Product Description

iLife '05 ... Read more

Features

• Easily perform, record, and create music with GarageBand
• Fun-to-use suite of tightly integrated creative tools
• Import, organize, edit, and share digital photos with iPhoto
• iMovie HD quickly turns home video into home cinema
• Create Hollywood-style DVDs with iDVD; iTunes digital jukebox

Reviews (13)

Need a Different Operating System
Amazon clearly says OS X.I have 10.2.8.I can't install ilife5.There should be a bold face warning that you need Panther or Tiger to install.

Working with iMovie HD
`Established' Shot and Location

In the Timeline, I set the order of my Clip Panes with the first being the important `Established' shot. Clips are pieces of movie footage that you rearrange into your movie for storytelling. Later, I add a movie title that answers the questions of  when and where the movie was filmed. You will find that location and date anchor the movie for your viewing audience.

Major Editing in Post Production

I change the Preference to Clip Panes shelf when I do the major editing of my movie. Next, I split my movie clips into several new clips and drag them to the Clip Panes shelf for later editing.

Most of my movie clips need slitting (Command `T') to remove poor movie footage such as shaky hand-held camcorder shooting. The Post Production editing is the most time- consuming. I find that a ratio of one minute of movie footage is equal to one hour of editing time. This includes selecting the proper music, editing the sound and enhancing the video.

Analog Signals into Digital Signals

An analog-to-digital converter, or ADC as it is more commonly called, is a device that converts analog signals into digital signals. Computers, which handle data in digital form, require analog-to-digital converters to turn signals from analog to digital before it can be read.

Could I convert my VCR cassette`s Analog Signals into Digital Signals?

According to the Canon ZR60 camcorder's manual, the answer was negative for traditional replacing of existing scenes for the AV insert. Taking my roundabout approach, I worked at importing film footage from my RIC master VCR tape from my Rhode Island College Video project from 1992 using iMovie HD. My Canon ZR60 camcorder manual hinted at the solution for importing the VCR's analog video and sound.

How did I connect the devices? I used my ST-250N Stereo Video cable supplied with my Canon ZR60 camcorder and connected it to the VCR's video and sound ports.

I experimented with iMovie HD to solve the problem. My Canon ZR60 captured the master VCR tape footage after I set the camera to AC-In mode. Next, I reverse the book instructions from David Pogue's "iMovie 4 & iDVD, the Missing Manual" to make it work.

I chose File to Share (Shift-Command-E) then I clicked on the "Videocamera" icon. The instructions said, `Record your movie to a tape in your videocamera. This operation may take several minutes to complete.' Next, I changed the wait time to a maximum of 59 seconds for camera to get ready. Finally, I changed the Add time to 59 seconds of black before and to end the movie.

By using this method, I could capture 59 seconds of my RIC public speaking instruction master VCR tape to my MiniDV digital video cassette in my Canon ZR60 camcorder. Importing the entire RIC master VCR tape was 10 minutes and I had to stop and start 10 times bringing in the VCR film footage.

Note: This will not work with Copy Protected videos for editing videos.

The quality from analog to digital tape was quite good. A commercial Analog Signals into Digital Signals converter sells for $500 to $900 retail. Therefore, the effort was worth it for this project.

Final Notes

I find the iMovie HD program one of the best iMovies program series. iMovie HD worked well with some of my old iMovies 4 footage and enhanced my previous low-light film footage when transported and burned in iDVD 5 program.

Great upgrade, but...
All I wanted to do was create a DVD for my brother.IMovie is decent.It has a few minor quirks to it.The amount of time for title slides has a max of 4 seconds.All of my slides are 4 seconds.Anything else seems too short and amateurish.It had a problem importing MGEP 1 movies.I had to go through a convoluted process to get the movie into place.Even then, the first .5 seconds of the audio was missing...due to the conversion process.This is not Apple fault, except they should be able to import those movies.all other formats works fine.

I found iDVD to have major quirks.First, the audio was 1 second behind the video on the DVD.Then the audio kept advancing forward, make it ouf of sync, more and more as the movie played on.Then the movie would stop the audio at the first sound effect i placed in a text slide.This was extremely frustrating.I thought it was supposed to be easy!?

iDVD just takes a movie, renders it, and burns it to a DVD with some selection screens.How hard is that?I ended up remaking one of my iMovie projects three time before it finally came out.The other project, well, I had to extract the audio so that it would be on the DVD (except the first and last video).Lastly, the final chapter (movie marker) pointed to the start of the movie.

I like Garageband, it's easy but not a powerful tool like Logic.
ITunes, well, it's iTunes!It is definitive.
iPhoto is awesome.It still feels like it is just feature creeping, for better or worse.

Sometimes it doesn't just work.
iLife '05is supposed to support RAW image processing (see product description above) for photos in iPhoto.The surprise is that although my Canon camera is supported, it's RAW image format is not, rendering iPhoto useless for most of my photographs.This was unexpected as third party companies have image conversion software that manages to do this with little problem.I know there are many RAW image formats, but it's the job of good technology to simplify a complex environment.

