The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group
Roxio Creator 2009
 Ash Nallawalla
ash@melbpc.org.au


Roxio launched Creator 2009 last September. I have had a long time to explore most of its rich facets, mainly because my family and I went on an overseas trip with the obligatory video camera. We came back with two hours of footage and I put the program to the test to make a video compilation as well as other tasks.

Features - Creator does many tasks (adapted from Roxio literature):

Audio
  • Make an audio CD that you can play anywhere.
  • Create an MP3 disc that holds hundreds of songs in MP3, WMA, or WAV format.
  • Rip (convert) audio files from a CD to your computer.
  • Capture (record) audio from Internet radio and other sources using your computer’s sound card.
  • Record and edit sound clips and audio files, and to create your own audio mixes.
  • Create music compilations to play on your home or car stereo, portable music player, DVD player, or on your computer.
  • Transfer audio books from audio CDs or the Internet to an iPod, iPhone, or other portable device with just a few clicks.
  • Create a DVD Music Disc with up to 50 hours of music using tracks from your computer or an audio disc. Choose from professionally designed styles or use your own background image.
  • Create digital audio files from your old LPs and tapes in just a few simple steps. You can then clean and enhance your audio files, burn them to an audio CD, or use them in your Creator projects.



Main menu

Video

  • Back up copies of personal DVD discs so you can store the originals for safekeeping. Convert video files to formats that can be played on a wide range of portable devices. (Protected DVDs cannot be copied with Creator)
  • Play movie discs using the highest quality video playback available for your PC and an easy-to-use and intuitive user-interface.
  • Create multimedia stories on DVD to share with family and friends. Capture and mix photos and video, include narration or a favorite sound track, create your own professional-looking menus, add transitions and animated backgrounds, and burn to DVD, Video CD, or Super VCD. Some versions even let you author Blu-ray movie discs.
Photos
  • Enhance, edit, and share your digital photos. Automatically adjust the exposure, saturation, and sharpness of photos. Fix common problems such as red eye.
  • Create personalized calendars, greeting cards, and collages using your own photos. You can also create photo slideshows to share with others.
  • Enhance several photos at once using AutoFix and other photo tools. Rename or convert groups of photos to a different format.
  • Create a dramatic panorama by combining several photos into one.
  • E-mail your photos and photo projects to friends and family.
  • Create a high-resolution photo slideshow in just a few clicks, including background audio and Pan and Zoom effects.
Copy and Data Projects
  • Copy files to a CD, DVD, or Blu-ray Disc (provided you have a Blu-ray drive).
  • Duplicate an entire disc.
  • Create data CDs and DVDs, and to archive large projects to multiple discs. Create advanced format and bootable discs, and more. In addition, you can choose to encrypt the files on the disc so that the files can only be accessed by someone entering a password that you select.
  • Backup the files on your computer to a wide range of storage devices including discs, external hard drives, and flash drives.
Media Files
  • Import photos and video files to your computer from your digital camera, mobile phone, or camcorder.
  • View and manage your media files in folders, and to organize them into personalised albums. Find files quickly by browsing or searching, and burn your files to a disc.
  • Share your media files with friends and family over your home network.
  • Transfer files to your wireless devices, and upload video files to the Internet. Select the Browse and Manage Media task.
    Labels and Disc Inserts
  • Make personalised disc labels and jewel case covers. Choose from dozens of professional designs, or create your own.
Other Tools
  • Erase or finalise a disc, get disc information, and keep track of what’s on your discs.
In Use

My main use of Creator has been for video files. First, I’ll cover what I don’t use, because I have other software. I have a Zune device (functionally similar to an iPod), so I use its own software to rip music. I could use Creator, but since the Zune software also maintains its firmware and does other device-specific tasks, I use it for ripping music. Some players do not come with their own ripping software, so Creator would be used.

I do use it to copy unprotected CDs and DVDs and to back up data files. My PC came with a lightweight program, so Creator is perfect for these tasks.

 



Burning a data disc

My main use of Creator has been to edit my holiday videos. First I connect my Canon DV20 camera with a FireWire cable to the PC and run Roxio Media Import (a component of Composer). I can save it at several degrees of quality, from VCD through high-quality DVD. Alternatively, I could have used Plug & Burn to capture directly to a disc.

I needed to edit my videos, so I used Videowave to create a “Production”. My USA-sourced NTSC camera records in 16:9 format, so I chose it, but you can also use 4:3. Frame rates of 29.97 fps (NTSC), 25 fps (PAL) and 30 fps (computer) are available.



Importing video from a camcorder

Most of my time was spent in Videowave. It has storyline and timeline views. You can cut out frames that you don’t want to keep and join the rest, use transitions or video effects, add narration or music – fairly standard features you’d expect of a hobbyist grade program.

I saved the production using MyDVD onto a DVD, having chosen a theme, added a title, menu, created chapters, and so on. There is a handy feature “Fit to Disc”, which takes out the guesswork of fitting a production to a DVD.

Instead of a DVD you can do likewise to a VCD, SVCD, DVD + VR, or AVCHD formats. Finally, I used Express Labeler to make a label for the DVD case. I was able to use the program simply by following my nose, therefore I can say with confidence it is very easy to use. I take videos only once or twice a year, so Creator is fine for my needs.



Express Labeler does what its name says

You can also edit still images using PhotoSuite. If you had taken some panoramic photos, you can stitch them using Panorama Assistant. This operation is fairly easy to accomplish, provided you have taken some care to take the photos, such as using a tripod. You can then tidy up the combined image using PhotoSuite.



Editing an image in PhotoSuite

You can put your images into a slide show and share them online.

I said that I didn’t use Creator to rip music or to edit it, or to burn audio or MP3 CDs. I did find an option not available with my other software. Edit Audio Tags enables you to add more details about a track than what you might get from a ripped collection. You select the tracks and then let the program fetch the missing details from http://www.gracenote.com/.



A panoramic view of San Mateo, California, stitched with Panorama Assistant

Availability

Roxio Creator 2009 sells for about $189 and you can get more details about the program from www.roxio.com.au.

Reprinted from the June 2009 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia

[ About Melbourne PC User Group ]