Burning Questions: The Skinny on Burner Bundles

Consider this scenario: You pick up a DVD drive box off the shelf and notice the package says it includes burning software by Nero. Then you pick up a drive from a different manufacturer and see that it too comes with Nero software. You blithely pick one over the other, perhaps using price and that $20 instant rebate advertised in the weekly store circular as the deciding factors. But are these software bundles the same?

Maybe--or maybe not. The same software titles, bundled with different DVD burners, can vary in ways subtle and overt. Unfortunately it's often difficult to tell them apart.

Software Secrets

First, a little background. All rewritable DVD drive kits sold at retail ship with software; bare, OEM (or "original equipment manufacturer") drives generally lack bundled software, which is why they're described as "bare." Software producers provide special versions of their retail software for the so-called OEM bundles that ship with hardware products such as DVD burners. These OEM bundles tend to include scaled-down versions of the full retail applications, but that's not always the case.

To further complicate matters, a software maker might give its drive-manufacturer customers multiple OEM versions to choose from--a move that helps drive makers keep their costs down. For example, Nero has three standard OEM bundles of its Nero Ultra software; if need be, the company will further customize its software to meet a drive maker's needs. The situation is similar with Sonic's bundles for RecordNow and MyDVD, and Roxio Easy Media Creator 7.

All of this flexibility is great if you're a drive manufacturer, or any hardware maker in need of a software complement, but it creates a confusing, headache-inducing mess for consumers trying to make an informed buying decision.

Understanding the Differences

Even if you get a drive with the most limited version of a burning software package, you'll be able to do basics like burning an audio CD or mastering a data disc. The differences lie in the features the software supports. You might, for example, be stuck with burning software that omits a video codec, such as MPEG-4, or you might have software that lacks unlimited CD-ripping capability.

To help you sort through this mess, I've surveyed the Big Three--Nero, Ulead, and Sonic (which now owns Roxio), makers of the software bundles that pop up most often with the drives we test for our Top 10 DVD Drives. This is not to say you should take my findings as the bottom line on the software that comes with your drive: Software bundles do change, and drive vendors might choose to restore support for certain features a generic OEM bundle might lack.

Nero

Nero--the company now known by the name of its flagship product--has a dizzying array of programs that together form the company's popular Nero software bundle.

Fortunately, I'm starting to see a trend--for the moment. The company's OEM Suite 1 and 2 bundles used to be popular; several drives featured on our January and April DVD charts include these bundles--see Nero's site for more info on its OEM versions. But my most recent survey of drives that come with Nero software reveals that they include one version or another of the OEM Suite 3. Suite 3 is similar to the retail version of Nero, but it lacks certain features and codec support: For example, it does not support Dolby Digital AC-3 decoding and it does not include Nero Burning ROM for advanced disc burning features, Wave Editor or Sound Tracks, Nero ImageDrive, or MP3 Pro Encoder.

Of the nine drives we've recently tested that use Nero software, only two of the vendors use customized versions of OEM Suite 3: Memorex and Sony. Memorex's latest 16-by-16 series of burners, which cost a bit more than their competitors, include the full version of Nero PhotoShow Elite in lieu of PhotoShow Express (the Elite version is a $45 value unto itself). Sony's DRU-720A drives include a limited version of Nero Burning ROM SE, which provides more advanced disc burning capabilities than PhotoShow. Also, to get Nero Recode (software for duplicating non-copy-protected DVDs in MPEG-4), a free upgrade, users must download the program from Nero's Web site; it's not included on CD.

Tip: Of the remaining drives, Lite-On's SHOW-1673S, Pacific Digital's U-30624, Toshiba's SD-R5372, Samsung's TS-H552B, LG's GSA-4160B, and I/O Magic's iDVD16DDBE all ship with OEM Suite 3, with no tweaks. Suite 3 can be upgraded at no charge from version 6.3 to the latest version, Nero 6.6 OEM, via Nero's Web site. If you care to add additional features, you can spring for the $50 retail version of Nero 6.6 Ultra Edition, also via a download from Nero's Web site.

Sonic/Roxio

Sonic's most common bundles include the one-two punch of RecordNow and My DVD for disc mastering and DVD video authoring, and Roxio Easy Media Creator 7 Basic.

