Nero AG Nero PhotoShow Deluxe 4 review

Most people think of Nero as a program for recording CDs and DVDs, but developer Nero AG has branched out recently and produced a number of other products under the Nero label.

Nero PhotoShow Deluxe 4 is a modest addition to the range. It concentrates on a single task: creating photo slideshows that you can burn to disc, send by email or upload to the internet.

The software's emphasis is on ease of use. It presents just three simply labelled options when you start the software: Manage, Make and Share. The Manage option lets you import and preview your photo collections. It has some basic organisation options, such as the calendar view that sorts photos by date, and the ability to add your own ratings or keywords to photos. These aren't quite as efficient as they could be. When we added a keyword to one photo, the program added that keyword to all the other photos in the same folder. For managing large photo collections, you're better off with a dedicated application such as Corel's PhotoAlbum 6.

The photo-editing features are also fairly limited and include only red-eye removal, crop and rotation tools and about 25 assorted special effects filters. PhotoShow can't compete with more powerful editors such as Photoshop Elements and Paint Shop Pro.

Where PhotoShow works well is with its one-click slideshow feature. Clicking on the Make button takes you to another window where you can select a set of photos and then choose a template from a simple pull-down menu. Once you've selected a template, the program inserts transitions between each photo automatically, adds an appropriate soundtrack and chucks in the occasional special effect to liven things up a little. This approach works well and enables you to create very slick slideshows in a matter of seconds.

You also have the option of editing the slideshow yourself, adding your own soundtrack and title text and experimenting with different special effects. Once the slideshow is complete, you can use the Share feature to send the slideshow to family and friends by email, burn it to disc or upload it to your own web pages on the PhotoShow website, a photo-sharing site similar to the popular Flickr.

PhotoShow Deluxe makes it very easy to create professional-looking slideshows quickly, and at just £15 it's a real bargain. If you don't already own a photo-editing program that has its own slideshow capabilities, PhotoShow Deluxe is a good add-on. However, Photoshop Elements and most of its photo-editing rivals have similar slideshow tools built in, and there's little need to pay an extra £15 for more of the same. There is a trial version on the Nero website, so you can try the program out before paying for the full version.