Sonic MyDVD Studio Deluxe 6.0
Written: Feb 16 '05 (Updated Feb 21 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Program will capture, convert, and burn video onto DVDs.
Cons: Horrible customer support. Program is picky on where it allows you to save files.
The Bottom Line: Horrible customer support and the fact that the program seems to be extremely picky where it allows you to save your work keep me from recommending this product.
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| johnbuk's Full Review: Adaptec Sonic MyDVD Studio Deluxe Full Version for... |
**********UPDATE 02-21-2005************:
I spent a bit more time with MyDVD this weekend and as such, I am totally re-writing this review.
Reason for purchasing the software:
I recently purchased a new PC because I wanted to burn home movies from my Panasonic digital camcorder onto DVD. I captured several hours of video from my vacation last year using Windows Movie Maker 2 that comes free when you upgrade to Windows XP SP2. I edited the video and added music, but when it came time to save the video, the only options available were to save to either the .wmv or .avi formats. I saved the movies to the higher quality .avi format. The problem with the .avi and .wmv formats is that you need to convert them into mpeg movie files in order to create DVDs that can be played on stand alone DVD players and Windows Movie Maker 2 does not offer an mpeg option. I read in a few forums that MyDVD would convert the .avi files that I created into mpeg files and burn those files onto a DVD.
My equipment:
I'm providing this information because results using any software can vary greatly depending on the equipment that you use.
My PC-
eMachines T3256 which has the following specs:
-Windows XP Home Edition (upgraded to SP2)
-AMD Athlon XP 3200+ Processor
-1024 MB DDR PC 2700 (upgraded from 512 MB)
-160 GB HDD (7200 RPM)
-DVD +/- RW Drive (Write Max: 8x DVD+/-R, 4x DVD+/-RW, 32x CD-R, 16x CD-RW; Reads 40x CD, 12x DVD)
-CD-RW Drive (Write Max: 48x CD-R, 12x CD-RW; Reads 48x CD) (upgraded drom a 32X CD-Rom drive)
-Added a firewire card in order to interface with my digital camcorder
My camcorder:
Panasonic PV-DV103
General info about the software:
MyDVD is currently available in 3 different variations:
1) MyDVD Studio 6
Includes:
-Disc Authoring Software
-Video and Photo Slideshow Creation Software
-Import and Capture Utilities
2) MyDVD Studio Deluxe 6
Includes all of the functions of MyDVD Studio 6 plus:
-Music and Audio Software
3) MyDVD Studio Deluxe Suite 6
Includes all of the functions of MyDVD Studio Deluxe 6 plus:
-Backup and Disc Copying Utilities
System Requirements
Hardware Requirments:
-1 GHz Pentium III or equivalent (1.5+ GHz recommended)
-256 MB required for capture and editing
-Video card and monitor supporting 16-bit color at 1024x768
-10 GB of available hard drive space
-DV or Digital8 camcorder (via IEEE-1394/FireWire/i.Link), or other video sources with -DirectShow compatible capture device or other supported capture devices
-DVD-R(W), DVD+R(W), DVD-RAM or CD-R(W) burner
Software Requirments:
-Microsoft Windows XP (recommended) or 2000
-Microsoft DirectX 9.0 later
-Windows Media Player 9 or later
-Internet Explorer 5.0 or later recommended
How I tested the software:
Note: The software I purchased was MyDVD Studio Deluxe 6, but I did not use any of the utilities within that software other than the same utilities that are found in the MyDVD Studio 6 version of the software.
I'm not a computer expert by any means so there may be better ways at giving a piece of software a run through, but my goal with purchasing MyDVD was to convert home digital movies to a DVD, so everything I've done is as a means to meeting that goal.
First run through- converting .avi files to mpeg and burning them onto a DVD:
My first experience with the software was after I downloaded a trial version of MyDVD Studio 6. Creating my first DVD was as simple as dropping and dragging files into the program and clicking the function to burn those files onto a DVD. It took about an hour to convert and burn an hours worth of .avi video that had been captured and edited in Windows Movie Maker 2 onto a DVD using MyDVD Studio 6. I was impressed enough that I decided to pay for the full version as the trial version expired after 14 days of use.
Problems with support at Sonic.com:
To purchase the software I clicked the embedded "buy" function in the trial software and was taken to the website of a company called Element 5 (element5.com). I paid Element 5 for the product and they sent me an email with a serial number to activate the full version of the program and that's when my problems began.
