Customer Reviews

Nero 7 Ultra Edition Enhanced [OLD VERSION]

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(45)

 

 

I've used Nero since Version 5. So upon installation on my Vista Home Premium system, the interface was familiar and easy to navigate. All the functions I want to use are there and seem to be working just fine.

I've read complaints here and elsewhere that Nero 7 takes over your system. It's important to be careful about which components you install (you can always add a component later). Also, and this is critical, they give you the option as to which files you want Nero to open by default. I simply deselected all of them. If I want Nero to, say, open a jpg file, I'll use the "Open with" command. I also did not install any program icons on my desktop. And to avoid installation problems, be sure to turn off any antivirus software and any other programs you have running (like it says in the manual). If you have earlier versions of Nero installed, be sure to remove them first before you do anything else. I did all of that and it was a very straightforward and easy installation. The only really annoying thing was, at the very outset of the installation, they give you the option to install "Just Ask". It's easy to miss, and I don't want it. So be sure to look for that and deselect it if you don't want it.

Nero 7 the original version was useless in that it prevented you from burning some things; mysteriously Nero had suddenly undone itself. All of that has now changed with the new update. It is so good that you can now burn ANYTHING on Vista.

Nero Inc also released a "Nero 7 cleantool" for removing bad installs. If you have had trouble with Nero 7 on Vista then the cleantool will fix it. Apply the tool. Clean install.

Nero 7 is 99.9% effective but has a tendency to corrupt now again simply because it has a vast configuration system. Nero is a core burning tool. This means that several backup packages out there will actually find Nero on install and use it for burning. One example is DVDshrink that runs Nero in the background while backing up DVD movies on DVD-R. I/O errors with these programs, including DVD Decrypter, are usually the result of a configuration problem with Nero. One example is updating your firmware. Sometimes this requires you to reinstall Nero. This problem however is the only bug I have found with Nero. Just on the side - I highly recommend either Sony, Imation, Memorex, Verbatim as relatively cheap good second class media (80% or higher burn success rate). DVD is still in its early days of development and some media is garbage so don't blame Nero if you make coasters (half burned DVD-R Discs that are useless to you) with this software. I also recommend a healthy supply of at least 3 DVD-RW Discs for TESTING your burning so that you NEVER make a coaster and waste money. Okay, now back to Nero.

Nero Burning Rom is the real tool in the bundle. It is the most configurable burning tool in the package while Nero Express is for those who do not know a thing about burning and works like a Wizard. A word of advice is to stick with the Rom and learn it without using the Wizard. You can choose from dozens of CD formats and dozens DVD formats, including several variations of each format. Image burning and hybrid discs of any time are all here. There is not a disc format you cannot burn with this program. Burner hardware based error correction systems in conjunction with the Nero software make a perfect burn almost every time. Nero also happens to be extremely fast, if not the fastest out there, however fast is also in terms of how fast your burner is, but the software package requires little to no processing before a 8GB DVD is being pulled onto your HD. You can create ISOs with Nero and even use Nero to open up ISOs so you can read the content). There is an amazing amount of free software out there that uses this burner as their base and rightly so. It is the best burning software out there at this time of writing.

Pros:

- If you can learn tutorials for all types of backups then this and a DVD burner will change your life if you play games and watch movies.
- Solid performance. With good hardware and media almost flawless burns every time.
- Nice configuration. Can even backup your PS and Xbox Games.
- All burning formats.
- About 266mb in size.


Cons:

- Let's face it. DVD burning and backup does have a bit of a learning curve. Read plenty of tutorials that use Nero to do specific backups.
- Corrupts sometimes and needs cleaning before reinstall.
- You really need a top of the range machine to backup a DVD in less than an hour.

The computer that I bought June 2006 came with Nero 6 OEM version. It has worked very well. I finally got around to clicking on the upgrade icon and ordered what I thought would be a serial number to unlock some features. It turns out that is not available, and I have bought the Nero 7 Ultra version, which required a 195 MB download. Having dialup, I was not pleased. I asked for my money back. No response. I faxed BBB complaint with copies to Nero offices in California and Germany. The office in Germany responded with email that they do not do refunds. Los Angeles BBB has been unresponsive.
I finally got the download from a computer with broadband. I uninstalled Nero 6 and set restore point. I installed Nero 7. It worked! But it was agonizingly slow. I don't mean the CD or DVD writing per se was slow. When I eventually got it going that gave me the full speed of my hardware. However navigating from each click to response felt like it was in a 486 and not an Athlon 64. I think other programs were also rendered more sluggish in opening files.
I uninstalled Nero 7, and just to be safe I then used restore point from before I installed it. I reinstalled Nero 6. What a relief! There may be some fancy features Nero 6 OEM lacks, but it's worth it to have the computer working at reasonable speed. If I want to rip a music track to a .wav file (a feature lacking in the OEM version), it's easier to reboot to linux and run K3b than put up with sluggish Nero 7 Ultra to do it.

A product and company gone bad; Nero 7 is definitely not recommended.

