Easy Media Creator was one of the first CD authoring programs that came with my burner those many years ago and for the last five years, I've been a Nero aficionado which may have changed just today.

The latest version of Roxio Easy Media Creator 10 Suite is finally here and unlike traditional burning programs, this allows the user to create a wide plethora of authoring options that is as easy as one two three.

So what exactly is Roxio Easy Media Creator 10 Suite besides a long title? It's basically a one-stop shop authoring program that allows you to create music, photo, video and other creations for CD, DVDs, HD DVD and even mobile phones.

First off the bat is the installation that automatically installed on our test machine with little to almost no prompting whatsoever. Yes... Nero was finally uninstalled on our test machine.

Once installed, we were greeted to a strange interface, one of unfamiliar territory but one that was easy to use and dare I say... more structured than our current version of Nero.

Before engaging in the copying abilities of the latest version of Easy Media Creator, let's talk about some of the not so standard features of the software package.

Ever wanted to record streaming audio from the internet. With a quick navigation through the interface, I was able to record internet radio and we tested this option with Triple J and a few other overseas radio programs. Needless to say, the quality was exactly the same as we heard with no comprimisation at all.

This next feature might not be for everyone but it allows you to "fix" a mobile phone picture into an almost "real" digital camera photo. Of course if your camera supports a higher mega pixel camera, the adjustments are minimal but it's a great way of turning those random photos (for myspace) into a true keepsake.

Our next impressive feature was that Easy Media Creator allows the user to "sync" with a variety of different mobile devices whether mobile phones or MP3 players which easily allows the user to transfer photos, music and video back and forth between devices.

For those music and video lovers, Easy Media Creator gives the user to convert between a different variety of file formats and also digitize those LP and tapes that may be lying around.

This was extremely easy to do and all we needed to do was connected our record player to the audio card and in around 15 minutes, we were recording those hard to buy LPs.

The program also supports video cameras too and contains a variety of utilities to improve the video quality and add a plethora of special effects to your precious movies. Whether it's uploading to You Tube or saving in HD video, Easy Media Creator will support this and more.

Downloaded a DIVX movie from the internet and wish to convert it to DVD? Simple, just select the wizard and in a matter of minutes, we were converting DIVX to DVD, although this is a time consuming process, even for our Quad Core Intel CPU.

Last but not least is the backup capabilities of Easy Media Creator that allows you to copy both HD DVD and Blu-Ray discs with just a click of the mouse. Compress a 9GB DVD onto a 4.7GB (standard) disc was extremely easy, although a time consuming process again but is well worth the wait and with minimal video or audio loss quality.

In conclusion, once again this review has only just barely touched the service of what this amazing program can do and if you're after a one stop shop program that supports all of the above and more, than we would happily recommend this program to anyone. It's easy to use, it's got great support and best of all, it supports the latest storage formats. DVD playback, disc label creation... the list goes on and on.

Highly Recommended!!!

Features

• Music
  Convert multiple songs into a format of your choice at once
  Simultaneously rip CDs from multiple drives
  Capture Internet radio or any PC audio directly from your Windows Vista desktop
  Burn a disc and create a disc image file at the same time
  Copy your favourite audio, movies or TV shows from any iPod® to your PC
  Copy* DVDs to double layer discs and preserve the original quality
  Convert audio and video files to your preferred format with the Windows Vista gadget
  AutoMix direct to hard disk as playlist
  Digitise your analog LPs and cassettes
  Automatically identify audio track information
  Create smooth transitions across all the tracks on your audio CD
  Span dozens of songs and compilations across multiple audio CDs
  Support for VST effects plug-ins
   

• Photo & Video
  
  Organise thousands of photos & create custom views to find photos fast
  Edit video like a pro with Timeline video editor
  Let Video Doctor automatically fix video colour, contrast and brightness
  Add multiple 2D and 3D effects; adjust their duration and speed
  Overlay multiple images, text or video clips; create picture-in-picture effects
  Create dazzling slideshows with music in standard or high definition
  Add a perfect SmartSound soundtrack to slideshows and movies
  Capture and edit HD video
  Auto-fix your camera phone photos
  Show off any picture on your mobile phone without borders or bars
  Upload video to YouTube™ with one click
  Create impressive gifts with your own photos and templates for cards, calendars and other projects
   

• DVD Creation
  
  Create compilation DVDs from DVD-Video, DivX and WMV files
  Produce DVDs with motion menus, resizable buttons and text credits
  Enjoy stunning new DVD menu styles for all occasions
  Exercise full creative control over DVD menu options
  Text editing with motion, rotation and 3D controls
  Menu-to-menu and title-to-menu transitions
  Take footage from a camcorder to a DVD in one click with Plug-&-Burn
  Control end-of-play action and link menu elements to specific files
  Add a menu overlay – change size, orientation, transparency and more
   

• DVD Playback
  
  Completely new user interface design makes CinePlayer easier to use than ever
  Play any DVD-Video, VCD or SVCD title
  InterActual content support
  Remote control support
  Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
  Dolby® Pro Logic - Experience multi-channel surround sound from any stereo source. Pro Logic takes a 2-channel source and transforms it into 4-channel playback.
  CineView - Video Stretch (CineView) feature – to enhance full-screen viewing experience by minimizing black bars
   

• Burning & Copying
  
  Burn up to 30 Gigabytes of content to one HD DVD disc
  Copy discs in one click, including the latest Blu-ray and HD DVD discs
  Back up your digital media files and secure them with encryption
  Automatically catalogue the contents of your CDs and DVDs
  Create virtual disc drives and load disc images
  Compress an entire 9 GB DVD video to a standard 4.7 GB DVD disc
  Record large files and projects to multiple CDs or DVDs automatically
  Mobile
   

• Synchronise digital media from PC to your mobile device
  
  Queue up files to transfer to your mobile device even if it’s not connected to your PC
  Create your own custom profile for your mobile phone
  Seamlessly integrate with Windows Vista media folders
  Easily transfer digital media from camera phone to PC via Bluetooth or USB cable
  Send audio mixes to iPod, PSP and other players to enjoy anywhere you go
  Convert audio and video files to most popular formats to play on most popular mobile devices with the Windows Vista desktop gadget
  Disc Label Creation
   

• Create personalised disc labels, DVD case inserts and booklets
  
  Choose from professional-quality templates or create your own
  Add a photo index to your disc label or insert to locate your photos
  Calibrate your printer to take the guesswork out of printing disc labels
  Further System Requirements:
   

• Optional
  
  For burning: multimedia compliant CD, DVD, HD DVD or BD recordable drive
  For audio capture or playback: 16-bit Windows compatible sound card and speakers
  For video capture: OHCI compliant IEEE 1394 FireWire card (for use with DV camera) or analog video capture device
  For mobile phone support: multimedia capable mobile phone with USB cable or Bluetooth connectivity. For information about supported phones visit www.roxio.com/support
  For Windows Media portable player support: player compatible with Windows Media Device Manager 9 or higher
  For iPod support: iTunes 6.0.1 or higher
  For PSP support: PSP firmware 2.6 or higher
  For TiVo file support: TiVo Desktop 2.3 or higher
  Broadband Internet connection required for LiveShare photo sharing features
  UPnP compliant home network router for the LiveShare and MediaSpace features