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With every new version of Roxio that is released, user forums buzz with questions and discussions on version enhancements and version advantages. So, it is not surprising that the burning discussion today is: Roxio Easy Media Creator Vintage 2008 or Roxio Creator 2009?

Roxio 10.1 and 10.1 were the Roxio offerings for year 2008. Roxio Creator 2009 is the new avatar for the current year. While the former took Media editing, Capture and Burning to new levels, the latter consolidates and stabilizes all the media tools required by the modern mobile user communities who have broken all physical boundaries and are looking for media sharing and portable media advantages. While several users may protest that the difference between Roxio Easy Media Creator 10.1 and Roxio Creator 2009 is only cosmetic and that both these applications have taken a backward step in not providing for backward compatibility of files. However, everyone uniformly acknowledges that the latter application is more stable and solid and seems to be more crash proof than the former versions of the software!

Features of Roxio Creator 10

What were the features of the Roxio of 2008?

Standard features

The software continues to cater to the requirements for burn, play, shrink all types of CDs and DVDs, create labels and jewel case inserts. It can edit many types of video including HD and author it to CD or DVD. It can import, convert, edit and burn audio. It has resources for converting, transferring audio/video files to mobile devices such as iPod. The suite incorporates 6-1 surround, Pro-Logic and Dolby Headphone output in the CinePlayer software DVD Player. The suite also, initially featured an ability to burn Blu-Ray Data but that was later withdrawn.

Roxio Media Creator User Showcase

Media support

Those who found that the Media Manager interaction with mobile devices was not what it should be in the earlier versions, will find that the new Media manager interface is vastly improved in Roxio Easy Media Creator 10.1. The one click uploading to online communities and Roxio to YouTube are significant additions in the direction of online sharing technologies. The Roxio SmartSound has been designed to automatically create royalty soundtracks for video productions. Video encoding has been enhanced to improve user experience.

User friendliness

The easy-to-learn interface also offers Windows Vista side bar gadgets, handy audio/Internet radio capture utility and audio/video converter for file transfer to portable devices. In keeping with the demand of the times, a file based backup application has been incorporated for disaster recovery.

Roxio Media Creator Sync Devices

New Features in Roxio Creator 2009 and Roxio Creator 2009 Ultimate

If you look closely at the feature offerings of Roxio Easy Media Creator 10.1 and Roxio Creator 2009, you will be left with an impression that the changes are largely cosmetic. You may even wonder whether the upgrade would be worth it! The reality is that Roxio has spent much time ironing out the wrinkles and the glitches in Roxio Easy Media Creator 10.1 to arrive at a version that is more stable, more solid and more reliable. Roxio Creator 2009 has all the features of Roxio Easy Media Creator 10.1 with a few enhancements. However, the bottom line for the user is that Roxio Creator 2009 is more stable than the earlier versions of the application.

Roxio online service

With Roxio Online service users will be able to share online videos and photographs easier and even view slideshows. The service is largely free, but a few advanced features such as VideoWave, CineMagix and Media Manager are offered at a charge.

SyncIt

For those who are looking for tools to convert videos into formats for mobile devices the SyncIt module comes in handy.

HD Plug in

The plug-in for burning HD directly on Blu-ray has been reintroduced with this product and is very welcome to professionals who were missing this in the earlier versions.

Audio Editing features:

Audio too has had a facelift. The application now includes a function to convert a single file to an audio book for storage on CD. Beatmatching has been introduced to create melted chained synchronized music on compilations.

The Interface

Undoubtedly, the tools offered are now much more simplified and user friendly. The interface now lists the folders for audio, video, tools, copy, data, photos, backup and my media under the Roxio Home tab. The new drag, drop and convert feature makes it easy to fill folders with music, video or audio of choice for batch conversion into suitable formats.

Roxio Media Creator Copy Disc To Image

Additional Features in Roxio 2009 Ultimate

Audio editors will now appreciate Roxio 2009 more. The Roxio 2009 Ultimate comes  now includes SmartSound of SonicFire for result driven music scoring experience and SoundSoap has been included for noise editing and creating superior audio control.  Users will find the one click LearnNoise option easy to use and the NoiseOnly mode helps identify sounds that need to be removed from original music. The graphical interface wonderfully highlights sound imperfections in real time.

The verdict

On the flip side is the fact that the application like its predecessor Roxio Easy Media Creator 10, lacks backward compatibility. The installation also is more complicated with requirements of .NET framework version 3.5 and DivX version 9.0 and all the glitches that are triggered off by Windows Vista. Some of the features fail to install without elaborate pre-installation preparation. However, once the installation is perfectly achieved user experience is a guaranteed A++.  A wonderful acquisition of user tools at a small price, for a world gone digital!