The Sonic MyDVD 5 OEM software lacks a slew of features, as compared with its more full-featured step-up editions. You can use the OEM software to burn a DVD movie with basic menus, but it has several limitations: For example, it lacks TiVoToGo, so you can't transfer shows recorded on a Series 2 TiVo DVR to DVD via your PC; you can't apply styles to individual menus; there is no fit-to-DVD automatic quality setting; you can't import DVD content created with non-Sonic products; and it lacks double-layer DVD+R recording capability. Also missing is the ability to automatically correct picture orientation in slide shows, and you cannot import, edit, and burn MPEG-4 and Divx files. To add these features you can step up to MyDVD Studio 6, MyDVD Studio Deluxe 6, or MyDVD Studio Deluxe Suite 6; the latter two packages include Sonic's RecordNow Deluxe 7.3 software.

Likewise, Sonic's RecordNow 7.3 OEM version is significantly pared back from RecordNow 7.3 Deluxe, which includes a labeling app, and RecordNow 7.3 Deluxe Suite, which adds the Simple Backup app and Drive Letter Access software for packet writing.

The standard OEM version of RecordNow 7.3 does not support unlimited MP3 ripping; audio CD burning; advanced disc burning settings (meaning that you cannot create bootable CDs and DVDs); and disc spanning and archiving during backup. In addition, it does not provide a disc information tool to identify your media. Stepping up to either of the deluxe versions will restore these features, or you can go with either version of MyDVD Studio Deluxe. (Sonic says vendors such as Benq and Hewlett-Packard have added some of the audio burning options back into their respective versions of RecordNow 7.2.)

The OEM story on Roxio Easy Media Creator 7 is a bit less complex. Sonic has two versions of the Roxio software: Easy Media Creator 7 Basic and the full-blown Easy Media Creator 7. The distinctions? Basic lacks MP3 encoding and backup capability; its disc and menu creation options are limited. Basic also lacks Roxio's PhotoSuite app, and it has only a limited version of Roxio's VideoWave (bye-bye DivX and Dolby support, as well as a timeline view and Storybuilder, VideoWave's template-based feature for video creation).

Tip: One component or another of Sonic software is currently found in drives from Benq (DW-1620), Hewlett-Packard (DVD-740i), and Plextor (PX-716A). According to Sonic, owners of an OEM version of any of its software may be eligible for a discount of up to 33 percent if they upgrade to the retail version of the same product or if they purchase another product in a different product line--for example, if you graduate from RecordNow to RecordNow Deluxe 7.3 or from MyDVD to MyDVD Studio Deluxe

Ulead

I could go into great depth on Ulead's software offerings, but the matrix gets quite complicated when you consider how many different Ulead programs typically come with a drive and, especially, how many versions of each program exist. For example, there are no less than four variations on the Ulead DVD MovieFactory 3.x software, and a whopping five versions of VideoStudio 8.

But rather than regurgitate the specifics, I'll point you to Ulead's Web site, where you'll find clearly stated details about the features included in each version of a Ulead program. Of course, you need to know which version shipped with your hardware, a task that may require a call to the vendor if you can't easily determine which version of a Ulead product is included in your bundle. MovieFactory 3.5, VideoStudio 8, and Photo Explorer Media Server Edition are typical of what you'll find bundled with a drive. For information on the programs' variations, you'll need to go to the OEM Partner page for each one:

Tip: The Ulead software bundled with Pioneer's DVR-A09 is a perfect example of a drive kit that really is a good value. At $130, Pioneer's drive may cost a bit more than competing bargain models, but it comes with the full-blown DVD MovieFactory 3.5 Suite Deluxe software (not quite the same as the $80 retail version because you get fewer menu templates and options, and no AC3 encoding, but close), VideoStudio 8 SE, Photo Explorer, CD and DVD PictureShow, and the full version of NovaStor's NovaBackup 7.1 (which alone is a $70 value). If you'd use these programs, the Pioneer drive bundle makes the package an excellent deal. Plus, you can upgrade to the forthcoming DVD MovieFactory 4.0--due out later this month--for $55.

Dig Deeper

The information in this column is accurate at this writing (early March 2005). However, circumstances do change--for example, we've tested Benq's DW1620 with Sonic's RecordNow and MyDVD software, but Benq has since rolled out drives with the same model number and Nero's burning software.

Four months after Nero's Nero 6.6 Ultra Edition shipped, drive vendors are already starting to bundle it in lieu of version 6.3, and a new version of Roxio's Easy Media Creator is on the horizon. Before buying your next DVD burner, I encourage you to dig deeper and find out for yourself the exact software bundle included with the drive. Software matters--a good bundle could turn an ordinary drive into a terrific bargain.