Nero 11 multimedia productivity and disc-burning software

Nero will be a familiar name to many people who have been using PCs for a while: it's a ‘multimedia suite' that started off as a set of tools to make CDs and DVDs but it has grown a lot in recent years.

The new version 11 is a collection of 10 separate programs that focus mainly on organizing and editing photos, music and video files, as well as providing additional features such as file back-up and data recovery - and the burning of files onto CD or DVD has also been relegated to one of these ‘additional features'.

The three main programs that form the core of the suite are Nero Kwik Media, Nero Video, and Nero Backitup. Kwik Media replaces the Media Hub that was introduced in Nero 10, and provides a more streamlined central station for organizing music, photos and videos on the computer into albums and slideshows.

The Backitup program gains a new Live Backup option that can be set to automatically back up either an entire hard disk or disks, or just a specific set of files. However, it's the Nero Video editor that gains the most interesting new features in this upgrade.

Some video-editing programs provide the user with two editing options - a simple ‘storyboard' mode that allows them to quickly arrange video clips into the required sequence, and a more complex ‘timeline' in which they can perform more precise editing and special-effects work.

Nero Video 11 introduces a new Express Editing mode that combines aspects of both methods. It's still possible to create a quick storyboard sequence simply by using the mouse to place video clips in the required order. However, the Express Editing mode also includes simple controls that allow the user to edit their clips in other ways too.

For example the program has quick tools to adjust the length of clips, rotate or resize the video image, or adjust the volume of the audio soundtrack. This approach works well, as it allows you to quickly perform common editing tasks without delving into the more complex timeline mode (which is still there for advanced users if they want it).

Inevitably, a suite like this tends to be jack-of-all-trades but master of none, and it's true that Nero 11 can't compete with the in-depth editing features to be found in more expensive, dedicated programs such as Adobe's Photoshop Elements and Premiere Elements.

However, for people who don't want very advanced editing and just want a basic set of tools for working with music, photos and videos, and for keeping files safe, Nero 11 is a good-value product.