The latest iteration of Sonic Solution's Roxio multimedia software, Easy Media Creator Suite 10 has more features than you can shake a stick at. It purportedly can do everything from burning a DVD of shows recorded on your TiVo, to recommending music in your library based upon what songs you like at that moment, to helping crop photos so that they look just right on your mobile phone. For the record, it can also, apparently, do everything in between. As with all software however, some of these features work better than others.
The suite's main menu breaks down all the various odds and ends into eight main items in order to make navigation more simple, which is a huge help as there is a ton of material contained in the software. Even so however, reading the manual that accompanies the program is absolutely essential, as "MyDVD" creates DVDs in a different way than "VideoWave" or "CineMagic" and invariably one program will lead you directly into another as your project progresses. It is, to put it simply, quite confusing at first and very easily overwhelming. Until one truly gets the hang out how the video programs work every task is daunting.
Once things become clear however, after a few hours of study and some dreadful mistakes, creating a video project becomes, if not a snap, eminently do-able and users will be able to go from "CineMagic" (your basic video "wizard") to "VideoWave" (which gives you a much more detailed look at the videos timeline and progression) to "MyDVD" (where the whole thing is finalized with pretty menus and chapters) with ease. The video software allows editing on a timeline and can include up to 32 tracks. That seems like overkill for the program, most people editing home videos will not use more than three or four, but it could hypothetically come in handy for more complicated projects.
One of the best things about video creation in EMC10 is the suite's ability to randomize and easily insert music into videos and slideshows using pre-selected genres and music that comes with the suite. Additionally, if one is creating a slideshow, the program can be set to randomly choose between dissolves, wipes, fades, and all manner of cuts between photos. Creating a wonderful looking slideshow for a birthday, anniversary, or other special event can be done with great ease by the most inexperienced of users. The one problem with the creation of a slideshow (or any video) is that if the files reside in different directories on your computer the files from one directory have to be selected and okayed before going back and adding more files from another directory. This makes the process somewhat more cumbersome than it ought to be.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Mel
Buyer Beware!! I have EMC 10, and I have found a multitude of problems, especially with the MyDVD program. If you want to edit photos PhotoSuite is actually pretty good, with only one small "bug" that I have found so far. However, in only owing this product for about 3 weeks I have had it crash so many times that I was ready to return it, and the sad thing is that I haven't even used all of it's features. Are there more bugs to come? All I can say is that editing a DVD was a complete headache and not something I would be willing to do again soon. And that's sad because it's specifically what I got it for.
2 - Kara@Roxio
Hi Mel,
I'm sorry to hear that you are having trouble with EMC 10. So I can better understand, could you let me know the method you purchased the product- either online download, retail store, or online store (such as Amazon)?
Look forward to seeing how we can help.
All best,
Kara
Roxio, A division of Sonic Solutions
3 - Gus
I am specifically getting this for dvd use only and after what mel said, I don't know if i should!
Is it worth it?
4 - Josh Lasser
I did not have any of the same problems Mel did, it never crashed for me.
5 - Alan
I'm amazed that someone actually got EMC10 to install properly. I guess my own hardware just isn't compatible with it. Anyway, I'm very familiar with all the hoops that were necessary to install previous versions of Easy Media Creator. I actually got Version 9 to play pretty well with Vista, but I can't say that about Version 10. And, yes I did go through all the steps to perform a clean install as specified by Roxio. I carefully removed all traces of the former Roxio software and cleared the registry before attempting to reinstall EMC10. How about this for an idea? Why doesn't EMC check for past versions during installation and actually remove it? Who should no better about their own code than the ones writing it. Anyway, to repeat myself, this is not the first time that I've went through all the motions. Past versions have required some of the very same frustrating proceedures. On the up side, some of the apps can be pretty good when they actually work.
6 - CP
Any advise between EMC 10 and Photoshop Element 6 with Premier 4 bundle? I have EMC 8.0 and it works OK but had many issues in order to make it work with XP, ATI graphics card and Windows Media software. Is there a list of softwares the EMC 10 compatible with and the once to watch out for?
Chirag
7 - Sid
I find the product extremely slow and difficult to work with. I've already ruined 4 blank DVD's. Error messages are obtuse or non-existent and programs often hang.