My title saids it all. Don't be fooled by the friendly interface. Nero 7 has some serious software transcoding problem. AVI, MPEG whatever, it doesn't matter. When Nero 7 decide to freeze on transcode, you are not going to burn any videos the entire day.

The sad part is that I am writing this as of end of September 2006. There are plenty of transcode complaints from forums around the web. Updates don't fix squat. Even down to the Enhanced version.

I am excellent on the computer from the technical standpoint, and I buy all top of the line hardware/software. I run my home software 100% error free for years.... up until I bought Nero 7. If my solid plextor DVD writers don't cut it, thats enough said. People who praise this software high must be burning 5 minute videos. Cause it is quite a challenge to make a 4GB movie with no problem. And that is being generous.

Try archiving 16,000 files on a dual layer 8GB DVD. You can't. Don't worry about wasting the disks, you'll get an unexpected exception error way before it can even open a session. If you think I am up something special, I am not. This simple task can be done on the FREE AVS Media Creator 2.1. That software takes up only 5MB and out performs Nero 7 and Roxio by a factor of 10.

I purchased the retail version of this. It installed fine and then required an upgrade that replaced the installed version. The update came without integrated help files. They had to be downloaded separately. Once installed the software, no matter my attempts would not burn a DVD data disk. I sent an e-mail for help (phone support is by the minute) and am still waiting for them to fix the problem. I sent them an error log file three times before they seemed to get it and then they had me download a new version which did not work either (again with no integrated help files). Despite them having the problem for three weeks now, I still cannot use the software for the purpose I purchased it for.

After spending time on the phone with Nero customer support, their response was to use the fee based support to get help.

My recommendation is buy CD Creator by Sonic. It works!!

This is the first time I tried Nero, so I didn't have an older version to upgrade, so I can't speak to any of those issues. I can say the update process for this version did hang up the first time. But then, after rebooting, and retrying the update - it worked just fine.

I was amazed at how easy it was to take "TiVo-to-go" video downloads, edit them, and then burn them to DVD. The video DVD burning (Nero Vision) is pretty intuitive - even removing commercials.

I'm happy with this software and I recommend it.

I upgraded to the 7.0 version when I moved to Vista. Works FANTASTIC. One tip: Before purchasing, I was out reading reviews on this product and there were a couple of posts where users were complaining about the product taking over all media related actions. To avoid this you must read all of the screens while performing install. Towards the end of installation, you will be given a screen to choose which actions you want Nero to automatically handle, if any.

I bought Nero hoping it would be the old nero, a reliable suite with lots of advanced options. Not what I got.

Throw out the installation disk. It was old when I got it. Those having install problems, just uninstall it! Download the latest version online, and use the serial number inside the box. The "upgrade" program never worked. Came up with some unsupported error. Oh one problem with this, the help files are all missing. At least it runs.

Nero Backup is worthless. I select what files I want, spans multiple dvds, great! When burning the second disk, a disk full error comes up, asking me some question. Regardless if I answer yes or no, failure. This problem may have been resolved, but I've moved on from this program. If it can multi-span correctly, will it restore?

The nero toolbars, and other junk didn't help.

I recently bought a toshiba, which came with toshiba's burning software. That's works great for me, and at this point what I'm using. It also came with power dvdcreator, which burns home movies just great.

My advice, if your current burning software doesn't cut it, try sonic. Maybe they've done something in the last 5 years other than add garbage.

Any company selling a product that does not support the customer with effective and efficient help when needed does not deserve anyones business. The so called customer no-service phone lines are rediculous.
I purchased this software as an upgrade to NERO 6 and received a free copy of Photoshop Deluxe 4 with a 1-year free premium membership. All I needed was a security key number that works. After waiting on hold for 32 minutes I was told to call the tech support line [not free] or email them. I've now emailed three times with nothing more than an automated response that someone will be in touch. Ha Ha Ha. I have tried every means to contact this company with no response what-so-ever. Now I've contacted my credit card company to dispute the billing. They will reverse the charge for me.
Now I've found that the company is out of Germany. It is my opinion that NERO is going to great lengths to make it very difficult to contact them in any way.

I've been buying Ahead's Nero product since version 3, upgrading each time a new version comes out. By "Enhanced", Ahead seems to mean that it's Marketing department is now firmly in charge of the product, and it's once-leading-edge technology has now taken a firm back seat to advertising. I had great luck with version 6 and wish I'd stuck with that. Version 7 wasn't bad, either, for me until they 'Enhanced' it.

If you do install this version, even if you manage to duck the opportunity to install the Ask toolbar (which takes just a little care), you're going to get a proprietary search gadget anyway called Nero Scout. There doesn't appear to be any way to avoid installing Scout, and you can't get rid of it through the add/remove programs tool. There's a good article on Digg about how to get rid of it, though.

This was my last purchase from Ahead, unless of course they fire their Marketing department and go back to writing good software. I can recommend the previous versions, though, which are generally free of co-branding baggage and install less aggressively. It seems that you can still get a good deal on version 6 and the original version 7 via Amazon.