Santa Clara, Calif.-based Roxio has lifted the
wraps off the latest iteration of its flagship digital media software,
adding DVD burning tools that push the envelope for multimedia creation on
PCs.
The new Easy CD & DVD Creator 6 Platinum, billed as the first PC-based
integrated software with CD and DVD burning capabilities, lets users
transfer music, video, digital images and data files off the PC and onto
recordable CDs and DVDs.
The new software also features an enhanced PhotoSuite, an image editing
suite acquired in the MGI Software Corp. deal in December 2001.
The latest announcements from Roxio comes as Microsoft is positioning the Windows XP platform as a full-fledged
digital entertainment system. Roxio’s PhotoSuite looks very much like
Microsofts Plus Digital Media Edition, which lets users capture, organize,
edit and share digital photos.
Roxio’s PhotoSuite allows the creation of slide shows with music on
VideoCDs (VCDs) for playback on DVD players and offers tools for the
manipulation of digital images.
But, it is the integration of CD and DVD burning in a single software
that Roxio hopes will set it apart from competitors. The company, which
already features DVD functions on its VideoWave video editing suite, said
the new DVD Builder would let users capture, edit and combine video and
photo to create DVDs of home movies and photo slideshows on CD, VideoCD,
SVCD or DVD.
The DVD Builder comes equipped with custom menu backgrounds, automatic
DVD chapter creation and a multi-storyboard work area that promises
ease-of-use and flexibility. Roxio has also added professional transitions,
voiceovers and the ability to capture and burn video directly to DVD+RW
discs.
The new software, which will retail for $99.95, also offers a new
AudioCentral that lets users play, manage, rip, tag, edit and record digital
music collections. Easy CD & DVD Creator 6 uses can create play lists;
convert analog tapes and albums to digital formats like MP3 and WMA and
organize music by genre, artist, album and more in a media library.
The DirectCD feature in earlier versions of Easy CD Creator has been
replaced with a new Drag-to-Disc feature that lets users drag and drop files
to CD or DVD for backup. Roxio said the drag-to-Disc technology
automatically formats CDs and DVDs.
The updated software also comes with an improved disc copier for to allow
the copying of CDs or DVDs to multiple drives and an improved Creator
Classic tool that allows the burning of large data files across multiple
discs. Creator Classic also allows the restoration of multi-disc files or
projects with the Roxio Retrieve utility.
Roxio, which shelled out $5.3
million to acquire the assets of the defunct Napster last year, is
looking to stave off rival Ahead
Software, makers of the popular Nero Burning ROM software that features
CD and DVD burning.
