (2006), "Roxio Easy Media Creator® 8 Suite", Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 23 No. 6. https://doi.org/10.1108/jcm.2006.07723fab.001

Roxio Easy Media Creator® 8 Suite

In this issue we look at the newest release of what has become a venerable media management program. Our reviewer’s long experience with the basic program highlights the innovative and timely improvements that Roxio has made over time. Overall, it appears to be a program that might revolutionize marketing communications for both consumer and industrial marketers.

Roxio Easy Media Creator® 8 Suite

For many of us with CD-R drives, the first program we used to manage the medium was a Roxio product. My first version was Easy CD Creator 4. I used it simply and effectively until my CD-R drive failed. After I replaced it with a newer model, I had to update my software. I learned to love Easy CD Creator 5. Overall, it was the best CD formatting program on the market.

Times have changed and many of us have scrapped or donated our CD-R drives in favor of the now economical and powerful DVD-R drives. That switch brings numerous choices and challenges.

At the outset, I have to warn readers that the new release may soak up otherwise free time. When I first used a previous release, it saved time dramatically. It helped in the necessary chores of backing up, storing, and restoring data. Just a few years ago, many of us used Iomega ZIP^® drives as storage media. The ability to store 100 or 250 MB of data quickly was invaluable. The ability to transfer those files to other computers easily, portability, was also prized. At the time, CD-R storage was more difficult since the formatting chores were often time consuming. Earlier program releases tamed the housekeeping tasks and made portability easy as well. As a result, I saved time and effort and grew to love the program.

Now things are different. Roxio Easy Media Creator^® 8 Suite still handles those data storage tasks very well. However, it has added features and abilities that may seduce the tekkie in us to expand our interests and really evaporate any free time we thought we had. The problem is that Roxio did more than refresh a previous release. Roxio Easy Media Creator^® 8 lets users control all their digital needs within a single suite. Easy Media Creator^® 8 merges the capabilities of Roxio s complete line of established, full-featured digital media applications seamlessly. The applications include familiar items like: Creator Classic, PhotoSuite, and VideoWave. Reflecting the new technologies available, Roxio integrated powerful Sonic technologies and applications into a next-generation application: MyDVD. Roxio states that, “Easy Media Creator^® 8 provides an unparalleled level of breadth, depth and integration for users wishing to organize, edit, share, preserve, and consume a lifetime of personal digital music, movies, photos, and data.”

For marketers, the “new-improved” label is too often a description for a slightly refreshed product or service that delivers perhaps an additional 10 percent. In this case, Easy Media Creator^® 8 is really a significant version release. Roxio succeeded in making the entire suite more approachable and easier to use. In addition, it delivers significant feature enhancements that make every functional area better. Roxio also stretched the program’s capabilities and now tasks that were once impossible can now be done.

Program components

We were impressed by the feature rich design of the current release. Here is where the “time eaters” come into play. In the past, when programs were focused on data storage, there was a limited amount of flexibility. Now, the current release expands the program’s reach beyond data storage to the realm of “fun”. Users can perform the typical data handling tasks they could with previous releases. Now, however, tasks that seemed beyond hope, like video creation and editing are included in the suite.

Easy Media Creator^® 8 combines numerous full-featured applications and innovative utilities into a single integrated suite. Roxio states that the features include:

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  Creator classic: powerful data burning for archiving file to CD or DVD or large projects to multiple discs.

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  Backup MyPC: comprehensive data protection and disaster recovery capabilities.

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  CinePlayer: full-featured software DVD player.

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  Disc Copier: disc copying application for producing one-to-one duplicates of DVDs or CDs and for creating compilation DVD discs of any non-encrypted DVD-video.

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  Drag To Disc: quick backup application for archiving files to CD or DVD as simply as writing files to a floppy disk or hard disk.

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  Label Creator: rich disc labeling application for creating labels, covers and case inserts.

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  Media Manager: organization, tracking and management of all photo, video and music file types.

