Roxio Easy Media Creator 9 Suite

Roxio's suite brings together a bucketful of media tools, some with overlapping capabilities. The main menu features so many different components it can leave you wondering which one to use. On the other hand, the suite offers many options. There's a Sound Editor that can convert audio from analog sources, such as records, into MP3s. You can copy CDs, back up media files, and more.

The main component for editing video is called VideoWave, and it works well. Links to common tasks line up on the left side of the screen. Clips play on the right side, and the timeline spools across the bottom. Like Pinnacle, the interface is not immediately overwhelming. It's not hard to grasp, from the get-go, how to take your video clips and string them together into a multimedia spectacular.

Roxio also includes MyDVD Express, a simplified video component that creates DVDs filled with clips you specify. If you don't want to spend time editing movies and just need to transfer them to DVD to show family, MyDVD is ideal.

Unfortunately, we experienced some serious stability problems. The program ran slowly and even froze a couple of times when we attempted to use MyDVD. We installed the suite on a different computer, and the MyDVD program crashed as soon as it opened. Two installs with problems indicates an issue. With problems like these, you may need to try out the free support; Roxio includes a virtual agent and Web ticket email support, as well as live phone support during business hours.(www.smartcomputing.com)