As a general rule, computer users want their video-editing software to do two things. First, it must enable them to build eye-catching home movies with minimal effort. They expect the software to gather the video footage; cut it into usable clips; combine selected clips with interesting transitions, background music, narrative tracks, still photos, and other special effects; and output a finished movie to any number of available media. Second, the video-editing software also must allow the users to stop the hyper-automated editing process at any time so that they can edit the video content and add personal elements to the mix.

Corel DVD MovieFactory 5 does both. And it does them quite well. The program’s friendly wizard-like interface allows harried amateur videographers to compile their clips and output a finished home movie by clicking the mouse fewer than half a dozen times. Users can add customized transitions, text effects, background music, and narration simply by clicking the mouse a few more times. The program supports practically all major multimedia formats, and it can export to practically any media, including HD DVD and Blu-ray. We especially liked the speed at which it worked. Never did we find ourselves waiting for previews to run or content to load.

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The latest version of Presto! DVD PowerSuite is a comprehensive collection of content creation components that enable users to edit photos, make disc labels, burn music CDs, back up data, and play multimedia files. For the purpose of this roundup, however, we focused our attention on the suite’s video-editing component.

Following a straightforward installation, we opened the video editor and began the process of creating a home movie. The interface was a bit drab, but its integrated task list outlined the steps involved so that we knew exactly how to proceed. Like most video editors, this one features timeline and storyboard modes, dozens of transitions and special effects, and a preview window for watching the work-in-progress at any time. We were able to put together a simple home movie, complete with background music, transitions, and text effects in a matter of minutes. The program then gave us the option of burning the movie directly to disc, transmitting it via email, or saving it locally as a video file.

However, PowerSuite has its limitations. It can accommodate only one video track, one audio track, and one soundtrack, for instance. More irksome for us was the fact that the program would not recognize the WMV video clips we wanted to integrate into our home movie. And when we went looking for assistance, we found that the accompanying users manual was slim on details. We should note that we received plenty of information when we accessed the program’s online support tools.

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With the release of version 3.0, Adobe Premiere Elements will likely retain its crown as the best-selling video editor on the market. The program boasts a quick installation, an impressive array of features, and undoubtedly the best pedigree in the business. And yet, as was the case when we reviewed its predecessor for a similar review in June 2006, this version of Premiere Elements fails to win our vote as the best consumeroriented video editor on the market.

Our concern lies with ease of use. Premiere Elements can match and, in most cases, exceed any other video editor strictly in terms of functionality. It offers native support for high-definition video editing, DVD output options, countless audio and video effects, countless audio and video tracks, and significant control over every multimedia element included in a movie. Users can rescale individual clips or adjust the opacity of an image, for instance,just as easily as they tweak the brightness or volume. And we appreciate the program’s near-seamless integration with Adobe Photoshop Elements.

The problem comes in figuring out how to use it all. The interface represents a marked improvement over its predecessor. We certainly appreciate the intuitive enhancements, such as the new Sceneline layout tool. But how many regular computer users know how to configure a channel map transition or create a fourcolor gradient fill? How many computer users even know what those things are? An excellent users manual provides ample instruction, and registered users receive three free online tutorials. Even so, the whole experience may prove overwhelming to casual users looking for a fun way to jazz up their old home movies.

Moreover, Premiere Elements ran quite slowly on our computer. This is a common complaint among other users of the program. The slowdown is no doubt due to its robust functionality but is annoying nonetheless. Users who want to take advantage of the HD (high-definition) functionality need a 3GHz or faster processor and at least 1GB of RAM.

It takes just a few minutes of being in the company of Ableton’s insanely powerful Live 6 music creation and performance software for Mac and Windows to realize it offers crazy potential to tweak the living daylights out of audio you record and the audio and MIDI samples and effects Ableton bundles. Conversely, you’ll quickly realize that unless you’re really passionate about composing, producing, or performing music, and I mean really passionate, Live 6 probably isn’t your bag for a couple of reasons.

The first and most significant reason is that Live 6 carries stiff $499 download and $599 box prices, although you will definitely get your money’s worth. This alone should filter out the passers by from those truly dedicated to their musical craft. Second, if you haven’t used a sequencer or DAW-like app previously, Live 6 has a significant learning curve to overcome. Thanks to some excellent organizational work, including Ableton packing Live 6’s various elements into one logical (albeit crammed) window, and new support for multiple and dualcore CPUs, however, stably stumbling your way through Live 6 is possible. To effectively use the app, though, means investing considerable time learning and mastering Live 6’s many intricacies. I spent days, for example, just obsessively creating and tweaking various loops with Live’s virtual knobs and sliders.