I'm new to Apple products and very pleased overall since we purchased the imac G5.It seems like in most cases "it just works" describes their system well, but in this case, I guess we needed to read the "fine print".

I also noticed that it is still not possible to record anything on GarageBand with the iSight's (Apples webcam/microphone).Apparently there is some type of software/hardware incompatibility.Expected in Windows machines, (fortunately) unusual in Apple products.Not a major issue for most, but the incompatibility of Apple hardware and software is still an unwelcome surprise.

The iPhoto alone is worth the price
All of the improvements are great. I was editing a video for a presentation when my order arrived. There was a transition that I simply could not get the old iMovie to do. I installed the new iLife and told it to make the same transition in the film and it worked perfectly. I don't know why or how but I was sold five minutes after the box arrived.
I still think iPhoto is the best improvement however. I really like the scrollable photo index when looking at a picture in edit mode. I also like the ability to eject the camera from within iPhoto(I sometimes forgot to do this before.)And the one-touch red-eye correction is nice too.
Also I like the new themes for iDVD. The movie I was editing ended up getting one of the new themes instead of the old theme I had originally picked and I was very pleased with the end result. The presentation was a big success. ... Read more

Features

• Edit with Final Cut Pro—The scalability, performance, and workflow of Final Cut Pro make it the first choice of professional editors everywhere.
• Create Audio with Soundtrack Pro—Soundtrack Pro revolutionizes the way audio and video professionals edit and design sound.
• Make motion graphics with Motion—Apple's real-time motion graphics software Motion is the easiest way for artists and editors to animate text, movies, and graphics.
• DVD Studio Pro—From DVD dailies to highly interactive commercial titles, DVD Studio Pro is the easiest and most popular way for professionals to author SD and HD DVDs.

Features

• Turn your DV camcorder footage into a Video CD, Super Video CD, or DVD
• Share disc burners across a network or the Internet with other Toast 6 Titanium users
• Turn still photos into Motion Pictures using pan and zoom, dissolves, and soundtracks
• Schedule regular, automatic back ups for peace of mind
• Burn files and folders directly from the desktop with a single-click, pop-up menu

Reviews (15)

Don't switch doctors.
If you're happy using Toast 5 and are a heavy user of the bundled Spin Doctor, stick with it--unless you have OSX. Toast is the fastest and handiest CD-burning software I've tried, and I was content with my old version until the application for converting analog to digital (Spin Doctor) refused to open up in OSX, even with the update downloaded from Roxio. Toast 6 solves that problem while providing more colorful graphics and increased automation. The defining of a track is "streamlined," which takes some getting used to, and I haven't figured out yet how to edit wave forms, which are proving useless in this version. In order to recognize and remove "dead space" in a radio broadcast, I'm forced either to use the version of Spin Doctor in Toast 5 or go to the PC application, "Cool Edit." I can't speak to the other new features of Toast, as I don't use them much. I do notice, though, that Roxio has cut back a bit on the packaging (no case for the installation CD) and the instruction manual (it's now mostly under the Help menu).

Since writing the above, I've discovered that Apple's bundled "Sound Studio" is the best way to edit wave forms, after which you can burn them to CD in Toast. Moreover, I've discovered that the distortion I was hearing while recording FM in Spin Doctor (only in the monitoring) is not a problem in Sound Studio. For recording LP's, I still plan to use Spin Doctor, but those colorful wave forms are little more than consumer cosmetics.

mmmm... Toasty
Been a Toast user for years. Loved 5... didn't think it could get any better... but they figured out how to improve on something that was already near perfect.

The interface - already super simple in 5 - is better in 6. They got rid of the "Other" menu (thank you) and added in a Video area. Plus you can now do multiple copies like printing multiple pages, and there's burning right from the desktop with a handy Toast It menu.

Now I'm able to burn DVDs when I want and SVCDs when I want - no matter that my burner is external. It's a bit slow on my G4... but the quality is fantastic... and so it's worth the wait. VCD seems faster than in Toast 5.

Motion Pictures is pretty cool. Sure you can do the same thing in iMovie... but it takes about 20 hours longer to get the same thing done.

Spin Doctor is MUCH improved. I don't have many records to import... but it's done the job great on the first one I tried.

The networked recorder thing is really amazing. My Powerbook doesn't have a burner, but I'm able to record to the burner in my desktop machine with no hassle.

It comes with a detailed printed manual... which is pretty sweet (even though I've barely had to open it)... I can't remember the last piece of software I bought that came with a manual... oh wait.. now I can... it was Toast 5.

This software is great... and definitely worth the price.

Discus 3.0.4 upgrade Label/Jewel Case Software is Tops
I own Toast 6 with two upgrades. (6.0.5) Using OS X 3.4 I needed a software update for my LaCie Burner.
The Technical Help is quick and fast at Toast/Roxio. They told me to download it and gave me the link.
Last night I Toasted some CD-ROM's for training Case Managers. I burned Six CD and Printed Labels and Jewel Case Inserts and Tray liner in a half hour.

