.FLYINGHEAD PRODUCT REVIEW
.TITLE Fiddling with Nero 6 Ultra Edition
.AUTHOR Wallace Wang
.SUMMARY Describing everything that Nero can do is like asking the proverbial group of blind men to describe an elephant. There’s a lot there, and no matter who you ask, you’re likely to get a different perspective of the product. That said, if you want to erase, play, save, or rip data off a CD/DVD, chances are good that Nero can do it.
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.H1 About this article
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Over the years, we at ZATZ have had the opportunity to publish articles by some well known authors and true experts in the field. When we set out to review Nero 6 Ultra Edition, we really wanted to find someone who truly understood the product. No one could possibly have a better, comprehensive perspective of Nero than Wallace Wang, author of The Book of Nero.
The Book of Nero published by No Starch Press (at http://www.nostarch.com/nero.htm), guides readers into understanding the various features of Nero, one of the most powerful CD and DVD burning programs on the market today. We’re thrilled that Wally’s able to write this review for us.
And now, Wallace Wang’s review…
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Describing everything that Nero can do is like asking the proverbial group of blind men to describe an elephant. There’s a lot there, and no matter who you ask, you’re likely to get a different perspective of the product. That said, if you want to erase, play, save, or rip data off a CD/DVD, chances are good that Nero can do it.
Beware though. At first glance, Nero can be intimidating because instead of offering all of its vast features through a single user interface, Nero divides its multiple features among no less than a half a dozen different programs, all of which sport different user interfaces. So not only do you have to know what you want to do with Nero and which command you need to choose, but you also must figure out which particular Nero program to use and where a particular command may be buried in each Nero program.
Needless to say, this can cause confusion, especially since you can choose identical commands through different Nero programs and different interfaces. For example, in one Nero program, you can choose a command by clicking on a menu. In another Nero program, you can choose that identical command by clicking on a button.
.BREAK_EMAIL Get all the inside scoop on Nero by tapping your mouse right here, right now.
Some Nero programs even overlap in functionality. For power users, Nero offers the Nero Burning ROM program, which displays a list of folders and files that users can drag to burn on to a CD or DVD. Since novices may be intimidated by the drag-and-drop approach, Nero also offers a simplified version called Nero Express, which displays a separate window that lets users click on a file or folder individually that you want to burn to a CD/DVD.
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Fortunately, Nero now includes a StartSmart menu, as shown in Figure A, that lists all the different tasks you can choose with Nero, such as ripping MP3 files off an audio CD or viewing a DVD video. By letting you choose a task you want to do, the StartSmart menu loads the most appropriate Nero program automatically.
.FIGPAIR A The Nero StartSmart menu lets you choose a particular task so you don’t have to figure out which Nero program you need to use.
.H1 Burning discs
The heart of Nero lies in its CD/DVD burning capabilities. You can store individual files and folders onto a CD or a DVD. If you have a CD+RW or DVD+R, Nero can format your disc like a giant floppy disk so you can copy and transfer data between multiple computers.
If you want, you can use Nero to burn a backup image, so you can transfer the entire contents of your hard drive as a single file for backup purposes. That way if your computer crashes (and with Windows, that’s almost a near certainty), you can restore your entire hard disk back within minutes.
For added protection, Nero even includes a built-in antivirus scanner so when you burn files to a CD or a DVD, you don’t accidentally burn a virus on to your CD or DVD at the same time.
With Nero, you can make a bootable CD or a hybrid CD that both a Windows and a Macintosh computer can read. For added convenience, Nero can also create a mixed-mode CD that lets you store both music (such as MP3 files) and data files on the same CD. That way you can burn your favorite songs on a CD to listen while you’re taking your important data too.
.H1 Editing and playing sound and video
Since the most popular use for CD burning involves saving music, Nero gives you the option of burning entire audio CDs or ripping songs individually off audio CDs to store them in MP3 or other audio file formats. Before you burn your audio tracks to a CD, Nero lets you edit your files. Since some songs can sound louder than others, Nero lets you adjust the volume so all the songs play at the same volume.
In case you have any audio tape cassettes or vinyl records laying around, you can store them into Nero and edit the audio files to remove any tape hiss or vinyl record pops. In this way, you can save your record collection that may include songs that will never be available on commercial CDs.
For the really creative, Nero lets offers a huge variety of audio editing features to alter the pitch, add special effects, or add reverb to an audio file. You can even splice, cut, and combine audio files to customize your own songs.
If you’ve captured any digital video, you can burn it directly to DVD or cut, edit, and splice your video while adding transitions and titles to make it look as professional as possible. If you just have digital photographs, Nero can create a slideshow that you can burn to a CD or DVD that includes transitions, titles, and background music. When burning a DVD, Nero lets you create menus so you can users can chose to view different video clips just like commercial DVDs.
While Nero’s audio and video editing features aren’t likely to put Adobe’s audio and video editing products out of business, they’re sufficient for most users who just want to do some basic editing as simply as possible
Finally, Nero includes both an audio and video player so you can listen to music or watch DVD movies on your computer. The Nero DVD player even lets you capture images from video and store them as graphic files. If you have a digital video camera, Nero also lets you record directly to a DVD disc.
.H1 Packaging your CD or DVD
Once you’ve burned your CD/DVD, you may want to take the extra step of designing a disc label along with a CD/DVD case cover to go along with it. Nero offers templates for designing disc and CD and DVD covers. The Nero boxed product also includes a handful of disc labels along with a plastic disc stomper to help you align and press each label on to a disc. This might be one reason to buy the boxed product, rather than download it.
Nero’s disc label creator acts like a simple desktop publishing program where you can add text and graphic images to make your labels and covers look professional If you’ve ever used any type of desktop publishing program, you’ll find Nero’s disc labeling creation program easy to master right away.
.H1 Is Nero right for you?
If you’re fairly computer literate and interested in burning CDs and DVDs, there’s no question that Nero can meet your needs. Novices may want to tread cautiously when considering Nero, since Nero may not be the most intuitive program on the market. Still, with a little bit of persistence, even beginners can find that Nero can perform a variety of CD and DVD burning tasks much easier than you might have thought possible.
In a few weeks, another article, that talks about the video and specialized production aspects of Nero, will be run in Connected Photographer Magazine (at http://www.connectedphotographer.com). See you there!
.RATING 3
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.H1 Product availability and resources
For more information on Nero, visit http://www.nero.com.
For more information on The Book of Nero 6, visit http://www.nostarch.com/nero.htm.
For more information on Connected Photographer Magazine, visit http://www.connectedphotographer.com.
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.BIO Wallace Wang is the author of The Book of Nero 6 and Steal This Computer Book, both published by No Starch Press. Besides writing computer books, he also performs stand-up comedy, having appeared on A&E’s "Evening at the Improv" and appearing regularly at the Riviera comedy club in Las Vegas.
