Customer Reviews

Roxio Easy Media Creator 7.5 [Old Version]

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(25)

 

 

I have been using the EZCD, now Roxio line of media software to make music mixes for years, since version 2.0. With heavy competition from numerous new music players, I stuck with Roxio and updated from version 6.0 to 7.5, eager to check out and use the promised benefits. Instead I found that 7.5 is actually a major DOWNGRADE of music mixing features and functionality. It's hard to believe, but true. Here are some of the downgrades:
1. 7.5 doesn't list and sort songs by artist or title at all! You have to go by the Windows file name!
2. 7.5 worsens the crossfading control feature, the major benefit of this program over other music mixing programs. 7.5 can only apply crossfade or gap settings by whole seconds, rather than fractions as in 6.0, so you can't be as precise with the segues. Also, 7.5 doesn't allow control over the portion of the track you listen to when composing the crossfade, as 6.0 did.
3. 7.5 eliminates the "Audio Central" component of the 6.0 version and uses the old Creator Classic view, with less features.
4. 7.5 won't recognize your mixes (playlists) from 6.0.
5. 7.5 won't recognize and list your song titles and artist names from 6.0.
6. 7.5 has a terrible volume normalizing program that creates big quick blasts of higher or lower volume before finding the normalized level. This feature is applied only when burning, not when mixing, so you can't audition it until it's too late. Volume normalizing is just useless.
7. With 6.0, you could place as many tracks as you wanted into a playlist, then edit down from that to create a mix that would fit on a CD. With 7.5 you are limited to about 100 minutes of material to draw from.

Roxio actually lies about these features in their online "comparison" charts, stating that features which are not functional on 6.0 are present on 7.5, when in fact the opposite is true. This is deceptive advertising.

I have written to Roxio to get help on any or all of this, and I have received no response whatsoever.

If you've been using Roxio to make music mixes, it's time to look elsewhere. If you haven't been, don't start now.

I'm tired of waiting for software that actually works! OK, if I could rate this a negative number I would. Make sure and back up your configuration and drivers before installing this piece of trash. It has destroyed the drivers on both of my computers (laptop and home). Neither computer will create a CD. It doesn't convert music types (and there is downloadable shareware that does this). Lots of fancy screens, lots of fancy words in their product description. Roxio has joined the ranks of so many other PC software creators (marketing, marketing, marketing). DO NOT BUY THIS SOFTWARE. Matter of fact, send me the $100, you'll be better off!!!!!

I would give less product negative stars if I could.

I upgraded from Easy CD Creator 5.1 to Easy Media Creator 7.5 with the hope of curing some minor bugs. What a mistake!

The main use I have at present is the Drag-to-Disk function. This function DOES NOT WORK. In my frustration, I have searched the web and found many reports of the same problem. The Drag-to-Disk software continually reports that a recorable media is read-only.

I have tried several different approaches to recording DVDs with this software but nothing works. I am being forced to uninstall this product and reinstall the old 5.1 product. My only other alternative at this point is to hope that a patch is released soon.

No wonder the price is dropping so fast!

To top if off, the Roxio web site is an exercise in futility. There is a drill-down that even lists the "read-only message" problem, but from that point, it just takes you back to the beginning.

I had hoped to try the main other features of this product, but this level of frustration and annoyance is very discouraging and feel like I have been ripped off and have no where left to turn.

I am afraid a once great software product is taking the path of so many other retail products, of getting to a certain level and then self-destructing.

You may find that the rest of this product suite works for you, but BEWARE if you are expecting to ues the Drag-to-Disk feature. In that case, DO NO BUY THIS PRODUCT!