The extra $20 to upgrade to Discus 3.0.4 is well worth the Time and Money. (Newer Software and Full artwork) Real Pro looking Artwork and Label from a great Library. You can use any brand of Paper (Avery, Neato, Memorex etc.) and even nudge 0.5 mm adjustment if necessary. Memorex tray liners got an adjustment and it work for all futures use of that paper. This software lets you import for iTunes and Toast what you are Toasting for a list of software or Song Lists etc. Software so easy, I did NOT read the directions. Just do what you want to do the MAC way. I Like the Neato Jewel case booklets for Training instructions (Music Album Notes) and Memorex tray liners. I have one software and Four brand of paper
You can even print business cards on which I ton of good comments. "What a Beautiful Card."
Spin Doctor takes out the starches on old LP's for converting to CD's.
I was so happy with the Toast 6 package I did not take the rebate offer. I also used Toast 5 Lite that came with my LaCie.
A New feature lets you Toast to a burner over the internet which are great for Training DVD's to people 15 miles away.

Give the Package Bundle five stars

A must for any Mac owner!
When I bought my eMac, this was the first software I HAD to buy. I make a lot of CDs, so I decided that this was a must, and I've owned Easy CD Creator for the PC, so I knew that it would be easy to use and feature most of the functions I would need.

It's true that it meets most of my needs and with a simple, clean interface. I can make a music CD and store files in no time and it can even create Video CDs and DVDs with menus.

Of course, to many, Toast may seem redundant, as Mac OS X can handle most of your burning needs natively, but I prefer to use 3rd party software for those things, as it was created specifically for that purpose. However, the two things that Toast can do that Panther cannot are create Video CDs and burn DVDs directly from MPEG and Quicktime files without the need to demux audio.

I get some Japanese TV shows from friends in Japan in MPEG format and I like to watch them on my TV, so it's nice to be able to burn them into VCD or DVD format for viewing and backup. If you do a lot of video downloading, this really can come in handy. Also, it works GREAT with EyeTV (sold separately) for the Mac, so you can record your favorite TV shows and put them on CD!

My only complaint is that the DVD/VCD menu option stinks. There is only one menu interface and you cannot choose layout, music, background photo or anything. It's just a plain blue screen with a thumbnail of the video and text titles. And the thing is, it's not very nice--it's borderline gaudy and not what I'd choose for a standard menu layout.

But, with that aside, this is a product I can wholeheartedly recommend for any Mac user with above-average burning needs.

Burn Baby Burn!
Macs come with quite a robust burner in the Finder and the new iLife '04 goes even further than before in giving users more options to customize their discs. So what exactly does Toast do that the Mac OS can't do on it's own?

- Multi Session Burning
- Encrypt data discs with a password
- Burn exact copies of a disc
- Choose which OS the disc will be compatible with
- You can save a burn project so you can burn it again at a later date

These features alone make Toast a very tempting purchase. Thankfully though, it can do much more and it pulls it all off with ease. Drag and drop is about as complicated as the interface gets, but the results are that you have discs burned the way you want that work the way you want. Toast is a powerful, well-rounded, fully featured burning software that just about every user will find useful.

As a bonus you get Discus (for making labels for all those discs you've burnt) and Spin Doctor 2 (for taking out pops and hiss from imported music from records and tapes). ... Read more

Product Description

iLife '05 Family Pack ... Read more

Features

• Easily perform, record, and create music with GarageBand
• Fun-to-use suite of tightly integrated creative tools
• Import, organize, edit, and share digital photos with iPhoto
• iMovie HD quickly turns home video into home cinema
• Create Hollywood-style DVDs with iDVD; iTunes digital jukebox

Reviews (1)

Great update
iPhoto 5 is a great update. It does lots more, and on a dual processor G5 really flies! It does have a bit of a funky response if you tweak the saturation of a photo in extreme highlights (window in a backlit situation) where the whole area of complete white goes a funky color. But just undo what you by reverting to the original and start over. iMove and iDVD are good updates too with the new 16:9 ratio and some really nice themes. Better performance, and more functionality. Garageband with recording up to 8 lines in at once is a major improvment, especially being albe to see notes appear as you write your music! It may not be Logic Express (also owned by Apple) but it really works well. Garageband alone is worth the upgrade.

