As I have stated in previous columns, I burn a lot of CD and DVD discs. I have used a lot of different software programs for creating, editing, viewing, and burning DVDs and CDs, but the recent releases of a variety of software bundles has eased the myriad of choices. InterVideo, (www.intervideo.com) a software publisher whose products that many of my readers probably already have on their computers, recently released a comprehensive commercial suite of utilities sold under the name “MediaOne” ($99 MSRP), as well as some free utilities available for download under the moniker “MediaOne SE”. MediaOne describes itself as “Powerful media Management, Made Simple!”, which can create and copy movies, make digital photo slideshows, edit and create MP3 and WMA CDs, backup critical data and files, and play recorded DVDs with the industry leading utility (WinDVD).

The full version of MediaOne has nine complete utilities in a single suite, with a coordinated interface that makes the selection of a function an easy task. Seven of the nine utilities are commercial programs that are available separately, which makes the suite a bargain if two or more utilities will be utilized. The seven commercial utilities are InterVideo’s WinDVD (the most widely used PC DVD player in the world, with over 125,000,000 copies installed!), WinDVD Creator ( a full featured DVD video and audio editor), DVD Copy (fast movie and data copy utility), Disc Master (all in one data and music utility complete with full featured music editor), Smart Backup (hard drive backup and restore), PhotoAlbum (digital photo gallery editor and manager), and Disc Label (creates and prints disc labels). The two utilities which are not currently available as free standing commercial products are Active Video to Disc (real time video capture utility that can record video and audio to DVD or CD), and Direct CD/DVD (a drag and drop utility used to burn files to disc).

The interface for the nine utilities utilizes a simple three step process, “Choose the LaunchPad”, “Choose your media type”, and “Choose your media task”. The LaunchPad shows, in plain English, the possible functions for each of the tasks available and a simple mouse click selects the appropriate function. The media types offered in the LaunchPad are video, music, data, photo, backup, and tools. The video selection allows the user to view, edit, and record video in a variety of formats, and save the results to the hard drive, or burn the output to CD or DVD discs. The selection of “music” enables the user to listen to audio from a variety of sources in a variety of formats, and create audio and MP3 CDs or DVDs. “Data” allows the user to create data discs, backup files and folders, or create “multi-mode” CDs with both data and music. The “photo” choice empowers the user to manage and share photos, including emailing, and to import photos from a variety of sources, including digital cameras, flash drives or media, scanners, webcams, or other capture sources. The backup selection includes a disc copy utility to make exact duplicates of CDs or DVDs (will not copy protected commercial DVDs), backup and restore files and folders, perform a full or partial backup of an entire hard drive or partitions, and restore backups if necessary. The tools function allows for the creation of an image file (useful when restoring a hard drive), a disc label utility, a disc eraser for rewritable discs, and a drag-and-drop to disc copy function.

For those who would like to try several of the utilities available in the MediaOne suite, InterVideo is offering MediaOne SE, a “light” or “special edition” of the full MediaOne suite for free download. A link for the free “MediaOne SE” is available on the main InterVideo website. The free downloads or “packages” are rather large, and will require a broadband connection; I would not recommend that they be downloaded at dialup speeds. The packages can be downloaded individually, and each is a free standing set of utilities. “Package 1” contains the MediaOne WinDVD Creator Silver version, a fairly complete and comprehensive DVD utility that can create, edit, and burn DVDs. Package 1 is a very large download at 136 MB, and will take a while, even at broadband speeds. The second package, appropriately named “Package 2” contains the “Gold” (very comprehensive) versions of MediaOne Disc Master, and PhotoAlbum. Still a large download at 56 MB, Package 2 is a very capable CD and DVD editing and burning utility, along with an excellent photo manager. “Package 3”, at 30 MB, is the MediaOne Smart Backup, a fully functional hard drive backup and restore utility, a type of program that is absolutely vital for all computer users, and one that should be used on a very frequent basis to backup critical files. All of the packages are fully functional, but will require registration after each has been used 14 times.

InterVideo has a winner on its hands with its MediaOne media management suite. For those who create, edit, and burn CDs and DVDs, its multitude of utilities and functions will prove to be most useful, and a welcome addition to any software library.

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