Posted by John on 12/03/07 23:25

Can anyone recommend any alternatives to Nero?

At the moment I have the Nero 6 reloaded suite, which includes Nero
Burning Rom, Nero Vision Express etc.

Unfortunately I've had a couple of problems with Nero 6, one of my
files that I saved for a project wont open any more so I've lost a
load of saved work and not best impressed with Nero. Tried
uninstalling and reinstalling numerous to the latest version of Nero 6
but file still wont open.

I heard a lot of bad things about Nero 7 being buggy so never upgraded
to that one. Was considering going with Nero 8 the newest version just
out now, but if I did that there is no guarantee this project I saved
in Nero 6 is going to work in Nero 8 after I've splashed out a load of
money on it.

Speaking of which, when I have been to the Nero site in the last month
or so and chosen the upgrade option I have a huge complaint against
Nero for discriminating and ripping off British consumers.

{When I go to the Nero site and check the link to upgrade to Nero 8
and I enter my serial number it says that I am a loyal customer and
get it for a discount at €47.99 instead of €59.99.

When I then click on the add to cart button it takes me to a new
webpage. On this page it has converted all the Euro currency to
British Pounds, but it has either done so at an incorrect rate of
exchange, or it has based it on the full price, not the discounted
price for being a loyal customer.

The reason it has to have done this is because the price it gives me
in Pounds just for Nero 8 is £39.99.

On 24/11/2007 when I checked Nero site for this upgrade the rate of
exchange was 1.3887711157 € to £1 therefore the €47.99 should only be
working out at approximately £34.56 not £39.99.

This is a £5.43 they are making on the currency exchange or an almost
16% profit margin. What gives?

If I am so loyal why is Nero trying to deceive and rip off people who
live in the UK on the exchange rate?

One month ago the exchange rate was 1.4297520824 € to £1 and it was an
even greater rip off and a profit of about 20% that Nero were making
on the currency exchange and ripping off British consumers.

Would you not consider this as discriminatory, anti-competitive
behaviour by Nero? I mean it's not as if it is costing anymore to
provide a download to the UK than the rest of the EU or World is it???
This is clearly false and misleading advertising by Nero designed to
deceive and rip off British consumers wishing to buy and download
optical disc burning software for their computer systems.

Almost three years ago I purchased Nero 6 for $39.99 in US dollars,
which would have worked out at about £21.22 in UK Pounds with the
exchange rate at the time being 1.8844249613. It seems that since then
they have started charging more to British consumers for something
that is more bulky and unstable than what they were selling three and
more years ago.}

So, now I am considering just going with a completely different
product altogether and trying to remember as many of the details of my
project that I appear to have lost as possible and starting over.

As for the alternative product I would appreciate your advice on this.
I need something that I can use for burning CDs and DVDs and also to
make and edit my own home movies with.

Have looked at reviews for a few other products. Pinnacle Studio, one
of my friends from work first suggested this, however I have seen
quite a lot of people on the net saying to avoid it at all costs
because it is full of bugs and crashes frequently.

Is any Avid product worth looking at given that they kind of
integrated with Pinnacle didn't they? They seem to offer a few
different products.

In the past I've tried TMPGEnc DVD Author and DVD Lab. TDA didn't work
too well for me, and DVD Lab I just couldn't get used to that.

Would love Adobe Premium Pro, my sisters husband has that one
fantastic software, but unfortunately I don't have the cash for that
and couldn't justify spending that much.

There are also Ulead (Corel) products, Sony Vegas and Roxio as well to
consider. Then there is Nero 8. Is it worth it with all of its bulk
plus the premium for British consumers?

What do you recommend? Any advice appreciated.

Cheers

John

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