And if you're an education professional, there is a great price break! ... Read more

Features

• Easily create amazing slideshows with digital photos
• Personalize PC with 8 screen savers and 4 themes
• Take a break with fun and exciting games
• Easily create music CD/DVD labels and inserts
• 50 video effects and transitions for Windows Movie Maker 2

Features

• Learn chord strumming, playing melodies, and fingerpicking
• 160+ comprehensive lessons, plus new modern rock chapter
• 50+ videos including split-screens and close-ups of both hands
• 70+ songs; artists include Bob Dylan, Steve Miller, and more
• Automatic tuner, metronome, and 250-chord dictionary

Reviews (1)

A must have for beginner guitar players!!
If you are a beginner guitar player and are frustrated with your lack of progression, this product is a must have. It is a progressive program, starting with the basics such as; tuning a guitar, replacing strings on a guitar, and even how to hold the guitar. The lessons then move into your first couple of chords and basic folk songs which use those chords. Learning is by repitition and continually building on what you've already learned. You may feel a little silly playing songs like "She'll be comin' around the mountain" and "Oh-suzanna" but you'll soon see the benefit of these simple songs when you can suddenly make smooth chord transitions, which will of course help you later with the more complex lessons and songs. The best thing I've found about this program is that you move at your own pace. If you're having problems with a particular lesson or a certain chord transition, you can continue working on it until you're ready to move on. You can even go back and review any lesson you want. This is especially handy if you've had a break between practice sessions and it's been a while since you picked up your guitar. Also, after each chapter, the program gives you a list of popular songs which you should be capable of playing using the chords and techniques you've learned up to that point in the lessons. The program also has a very useful chord dictionary, metronome, and animated fretboard to follow along with during a song. Even if you don't even know what a fretboard is... even if you don't know a single chord... if you just picked up a guitar for your first time and haven't the slightest idea where to start...THIS PROGRAM WILL HELP!!! ... Read more

Features

• Software for writing, playing, printing, and publishing music notation
• Scan in printed music; high-quality sounds for playback
• Saves time; elegant and intuitive; school feature sets
• Publish music world-wide or create personal CDs and MP3s
• Designed for students, educators, and professional composers

Reviews (5)

Powerful Yet Easy to Learn
I have always written music the old-fashioned paper-and-pencil way and have never been capable of producing a fair copy in ink. So in order to give a more permanent form to some dreadful music I've accumulated in notebook sketches -- my aural communication to the ages -- I've been looking into music notation software. I ended up buying Sibelius 3.1, although Finale 2004 was also a strong contender and I downloaded the demo versions for both. Finale has a reputation of being difficult to learn and use, so I decided on Sibelius.

After just two days -- about twelve hours using the program -- I have mastered it to the point of being able to do cross-staff beaming and other moderately "advanced" things. It is essential to know how to select passages and input notes, but this is well explained in the clear and comprehensive User Manual and once you get this far, the rest pretty much falls into place.

The screen is attractive and uncluttered, with a large useful workspace. That the program is very well-designed is clear from the start, and as you use it and encounter inevitable problems (such as not enough space for an inserted clef, reshaping of ties, etc.) you will really appreciate the ability of the program to recover from errors in an intuitive way. Sibelius just has a way of "doing the right thing", which from a programming perspective is very difficult to achieve. And once you have discovered the joys of copying (which depends on a mastery of selection), you will find you can create fair copies even faster than you could write out a sketch using pencil and paper.

Highly recommended!

Software for the common/professional musician
My background is in both arranging and composing and playing professionally here in the New Mexico area. Having used both of the top music software's for the last few years I find that when I have to do a project for profit, I always use Sibelius.
Both programs perform equally well, but Sibelius is by far the easiest and most logical to learn and use. The learning curve is very shallow. Everything is very intuitive and easy to find. The use of hot keys and simple, logical key presses and not the mouse make this program quick and through. You do not have to spend time going from menu to menu to find what you need. It can do everything I have ever needed in the way of arranging and composing. From Big Band Jazz to Orchestral works, it is all there. The finished printed work is beautiful to behold. I would highly recommend Sibelius to anyone who wants to get started producing work right away. The latest Sibelius V.3.1 is probably the most advanced product I have found. I have recommended it highly to all my musicians friends, and I have made many converts to Sibelius.

Simply the best !
My musical world literally changed overnight when I purchased Sibelius version 2. I no longer had to worry about how to work the 'tool', as it was not in the way of my creativity! Everything was intuitive and user friendly. I soon composed many original tunes and received a nice publishing contract. I recently upgrade to 3.0, and wow! I love the Kontact player for realistic sounds, and I often use the score-to-audio wav file feature. I can compose and record to CD in minutes. Hard to believe they could improve this product any more. I highly recommend it to any musician or composer. By the way, the layout and user interface is very pleasing to the eye, and the program is just plain fun to use!

Sibelius continues to score points
Sibelius has done a first rate job with this most recent version of their flagship notation application, managing to keep the program extremely user friendly, while incorporating some powerful new features.

The first thing you notice about this program is how *good* Sibelius looks on screen. Visually uncluttered and graphically smart, with a large, clean workspace. The New Score wizard has been completely overhauled, and the redesigned Instruments dialog allows one to re-sort staves, or add and delete instruments on the fly.

The new Focus On Staves feature is also extremely powerful, allowing one to view a subset of staves for more detail.

