Nero 5.5 [OLD VERSION]

by Ahead Software

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7.5 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00005BGB2
• Date first available at Amazon.com: July 6, 2001
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (101 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,609 in Software (See Top 100 in Software)
  • #22 in Software > Video & Music > CD Burning & Labeling > Mastering & Burning
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

Direct from Germany to you, Ahead Software's Nero Burning ROM 5.5 is an exceedingly capable compact disc-burning program that supports most every facet of the CD-creation process. It handles audio, data, and mixed-format recording, and sports several new perks not available in previous versions. Unfortunately, it is not particularly intuitive. Rookies and those who aren't accustomed to fully immersing themselves in their software may initially have difficulty coming to terms with Nero's many complexities and puzzling documentation.

Like most high-end CD-burning packages, Nero 5.5 allows users to perform a variety of tasks, including copying CDs, creating bootable CDs, and assembling "best of" audio CDs. It quickly compiles MP3 audio, MPEG and AVI video, mixed audio/data, and hybrid PC- and Mac-readable CDs. The program features integrated BURN-Proof technology to help prevent buffer under run errors and the useless CD "coasters" such errors create.

Yet Nero is far more than just a CD burner. The package also includes an upgradeable pre-burn virus scanner, rudimentary media player, and new and improved paint program for designing CD artwork and labels. Budding audio engineers will appreciate Nero Wave Editor, a vast suite of standard and exotic sound-altering amenities such as reverb, delay, chorus, volume normalization, and the very cool time correction, all with real-time auditioning and non-destructive editing. New for version 5.5 is the Toolkit, a two-part component consisting of a CD-speed benchmark utility and nifty drive speed tool that adjusts the speed of supporting drives to reduce noise, spin-up/down times, and mechanical wear when reading bad discs.

In testing, Nero 5.5 certainly performed as advertised. Its slick step-by-step wizard handled the basics of CD creation, and its drag-and-drop Explorer-type interface made custom compilations easy. Each and every disc emerged as expected whether burned on the fly, through a hard drive image file, or via disc-at-once or track-at-once methodology. Afterward, the program successfully ejected or withheld discs or automatically deactivated the computer as instructed. Its hard-drive backup options are restrictive, its audio CD enhancement a bit clunky, and its obligatory $15 fee for MP3 and MP3PRO encoder plug-ins annoying, yet virtually every other element of Nero 5.5 is of near-professional quality.

If you know how to use them, that is. The program's help file and electronic manual are poorly translated from their Germanic origin and sometime appear incomplete or erroneous. In fact, users are compelled to investigate and experiment just to fully understand many of the program's more advanced features. Telephone technical assistance is unavailable, and fax and e-mail correspondence must be directed to Europe. On a more positive note, Ahead offers extensive online documentation and a constant stream of free downloadable patches and upgrades. The latest such upgrade, v. 5.5.4.0, supports a host of the latest hardware burners and several new formats, including DVD.

Perfect for advanced users and those who burn more than the occasional bare-bones audio disc, Nero Burning ROM 5.5 is a program of unlimited potential. Just make sure you're willing to take the time to examine and comprehend its unlimited potential or it may frustrate before it satisfies. --Gordon Goble

Amazon.com Product Description

Nero Burning offers a complete audio-editing and CD-burning solution, and even lets you design and print cover art for your new CDs. It all starts with the Nero Wave Editor, which offers non-destructive editing that lets you try many options and undo all changes. A range of audio-processing options gives you complete control over your audio files before you record them to disc. A real-time "audition" lets you select and hear effects in real time, as your sound file plays. Preset Manager lets you save your frequently-used settings. There are also features for sample format conversion, anti-aliasing filters, dithering, and noise shaping.

You can design your own CD graphics quickly and easily with Nero's updated Cover Designer, which helps you produce professional-looking layouts for your CD booklets and inserts. Cover Designer includes assorted graphic effects, customizable design templates, multi-/maxi-album support, and predefined paper stocks. The Nero MPEG-1 video encoder allows you to make VCD and SVCD discs from MPEG files, and convert AVI video to MPEG via a drag-and-drop interface. Your disc will then be ready to be burned as a Video CD, playable on your PC or in compatible DVD players.

You can also add onscreen menus to your Video CDs and Super Video CDs. These menus are like cover pages for your discs, making it easy to select tracks for playback. And Nero 5.5's audio plug-in interface makes it easy to create your own custom-written support files (DLLs) for the new formats of your choice. (Programming knowledge and extra third-party tools required.) If you're a programmer or software developer, you can now use Nero 5.5's embedded API to add Nero Burning's powerful CD-writing functions to your own applications.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

516 of 551 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My 3 year experience, June 9, 2001

By 

Hernandez (Chicago,Illinois) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nero 5.5 [OLD VERSION] (CD-ROM)

First of all, let me say that I was very surprised just how easy and professional Nero software handled my CD burning tasks.

And Now, the plain truth,you know how it is! We all don't have 30 hours to read over the enclosed digital manual. Futhermore, with so many applications on my computer it will take me several years to really utilize the power of all my software suites. When I intially purchased my current computer: IBM 500 MHz P3, 256Mb,17HD windows 98. My Sony 4X cdwriter was bundled w/ Adaptec Easy CD Creator 4.

