so confused with Nero

[karenr]

there are so many applications with Nero, how can I know the difference between cd romburning, nero express, nero mix, nero media player...on and on. If I want to rip files from cd's onto my hd, how do I know which one to use? I can burn in so many ways, how do I decide which one is best for what?
:confused: :confused: :confused:

[ErnieK]

Nero does not include the help files in the actual programs that you download so as to keep the file sizes down but does supply help for each individual program. Download these help files and have read over to help you better make up your mind and understand.

Here is a link for them
http://www.nero.com/en/User_Guide_Express_6.html

As you will see you have to download a file for each program in Nero.

Also Nero is now supplying a FREE version of thier writting software for Linux.
Here is the link for it.
http://www.nero.com/en/NeroLINUX.html

[karenr]

I've downloaded the user guides, but they tell you HOW to use an application, not WHEN or WHY, to help ascertain which one works best for my purposes. I'd like to k.i.s.

[Sheila Qwann]

I understand your confusion, I went through the same thing when I first started burning cd's about 5 years ago, and am now experiencing much the same with capturing/burning video (you think AUDIO's complicated? OY!). Personally, I use the free ripper Exact Audio Copy to rip cd's, obtainable here: http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/ For burning either music or data cd's, I use Nero Express (open Nero, then click "Nero Express"). You just rip the files, remember where EAC put them, then add them to the list to be burned in Nero Express. As opposed to putting large numbers of mp3's on one disk, to maximize quality I usually just copy a cd as it is (usually gotten from the local library-if you have a good one it's THE BEST resource, great for dvd's too) . With mp3's you get into bit rates, there are different ways of compressing to a given bit rate, plus VBR (variable bit rate) just keep in mind the lower the bit rate (128, 160, 192, 256, etc) the lower the quality. Keep this in mind if converting cd files to mp3, or when dl'ing from p2p. I find on the pc 128 is acceptable, played on the stereo again I just clone the original cd since that sounds best. A good program for converting one bit rate to another or cd .wav files to mp3 is Musicmatch jukebox, obtainable free here: http://www.musicmatch.com/ For playing tunes, I prefer winamp: http://www.winamp.com/ I just use the smallest one w/o skins & the rest of that bulky nonsense. Nero can probably do all these things, I just prefer what I've used, am familiar with & find convenient. Plus in general I prefer the "leaner" programs, like EAC & basic Winamp. A lot of this software is "me too", no reason to know how to do the same task on 40 different packages. One problem that causes confusion is file associations; every time you load a new audio program it wants to reset all the associations so they use the new program. You can reset this in Control Panel/Folder Options/File Types. A very good general CD-R info resource is http://www.cdrfaq.org/. The NG alt.music.mp3 can be good too, but expect the occasional smart-ass reply to really newbie questions. For some reason, with a lot of this stuff the attitude seems to be "I had to kill MYSELF learning all this crap, why should I just TELL you??? :rolleyes:

Sheila

[karenr]

I'd also like to stick to one simple application, so guess I just have to try them til I findthe right one. I agree with your last comment about some people in these supposedly "helpful" forums. They can be very snotty and demeaning. Like they didn't know everything when they started ;)
Anyway, thanks again.

[entoman]

;) As you are obviously a beginner when it comes to burning CDs, I'd forget all about Nero Burning ROM etc, and just use Nero Express, which is designed for novices and extremely easy to use just by following the on screen step by step instructions. It works with data, audio or mixed CDs.

Once you have gained confidence with Nero Express you may then decide it is worth experimenting with Burning ROM, which does offer a few extra options such as the ability to add more files to an existing CD.

As far as Nero Media Player is concerned, it works, but is very basic compared to Windows Media Player 9, or WinAmp.

Nero Wave Editor is for editing .wav audio tracks - you copy a track from your music CD onto your hard drive, edit it as required, then copy it to a CD using Nero Express or Burning ROM.

Nero CD Speed is a program to test the read/write speeds etc of your CD drive and CD-R drive and is really purely for information purposes.

Nero Drive Speed lets you test your CD and CD-R drives to see which spin speeds they can use. As well as your standard max speed ( typically 52x ) your drives are also capable of playing at slower speeds. You can set your drive to spin at e.g. 12x, and this will cause it to run much more quietly, which is advantageous when listening to music. Using slow speeds also leads to less read/write errors.

Hope this helps

[entoman]

:cool: If your main purpose is simly to copy music from CDs onto your hard drive, the easiest method is to use your existing media player. If you are using Windows XP, Windows Media Player 9 will have been installed with it. Just insert your music CD, click the Copy Music button, and the music will be saved to a folder called My Music, and can be played back with WMP9 at any time without the original CD loaded. If you are running an earlier version of Windows you can download WMP9 from the Microsoft website.

;) An even better player is WinAmp 5, which has a much nicer interface than WMP9, and is very easy to use. Again, just insert your music CD, then select your CD drive in the left pane of the Media Library window. The tracks will then be listed in the right pane, and you just select the tracks you want to copy to your hard drive, and click the Rip button.

Both players enable you to create multiple playlists, randomise playing order, fade tracks in and out, and show visualisations, graphic equaliser etc. You can also customise the interfaces of either player to display various colour schemes.

[PrntRhd]

Sheila and Karenr,
I agree with your last comment about some people in these supposedly "helpful" forums. They can be very snotty and demeaning. Like they didn't know everything when they started
If you get responses that you don't think helpful or are inappropriate here, please notify the mods so we can look at the post in question. That is one of our jobs.
:)

[yolagp]

If you click the Nero StartSmart icon, it will ask you what you want to do and take you to the Nero application that best suits you.

[karenr]

I'm not exactly a rank amateur at burning cd's - been doing music, data, etc for some time now. My problem was with deciding which application was appropriate for my uses, and also that it seems a different application pops up every time I, say, try to view photos thru explorer, or play music. Suddenly there's Nero Mix where it used to be Media Player. I'd like to just stick to one and count on that one being available. And decide which ones too ignore too ;)
I appreciate your explanations of some of the applications - it's a big help.
Now, I've been trying to make a video slideshow using NeroVision. Finally got it done, with help from tech support. Just have to figure out how to burn it so it'll play on the dvd player.