As to user friendliness, Sibelius 3 reminds me a lot of other well designed power applications which are very easy to do basic things with, and yet, provide a lot of depth and power under the hood when you are ready for it.

If you are a professional engraver, there are some things you will probably still miss in Sibelius, for instance, you still can't create complex bar numbering schemes which include visible multimeasure rest ranges. Also, selection and manipulation of bar numbers on the page in general needs some improvement. (for instance, you can't select multiple bar numbers and move them as a group).

However, based on the quantum leap in features and quality between versions 1, 2, and 3 of Sibelius, it's likely power users won't have long to wait for some of the more pro-specialized or esoteric features that are currently missing. For the majority of users, Sibelius is much easier to use right out of the box than its nearest competitor, Finale, offering excellent printed output and great playback with much less effort.

Add the host of new features in version 3 to an already extremely user friendly notation package, and Sibelius adds up to an excellent software choice for anyone composing or arranging printed music.

It Just Keeps Getting Better~!
I upgraded from Sibelius 2 to version 3, and I'm SO thrilled with all of the new features!! No other notation software is taking the advancements in musical technology as seriously as Sibelius. My scores not only LOOK good, but they sound AMAZING. It's just wonderful.
All of the little fixes are great in this version, and I love some of the new plug-ins.
It's 100% stable in both platforms, too~!
My co-workers and I completed two large shows using Sibelius 3 (on both platforms) during the first week of it's release, and we had NO problems at all.
I could go on and on about how wonderful this program is...
If you're a first-time buyer, don't hesitate. It's one of those programs that doesn't take much time to learn, and once you get the very basics, everything falls right into place. You can guess your way through it, pretty much. It's really fun - you're bound to have one of those "wow" moments when you ask the program to do something for the first time, and you just guess, and it does it.
Perspective "power users" or professional users like myself: If you're using anything other than Sibelius for musical notation, you really should start thinking about your future.
Finale users... I'm SO sorry... Amazon only has 7 copies of Sibelius 3 left, so you better purchase NOW~! ... Read more

Features

• Comprehensive toolset for Windows-based video production
• Create stunning motion graphics and visual effects
• Produce quality audio and author-interactive, multi-language DVDs
• Deliver professional results for film, video, DVD, or the Web
• Premiere Pro; Audition; Encore DVD; After Effects Standard

Product Description

Final Cut Express HD gives you the tools and flexibility to create stunning, professional-quality DV and HDV projects. Whether you want to make sophisticated home movies complete with transitions and effects or pro-level videos for your business, it provides the compositing, titling and effects capabilities you need to express your creativity. As a full-featured package, it offers an unparalleled combination of power and affordability. ... Read more

Features

• Precision tools and techniques for flexible editing; versatile interface
• Filmmaking software with powerful DV editing tools
• High-definition video (HDV) capability for both new and experienced editors
• Full-featured, professional-quality animated titling program, LiveType
• Create custom musical accompaniment for video projects with Soundtrack

Reviews (1)

unbelievable video production program
If you've only worked with iMovie or Windows Movie Maker, you may be intimidated at first, but the end results speak for themselves.It is true that Final Cut Express HD isn't necessarily intuitive and the options are innumerable, but you will emerge from the other side of the learning curve amazed at how polished your works have become.

You can update old iMovie projects easily; just import them into Express HD and add high quality titles and credits and an attractive soundtrack.If you want to take it further, you can experiment with an astounding variety of professional quality transitions, filters, and effects to deliver the full visual and auditory impact you desire.

If you already have a previous release of Final Cut Express, the inclusion of LiveType and Soundtrack alone justify this upgrade.For a bonus, GarageBand musicians will love the hundreds of Apple loops included in the Soundtrack package. ... Read more

Features

• Toast 6 Titanium: CD and DVD burning software for Mac OS X
• Jam 6: DJ-style mixing and mastering software
• Bias Peak Express: powerful stereo editing software
• Dolby Digital Sound: Hollywood-standard encoding and decoding software
• DVD Music Album: hours of music on a single DVD

Reviews (4)

Bling bling music DVDs
Put your music on DVDs... play them in your home stereo... party on.

Plus, burning software that has always been the best!

Toast w Jam 6
The programs included in this box was Toast© Titanium 6 and Toast© with Jam 6. For simplicity sake I will refer to them as "Jam" and "Titanium". Both programs are very easy to use. Just drag and drop and you are on your way.

"Jam" deals with just audio files. That however is mildly putting it. You can make CD's or DVD's like a DJ, digitize analog records and tapes plus make more in depth edits to your tracks in Peak Express. "Jam" is pretty easy to use the interface window gives you all the info about your tracks. You can adjust the "Cross Fades" in between your tracks or you could completely remove them to create a party type mix where the music never stops. You can "Trim" tracks so if you want that track to end sooner you can tweak your "Gain" and "Fade" to really control that track. You know for the songs that have endings you could do without you could quick "Fade" them. After all of your tweaking just burn your CD or DVD straight from "Jam" no need to go to another program. After you select your "Write Speed" for your CD or DVD you can select the option of also having the program eject the media when finished or send it to your desktop or just wait for you.

