Nero 9

There are two big names in CD and DVD copying and burning on the market, namely Roxio and Nero. Both started out as simple copying tools, but increasingly they now offer a host of video and music editing tools.

Consisting of over 20 different tools, from the standard Nero Burning ROM and Nero Express through to Nero WaveEditor and Nero SoundTrax, Nero 9 continues this trend. While its core skills remain preparing data for copying to disc and archiving, Nero is increasingly beefing up its extras, so you’ll even find back-up tools and even online storage being offered with this latest edition.

This version of Nero isn’t so much an overhaul, more a gentle upgrade of many of the features it introduced in Version 8. For instance, the interface that was drastically changed in Version 8 has seen a cosmetic update, but you won’t find anything too drastic.

Tools now launch through a portal called the Nero StartSMart menu, which is a neat touch as it makes finding the right program for the job a lot easier. One such new tool is the TV tuner software, which allows you to change channels, record and then edit files a lot easier than simply importing them.

Video is handled in a slightly more intuitive way than in previous versions. You’ll still find support for Blu-ray as well as AVCHD and an increasing emphasis on editing in HD formats. However, your projects can now be saved to disc as usual, or converted and sent straight to your portable media player, or even MySpace and YouTube.

The full set of tools takes up over 1.5GB of hard drive space and, unless you’re really going to make the most of all the tools on offer, this suite can seem a little resource-heavy. Nero 9 isn’t a great leap forward in terms of usability, but it’s certainly a better proposition over Version 8. That said, Nero remains one of the more powerful choices out there and certainly matches Roxio blow for blow.

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