Entered CNET Catalog: 09/12/2003
SKU: 0760884142950
Manufacturer: Adaptec, Inc.
Manufacturer description
Sonic MyDVD Studio Deluxe is the complete and easy way to put your video, photos, and data on CD and DVD. Only MyDVD Studio Deluxe has the tools to burn the highest quality, most compatible CDs and DVDs. It's fully integrated, so you can easily move from editing, to burning, to labeling, or any other function in a snap.Product summary
The good: Stable and reliable; motion backgrounds and buttons; handles most mastering chores; plays DVD movies; creates disc labels.
The bad: Fixed menu buttons; will not mix NTSC and PAL video; doesn't back up to hard drives; relies on Window Media Player for CD and MP3 identification.
The bottom line: Home media buffs will find what they need in this versatile and stable suite for authoring and editing DVDs and CDs, but pros may want more.
Editors' review
- Editors' Choice: No
- Reviewed on: 10/10/2003
Though the install routine could use refinement, we have no complaints about the programs' uncluttered, intuitive interfaces. Forgoing the insultingly simplistic and overly structured step-by-step approach favored by PowerProducer 2.0, all of MyDVD's functions and options are accessible from the main page. Kudos to Sonic for building interfaces that are easy to understand but let you cut to the chase once you're up to speed.
Each application's interface is uncluttered, intuitive, and easy to navigate.
Sonic's MyDVD 5.0 suite contains a solid set of entry-level applications. MyDVD 5.0 itself is an easy-to-use movie-authoring and -editing app that produces discs that will play in most DVD players and lets you use snippets of video to animate buttons and backgrounds. New to version 5.0 are more-comprehensive video-editing tools, with more transitions, trimming, and effects options, a more intuitive video-capture procedure, and the ability to import QuickTime files. Still, the software suffers from some limitations: its menu buttons are static, and it won't import PAL video into an NTSC project (or vice versa).
RecordNow Deluxe is a jack-of-all-trades mastering program that can copy discs; create a disc image; burn a disc from an image; and burn the usual assortment of audio, data, and MP3 CDs and DVDs. It also includes a rudimentary backup-to-optical-disc function, ideal for archiving sizable chunks of data, but unfortunately, it won't back up to a hard drive. Our biggest complaint: RecordNow relies on Windows Media Player to retrieve audio CD artist and track data, and some users may not want WMP configured to access MSN for security reasons.
CinePlayer, the suite's remarkably capable and easy-to-use DVD movie and video file player, impressed us. It plays DVD discs, movies stored on a hard drive, and just about any video file that has a registered Windows DirectShow filter--DivX, Xvid, and so on. We especially appreciate CinePlayer's straightforward, uncluttered controls.
The streamlined and straightforward CinePlayer.
The suite's Express Labeler disc-labeling program is simple to use, but it offers only an extremely limited number of background images and text arrangement options. For printing an occasional basic label, it's fine, but the highly visible upgrade button and several menu options that send you to Sonic's Web site make us think that the program was bundled only to sell you on the fatter $39.95 version.
After you've registered MyDVD 5.0 online, Sonic's Web site offers an extensive set of help resources, including a knowledge base, software updates, an extensive technology library, and tech support via e-mail. Astoundingly, Sonic also provides toll-free telephone support every day (excluding holidays) from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. PT.
User opinions
Select a User Opinion to view: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25out of 25 user reviews
garbage program
Pros: NONE WHATSOEVER
Cons: compatibility issues - system crashes - lack of support
out of 25 user reviews
Crap crap crap crap crap crap crap crap crap!!!!!
Pros: There are no pros.
Cons: Crashes every time I try to load Tivo files which is why I bought it. Support appears to be non-existent.
out of 25 user reviews
$50 down a rat hole
Pros: None !!!!!!
Cons: Lock ups, error messages, bomb outs, etc
out of 25 user reviews
Poor Stability Makes Sonic Extremely Frustrating
Pros: User Friendly and Intuitive
Cons: Poor Stability, Constant Crashing on DVD burning
out of 25 user reviews
non existent online customer support
Pros: When it works the product is quite good
Cons: crashes repeatedly, customer service consistently ignores requests entered into their website soniconline. No updates in a year
The product has been unusable for me and I have been unable to get any assistance from Sonic.
out of 25 user reviews
Can't reach support - dreadful website - total catch 22
Pros: If It would recognize Windows Media 10 it would install
Cons: Hasn't yet recognized WM 10 - wasted too much time so far
I've got XP - updated, I've got Windows Media update - what more do I need? Well I don't know because the installtion won't acknowledge that my version of WM is past 7.0
Pitiful. Go back to school and learn how to do it the right way, please.
out of 25 user reviews
Some good, some bad
Pros: Easy file edit and good transitions
Cons: Buggy and help is hard to find.
out of 25 user reviews
Un-stable product. Its a real waste of money.
Pros: nothing to talk about
Cons: Full of errors. You can not even make one DVD
out of 25 user reviews
They are actually asking money for this?