"Titanium" handles "Data", "Audio", "Video" and "Disk Copy". An interface window similar to "Jam" opens up with the different "Media" tabs on the top of the menu and the "Basic" and "Advanced" features on the left pop-out menu.

For "Data" burns you have six choices when it comes to how you want to be able to access the media later. Choose the one you want, then just drag and drop your files into the interface window hit the red record button tell it what write speed you would like and it starts a burning.

Audio files you just drag and drop and arrange the tracks to your liking. You don't have the same options of adjusting or tweaking your audio tracks like you do in "Jam" you could adjust the pause in between tracks but that's about as much tweaking that you can do. It would definitely be better if you did your adjusting in Peak Express before bringing them into "Titanium". You have five choices to choose from as to the type of media that you want to burn.

Video files just drag and drop your photos or videos into the interface window. You have three choices to choose from. In this program you don't have templates like you do in IDVD or DVD Studio Pro so if you just want something basic this will work great. "Titanium" creates a basic "Menu" so your finished product still can have a bit more professional look. The "Menu" you can have up to three "Buttons". The "Buttons" you can customize a bit; name it, the photo "Button" can be any slide or any frame within the video and adjust the duration of the slides, (if you want them to change automatically or manually). Then hit the red button and a burning you will go.

There is also a neat feature called "Plug and Burn" Just hook up your DV camcorder to your computer put in a DVD and you can burn your tape straight from your camcorder to a DVD. "Titanium" captures the video and puts it on your disc for you. "Titanium" will even rewind to the beginning of the tape for you before it starts recording.

The "Copy" tab lets you make an exact copy of any single-session disc. Audio discs, backup discs, MP3, IDVD and Mac and Windows discs. You have five choices in this mode. It will allow you to do this even if you only have one drive you just have to swap discs when prompted.

Both programs were very easy to use. A step above the basics, but limited when compared to IDVD or any of the higher dollar programs. "Jam" is great if you really want to start getting into controlling your audio tracks a bit more. I would call these programs low-medium range when it comes to skill levels in CD & DVD authoring. They both give a nice intro before getting into some of the higher end and more complicated programs, like IDVD and DVD Studio Pro.

This is just what the Doctor ordered!!
The addition of Jam has allowed me to make an Awesome musical DVD album!
Jam's new high compression allowed me to make not just a musical DVD but add pictures to view as well for a party i had which was very entertaining to those just sitting around. One DVD with music played from the time of set up until the next morning! AWESOME!

DVD Music Albums & Dolby Digital are Great Additions
Toast with Jam 6 does lots of things very well. And it comes with a great bundle of other applications such as Motion Pictures, Bias Peak Express, CD SpinDoctor and Discus. But the new features that are the greatest for my interests are the DVD Music Albums and Dolby Digital sound encoding. First, the DVD Music Albums allow me to do something that never was possible before: make long-playing music DVDs. I can have about 7 hours of CD-quality music or more than 30 hours of Dolby Digital music on one DVD. The playlists I create are shown as individual albums on my TV and I can see and select any music track on the DVD with my player's remote control. Even though it was created on a Mac it can be played on any DVD player.

Dolby Digital AC3 is the sound format used on commercial video discs (although Toast's Dolby Digital is 2 channel stereo, not 5.1 surround). It sounds great yet takes up much less space than the uncompressed "PCM" sound so you can get about 2 hours of video on a DVD-R rather than just 1-1/2 hours.

Prior to Toast with Jam 6 I couldn't do either of these. I'm happy!

And you should see the fabulous DVD I made of my grandson's first year using Motion Pictures. It's amazing how much is gained by panning and zooming on still images as music plays. From 8 hours old to 1 year old in a 5 minute DVD; he steals your heart. ... Read more

Features

• Music notation software for creating, hearing, and printing sheet music
• Free music scanning and SmartMusic instrument sounds
• Write songs up to 24 staves; create scores and print out parts
• Create lead sheets with lyrics, chord symbols, and guitar fretboards
• Easy to print, e-mail, or save as SmartMusic Accompaniment

Features

• Complete music studio for musicians, engineers, and producers
• Advanced audio processing and world-class MIDI sequencing
• New instruments and effects; state-of-the-art loop composition tools
• More processing power using networked Macs
• Compose, record, edit, and mix music in any studio environment

Product Description

With the newest member of the Jam Pack family you can conduct your own orchestra with new sounds for GarageBand, Logic, and Soundtrack. Create lush symphonic music with this collection of software instruments and loops, including strings, brass, woodwinds, percussion, piano, and more. From classical compositions to Hollywood-style scores to rock and hip-hop textures, with Jam Pack 4: Symphony Orchestra, you are the conductor.

