Features:  

Nero 9 doesn’t offer comprehensive media management tools or application integration, but it does allow access to third-party plug-ins and a free trial version. Unfortunately, ease of use is just not there in this suite. Tools and features are not always easy to find and even if you find what you are looking for it may not be obvious how to use the tool.

If you are looking for an application that is easy to use right out of the box, take a look at our top contenders in this category.

Photo Capture:  

Nero 9 works well to edit photos that are already on your hard drive. There is no tool for importing directly from a camera or other device though.

This is the only application in this category that was unable to import photos directly from our mobile phone; however, if you save your camera phone images on your computer they can be imported and edited from there.

Video Capture:  

This program can just about capture any video. Whether from analog, AVCHD, disc or even streaming web video if you have a TV tuner card installed on your computer.

In addition to importing video, Nero 9 can also import PowerPoint presentations and burn them on a DVD for TV playback.

Photo Editing:  

Nero 9 is pretty light on features in this area. The suite offers basic photo editing tools like cropping, straightening and redeye removal. The Autofix Image tool adjusts colors, exposure, noise and rotation all in one step. It then previews the finished product in the window and doesn’t actually make the changes until you select “apply.” Each of these tools is also available individually if you want more control over the outcome.

In addition to typical edits, Nero also includes effects like duotone, canvas, glow and Kaleidoscope. There is no spot fixing tool and layers are not used in the editing process, which means edits are applied directly to the image.