What is a good multimedia suite, that includes Blu Ray playback? Nero 11??

[Puppets86]

I don't do anything real fancy, outside of burning CD's And DVD's here and there, and have used Nero 6, up until I built a new computer a couple months back, and now have Windows 7, and a Blu Ray player. I simply would like to get a suite that does it all, and Nero 11 Platinum sounds like it would do everything I need, but it gets very bad reviews on Amazon. I know that Total Media Theater is considered the "best" for Blu Ray playback, but it doesn't burn CD's, if I remember correctly, so I'd like to get one suite that does it all. I'm just hesitant about Nero 11 Platinum, but maybe I'll hear differently here. I've received good advice/info here before, so I'm all ears. Thanks in advance!

[yoda313]

but it doesn't burn CD's, if I remember correctly, so I'd like to get one suite that does it all.

Friends don't let friends NOT use Imgburn.

For all burning needs use IMGBURN and nothing else.

Use total media theater for playback and imgburn for burning.

[Puppets86]

but it doesn't burn CD's, if I remember correctly, so I'd like to get one suite that does it all.

Friends don't let friends NOT use Imgburn.

For all burning needs use IMGBURN and nothing else.

Use total media theater for playback and imgburn for burning.

Ah.....so Imgburn does CD's as well now? Excellent. It didn't use to, correct? Will it pull the album title and track titles off the original disc as well?

[yoda313]

so Imgburn does CD's as well now?

So far as I know it does.

Will it pull the album title and track titles off the original disc as well?

No it is not a music managment program that connects to cddb.

For music you should stick to music specific programs. Windows Media Player would work well for this (and fyi it can burn cds 100% for sure - I don't think it is as critical to use imgburn for cd burning as it is for dvd burning - to me burning audio cds would be ok with another program, I do use wmp for ripping and burning my audio cds). Also itunes or zune would also work for cd ripping and burning even if you don't have one of their hardware players.

[Evander]

You should ask yourself "why do I want a suite?" If as you say, you don't do anything fancy but burn an occasional disc, a suite is not what you need. In such a case, I'd recommend a free or inexpensive burning program and a separate software player. If you want my advice, try Ashampoo Burning Studio 11 (list price is $50 but they put it on sale all the time for $10) https://www.ashampoo.com/en/usd/pin/3210/Burning_Software/Ashampoo-Burning-Studio-11
+ and try searching ebay for an inexpensive copy of PowerDVD w/ Blu-Ray support (don't pay alot for Blu-Ray software when standalone hardware players go for $50 or less).

I own Nero 11 Platinum and am happy with it but I prefer PowerDVD over the no-frills Nero Blu-Ray player. But if someone did want a suite, yeah I'd recommend Nero 11 (especially if you get it for a cheap price: I bought it for $100 but got a $70 rebate last year at FRY's).

If you're interested in video editing but don't own a video editor such as Adobe Premier Elements, the Nero suite is probably a good choice but standalone editors are often priced on the high side (Premier Elements for instance can be found on the low side of around $75). Nero suite has other functions such as video conversion, but Ashampoo Burning Studio also has that now. Some of the other Nero suite things can be done with free programs very nicely (audio editing with Audacity for instance). Nero will still have some advantages you won't find in other free programs (such as Mp3 PRO encoding).

[hech54]

ImgBurn has always burned CDs.....or at least it has done so for a VERY long time. ImgBurn also can create audio CDs from various types of audio files like MP3.

[Puppets86]

You should ask yourself "why do I want a suite?" If as you say, you don't do anything fancy but burn an occasional disc, a suite is not what you need. In such a case, I'd recommend a free or inexpensive burning program and a separate software player. If you want my advice, try Ashampoo Burning Studio 11 (list price is $50 but they put it on sale all the time for $10) https://www.ashampoo.com/en/usd/pin/3210/Burning_Software/Ashampoo-Burning-Studio-11
+ and try searching ebay for an inexpensive copy of PowerDVD w/ Blu-Ray support (don't pay alot for Blu-Ray software when standalone hardware players go for $50 or less).

I own Nero 11 Platinum and am happy with it but I prefer PowerDVD over the no-frills Nero Blu-Ray player. But if someone did want a suite, yeah I'd recommend Nero 11 (especially if you get it for a cheap price: I bought it for $100 but got a $70 rebate last year at FRY's).

