1. Press Release
Nero
5.0 preview - Page 1
Press
Release:
The official release of version 5.0 of Ahead Software's, Nero Burning Rom will
be April 30th. There have been extensive enhancements to what is already being
called the 'Emperor of CD Recording software'.
These include Multiple Burning options, or simply the ability
to write to more than one CDRW at the same time (retail version or upgrade purchase).
The new engine has improved multi-tasking capability, allowing both greater
stability and improved speed.
Super Video CD support has now been added, allowing the capability
to record MPEG2 files directly onto CD. At its maximum rate, a SVCD can store
around 35 minutes of video in DVD quality. Along with Super Video CD, you can
add still images and create a slideshow on a Video CD disc for playback on your
pC or stand alone players.
Nero 5.0 now has significantly enhanced audio filters. You can
now test the filters in real time and apply multiple filters simultaneously.
New filters include a Karaoke filter, which cancels the voice track of music
and a Cross Fading filter, which allows the blending of songs into each other.
Also new is a Split function, which allows for the easy (multiple) splitting
of a sound file. This is ideal for large wave files containing whole LP sides.
The user interface has been improved to make playing with sounds extremely easy
and fun.
During 1999, Nero became the first CD mastering software to incorporate
MP3 encoding and decoding. This is further extended in 5.0 with the support
of M3U playlists. These files contain lists of audio files in ASCII text format,
meaning they can be edited using the Windows program Notepad, for example. They
are read by most MP3 playback programs and can now also be read and generated
by Nero. If such an M3U playlist file is dragged into a Nero audio compilation
window, then Nero will add all audio files of the M3U playlist to its audio
compilation automatically.
Nero again looks to the future by supporting Twin VQ, the audio
compression system developed by NTT. It is now possible to encode and decode
Twin VQ files, which typically are much smaller than MP3 files, at a better
quality.
Nero 5.0 supports a CD and title database allowing you to find
title and artist information on a given audio CD. The title and artist information
will be stored within the audio file, if the file format supports this kind
of information [VQF (Sound VQ), MP3 or WMA (MS Audio)]. The powerful database
allows to store an almost unlimited amount of CD titles and songs, and access
them very fast. As an example, the FreeDB-Database with more than 1.000.000
song titles can be imported to Nero and then each entry can be accessed in less
than 0.1 sec.
Support for the copying of CD-Extra discs is now possible, and
for the retail version a CD label kit will now be included. Nero users can check
the upgrade policy.
2. Page 2
Nero
5 preview - Page 2
New Features:
- Multiple Burning!!
- Video CD (VCD) Still Images and Slideshows!!
- Super Video CD support!!
- Enhanced audio filters
- Support of M3U playlists
- CD Database support
- Twin VQ audio compression support
- Copying of CD-Extra and Multisession CDs
Impressions:
We got a preview version from Ahead in order to test the new features. We installed
the v5.0 preview over v4.0.9.1. After rebooting, we immediately run it. The
basic look of the program is still the same. Let's see what's new:
File>>Preferences. (Added Database and Buffer Tabs)
Database Tab:
Nero 5 supports a CD and title database. This database is used to find title
and artist of a given audio CD. This information is not stored on normal audio
CDs unless the CD contains CD Text. The title and artist information will be
stored within the audio file, if the file format supports this kind of information
(VQF (Sound VQ), MP3 (MPEG 1 Layer 3) or WMA (MS Audio)). The user can also
automatically add CD Text information to copies of audio CDs. Such copies are
in some ways "better" than simple 1:1 copies, because the copied CD
contains more information than the original CD. If a CD contains CD Text information,
some audio CD players can display title and artist of the CD.
Buffer Tab: You can specify Nero's Buffer.
The Nero buffer feature has two options: Automatic or Manual configuration.
As you can see below Nero suggests using at most 40% of the physical memory.
Let's get back to main program window.
Edit Tab: Nothing new here.
View Tab: Nothing new here.
