Ulead DVD MovieFactory 4

It wasn't that long ago that home DVD movie creation was complex and expensive. If you weren't put off by the high costs involved, then you were by the clunky disc-authoring interface. Thankfully, a lot has changed.

Confusingly there are two versions of Ulead's latest software: one labelled DVD MovieFactory Disc Creator and one called DVD MovieFactory. They both create discs, but the more expensive (£50) Disc Creator includes extra features, such as the ability to create audio-only and data DVDs.

The cheaper version that we tested is aimed at home movie makers and photographers, offering a quick and easy way to create DVDs straight from your home movie recordings or put together a DVD slideshow from your photographs.

Ulead DVD MovieFactory 4 sets a whole new standard in easy-to-use disc creation. The first time we used it we created an hour-long DVD movie disc in minutes, with motion menu screens and chapters breaks, using the wizard-style workspace.

If you haven't already transferred footage from your video tapes to your hard disk, DVD MovieFactory has a built-in video capture tool with a few basic editing options. You can use MovieFactory to capture video directly to DVD, bypassing your hard disk altogether. However, your PC needs a FireWire socket or some other method of importing video, so check first.

Our one criticism is that enthusiasts are likely to yearn for some more advanced options, such as control over the look of menu screens, buttons, bitrates and so on.

Having said that, MovieFactory is by far the easiest DVD movie program we've used, plus it supports widescreen (16:9 ratio) menus, Dolby Digital audio and dual-layer DVD burners, which is more than can be said for many of its rivals.

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Roxio Creator 7