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Nero Multimedia Suite 10 Platinum HD

Although we recently reviewed Nero Multimedia Suite 10, the Platinum HD version is finally out. So what does this mean to the end-user? It now means that this excellent package supports HD or high definition such as Blu-ray which is definitely a step in the right direction. Best of all, the program is still your one stop shop for authoring and contains everything you need for movies, CD's, Blu-ray, audio etc. etc... oh... and even PC tune-ups.

Installation and Interview

The installation process was a breeze and once the lengthy serial number was entered, we were ready to test this program. In terms of interface, it's basically identical to the standard edition but comes with a whole wealth of new features. In terms of software packages, Nero Multimedia Suite 10 Platinum HD comes with the following;

Nero Vision Xtra™Nero

• MediaHub – Music, photo and video organizer, media player, and slideshow creator

• Nero Vision – Advanced video editing and authoring

• Nero ControlCenter – Manage and update your Nero products and serial numbers

Nero Burning ROM™

• Nero Burning ROM – Disc burning

• Nero BurnRights – Easily deployable user burning rights

• Nero ControlCenter – Manage and update your Nero products and serial numbers

Nero BackItUp & Burn™

• Nero BackItUp – Convenient data backup, recover and synchronization

• Nero Express – Easy wizard guided optical disc burning and copying

• Nero RescueAgent – Advanced file recovery

• Nero BurnRights – Easily deployable user burning rights

• Nero ControlCenter – Manage and update your Nero products and serial numbers

Nero Multimedia Tools

• Nero StartSmart – Quick launch pad for burning, video editing or backup

• Nero DiscCopy Gadget – Copy discs from the Windows® desktop

• Nero WaveEditor – Edit music files

• Nero SoundTrax – Digitize music from vinyl records and cassette tapes

• Nero CoverDesigner – Create custom covers and labels

• Nero Recode – Convert and compress DVD video or video files

• Nero ToolKit – Increase PC performance

That's quite a lot of content! But what you're probably after is what Platinum HD can actually do. As opposed to the previous version, it contains a Blu-ray Disc Playback plug-in which allows you to watch all sorts of formats in one easy to use player.

The Platinum HD version also contains the Move it Plug-in which easily allows you to transfer multimedia between a plethora of devices such as the iPhone of even PlayStation Portable. This plug-in even allows you transfer between different file formats such as .WMA and AVC.

But wait, there's still more! That's right, it even comes with the Nero Creative Collection Pack that offers the Picture-in-Picture Effect Pack, the Transition Effect Pack and the Nero Movie Theme Pack. That's almost 200 creative addons to add your to your masterpieces.

The other highlights of Nero Multimedia Suite 10 Platinum HD for me include the easy to use MediaHub and Nero Burning ROM which is still in my books, the definitive CD/DVD authoring tool which of course supports Blu-ray. The MediaHub is basically central depository of multimedia management and access.

This gives the user access to a variety of tools from organising your media, a media player, a photo editor and even a slideshow creator that is quite intuitive to use and boasts a variety of multimedia files and formats. You can even edit photos via the MediaHub and although not as powerful as some programs, it does the basics well.

Nero Burning ROM was my first experience with this software many years ago and after using Roxio for a few years now, I’m glad to finally revert back to Nero. Whether you're making duplicates, backing up software or creating CDs, DVDs or Blu-rays, it’s still a breeze to use the software.

Fortunately, it still contains all the high-end features for the professional users from ISO's to multisession discs. If this sounds a little confusing, you can always use the Burn now button which makes creating CD’s a simplistic treat.

Another great feature of Nero Vision 10 is Nero BackItUp & Burn which makes backing up software a hassle free experience. It's definitely a great idea for those doomsday experiences should you have a hard drive fail. Like Norton Ghost, the program allows you to schedule backups, select certain files for backup and even attempt to recover lost data.

Nero Vision Xtra, although a little simplistic is actually a very good multimedia creator tool for your movies. Boasting a variety of formats and from slide shows to movies, it even gives you in-depth options for quality. For example, become the director by using timelines and storyboards for your home made or professional masterpieces. It might take a little time to master but it's definitely worth it.