Creating and manipulating loops and others compositions takes place in Live Sets, which reside in Live Projects, essentially a folder system that also houses demo Sets. Clips are chunks of audio you can use to build your music. You can create and alter your own Clips; as little as a cheap microphone or Input cable can get you started; to help shape songs, remixes, scores, etc. Altering Clips on the fly constitutes much of Live 6’s considerable charm and is a primary reason why DJs and musicians who are seeking to enhance their live performances are attracted to Live 6. You can work with Clips in either Arrangement or Session views, which you can easily toggle via the TAB key. As you might expect, the Session view is where you’ll twist and morph Clips, while the Arrangement view displays your Clips in what resembles a musical timeline.

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For computer users with inquisitive children or careless roommates, parental control software can be a viable solution. Safekeeper is one such program, offering a host of features including offensive site blocking (KidSafe Blocker), chat monitoring and transcription, and time controls for up to six users on as many as three PCs. It also includes maps and email alerts for predators who move to your neighborhood.

However, Safekeeper has some faults and quirks that prevent us from giving this program more than a modest recommendation. On the plus side, the program installs quickly and easily and is invisible on your PC. (It installs an icon on your Desktop, but this won’t show up on other users’ Desktops.)

On the minus side, Safekeeper is far from imperceptible, it slowed down browsing noticeably. Also, although it turned itself on after the first reboot, it did not begin monitoring and blocking until we rebooted the PC a second time.

One of Safekeeper’s features is remote monitoring, which lets you check or change your settings from any Internet-connected computer. This is the only way to adjust settings, yet the program fails to mention this (or provide instructions) at installation or reboot, and there is no login link on its main site. Documentation is scanty, and the operational FAQs are not available from every FAQ link on its site.

Once Safekeeper got going, it did a good job of blocking sites, monitoring chat, and generally performing its tasks, although it was quite a struggle to turn off monitoring for the Administrator account. If you can get past these frustrations and don’t mind saddling your kids with sluggish Internet speeds, give it a whirl (there is no free trial, however).

At first glance, CyberLink’s DVD Suite Pro appears to be the end-all, be-all solution for multimedia fans. For under $100, you get a staggering array of tools and utilities, giving you the ability to perform a wealth of tasks with an assortment of multimedia file types. Closer inspection reveals that while DVD Suite Pro offers a considerable value for the price, it misses the mark in a few spots.

With DVD Suite Pro, you’ll receive 10 tools and utilities: PowerDirector (Express version), PowerProducer, PowerBackup, Power2Go, InstantBurn, LabelPrint, MediaShow, PowerDVD (Express version), PowerDVD Copy, and PowerStarter. PowerDirector Express and PowerProducer enable you to capture and then edit or author videos, respectively. PowerBackup, as its name implies, adds backup capabilities. Power2Go and InstantBurn variously let you burn data or multimedia file formats to CDs, DVDs and/or Bluray discs, but not HD DVD as of this writing. LabelPrint lets you create and print labels, and MediaShow helps you create slideshows.

PowerDVD Express and PowerDVD Copy, make it easy to watch and copy DVDs. The final tool in the box, PowerStarter, affords access to all the programs from a single interface.

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Into the Olympic-sized pool of backup utilities dives BackMaster 4.01, a program its developers tout as “a comprehensive backup and disaster recovery utility to protect and archive important personal data files and system settings.” That’s a pretty tall order, so we put it through its paces.

BackMaster is a relatively powerful and easy-to-use backup utility, although it lacks some advanced features compare with its competitors. However, it also has capabilities that set it apart. In particular, it supports the backup of locked and in-use (open) files, it has the ability to format and partition a new drive (if necessary) during the restore process, and it backs up files one by one, so you can restore just a single file if needed. Those three features alone may make it worth a purchase for timecrunched users.

Installation is painless if a bit convoluted. Initially, BackMaster asks you where to store the program files and shortcuts and then requires a reboot. After installation, double-click the program icon on your Desktop; BackMaster will prompt you for the registration key and then open for use. (BackMaster didn’t offer any sort of Read Me file or other introduction, which cost it a point in our ratings.)

When you first open BackMaster (and on subsequent sessions until you complete the process or turn off the prompt), the program will ask you to create BackMaster Recovery Disks, media that enable restoration of your backed-up system in the event of a system crash or hard drive failure. (This is a good, albeit time-consuming, idea.) BackMaster won’t let you write this data to the hard drive for later transfer to another source, a minor shortcoming. However, it does enable the swapping of optical media (CDs/DVDs) if you only have one drive and the process requires more than one disc.

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