Pros:
Cons: It was working fine and suddenly out of nowhere I got one error after the other...wasted 5 DVD's already and it still isn't working...I hope there is going to be a standard in future because this really sucks !
out of 25 user reviews
No timeline editing
Pros: Stable. Simple, effective capturing from DV tape.
Cons: Crude editing capibilities and no timeline editing mode. Very limited title creation. No ability to select image for chapter menus. Mediocre tech support at best. Suggest comparing to PowerDirector 3 before purchasing.
out of 25 user reviews
Boooo...Like sands through the hourgalss, so are the MyDVD video edits!
Pros: Easy to understand.
Cons: The product freezes for everything. I have a Dell 8300 Pentium 4HT, 3 GHz, 1GB RAM, 8x DVD+RW, 80 GB HDD, Windows XP. This product is not ready for primetime. Online support page is archane--Knowledgebase does not return searches (e.g. simple search on
out of 25 user reviews
upgrade worth it to me
Pros: This has several improvesments over the myDVD 4.0 version. 1)the sound can be encoded in dolby digital 2.0 which saves on DVD space without any noticable effect on sound quality. 2) the motion video on the start menu can now be as long as 1 minute, not ju
Cons: I still wish you could move the menu buttons around.
out of 25 user reviews
Can't fit to 2 or more DVD's
Pros:
Cons: If you are copying say a Laserdisk Movie to DVD and the length is too long, do not have the option to record to 2 DVD's. I called support and it's an idea they NEVER THOUGHT OF. DUH!
out of 25 user reviews
Stable and sweet
Pros: Very easy to use but packs alot of features. The slideshow feature is nice and I have yet to burn a coaster.
Cons: Fixed buttons are soooooo limiting! Let us move the buttons around.
out of 25 user reviews
I give up!!!
Pros:
Cons: I have the atest version 5.2.2. Frequent crases. Meaningless error messages such as "disc in inconsistent state", "Pure virtual function call" or R6025. Web support takes a minimum of a week between replies. Can't adjust bit rate so stuttering occurrs in
out of 25 user reviews
Will destroy your hard work.
Pros: Probably would work fine if you don't want to actually edit your video or menus.
Cons: Multiple crashes in various aspects of the software. You need to save your work often and use a different filename each time if you ever want to recover your work. Support is very non-professional. I have submitted several incident reports and none of the
out of 25 user reviews
KEEP MYDVD4 DONT WASTE YOUR TIME OR MONEY
Pros: I had no problems with MyDVD4 that came with my Sony Drive but the 5 version which I purchased becoause of the added feature is a piece of Junk Sonic get your act together and come out with some fixes or your off my list of venders.
Cons:
out of 25 user reviews
IMPOSSIBLE TO TRIM OR EDIT
Pros: ability to increase write speed.
Cons: WORKING INSTRUCTIONS ARE LONG AND EXTREMELY CONFUSING. TROUBLESHOOTING NEXT TO IMPOSSIBL SO IS ONLINE ASSISTANCE..
out of 25 user reviews
Worst customer Service
Pros:
Cons: Tried to work with customer service when I found out the product was not compatible with my system. Although I cancelled right away. They still charged me for shipping and handling of CD. After repeated requests and explanation of compatibility problem
out of 25 user reviews
Great product for Slideshows and Authoring DVD
Pros: Easy to use. Authored first DVD movie without a hitch. Produced first slide show very quickly.
Cons: Read-me did not warn me to unload ROXIO Creator, then reinstall later. Have not determined how to add a title inside a slide for slideshow, yet. After Roxio is installed, can no longer use BURN button, probably a Roxio issue.
out of 25 user reviews
Great Product, Easy to Use
Pros: Very Easy to use and Very Simple Desgin if your a Novice user. It works Great for burning DVDs, and Photo DVDs. The DVDs that i've burned worked flawlessly on my Hiactci DVP325U dvd player, although that dvd player wasn't listed on the Sonic Website. I gi
Cons: None.
out of 25 user reviews
DVD re-editing is useless. Waste of Money
Pros: Easy to copy video onto dvd Relatively simple interface.
Cons: If you plan on editing chapters etc after you have loaded to a DVD (The so-called open DVD format) wear a crash helmet! It is worthless.
out of 25 user reviews
Wow. This is really a great product, what a surprise
Pros: Very easy to use, but surprisly broad powerful features. It seems amazing that they could make it both easy and powerful but they do. I also liked that they have all the kinds of things that I wanted to do in one product, the video with some easy editing,
Cons:
out of 25 user reviews
Rock solid and fun
Pros: It does everything I need for my DVD recordable drive. I especially like the still image slide shows. It is so easy and my pictures look great when I play the DVD to my big screen TV. The templates are fine but I can easily use my own pictures and audio
Cons: It seems a little slow.
out of 25 user reviews
fast and easy to use...
Pros: Nice templates, super-easy to use (especially reecord now). hasn't crashed ONCE since i bought it!! shame i had to throw out nero last week, but there you go!
Cons: could do with more menu templates in mydvd