When you install the trial version for the first time, you are emailed a serial number by Sonic. You have to enter a serial number when you are installing the trial program and after installation there is no way to change the serial number within the program. So I uninstalled the program and attempted to reinstall it using the new serial number that I had been sent by Element 5. This resulted in an error stating that the serial number that had been provided to me by Element 5 was invalid. This was on a Saturday, so I attempted to call Sonic's customer services number and was informed via a recorded message that Sonic's customer service hours are Monday through Friday, 9 AM to 6 PM (PST). I then called Element 5's customer service number and talked to a person who told me that all problems with serial numbers had to addressed with the software provider, Sonic.
I attempted to call Sonic on the following Monday and got a voice mail system and left a message. Checking Sonic's website looking for an answer, I found 3 different support email addresses and an online system for filing tech support problems.
To make a long story short, after waiting for 2 weeks and leaving a half dozen voice mail messages at Sonic's customer support line, sending a dozen or so emails to 3 different email addresses, and filing 3 different requests asking for help via their online support system, I never got a response from anyone at Sonic.
I was about ready to give up hope on ever being able to use the program and was going to take steps to have my money refunded to me through my credit card's buyer protection program when I ran across an email address on a forum that I'm a member of for someone who works for Sonic. I emailed that person and within a couple of hours I received a reply with a working serial number.
Second run through- using the video editing functions in MyDVD:
I took a 25 minute .avi home video clip that had been captured and saved using Windows Movie Maker 2 from my digital camcorder and used MyDVD to cut out about 10 minutes of that footage. Editing the avi clip in MyDVD was very similar to using the editing functions in Windows Movie Maker 2. Splitting off sections of the video and then deleting the scenes that I didn't want was quickly accomplish through an interface that was very intuitive. I never once had to go and look for documentation on what to do next or use the help feature. In several instances I was able to cut out a frame or 2 where I had pointed the camera towards the ground before turning it off. Adding background music to the video was also simple and quickly accomplished.
Things initially fell apart when I tried to save my newly edited video. The program allows you to save to several qualities of mpeg files. I chose the highest quality and problems began when I tried to save the file that I just had spent an hour editing. On the first attempt to save, the program processed about 25% of the video in 5 minutes and just hung there for the next 30 minutes. I canceled the save and gave it another try. This time it hung at about 10% completion for 30 minutes. I canceled the save again and gave it another attempt, this time letting the program run over night. The next morning I checked and the program had again hung at about 25% completion.
I did a search on the Sonic.com support site and came up with this solution to my problem:
I had to re-route the folders that MyDVD uses to save information to the top level of my hard drive. To do this I had to create 4 new folders:
Folder 1 named "MYDVD Temp" (for temporary files); Folder 2 "MyDVD Sessions"; Folder 3 "MyDVD Capture"; and Folder 4 "MyDVD Builds".
After that I opened MyDVD and went to Tools--Options--File Locations and changed "Capture file" to the folder I had created called "MyDVD Capture" and"Temporary file" to the folder that I had created called "MyDVD Temp".
Since the options in the program allow you to change where you are storing the files created using MyDVD to any folder that you want, you'd think that you could utilize that option effectively, but apparently the program is extremely picky where it wants you to save data and after making these changes I've been able to save mpeg files to my hard drive without any problems. On my PC it seems to take about the same about of time to convert an .avi file to a DVD compliant mpeg as the length of the .avi file (i.e., it takes about 15 minutes to convert a 15 minute .avi file that was created in Windows Movie Maker 2 to a mpeg file using MyDVD).
Finally, I used MyDVD Studio 6 to capture video from my digital camcorder, edit it, and then save it to an mpeg file. These functions were very similar to the similar functions in Windows Movie Maker 2 and I didn't run into any problems.
In summary, overall I'm happy with the functionality of the MyDVD. The software accomplishes what I purchased it for and the end product (DVDs of my home movies) is excellent. However, based on the problems I had with purchasing the product, the fact that support for the product is poor and live support for the product is virtually non-existent, and the fact that it seems to be extremely particular in where you store files that it creates, I can't really recommend it. It you do choose to purchase this product, I'd suggest that you get it from a retailer that has a generous return policy in case you run into trouble and that you avoid purchasing it as an online download.
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
johnbuk
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Reviews written: 4
Trusted by: 1 member
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