I have been using Easy CD4 for about 3 years without ever making a so called "coaster". However, I have only made direct CD copys or created a Audio CD from scratch. Again, never having any sort of problems. But when I was told by a friend that I could also make "mixed mode CDs" (A.K.A. Extra CD,Extended CD and CD Plus)I said what?? What is a mixed mode CD.

After diving into the Easy CD4 manual, sure enough there was the documentation and how to notes. After doing some reading and reviewing I finally said forget it. Too much toggling back and forth between the help file and the software. Later, while on the internet. I was reading a review about buring Video CD's and the like. I said WOW, I can do that with Easy CD4? Once again I dove into the manual but this time I couldn't find any documnetation with regards to burning Video CD's. Before I go on, some quick notes and review:

Some basic stuff you can do today with a CD burner: Create

1. CD-ROM - a CD with computer data

2. Audio CD - a CD with Audio tracks such as WAV or MP3 files. *If burned using a CD-R, Music can be played on a computer,a consumer DVD player and almost all Consumer CD players. *If burned using a CD-RW, Music can be played on a computer, some DVD players and most likely won't play on your consumer CD player be it Home or Automotive. - - *Applies only to CD's containing Wav. audio files/tracks.

3. Mixed Mode CD - a CD with Audio Tracks followed by computer data, such as a video file or web page. This is very similiar to some current music cds that will have an artist's music and a short music video - refered to as Enhanced CD

4. VCD or SVCD - a CD containg video files. "Video Compact Disc" "Super Video Compact Disc" The latter will contain video files in the form of the MPEG2 format. ( Better Resolution then Super Video Tape but less than DVD ) In addition, a SVCD can contain a slide show of picture files such as a jpeg file that you create and organize in any order.

5. Hybrid CD - a CD that can be played on a Windows OS or a Mac OS platform.

7. Etc.

Why?? You ask have I bothered to list all of these types of CD formats. Because, I think software engineers should design software and GUIs that enable the user to get the most out of their product. After all, we all shelled out the money. The last thing we want to do is have to pay again for an additional reference book, video tutorial or evening seminar. After 3 years of using Adaptec CD Burning software I was only using perhaps 80% of its potential worthiness. However, with Nero 5.5, new tasks with regards to CD burning was brought to my attention in less than 3 days while simply navigating through the software and wizard. Moreover, I was able to create all of the CD's listed above in less than 2 days. Many of which, Adaptic does not support. In short, Nero has a great little wizard that aids you through the CD burning process. then, when you become more of an audio engineer you can go it alone and utilze even more editing and authoring tools. This is just some of the stuff that made me smile within the Nero Burning software:

1. Recognizes both of my CD recorders and their properties.

2. I can now designate the pause time between audio tracks 2,3,4 5 etc. seconds between tracks.

3. You can burn CD text info onto your CD which many high end Home CD players recognize.

4. Several audio filters to manipulate your audio sound.

5. If you are a DJ and mix cd tracks so as to have no pause between tracks you can create a track list eventhough you have one long audio track. The track pointer can be put exactly where you want it.

6. You can fomart a CD-RW, then while working on your computer, if you want to write a file to a CD you simply Drag & Drop over your CD-RW drive and the file will be burned. Takes 2 seconds and you continue doing whatever.

7. Ever have this problem. You burned a audio cd. You listen to it and some tracks are either louder or softer in volume than others. With Nero you can make all tracks have the same volume

Finally, this list can continue for at least 6 more points. Without question Nero has won me over. My hat goes off to the German Software Engineers who designed and created this CD Burning software. Thanks......Nero

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nero may just be the most "user friendly" burning software, November 14, 2001

By 

Stuart Scott (Kentucky, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Nero 5.5 [OLD VERSION] (CD-ROM)

After using almost every different type of burning and decoding software on the market, taking the long way aroung each time, I ran into Nero. Nero is available as a demo on CNET's (...) for 30 days, and is just enough to change anyone's mind. With the aid of it's onboard decoder, all you have to do is click and drag your mp3 files to a seperate window, and they are automaticaly checked for errors, and converted to WAV format in half the time. Burning time also seems to be faster, regardless of the speed of your burner. You can also use the utility to print lables, titles, and even cd cover sheets. Amazon has a hit on it's hands, for the low price offered. It makes a great gift for anyone into internet music and entertainment. I give it a 5 star raiting because it is a time saver, and is relatively easy to get to know.

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best on the market, August 13, 2002

By 

William Warshauer (Houston, Texas United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nero 5.5 [OLD VERSION] (CD-ROM)

I really have to say the is the easiest software to burn cds with. I've been using nero for about a year now. I recently upgraded to a new computer that has xp, and i thought i would try roxio ez cd creator 5 platinum, nothing but problems. So i went back to using nero. What i love best about nero, is that it isn't confusing at all. You don't have to read through tons of manuals to work it. All you so is drag and drop, then press that little burn button. If your stuck between nero burning rom 5.5 and ez cd creator 5, and are an xp user, go with nero.