(Jam Pack 4: Symphony Orchestra does not require Jam Pack 1, 2, or 3)

Features:

• Over 2000 Apple Loops:Build orchestral themes using over 2000 prerecorded loops in different styles and tempos, including symphonic, chamber, and solo performances. Or use loops individually to enhance songs in any genre.
• Strings:Conduct an orchestral string section including first and second violins, violas, cellos, and double basses. Control the dynamics and expression of each instrument, as well as articulations such as staccato, tremolo, and trills.
• Brass and Woodwinds:Arrange woodwind and brass sections with flutes, oboes, French horns, trumpets, trombones, tubas, and more. Play solo instruments or entire sections for a fuller sound. You can even control the playing style of individual instruments.
• Keyboards and Percussion:Play new keyboards, including full church organs, a Steinway Piano, and harpsichord. Or enhance your song using a wide selection of pitched and unpitched percussion instruments including timpani, bells, gongs, celesta, xylophone, marimba, and more.

Features

• Compatible with Logic Express 7, Logic Pro 7, and Soundtrack
• Software instruments and loops for creating lush symphonic music
• Strings, brass, woodwinds, percussion, piano, and more
• Over 2,000 pre-recorded Apple loops in different styles and tempos
• From classical compositions to Hollywood-style scores to hip-hop textures

Reviews (1)

garageband
This is so cool! I really recommend it. It is so fun to make your own music with this program. It has all kinds of genres and all kinds of instruments. When you start making a song it is so fun that you can't stop. This a really fun passtime.
... Read more

Reviews (6)

Boring and Tedious
Sure, the graphics and sound ARE nice, but this game is very linear and very forgiving- too forgiving. You can save and reload just about constantly, so long as there aren't monsters nearby and things are made kinda dummy-proof so you can't make any significant mistakes. As a result, I never really felt like I was taking much of a chance doing anything. The dialogue is mostly a matter of clicking responses until you can't click anymore and there's not much bad consequence to clicking them in any ol' order. There's really only one path through the different areas of the game and nothing ever respawns. You can also adjust the difficulty levels from very easy to very difficult but the experience and treasure don't adjust accordingly. This means if a fight is too tough after a couple reloads you can make it very easy and still get the same rewards you would have gotten when it was hard. Maybe I'm just a little jaded from playing online games like Everquest for so long. In online, realtime games with other humans playing around you there is much more of an unpredictable, and more importantly uncontrolable, and much more exciting environment to play in. I got so bored with this that I actually stopped playing while close to completing the very last area of the game. I just didn't care anymore. This game requires very little thinking or strategizing.

Excellent Package
Great game, very enjoyable with many features. Character creation is awesome, with good implementation of D&D guidelines. Lots of fun to play, very lengthy. The replay value is raised by the amazing variety of choices during character creation. I had no technical issues with the game running Windows XP with a 2.4 ghz, 256mb ram, and 64mb video card.

Better than Baldur's Gate!!!
These games are virtually the same as the Baldur's Gate games, only you get to create ALL of your characters, making for a pretty crazy squad

Solid Game for RPGers
I have played D and D since college, and Icewind Dale is the closest experience to a D&D game I have had in 20 years. The characters are developable and fun, the game is challlenging and forgiving, and this package contains the strategy guides. If you are like me, and have a life outside of gaming--GET THE STRATEGY GUIDE! It makes the game SO much more playable. I have just started the HOW module, and it is good.

ENOY!

Ultimate vs Regular Details
I was inspired to write this after a review for the Icewind Dale Collection (thank you!). When I pre-ordered it, there was no information regarding the contents of THIS package on the Amazon site, only the Regular complete collection, so I looked around for these missing details.
According to the Interplay Store, this package, differing from the Icewind Dale Collection, includes:

"Icewind Dale ™,
Icewind Dale ™: Heart of Winter,
Icewind Dale ™II,
The soundtrack for Icewind Dale,
Bonus CDs, including Icewind Dale and Icewind Dale: Heart of Winter strategy guides, an additional level, and a set of 4 character portraits from Icewind Dale II."

The game play is much the same as that of the Baldur's Gate Series, with minor helpful additions, like being able to right-click on any quick slot to get a spell/item shortcut, and then right-clicking on the quick button you want, and then right-clicking once again on the item you wish to place there. One drawback is that this selects the item or activates the spell. A handy way to deactivate this is to right click just ONE more time!
The character portraits are simply gorgeous, and the paper-doll views more traditional (I did not enjoy the cartoony ones in BG2). I love that the player can put 4 sets of weapons into the weapons slots, and can have a bow equipped in one set and have a sword and shield in the next set. Not realistic, but if we imagine that items are strapped to the sides of the characters, it's more believable.
Very fun to play. Good story line so far. ... Read more

Features

• Comprehensive toolset for Windows-based video production
• Create stunning motion graphics and visual effects
• Produce quality audio and author-interactive, multi-language DVDs
• Deliver professional results for film, video, DVD, or the Web
• Premiere Pro; Audition; Encore DVD; After Effects Pro; Photoshop CS

Features

• Powerful piano learning toolset
• Interactive feedback when using MIDI-connected keyboard
• Over 300 step-by-step lessons with 70 video demonstrations
• Develop sight reading, ear training, finger technique and more
• Over 100 songs included

Reviews (2)

Great product
I was completely new to music when I bought this set (CD-ROM and keyboard). I think it is great. It walks you through the basics and when you start playing the music has numbers on it that match up to your fingers (1-5) so you can play as you get the hang of reading music. Gradually they remove some of the numbers so your music reading skills improve.