If you're interested in video editing but don't own a video editor such as Adobe Premier Elements, the Nero suite is probably a good choice but standalone editors are often priced on the high side (Premier Elements for instance can be found on the low side of around $75). Nero suite has other functions such as video conversion, but Ashampoo Burning Studio also has that now. Some of the other Nero suite things can be done with free programs very nicely (audio editing with Audacity for instance). Nero will still have some advantages you won't find in other free programs (such as Mp3 PRO encoding).

Thank you for all that info!
Yeah, I'll look into all the suggestions. If I can get the Nero 11 really cheap, I may do that after all, not sure. One person on Ebay is selling it cheap, claims it's new, without the the retail box, but say it doesn't need the license key, because it's the full retail version. Wrong.
I'll check on PowerDVD for sure.

[turk690]

Over the years Nero has gradually grown to encompass a lot of other functions apart from CD/DVD burning. It may or may not merit being derisively categorized under bloatware, and indeed some of its functions work as expected. But IMHO the reason it receives crap ratings on Amazon and elsewhere is its current habit of associating media files to itself, prioritizing Nero w programs, etc. That's why on some PCs, behaviour changes after Nero installation. Files that could be read before are not now. To prevent this, ideally Nero should be the first program to be installed after Windows is finished.

[Hoser Rob]

Maybe nero did make some good stuff in the past. I tried some of their newer stuff and it was rubbish. Nothing of theirs will ever go near my hard drive again.

I'm not a proponent of the one program for all media types either, but for an all in one solution I doubt anything is really better than vlc, and it's free. It's my favorite windows music player though smplayer is my favorite video player, with vlc close in second.

Never assume that paid software is better than free unless you're talking about pro stuff like photoshop or some of the high end video editors. I've seen so many people complaining here about crap software they paid $50-100 for. There were all types of free programs that were way better they could have been using.

[FulciLives]

If you are looking for a good music management program then allow me to suggest MusicBee

Here a link: http://getmusicbee.com/

This is a free program that I've only used for the last 2 or 3 weeks now but I'm really loving it. Prior to this I was using MediaMonkey but I find that MusicBee has pretty much all the same capabilities yet it is 100% free and it is very lightweight and not nearly as sluggish as MediaMonkey. Plus the interface has a more simple design that I like whereas I find MediaMonkey to have a bit of a fuggly design to it.

And I'll agree with everyone else that ImgBurn is pretty awesome although I must say that I often use Burrrn for CD audio and I use CDBurnerXP for data CD and data DVD (although ImgBurn seems to do this easily as well). But I always use ImgBurn for DVD Video burning.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[Hoser Rob]

Haven't tried musicbee and, since I'm using ubuntu now, I don't expect I will. But it looks fine. What I really like about vlc for music is the playlist options and the really good tree structure, since I need that the way I organize music.

I haven't tried the windows version of Clementine but it quickly became my default linux music player. It's awesome. Great playlist support and very configureable. Very easy to get a good sound.

Actually, while I hate foobar2000 for its general clunkiness, abysmal docs, and too much reliance on 3rd party plugins for pretty basic features, it performs very well and I think every windows user should have it installed just for its replay gain support. In strict hifi terms you shouldn't use that, but it's handy and you can switch it off. And no one does replay gain tagging better than foobar.

In fact it's not unusual for linux using hifi geeks to run foobar under wine to do just that.

[FulciLives]

I tried several Linux music management programs and none of them really impressed me but I did like Clementine the most, but it was more like it being the one that sucked the least (in my opinion).

There was talk on the MusicBee forums that it supposedly works okay with WINE although I imagine certain features, like USB syncing, would not, so it probably isn't worth trying.

When using Linux I only use Windows programs via WINE if the program is simple enough and there is really NO good Linux option. For instance I used to use HCenc and Avisynth this way to do MPEG-2 DVD encoding while in Linux. I just hate ffmpeg for MPEG-2 DVD encoding.

[Hoser Rob]

I tried several Linux music management programs and none of them really impressed me but I did like Clementine the most, but it was more like it being the one that sucked the least (in my opinion)....

I agree 100% that most of them stink ... and there's so many linux music players. I think some linux geek comes up with a new one every 3 or 4 days.

I'd still recommend trying the windows version of clementine to the OP though. The linux version is the best I've ever used, period. And it sounds great using the ALSA ouput module. And like vlc it doesn't force you to organize playlists its way.

[hech54]

although I must say that I often use Burrrn for CD audio

Agreed. ImgBurn can burn audio CD but I use Prassi Ones because it's easier in every way compared to ImgBurn.....even CDText is simple in Prassi Ones.