CD-Recorder Tab: Nothing new here. But! Let's search submenus...Let's
select "Erase RW". Something new added here: The "Multiple Recorders"
option.
With
this new feature, if you have more than one CDR-W drive installed in your system
you can now use both. However, notice that Nero doesn't support different simultaneous
jobs (as Prassi PrimoCD does!) in the same program window. As Ahead told us
this new feature is mostly added more for "duplication needs".
This means you must open a second program instance and tick the
"Use Multiple Recorders" option in order to be able to use the CDR-W
drives that are left. Nero is smart and if one drive is occupied will not appear
it in drive selection window. The Preview version of Nero 5.0 supports simultaneous
burning on two recorders only. However the retail version might support more
recorders. How much? It isn't known yet...
Extras Tab: New option added. With them you can manage
your Databases.
Also you can do "File Encoding" for wav,mp3,wma,vqf
files (convert them to other format:
- MP3 (both VBR and CBR from 96kbits to 320kbit)
- WMA (from 64kbits to 160kbits)
- PCM Wav File (convert in wav files from 11025/22050/44100, 8/16 bit and stereo/mono
options)
- VQF Files (80/96kits with Low/Medium/High quality)
3. Page 3
Nero
5 preview - Page 3
New Jobs
In Nero 5.0 new jobs added! SuperVCD authoring and VCD "Still
Images and Slideshows" capabilities.
Super
Video CD: SVCD is an extension of the VCD standard which uses MPEG-2 compression
with variable bit rate encoding, and also allows a bitrate that is twice that
of VCD. Therefore, SVCD also offers better image quality, although it means
less total playing time if the full bandwidth is used. At DVD quality, a SVCD
can store up to 35 minutes of video, compared to 70 minutes for VCD MPEG-1 quality.
Nero itself does not support encoding to MPEG. It requires MPEG files that are
already prepared for VCD or SVCD. This can be done with third-party programs
such as Ulead VideoStudio MPEG Encoder. Both PAL and NTSC standards are supported.
You can read more about it in our SuperVCD Article.
Video CD (VCD) Still Images and Slideshows: Still images
can be added to a (Super) Video CD compilation. JPEG files can be dragged into
the MPEG section of a (S)VCD compilation and simple slide-shows created. The
(S)VCDs can be played back in all (S)VCD and DVD players which can read CD-R/CD-RW
media. You can read more about it in our VCD Article.
Copying of CD-Extra
and Multisession CDs: the copying of CD-Extra
and other Multisession CDs is now fully supported.
Improved
AudioCD filters: all audio filters have been improved. It is now possible
to test the filters in real-time and apply multiple filters simultaneously.
New filters include a Karaoke filter, which cancels the voice track of music
and a Cross Fading filter, which allows the blending of songs into each other.
Also new is a Split function, which allows for the easy (multiple) splitting
of a sound file.
M3U Playlist support: Nero 5 now supports the so-called
M3U playlists. These files contain lists of audio files in ASCII text format.
This means they can be edited using text editors such as Windows "Notepad".
The playlists are read by most MP3 playback programs and can now also be read
by Nero. If such a M3U Playlist file is dragged into a Nero audio compilation
window, then Nero will add all audio files of the M3U Playlist to its audio
compilation automatically. A nice side effect of this strategy is that title
and artist information can also be stored for those audio file formats which
would normally not support storing title and artist information. As Nero also
stores this data in the M3U Playlist, even title and artist of wave files remain
intact if you store all tracks and then drag the generated M3U Playlist file
back into an audio compilation. Furthermore, M3U Playlist files can be read
and written by most popular MP3 playback programs, including the Nero Media
Player.
Data Jobs:
The two new features of Nero 5.0 are impressive. No other CDR software this
time has direct support for SVCD+VCD "still images and slideshows".
At last all SVCD fans will be able to burn their favorite SVCD movies to CD
and play them on standalone SVCD players.