The software grades your playing with a percentage score, and gives you details on your errors (if you want them).

Also, it includes short videos of a person playing piano so you can see proper posture and such. Each song comes with (optional) accompaniment, which can make it funner to play (especially with the simple songs).

The keyboard that comes with it (optional) has a solid feel, and is touch-sensitive (pressing harder plays louder). The keyboard plugs into the joystick port (probably on your sound card).

quality product
I got this product yesterday and started to learn by it.
after browsing it and using it for the first 17 lessons this is my impression.
what you get in this product is 100% of quality content and less emphasize on look and graphics.
and if you want to learn playing the keyboard, so the quality of the teaching is more important then other features.

the teacher leading the instruction process using video clips and audio tracks, is Irma Justicia MA which is a experienced piano teacher.
after 17 lessons i fell in love with her .it feels just lilke i'm in a real lesson with her.
for my non proffesinal impression this product is good for absolute beginners to the intermediate level.
it is also said on the product that it is volume 1 so probably they are going to issue more products in this piano keyboard line just as they done with the guitar.

cause of the simplicity of the graphics you can use it on any computer,old and new.
but still you get many sophisticated features like interactive feedback using midi cable.

for summary ...GOOD WORK. ... Read more

Features

• Record unlimited audio and MIDI tracks, then mix them with real-time audio and MIDI effects -- in up to 24-bit/96 kHz audio
• Record your entire band at once, with support for multi-channel audio cards
• Add a number of DXi soft synths, as easy as plug and play
• Click and drag to paint drum tracks, with the new pattern brush and Drum Editing Grid tools
• Use a full set of VST effects & instrument to build your loops, through the includedCakewalk VST Adapter

Features

• Add life and power to your hip-hop beats, with 4,000 samples
• Multitrack arranger mixes your own tracks to create perfect sound
• Groove Generator is a powerful all-purpose drumming computer with 500 drum sounds
• Powerful FX Studio for modifying samples and creating new ones
• Innovative new Scratch Box gives you virtual turntables, to add the power freestyle record scratching

Reviews (1)

Lil Jon, Kanye West, EAT YOUR HEART OUT!!!
This program is sick! You can make any beat you want, and it's ORIGINAL!!! On a scale of one to 10, Hip Hop eJay gets 1000! This is good for all those who are amature artists and need original beats. I dare you. I double dog dare you! I DEFY YOU to try this program and see how good it is. ... Read more

Features

• Piano Suite is your best option for learning to play piano no matter what your age
• With a full compliment of customizable and expandable tools Piano Suite will guide you into the rewarding world of making your own music
• Piano Player will help you through the learning process with the help of an interactive voice tutor and provide continuous feedback on your play until you master the piece
• Personal and musical biographies of over 150 composers and performers will enrich your learning experience
• Challenging interactive games sharpen your piano playing skills and develop theory comprehension

Reviews (1)

Great Software-Highly recommended
These guys have definitely put a lot of thought into this product and must be dedicated music instructers. Set up is easy. Worked perfectly out of the box. I did have one minor problem with producing sounds other then piano, but I went to the Adventus website and downloaded a patch. It works great now! Theres lots of info there and a phone number for tech support.

This is great software for beginners. No big jumps in lession difficulty, just a steady progression. Lots of user interaction with the software (ie, feedback about your playing, etc), games, computer generated vide, lots of songs to play and lots of different styles from classical to rock.

I'm not even using the suggested Adventus set-up, that is, using a internal soundblaster wavetable sound card. Adventus warned of a lag in hearing a note after it was pressed and when the sound was produced if you didn't have an internal wavetable soundcard. I'm not having any "latency" issues. Maybe it is because I have a 1.7ghz computer, with a external M-Audio Firewire soundcard. This is a "pro" external sound card (it has no built in sounds of its own it just processes digital sound files that come out of your computer. For access to sounds you'll need software or you can rely on the internal Microsoft GS WaveTable Software Synthesizer built into Windows XP) and Firewire is fast. For those people using the external Soundblaster Audigy cards, I've read that there may be a "latency" issue.

Read the magazine reviews at the Adventus Website if you don't believe me - www.adventus.com.

Also, I recommend http://www.tweakheadz.com/ for lots of info on equipment for making and recording computer music. The forums are great, especially.

This is quality software. ... Read more