For those looking to rip, burn, back up, convert, and organize digital media, Nero 10 has a tool for that. The refurbished multimedia suite is about as comprehensive as they come, and your hard drive will feel it: the installation file is massive (300MB) and once Nero is on your machine, it consumes a hefty serving of memory (1.5GB). However, considering all it can do, we're hard pressed to complain.
In fact, if there's one thing we bemoan it's the fact that Nero 10 contains so many different tools that compiling them into one interface would make the suite a complete bear to use. To this end, Nero is actually made up of several different programs: StartSmart, Burning ROM, BackItUp, DiscCopy Gadget, CoverDesigner, SoundTrax, WaveEditor, Recode, Toolkit, and Vision Xtra (which contains MediaHub and Vision). It's a bit overwhelming to have so many shortcuts on the desktop, but luckily, StartSmart provides an easy way into any task and will launch the necessary application based on your requested activity. Plus, Nero provides descriptive statements for each task, letting you see what each one does at a glance.
As for what Nero 10 can do, the short answer is pretty much everything you'd expect from a multimedia suite. It's an audio, video, photo, data, and home entertainment workhorse that lets you edit MP3s, capture and edit video, record and playback TV, create slideshows, back up data, recover data from damaged disks, convert audio files, check your hardware specs, and design disc covers with ease. Further, Nero performs with impressive speed, starting up quickly and performing tasks at a rate that won't leave you banging your head against the desk in impatient frustration.
Given the plethora of functionality, user-friendly interface, and impressive performance, it's no surprise that Nero 10 doesn't come free. You can try out the software for 15 days at no cost, but you'll have to pony up $79.99 (online) or $99.99 (in store) if you want to continue using it past that time.
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