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  Media Import: easy importing and capture of digital media files from digital and analog devices, removable media and storage devices, and streaming content.

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  Music Disc Creator: Music Disc Creator offers a focused application for completing three types of audio projects – Audio CDs, MP3/WMA discs, and DVD Music Discs.

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  MyDVD Express and MyDVD: easy and powerful DVD, VCD, and SVCD authoring.

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  PhotoSuite: comprehensive photo editing and creation application.

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  RoxioBackup: easily schedule routine backups of files to disc or hard disk.

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  Sound Editor: audio recording, preview, editing and multiple layer mixing of non-encrypted digital audio files.

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  VideoWave: complete video editing suite with many professional-level editing controls and tools as well as automated video creation capabilities.

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  Disc Image Loader: for mounting up to 23 disc image files as a virtual drive as if they were physical discs in a drive.

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  Easy Audio Capture: quick way to capture audio from sources such as internet radio broadcasts.

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  DVDInfo Pro: drive performance testing and information utility.

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  Multi-Photo Enhance: batch photo editing and enhancement.

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  Retrieve: compact utility for easily retrieving data backups that spanned multiple discs.

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  Create Panoramas: utility for quickly generating panorama images by seamlessly stitching multiple photos together.

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  Slideshow Task Assistant: assistant that allows you to generate extremely compelling slideshows quickly and easily.

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  Cinemagic (available in VideoWave): automated process for turning raw video footage and a favorite audio track into a polished production complete with transitions, and special effects timed to the beat of the audio.

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  Photo Project Assistants (available from Home More Projects): guided step-by-step workflow for the completing photo projects such as greeting cards and calendars.

Components with marketing applications

The suite is so feature rich that space limitations force us to concentrate on a handful. Marketers should take special note of features like the following components: Media Creator Home, MyDVD, LiveShare Photo Sharing, MyMediaSpace, and High Definition Video.

Media Creator Home. Media Creator Home has been redesigned to make Easy Media Creator 8 extremely approachable and easy to use. Roxio improved the module’s design and layout. It now provides users immediate access to all the applications, features and capabilities of the suite. Home is organized into project categories in plain English so everyone can understand the many tasks that can be accomplished. Roxio added a significant but almost invisible improvement. It embedded features within Home that allow user s to complete common tasks without needing to launch a full application. It also improved the help function. Home now offers a series of Task Assistants that lead new users through project completion. For users who wish to work on their own, there are links for launching any one of the premier applications or utilities included in Easy Media Creator 8.

MyDVD. MyDVD has been redesigned to deliver an excellent balance of power and ease. The new MyDVD Express guides users through the quick completion of authoring projects, while the full-featured MyDVD application offers advanced capabilities and controls for creating sophisticated multi-menu projects. Marketers should find these of great value in sales, training and communication.

My MediaSpace (UPnP). Easy Media Creator® 8 introduces an easy way to access and share digital media files securely in a network. With support for Universal Plug and Play (UPnP), users can easily access media files in Easy Media Creator^® 8’s Media Manager application from any UPnP compliant device such as a set top box or any other computer running Easy Media Creator^® or Microsoft’s freely distributed Windows Media Connect software. Users can connect devices in a network by simply establishing permissions between devices. This feature should enhance marketing communications collaboration within organizations. The ability to share creative concepts online and make changes or comments has to speed the creative function.

High Definition (HD) Video. Easy Media Creator^® 8 now supports the most popular HD formats to allow users to import and edit HD content. Content can be captured from HD camcorders, HDTV shows, or DivX HD files and then edited in VideoWave. Users can save the results in Standard or High Definition formats. With DivX HD, Roxio also permits users to create HD video projects that can be saved as DivX HD files and burned on to standard DVDs for playback on DivX HD compliant DVD players. This is a significant enhancement and offers valuable creative control. While corporations can afford large marketing communication support staffs, small to medium marketing operations often lack the resources to produce in-house training material. Now with Easy Media Creator^® 8, a moderately sized operation can create sales training videos, channel information and promotional material, and even high quality DVD-based customer information material. The editing and development tools that are inherent in the new release demand attention from innovative organizations.

