Nero 7 software review

Nero is still the top pick for power users, although we think casual users should wait to see what Roxio has in store when its Easy Media Creator 8 comes out later this month. Nero is bigger than ever: the complete Nero 7 code requires a serious chunk of system memoryMB--so make sure you have the room before installing.

Users were already complaining about bloat on message boards even before launch. Nero can be a system resource hog, even when doing simple tasks, such as browsing files in the new Nero Home app.

If you're sure there are some tools in Nero 7 that you'll never need, go for the custom install and deselect those items. Nero 7 also gives you the ability to add or remove languages during installation, so you can also save a few kilobytes by deselecting German, for example, which is on by default.

You can also uncheck file associations, if you don't want Nero's various apps to be the default handlers for nearly every media-related task you might want to do. Nero 7 shows some improvements to Nero's application interfaces, but there's no sign of the massive face-lift we were hoping for.

Nero's idea of a simple interface is the SmartStart screen: colorful wizard screens that let you choose programs by task, which is a boon for newbies who aren't familiar with the underlying programs. Once you've selected your task burning an audio CD or making a photo slide show, for example , Nero opens the appropriate application.

The individual applications all have a bland, Windows Explorer-like interface; they're not difficult to navigate, nor are they a pleasure. Unfortunately, there's no unified design element that ties together the programs and makes them easier to use.

Rather, they all have their own look and layout. Nero Home marks new territory for Nero 7, which began with disc-creation tools, then added media-editing tools. Now, with Nero Home, it moves into media playback. You'll need to supply your own remote or any wireless pointing device, such as a mouse , but Nero Home lets you select files from the couch.

Driving Nero Home is Nero Scout, a new database program that catalogs all of your media files. So I've reverted to Nero 6 on a different partition on my PC to get it working. I totally disagree with the review below. Nero Express is the easiest… Read Full Review. I hate Nero. I have been burning cd's and dvd's with it for 2 years now.

I did not get rid of it only because I did not take the time to find out about another dvd burning program that does not make me hate life like Nero does. I have always spent valuable time to always try to learn something about it and it always make me running out of patience. The manuals seems written by brainless people. Nero 7 Premium Reviews Click here if this is your business.

The only problem we had was in finding a way to close the application Home, not that we really wanted to. DVD authoring and video editing meld quite well in Nero 7. How well? We were able to capture DV video, edit it with existing video clips, add sound, create an active DVD menu and burn the disc all inside Vision.

Device control is a must for an editor worth his or her oats. Vision includes timeline and storyboard views, along with handy tools for editing. These give you the ability to split one video clip into two, and take out portions of your video completely. Unfortunately, pressing the space bar to play through your edits is not an option. Vision also includes the ability to view your clips full screen, though we found playback a bit choppy on our test system.

Also, we were a little surprised to find that transition effects were sparse. However, we do really like the abundance of effects and motion title filters. Not happy with your soon-to-be burned video? Vision allows users to put all video clips into a queue-style list, which makes adding more video easy. Vision also offers a clean report on the amount of real estate left on the DVD. The next step is to add a title and chapter markers. Paying for software to keep burning those is now obsolete.

I used to like nero. But the latest version seem to be more than just a good burning software. As there a several free cd burning tools, I think they had to do something. It is just a shame, they did it this way. But it works, and it is free. The software works fine - seeing as though it's a free utility.

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