Software

Digital media suites

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Review summary

Full review

Nero started life with its CD burning application, which rapidly propelled the company to fame. Following up with a variety of software applications for enjoying music, images, and video, Nero is one of the leaders in digital media technology for home PCs and mobile devices.

The Germany based company provides an intuitive and efficient digital media suite for organizing, playing, editing, converting, and – naturally – burning your files, wherever you are. The digital suite is anchored to the newly updated Nero Start platform, which is the media management tool you need to start and update all the programs in one place.

Organize media

Nero MediaHome is the collection-point for all your media – a cloud-based storage system, so you can pick up your media files whatever device you are using. This handy location ensures you don’t lose track of your specific files, and the cloud storage means you are not at risk of losing any valuable data.

For photos, count on the geotagging feature in the photo and video organization section. With Nero Geotags you can stick with your camera’s set geotags or make your own. Using the geotags features it is simple to create videos and slideshows set around different places you have been.

Disc Burning

Nero Burning ROM - It goes without saying that because Nero is the long-standing leader in disc burning, the features you get in Nero Platinum for burning and ripping are effective, useful, and smart. You’re using the Nero Recode section of the suite to burn, rip and convert your collection of media files. Within Nero Recode you have AirBurn, the facility to burn files directly from your smartphone via wireless transfer to a PC. Plus, Nero SecureDisc technology speeds up the process while providing reliable and secure discs. Built-in encryption can be used to protect files, and the suite allows you to split content to burn it to multiple discs. This is pretty useful when you don’t want to waste discs needlessly. As you would expect from Nero, disc burning is excellent.

Video Editing

One of the reasons people purchase a digital media suite is for video editing. You can’t really do without this in a digital suite, and Nero offers a good standard video editing package that allows you to create impressive-looking home movies and video productions.

For quick editing and fitting together a couple of simple videos, the Express mode does a good job. Or if you want to do more with a multitrack timeline, plus keyframe control, video transitions, and text effects, the Advanced editing mode is for you. Fonts and style choice is extensive, with a combination of pre-set templates and bespoke designs to have your videos looking professional in no time at all. If you create your own personal style you can save it to use again later on. We also like the new motion text effects. The faster video converting process delivers rendering at excellent speeds, which makes it even quicker to burn discs once you have finished your video project.

Photo Editing

Nero Platinum Suite has little in the way of photo editing – you are much better off relying on a standalone product for any photo editing you have to do, although you can remove red-eye and crop pictures before saving them to your MediaHome collection.

Audio Editing

Another important part of the digital media suite, the audio editing section of the software allows for easy editing of music files. However, Nero only includes the capacity for combining different music playlists in one place – in the MediaHome. The only real reason to use this in the Nero suite rather than in Windows or iTunes direct is that the music organizational tool combines playlists in both Windows Media Player and iTunes. An editing suite is not included in the software.

Blu-ray & DVD Authoring

Once you have edited your video you need a professional-looking interface to present to viewers. The authoring tool in the Nero Platinum gives you graphics and text to create menus, plus on-screen navigation tools and animation. One extra useful feature is the ability to switch video disc format “on the fly” without having to start a new project. This feature is available in the authoring tool for video.

Converting Media

The one-click conversion tool that comes with the Nero digital suite is a useful addition for any PC. Simply connect the destination device to the computer, put the disc in the drive, and the suite will convert DVD videos, AVCHDs, and audio CDs directly into the format for any mobile device as well as to go into Dropbox, Google Drive or, OneDrive. We found the system particularly quick and easy.

Playing & Streaming Videos

Don’t worry about organizing movies and shows into different formats so you can watch them on the move, or when you’re lying in bed – instead stream videos to your smartphone or tablet from the MediaHome organizer. The Receiver in the MediaHome section allows for direct streaming via Wi-Fi with automatic conversion into compatible formats for easy viewing. The simple process of dragging and dropping the file into the conversion zone makes the process incredibly simple for anyone to master.

Sharing Media Online

Not much for sharing media online in Nero Platinum. The one thing that stands out as being a little different is the slideshow creation feature for combining photos with video and being able to share these slideshows with friends and family online. But Nero does not include any social media integrations to get your creations out there into the world.

Extras

Nero BackItUp - Backup to external hard drives, optical media and cloud services such as Google Drive, OneDrive.

Nero TuneItUp - System Utilities. Only included in the yearly subscription.

Help & support

The "Nero KnowHow Plus" support portal has an impressive line-up of articles explaining everything from activating the product to photo and video editing. On closer inspection, there are only a few FAQs covering the basics within each topic section, but the addition of online manuals helps round out the online support offering.

There’s a users' forum. From the Launcher you have access to a roster of video tutorials that aim to make it easier to navigate and handle the various aspects of this digital media suite. You can get technical support via email but it is a shame there is no telephone support option from Nero.

Overall

Nero Platinum Suite 2023 as a good value, all-round management tool for the increasing amount of digital media you encounter on your PCs and smartphones. The AirBurn feature and the Wi-Fi media streaming, as well as the excellent burning features, make this suite worth having in your modern home. earns its reputation as one of the best digital media suites out there.

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