[Puppets86]

+ and try searching ebay for an inexpensive copy of PowerDVD w/ Blu-Ray support

I'm assuming that this would suffice, just for Blu Ray playback
http://www.ebay.com/itm/CyberLink-BD-Solution-V6-PowerDVD-9-BD-For-Window7-with-key-co...tem4d044120c3m assuming that this would suffice, just for Blu Ray playback
Or this
http://www.ebay.com/itm/CyberLink-Power-DVD-11-Ultra-HD-Blu-Ray-3D-/140828585112?pt=US...item20ca09ac98

[Puppets86]

I appreciate all the input very much. Plenty of suggested burners to choose from. The one minor detail that is kind of important to me is that whatever program I use to burn CD's, connects to cddb for the track and album titles, so they're named on the burned CD. I'm assuming that must be pretty standard with most of these suggested CD/DVD burners. I haven't used Nero since version 6, and it sounds like it went sort of downhill from 7 on, from all the negative feedback I read.

[Evander]

+ and try searching ebay for an inexpensive copy of PowerDVD w/ Blu-Ray support

I'm assuming that this would suffice, just for Blu Ray playback
http://www.ebay.com/itm/CyberLink-BD-Solution-V6-PowerDVD-9-BD-For-Window7-with-key-co...tem4d044120c3m assuming that this would suffice, just for Blu Ray playback
Or this
http://www.ebay.com/itm/CyberLink-Power-DVD-11-Ultra-HD-Blu-Ray-3D-/140828585112?pt=US...item20ca09ac98

I've heard that PowerDVD version 9 hasn't been updated to play all the newest Blu-Rays. I dunno the details so you might want to do some research or ask around. Personally, I'd go for version 12 or 11. $30 to $40 is the typical price for new blu-ray playback software. Remember not to pay too much - I bought a Blu-Ray burner WITH Cyberlink Blu-Ray Disc Suite (includes Power DVD 11) late last year for $60 total. You could always buy a new drive w/ software and sell your old drive on ebay

[Evander]

Here's another option, on sale for $30:
http://www.macblurayplayer.com/store.htm
(yes, there is a Windows version)

Try downloading trial versions of the ones you're interested in and buy based on price and your impression of the software

[Puppets86]

+ and try searching ebay for an inexpensive copy of PowerDVD w/ Blu-Ray support

I'm assuming that this would suffice, just for Blu Ray playback
http://www.ebay.com/itm/CyberLink-BD-Solution-V6-PowerDVD-9-BD-For-Window7-with-key-co...tem4d044120c3m assuming that this would suffice, just for Blu Ray playback
Or this
http://www.ebay.com/itm/CyberLink-Power-DVD-11-Ultra-HD-Blu-Ray-3D-/140828585112?pt=US...item20ca09ac98

You could always buy a new drive w/ software and sell your old drive on ebay

Except that my "old" drive is brand new....hasn't had a Blu Ray in it yet.

[Slipster]

Or if you don't care about the menus and just want to watch the movie at zero expense, MPC-HC?

[Puppets86]

If you want my advice, try Ashampoo Burning Studio 11 (list price is $50 but they put it on sale all the time for $10) https://www.ashampoo.com/en/usd/pin/3210/Burning_Software/Ashampoo-Burning-Studio-11


I own Nero 11 Platinum and am happy with it but I prefer PowerDVD over the no-frills Nero Blu-Ray player. But if someone did want a suite, yeah I'd recommend Nero 11

Will Ashampoo access the cddb for album and track titles?

And what about Nero 10 and a separate Blu Ray software, or is 11 that much better, if I can find it cheap?

[Steve(MS)]

IMGburn for your burning dvd and blu-rays.
Ashampoo used to have a free burning suite for cds, dvds and blu-rays.
You can make an image of a cd with ashampoo and then burn back to cd.
I wouldn't buy ashampoo though.
If you don't need blu-ray menu playing, there are a number of freeware
players that can handle the main movie blu-ray m2ts.
The newest 64 bit VLC can play older protected blu-rays ( the actual disc)(there is a couple of extra downloaded files to be placed to do this).
VLC along with MPC-HC, Potplayer and splash Lite can play m2ts with no problems(there are likely other software players that can play m2ts).
Treat cd ripping duties to other software as there are plenty that can do this.
These listed ought to take care of your needs unless you want a player for all menu playback (blu-ray).

[Evander]

If you want my advice, try Ashampoo Burning Studio 11 (list price is $50 but they put it on sale all the time for $10) https://www.ashampoo.com/en/usd/pin/3210/Burning_Software/Ashampoo-Burning-Studio-11


I own Nero 11 Platinum and am happy with it but I prefer PowerDVD over the no-frills Nero Blu-Ray player. But if someone did want a suite, yeah I'd recommend Nero 11

Will Ashampoo access the cddb for album and track titles?

