Sonic MyDVD Video Suite Complete package

...drive installation software, was called Sonic My DVD version 4.5 I was not actually going to install this as these free software discs usually turn out to be rubbish and disappointing especially as they usually take an age to install.

The installation of this software took around 3 minutes but I did not have to turn off or restart my computer like most software asks you to do. It was a simple process and you do not have to punch in ...
...to register unless you want to. There are advantages to be had though when you register any software as you could get free upgrades etc, but the choice is yours. Another good point was the software during installation asked me if I would like a desk top icon and a shortcut added to the task bar. I prefer when I am asked instead of finding out that your desk top has been cluttered up by unwanted logos and icons. I prefer to keep my desktop tidy with ... more

It is not very often that you buy a piece of hardware for a computer to find that the extra freebie software supplied with it is worth having. Well I was pleasantly surprised with this little disc.

I recently purchased a new DVD Rewriteable drive for my computer. The DVD drive was by Iomega and I have prepared a separate opinion on it. This Opinion though is for the free software supplied with the drive.

The free extra software, not the actual drive installation software, was called Sonic My DVD version 4.5 I was not actually going to install this as these free software discs usually turn out to be rubbish and disappointing especially as they usually take an age to install.

The installation of this software took around 3 minutes but I did not have to turn off or restart my computer like most software asks you to do. It was a simple process and you do not have to punch in your personal details and better still there is no need to register unless you want to. There are advantages to be had though when you register any software as you could get free upgrades etc, but the choice is yours. Another good point was the software during installation asked me if I would like a desk top icon and a shortcut added to the task bar. I prefer when I am asked instead of finding out that your desk top has been cluttered up by unwanted logos and icons. I prefer to keep my desktop tidy with just my Internet Explorer and Rubbish Bin icons in view.

What is My DVD?

It is simply an easy to use software package that allows you to make simple DVDs or VCDs that can be stored on your computers hard drive or onto a blank CD.

The media that can be used is dependant on your writer drive but the software can cope with all formats the following CD-R/ CD-RW/ DVD-R/ DVD-RW/ DVD+R/ DVD+RW. This I know as my DVD drive can burn to all these formats. I do not know about other formats.

My DVD lets you create a simple DVD or VCD movie from pictures and video stored on your computer or on devices such as digital cameras. You can use still pictures or video and you can add your own music to the discs. You can then pop the burned region free disc into any DVD player or other computer and sit back and play the movie you just created.

Using My DVD

The software is actually quite easy to use but it can take a while to get used to. It does not help that there is no instructions with the software. There are no booklets with it and there is no instructions on the CD slip case that the disc was in. There is not even a text guide or read me file added to the software so you have to go it alone and experiment.

It is therefore a blessing that you will get used to it quite easily.
Functionality, tools and things like backgrounds and fonts are quite limited but then it is a freebie. You do however get enough to get you started and finished making a full VCD or DVD movie for watching on a home DVD player.

I have used it to make DVDs that contain video clips and photo’s that I have taken at family gatherings and parties etc. They made great simple gifts that can be treasured for ever. My family are scattered around the world. I have family in Thurso and family away down south as well as family in different parts of the world. It is not always convenient to send out large parcels with pressies in them so sending a disc is a great and inexpensive present to send. The best part being that if the disc is lost in the post I can always burn another one easily.

My DVD will not turn you into the next Michael Winner or Steven Spielberg but it will impress people as it does have most of the basic functions to make your DVD look professional. You can add menus and sub menus, which is useful if you want to split up photos from movie clips or locations for a DVD about your holiday. You can also add your own array of music too. You can choose different songs for different parts of the DVD you are creating too.

My DVD shows the remaining space available on disc but, this is not very accurate as it only offers 3 sizes of disc to use. There is no option of telling it what size of disk you are using so beware of this. I mention this as I bought some Xmas Tree shaped CD-Rs to make VCDs for sending to my family. They were only about 50MB in size but My DVD did not automatically recognise the size and defaulted to 250MB

Burning the discs will of course depend on the speed of your burner drive but I managed to burn 2 GB in around 17 minutes on a DVD+RW disc at 8 x speed.