Indeed, why upgrade from version 6? Version 6 does some things this release won't and all the things I need. The one big thing that really gets me is you can only "rip" one CD at a time. In v6 you can do two at a time (if you have the drives, obviously) and if you have lots of CDs to get on to your hard drive that is a very nice feature. As for burning, I got Nero with my burner and I haven't found anything better for burning and for ripping, well, I won't uninstall this product, but you really need to check out a "post-card ware" product called "Quintessential" from Canada (all they want by way of payment is a post card telling them where you are from!). It blows everything in it's class away, but, like I said, I won't uninstall this because I sure there must be something this does that Nero and Quintessential can't, I just haven't found it yet.
In their defence and to my everlasting amazement(!!) when I wrote them telling them of my disapointment with the v7.5 upgrade over v6, they offered to find a way to get me my money back! Well, if they are going to stand behind their product that strongly, I'll keep it and give it a few more tries. I like v6 but v7.5... Maybe I'm missing something.

I have owned and updated this product since before it was bought by Roxio. Now it has been bought out by Sonic. The newest version 7.5 of the product has become bloated and useless, with a built in Napster client as the core feature. Prior version user upgrade prices are handled unethically - The first email they sent me said offered upgrade for $99.99 no exceptions for prior customers (less than a week after I upgraded to version 7.0 which also sent me through the roof - an upgrade that recent should be free), then eventually they sent email offering a lower price but with a 48 hour window, and after about a month I got an email with a half-wise decent upgrade price offer of $29.99, which I took. They have over-hyped version 7.5, which I have found to be mostly useless and frustrating. I spent all weekend trying to burn some DVD movies, only to have half of them ruined because the some features of the product don't work they way they say they do. Very disappointed - I won't buy their next product and I'm looking for something better instead. They're marketing this peice of junk like it's the best product around, and I feel like I've been taken...

I upgraded from 7.0 to 7.5 on a Media Center PC. Simply put, this software is a piece of crap, and I've spent countless hours trying to eliminate it from my machine since. I can no longer burn DVDs, and can no longer record under Media Center. Whenever I try to run Video Wave, it crashes before I can even call up the settings -- that is, it loads and then crashes immediately.

The Roxio support site is a joke. Don't even try.

Don't waste your time or money. Go with something like Nero if you prefer, just stay away from this garbage.

i've been using roxio products for many many years. for me, they've installed and been VERY useful. but appears roxio's latest version isn't really up to date at all - they appear to be selling a version without dual-layer disc support. i'd wait until they release a version that does.

this version is essentially obsolete.

I bought version 7.0 of this product. It worked rather well considering early criticisms. So I was excited to get the new features and upgrade to version 7.5.

What a nightmare! The only reason I gave this 1 star was because you can't give "0". While it works well once you are in the program - sound editing, cd burning, etc. it won't allow you to NOT install Napster. Don't try the FAQ's on their website - none of the "tips" actually stop the problems but surely waste a lot of time trying to go through all the installs, downloads, uninstalls, and of course, Roxizap! Someone should ZAP them! It takes over WindowsXP drag to disc function - you can't make it stop! Every time you try to copy/move a file, up pops ROXIO Drag to Disk! You can't do anything involving files, anywhere, in any program, without this program interfering. After many attempts to "fix" the problems, working under directions from the Roxio Tech site, I finally gave up and uninstalled the program, or so I thought. Now, when I reboot, there's a nag screen that pops up telling me that Drag-to-Disk needs to be re-installed. Compared to what it was doing before, I can deal with that. All I know is I'd like to drag their disks somewhere!

Tech support is frustrating, practically impossible to reach and the directions are complicated and don't work - if you can get to them!

Stay with version 7.0 if you have it and it's working for you. Don't go there if you don't have to.

Save your money - save your sanity - leave 7.5 alone.

I tried both Roxio and Nero. Nero is what's left on my machine now. Roxio is crap. It's unstable and took me hours to clear up the mess after I uninstalled it. Roxio used to be the king but it went down the hill since verion 5. If you are to buy a CD/DVD software, look elsewhere instead.

Software Horrible..Had to re-install Drives..and thank god for speaker phone was on hold forever. Its been a week and still problems with drives disappearing. Should have read reviews and stayed away from this "crap" software.