For example, MyDVD express will not display fonts correctly - they are blank unless I change font type to gradient. Adding a new movie may take up to a minute or more just to display a directory.
Version: 1.0.044
Build: 100B44B, R03
Serial Number: K5-6C1V2-DZV0T-JCU6H
Sid
8 - Joe
I have used and enjoyed roxio products since the days of 1x cdrom drives, and I have to say, this is the worse experience I've had with a product. This thing simply won't install. I even reformated my drive and it still won't install on my vista pc. I had high hopes for some of the pieces of this product, but I'm at a loss. I'm not the only one that has had this difficulty, so beware.... I understand some of the version 9 issues, but for a product to rave about Vista compatibilites and have basic install issues is shameful
-Joe
9 - Glen
I also have not had any luck to date installing EMC10 on Vista. I have gone thru the Clean Install doing the steps verbatum but the program will not start. My V9 that came with my HP Pc was working well.
I agree, what a shame for Roxio to do this to past and potential future customers. Not worth the hassel. Very Flustrated.
10 - Forrest
MyDVD and also VideoWave were crashing my computer (an HP Media Center PC running Vista, with NVIDIA graphics). I got these programs to run properly by going into the "Options" menu on MyDVD and changing "Rendering" from "Hardware" to "Software." The program comes out of the box checked "Hardware" for rendering. But it has some kind of fatal conflict with my video drivers, I think, leading to the infamous "blue screen of death" style of crash. The conflict disappeared by choosing software rendering instead of hardware. This was a very frustrating problem until I tried this solution. BTW, if you check this option for one of the programs in the suite, it appears to change it for all.
11 - DC
Last version I could get to work was 7.0. Since that time nothing but problems...not with install but getting EMC to work. Won't consider buying 10.0, but might see if I can download a copy.
Downloaded demo of Adobe Premiere Elements 4. As with most Adobe products, it ain't simple. Tried to remove an effect, couldn't for the life of me figure out how, then it crashed. Not for the faint of heart.
Now moving on to demo of Nero. Fingers crossed.
Oh yah, picked up a Macbook Pro to use their video editing programs. They don't crash but pretty rudimentary.
12 - bobc
Roxio EMC 10 under Vista. MYDVD seems to work ok through preview and encoding. However, the output DVD is junk. Tried the suggested drive emulation and loading the drive image file for preview - result worse. Also, slideshows just come out black. Have not gotten one usable product out of EMC 10. Have uninstalled and reinstalled. No difference.
My opinion of Roxio products is no longer good.
Going to look at Nero. I want something that works.
13 - dave
i just purchased emc 10 online and downloaded it. I have an hp running vista and i abolutly love this program. i mainly purchased it to move my video from my mini dv camcorder to dvd.(windows movie maker sucks). the plug and burn feature is awsome. i would highly recommend this product.
14 - Minkey
I have had BIG problems with EMC 10. The tech support really does not help. I have errors with Video Wave and MYDVD. Runtime errors in C++. I had problems with CinePlayer and MPEG-2 codecs.
When you talk with them by phone, they say do a clean install. I have done thisabout 10 times. EMC 10 will work for a few days, then crashes again.
Finally, the thechs and Roxio throw up their hands. They blame windows XP Pro. I have 2 different Geeks from 2 different companies and a Dell Geek say there is nothing wrong with Windows.
The techs at Roxio/Sonic said something was wrong with my sound card. I got an upgraded card. Still had same ERRORS.
This is the first company in all my considerable computer experience who does not seem to care about the customer or have 2nd tier support.
Buyer Beware!!
15 - JoeB
Yes, Buyer beware. I wish I had read these comments before buying Roxio EMC 10 a few days ago and installing it on my XP Pro computer last night. It just doesn't work right and hangs all the time. I just opened a case with their tech support so we'll see how it goes, I may be wasting my time.
My wife has Roxio 9 Basic that came bundled with her HP XP Pro laptop and it works fine. That one was free but has limited features. I may see if I can downgrade to Roxio 9 since they broke it when Roxio EMC 10 came out. There are lots of complaints on Roxio's own user forum at their website.
16 - Schlist
I'm having a devil of a time just getting this thing to install. I even thought I may have picked up a virus (not from EMC) so I did a restore of my computer from backup! Still can't get it to install. It takes forever then when it appears to be getting close to finished it says it's rolling back the install!
