Roxio MyDVD 9 Studio Premier review

MyDVD is a DVD-authoring program aimed at home users who want to get their movies onto disc.

However, this suite offers much more than just DVD authoring, with a supporting cast of programs that cover everything from basic video and photo editing to disc burning and duplication. Another key element is export to iPod and PSP players, DivX and a range of other formats, acknowledging the fact the DVD is no longer the sole medium for video distribution. You can even write high-definition video to Blu-ray disc, but menu design isn't available in this mode. If all this sounds familiar, that's because it's actually a cut-down version of Easy Media Creator 9 Suite, Roxio's excellent general-purpose media suite. The audio and backup modules are absent, but otherwise there's not much to separate the two programs.

The main focus of this suite is its DVD authoring capabilities, and these are above average. MyDVD 9 behaves like a simple, template-based authoring program with a straightforward, uncluttered interface. However, having just three menu templates to choose from in the downloaded version is distinctly poor. The button templates are more plentiful, but not particularly attractive.

Disc navigation options are more sophisticated though, with the ability to set where playback moves to after each video has finished. However, most of these advanced features are hidden behind right-click menus and dialog boxes, which makes them hard to find.

Despite its flaws, Roxio MyDVD 9 Studio Premier is an attractive and versatile package. However, as we went to press, the fully-fledged Easy Media Creator 9 Suite was available for just £30 from Amazon.co.uk. Still, if MyDVD falls in price to a similar degree, it'll be a solid choice for video enthusiasts who need its auxiliary features more than Sony DVD Architect Studio's sophisticated authoring options.