Pricing and AvailabilityEasy Media Creator^® 8 is available in the USA, Canada and Europe. Individual sales are available from computer stores, catalog and online resellers, and direct from Roxio’s web site. A downloadable version is also available.

The suggested retail price is $99.95 (US). A $20 mail-in rebate is available in the US for current owners of Easy Media Creator^® and competitive applications. Registered owners of previous versions are also eligible for instant discounts direct from Roxio. Visit www.roxio.com for product registration instructions.

System requirements

Minimum system requirements are:

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  Microsoft Windows XP Home/Pro/MCE (Service Pack 2), Windows XP Pro x64 Edition*, or Windows 2000 (Service Pack 4 or later);

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  for burning music and data discs: 500 MHz Intel Pentium III or equivalent; 128 MB RAM;

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  for DVD, slideshow or video authoring: 1.4 GHz Intel Pentium 4 or equivalent; 256–MB RAM;

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  for real-time MPEG-2 capture and burning:1.6 GHz Intel Pentium 4 or equivalent;

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  7,200 RPM hard disk drive recommended for video projects;

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  1 GB of free hard disk space for typical installation of all components;

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  1 GB of free hard disk space for every 5 minutes of video for video capture;

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  Up to 9 GB of free hard disk space for copying DVD-Video* discs;

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  1,024×768, 16-bit color graphics card. 24-bit or 32-bit true color recommended;

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  DirectX 9 or higher compatible graphics card;

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  QuickTime 6.4 or greater for playback or burning of M4A files;

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  CD-ROM compatible drive;

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  Windows Media Player 7.1 or higher;

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  Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.01 or higher;

Technical specifications

Supported formats include:

1. 1.

   Input formats:

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     Video: AVI, DV-AVI, MPEG-1/2, MPEG2-HD, IFO/VOB, DivX, DivX-HD, XviD, DVR-MS, TiVo, ASF, AVI, DV, MOV, WMV, QT.

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     Audio: Audio CD, MP3, WAV, WMA, Dolby Digital AC3, AAC, Ogg Vorbis, FLAC, M4A, MP4.

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     Graphics: JPG, PNG,TIFF, BMP, GIF.

2. 2.

   Output formats:

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     Video: AVI, DV-AVI, MPEG-1/2, DivX, WMV.

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     Audio: MP3, WAV, WMA, Dolby Digital AC3, Ogg Vorbis, FLAC, MPEG-1/2.

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     Graphics: JPG, PNG,TIFF, BMP, GIF.

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     Video disc formats: DVD, Video CD (VCD).

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     Super Video CD (SVCD), Mini DVD.

3. 3.

   Recordable media formats:

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     Supports all popular recordable formats: CD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW, DVD-R/RW, DVD-R DL, DVD+R DL, DVD-RAM Image formats.

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     Supports ISO, C2D, and BIN/CUE.

Overall evaluation

For users of previous releases of Roxio’s media program, the advice is clear, update to Roxio Easy Media Creator^® 8 Suite! This is especially true if you have upgraded your system and now have new drives like DVD-R burners. The overall ease of use remains but the new features will help exploit all of your new system’s capabilities. marketing organizations with limited budgets will find that Roxio Easy Media Creator^® 8 Suite can boost their communication effectiveness. The relatively straightforward ability to create powerful DVD media incorporating sound, graphics and video offers an economical way to boost sales and communication productivity.

Both industrial and consumer customers have access to DVD playback devices. Roxio Easy Media Creator^® 8 Suite’s capabilities have potential applications in activities as diverse as customer service or technical support or direct sales. Astute marketers will find numerous applications for the technology built into the suite. They will also be able to control technology that was only dreamed of just a few years ago. Roxio Easy Media Creator^® 8 Suite is a program that both consumer and industrial marketers should investigate closely.

Edited by Dennis A. PittaUniversity of Baltimore