Also it warns that it must uninstall .net 1.1! WTF!? .net 1.1 can't be on a machine with Roxio software...that's crap. I bought online from their store, so I'm going to get the 30 day refund.
17 - Jason
This program crashed several times for me at first. I had to uninstall programs completely unrelated to Media Creation to get it to stop locking up when I was saving video files to usable formats. (Why would I have to completely disable my automatic Media Center features is beond me.) After that though, it started working perfectly. Has some weird quirks when you are running other programs that are unrelated to what it has to do though.
18 - Chris W
I have been a very happy owner of Versions 5 and 6. I decided to buy Version 10 online with the Sonic Store. I am having enormous problems with components crashing (like audio editing and creator classic) after a 20 minute long installation! It's like going back to a 25 year High School reunion and saying, "What happened to you??!"
I have been very happy with Roxio over Nero in the past, but I'm feeling VERY uneasy with this product.
I run a pretty clean XP pro setup with a Pentium 4 with 2GB of RAM. I am not a new-bee. I have installed and uninstalled TWICE and cleared my registry, but the crashing problem remains.
I see that CNet has still not done a review and the product has been out for some time.
I am considering going back to Version 6 if I cannot get this resolved fast.
CW
19 - Chris W
I got a prompt email from Roxio support indicating that my previous installation of Roxio was causing conflicts. They provided uninstallation instructions here.
This worked and the installation was successful. So, I'm keeping EMC 10, but am very concerned at how BIG it's gotten and how long it takes to install.
I appreciated the good tech support. Features are important, but keep in mind that regular users will need to be able to install...Roxio should have been able to detect the version 6 installed.
Thx,
Chris W
20 - Ian Forsey
I purchased a Sony FZ31Z with a Blu Ray Drive. It came with EMC V 9 which worked fine. Wanted BD features so I purchased EMC V10.
What a mistake to purchase V10. Spent days, countless clean installs, countless support messages and now my version 9 does not work.
Support supplied a link for V10 update to cure problems. 719mb on a slow download. And it still ill not install!
Stick with V 9. I am going to get my money back for V10 but has cost me much more in time and effort.
It's the last time I buy from Roxio period!
Now I have to Restore my computer to factory default and spend hours downloading updates and re loading all my software.
Ian
21 - Jon
Hey All -
I'm seeing mostly install issues here, so I'm going to take a shot at those first.
@#19, Chris W suggested using our clean install instructions and he's spot on. This is the best way to resolve any type of installation issue. We have two:
Clean Install Instructions for Creator 9 & 10 on Windows Vista
Clean Installation of Easy Media Creator
Make sure you follow the steps exactly. Let me know how it goes.
Jon
Roxio Customer Care
22 - Robert
Suggestion - a better uninstall application. I just went thru the clean uninstall instructions word for word ("clear out cookies and browsing history"? really? - seems a bit ridiculous just to install an application). Also, since the instructions are so long, perhaps some software company could write an uninstall program (heck, a batch file) just for this purpose? ;)
I'm actually also a bit perturbed to see that this thread was closed as I am currently experiencing this, and there's been no clear resolution other than to perform a "clean install" - and by the way, these are "clean UNinstall" directions.
It's a bit of a cop-out to uninstall and re-install, especially since it appears to be mostly affecting those who are upgrading from an existing Roxio product.
I'd say find the root issue and remedy that. If that doesn't happen, the the same mistakes may be made in the next version.
23 - Jim
I'm exhausted. Endless trouble ticket dialog. Followed many good suggestions from these comments. Nothing works. I'm probably going to have to eat the $150 EMC 10 Deluxe cost and re-install my four year old Videowave.
Very disappointing.
24 - Brian aka Guppusmaximus
Wow... People still waste their time & money on Roxio?? Return EMC 10 and purchase the latest version of Nero...You won't regret it! Hell, there are atleast 5 other inexpensive media burners that are better than this crap. Ha, Roxio...
Oh & thanks to the brainchild in comment #7 who posted his serial number...Uh-Duh?!
25 - Jim
Brian thanks for the Nero advice. The one component of Roxio that I am hooked on is Cinemagic. I don't have the time or interest to edit video and I like the simplicity of that program.
Does Nero have a program that functions somewhat like Cinemagic?