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I can still remember the product's original incarnation as a one-trick CD-burning application.  However technology, processor speeds and hard disk storage capacity have moved on greatly since those days that we tend to look at through rose-tinted glasses.  Now Easy Media Creator Suite sets out to tackle every task you could possibly conceive regarding your digital music, images and video content.

As you might suppose, with over 40 applications to deal with, installation is not the quickest operation as approximately 740MB of hard disk space is requisitioned by the software.  You will be presented with an online registration process and a check for any updates when you first run the program's main Roxio Central interface which is your access point to the various applications and tools.

See also: Video editing software

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By default you start with the Welcome view.  This divides its screen presence into four areas.  Taking up a central position are links to various "how to" advice pages and details of other Roxio products and services.  Running down the left side are various categories of tools and applications while the right side shows those tasks that Media Creator feels will be required on a fairly frequent basis.  Running across the bottom on the interface is a control panel displaying media information; a destination selection option; and an action button which appears once a project has been selected.

If this type of layout is not to your taste or method of working then a quick click on the appropriate button brings up a display of icons listed the features, applications and utilities while retaining the list of the main categories featuring Audio, Data & Backup, Copy, Media & Device, Photo, Video, and Tools.  Clicking on any of the applications or utilities loads that particular item within its own window while each category opens up a list of relevant tasks for your perusal.  In many cases project assistants (wizards by any other name) are used to lead you through the appropriate steps to complete a particular task.

While several of the features making up this suite are not new, apart from a cosmetic touch up that is more evident when using them within a Vista environment, there are some new items to help encourage users to upgrade to this latest version.  Support is now included for HD DVD media; copying data from an iPod to your computer; and auto-fixing images captured on your mobile phone.

Data can be backed up using the appropriately named BackOnTrack feature which appears to be a replacement for Roxio's earlier Backup MyPC application.  This software will let you schedule backups that can include emails, video, music, financial and productivity files located in the My Documents folder.  It also appears to offer Disaster Recovery and Instant Restore options but these icons just take you to upgrade offers.

Although you can start the various applications individually, Easy Media Creator Suite will often offer quick access to related tools and applications when the current task has been completed.  For example after completing a project that includes burning data, you will be offered the opportunity to use the product's label making facility.

With the numerous tools and applications found in this suite, there will be several that will appeal but others will rarely be accessed.  While Easy Media Creator Suite's main focus and appeal lies with its burning facilities, its other features help add value to the product.  Requiring a Windows XP system with 500MHz with 128MB of RAM (1.6GHz with 512MB of RAM when using Windows Vista).  Pricing has been set at £59.99 for this product which includes the bonus of a pack of five DVD blank disks.

http://www.roxio.co.uk/eng/products/creator/suite/overview.html