And what about Nero 10 and a separate Blu Ray software, or is 11 that much better, if I can find it cheap?

Probably Ashampoo accesses the cddb. I used Ashampoo prior to buying Nero 11 (before that my last version of Nero was 5.5) but used it for burning discs not ripping music (I mainly used and still use CDex and Exact Audio Copy, both free, for ripping). I'd highly suggest downloading a trial copy of Ashampoo at that link and see if it's for you (and subscribe to their newsletter - they'll probably announce a sale within 30 days or give you the option to "name your price").

I have no experience w/ Nero 10 so can't comment on it. It is cheaper though since it's an older version. If you're interested in going that route you can try searching for a trial version of Nero 10. There is a trial version for Nero 11 you can download (Platinum not available for trial):
http://www.nero.com/enu/downloads-nero11-platinum-trial.php

They sell Nero 11 Platinum new (don't buy it used) at amazon for $60 which I think is a pretty good price:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B005CSAE92/ref=dp_olp_new?ie=UTF8&condition=new
To get it any cheaper you'd probably have to wait for a clearance sale whenever Nero 12 comes out or possibly they will do another $70 rebate in November near Black Friday

[Puppets86]

If you want my advice, try Ashampoo Burning Studio 11 (list price is $50 but they put it on sale all the time for $10) https://www.ashampoo.com/en/usd/pin/3210/Burning_Software/Ashampoo-Burning-Studio-11


I own Nero 11 Platinum and am happy with it but I prefer PowerDVD over the no-frills Nero Blu-Ray player. But if someone did want a suite, yeah I'd recommend Nero 11

Will Ashampoo access the cddb for album and track titles?

And what about Nero 10 and a separate Blu Ray software, or is 11 that much better, if I can find it cheap?

Probably Ashampoo accesses the cddb. I used Ashampoo prior to buying Nero 11 (before that my last version of Nero was 5.5) but used it for burning discs not ripping music (I mainly used and still use CDex and Exact Audio Copy, both free, for ripping). I'd highly suggest downloading a trial copy of Ashampoo at that link and see if it's for you (and subscribe to their newsletter - they'll probably announce a sale within 30 days or give you the option to "name your price").

I have no experience w/ Nero 10 so can't comment on it. It is cheaper though since it's an older version. If you're interested in going that route you can try searching for a trial version of Nero 10. There is a trial version for Nero 11 you can download (Platinum not available for trial):
http://www.nero.com/enu/downloads-nero11-platinum-trial.php

They sell Nero 11 Platinum new (don't buy it used) at amazon for $60 which I think is a pretty good price:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B005CSAE92/ref=dp_olp_new?ie=UTF8&condition=new
To get it any cheaper you'd probably have to wait for a clearance sale whenever Nero 12 comes out or possibly they will do another $70 rebate in November near Black Friday

Yeah, I use Exact Audio Copy myself, or Dbpoweramp...they're both excellent. I have used ImgBurn for DVD burning, when ever I do burn a DVD, so I actually just need a good CD burner that accesses cddb, and Ashampoo just may do that, I'll check out the trial.

The Nero 10 sounded tempting, because they have a version that does Blu Ray playback, and it is cheaper due to being older, that's why I was considering it, but I can get Nero 11 Platinum for less than Amazon, on Ebay.

[hech54]

I appreciate all the input very much. Plenty of suggested burners to choose from. The one minor detail that is kind of important to me is that whatever program I use to burn CD's, connects to cddb for the track and album titles, so they're named on the burned CD. I'm assuming that must be pretty standard with most of these suggested CD/DVD burners. I haven't used Nero since version 6, and it sounds like it went sort of downhill from 7 on, from all the negative feedback I read.

A player "accessing cddb" and "named on the burned CD" are two completely different things.
CDDB uses the number of tracks and length of each track to "guess" or "suggest" which CD is in the player.

"Burning the album name, artist name and track names is CDText. CDText is fantastic BUT not all burners can
write CDText, not all burners/players can read CDText, and not all burning software can create/burn CDText.
Many LG burners have CDText enabled, Prassi Ones and ImgBurn can create/burn CDText....there may be more.

All 3 of my LG burners can do CDText, and I use Prassi Ones to burn CDText into all of my audio CDs.....AND
all of my Volkswagen factory radios can read CDText....I am lucky.
Odds are you will not be so lucky with CDText.