My DVD Features

Although a basic freebie, My DVD does feature:

• DVD or VCD authoring
• Direct Recording
• Editing Open Discs
• Multiple Menus
• Supports MPEG 1 & 2/ AVI 1 & 2/ Quick Time/ Windows Media Files/ AIFF for audio and video
• Supports Bitmap/ JPEG/ PICT/ PNG/ TIFF/ TARGA for graphics
• Good Email/ Online Support

DVD or VCD authoring:

This is simply creating a project from scratch. You choose what to add to your creation and where it all goes.

Direct Recording:

My DVD also allows you to capture and burn straight to disc from devices such as cameras without the need of downloading to your computers hard drive first.
This can also be used with other programs you have such as video editing etc.

Edit Open Discs:

This function is useful if you have made a DVD disc that is not quite full. You can add to the disc later or simply move things around to where you want them on the disc.
Rewriteable media is required for this option.

Multiple Menus:

Create multiple menus on your DVD. Like I mentioned before, this is ideal for situations such as making holiday discs. You could separate the disc by location or by photo slide shows and video clips. The software even automatically adds highlight buttons for navigation with your DVD remote.

My DVD even allows you to skip sections, fast forward etc just like a normal DVD.

File Support:

All the usual and commonly used files and extensions are supported. So you should find that adding pictures, video clips and music is a breeze.

Video clips will preview in the menus and music can be added to the menus too. When you make a slide show you can have the pictures change in synchronization to the music you add. For example say you have 10 pictures in a slide show and you have a music file lasting 1 minute, the picture will change every 6 seconds.

My DVD allows you to add simple effects for when the pictures change such as wipes, slides, dissolves etc.

Email Support:

Although the freebie is limited in functionality and there are only a few background, menu and button styles to choose from, you can download extras from the website.

They are quite large files and I did have trouble when it was downloaded but, I contacted them by email and I quickly got an answer back from them which was quite impressive and solved my problem immediately.

They also sport online support but, for this you need to upgrade and buy the full package.
The full packages are varied depending on what you are looking for or how serious you want to get ant the prices range from £28.00 to £60.00 but I think you could find these cheaper in the shops or through other online retailers.

Other Good Points:

When I contacted them by email I asked them for a help file or read me file as I said there was not one included on disk and there was no booklet provided. I was promptly sent a secure email with the help file and this easily attached itself to the My DVD file on my computer.

My DVD has a ‘TV Safe Zone’. What this does is brings up a box around the screen to warn you what will appear on screen in case you over type. There is nothing worse than missing words and letters on screen. It spoils the whole viewing enjoyment. I would recommend using this.

The main thing to remember is that this is not a time limited demo disc and you can download extra backgrounds etc so you are able to make a sufficiently good DVD or VCD.

Easy to pick up how it works.

Bad Points:

No decent box for the My DVD software CD. A flimsy cardboard slip case was provided which had no instructions on it. It just told you about what My DVD could do.

No instructions. No booklets, help or read me file on disc. Although they admitted this should have been on disc and they sent it to me quickly.

Limited Functionality. Although there is enough to start and complete a decent and quite impressive DVD or VCD.

Limited backgrounds, menus, buttons and fonts. Again it is only a freebie intended to entice you into buying the full products.

I am no professional user but, I find this product to be a worthwhile addition to my software collection and considering it cost nothing, it is great.

Extra Info:

Website: www.sonic.com

Email: info@europe.sonic.com

Address:

European Headquarters
22 Warwick Street
London
W1B 5NF

Tel: 020 7437 1100
Fax: 020 7437 1151

General Info: email: info@sonic.com
Website Enquiries: webmaster@sonic.com

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Unfortunately this software is not available to download online. Thanks to Dashmoo for that question
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