(S)VCD supports advanced features like Karaoke and hierarchical
menus with images, but none of these are used by Nero at the moment. Nero simply
takes a list of MPEG or image files and writes them onto a disc so that play
starts immediately with the first item and the forward and backward button of
a player jump between the files.
A pause can be set that will stop playback at the end of each
item. Because this is only a value in the description of each item, the pause
does not require the generation of empty blocks and may be very large or even
infinite, i.e. causing the player to stop and wait for user interaction.
In Nero v5.0, still images can be added to a (Super) Video CD
compilation. In contrast to movies, still images can and have to be encoded
by Nero itself. For now only JPEG files can be dragged into the MPEG section
of a (S)VCD compilation. Other image formats may be added in later versions.
Encoded images are stored in the first track and can be found in the SEGMENT
directory when looking at the disc in a PC. Because a (S)VCD has to contain
at least one additional track, Nero creates an empty one, even if the compilation
only contains images.
Images are prepared automatically for the resolution expected
by (S)VCD, which means that the resolution of the original images is arbitrary.
Options to control this image manipulation possibly will be added in future
versions of Nero. The generation of thumbnail images with shortcuts to the full
size images is also planned.
These are the image sizes supported by both standards:
|
|
PAL
|
NTSC
|
|
VCD, normal
|
352x288
|
352x240
|
|
VCD, high
|
704x576
|
704x480
|
|
SVCD, normal
|
480x576
|
480x480
|
|
SVCD, high
|
704x576
|
704x480
|
A VCD always stores the normal resolution for older players, but
may also offer the higher resolution for players that have a better display.
An SVCD on the other hand only stores either image size. Nero generates the
higher resolution when the source image is large enough and also detects the
video mode automatically.
CD
Copy engine of Nero has also been improved and now supports copying of CD-Extra
and Multisession CDs. However no option for RAW reading/writing has been added
as we had expected. Let's hope Ahead will add this soon…
We also tested the "Multiple Recorders" option.
In the Burn menu of each job the "Use Multiple Recorders" has been
added. As we already said if you have more than one CDR-W drive you will find
this option useful.
We made some preliminary tests using two CDR-W drives and writing
from two Nero windows at the same time. We didn't notice any problems. However,
we will run more tests soon and add the results. The Burn window has also changed
since the Buffer Size indicator has been added:
At last, there are also some changes in the "Dates"
Tab of the Burn menu of each job:
AudioCD Jobs:
As we said, Nero improved it's build-in filters. You can now test the filters
in real-time and apply multiple filters simultaneously:
Also, new is the Split function, which allows multiple splits
of a sound file with a truly easy way. Select in the wave form window the place
you want to place a split and press "Split". You just split your file.
Of course you can edit the split position in order to be more precise in time
length.
4. Page 4
Nero
5 preview - Page 4
"How to
create a SVCD with Nero"
Nero is a dedicated CD recording software, so Ahead's focus when creating
a SVCD is the recording part, not the encoding of MPEG-2. Nero's SVCD support
does not have to be purchased separately, so Ahead believes that they cannot
give you a feature-packed CD recording software plus an MPEG encoder for less
than you would normally pay for a good encoder alone... To us is seems quite
fair ;)
There has been some confusion about what kind of input files are accepted
by Nero for VCD and SVCD. The general answer is: MPEG files that have already
been prepared for VCD or SVCD. If the files conform to the VCD or SVCD specs,
Nero is able to write a VCD or SVCD on-the-fly without re-encoding the files.
It¥s important to realize that there are different types of MPEG files. What
makes a MPEG suitable for a (S)VCD is way beyond the scope of this short text
and has to be dealt with by the makers of an MPEG encoder. It involves details
and settings that simply cannot be chosen via the user interface of existing
encoders, unless they have a button dedicated to "(S)VCD encoding".
Having said that, there is a way to at least make Nero happy with the source
MPEG files. However, this is still far from producing a standard compliant CD,
because Nero cannot test all the relevant aspects.
The most obvious (and most easily met) requirement is picture size:
| |
PAL
|
NTSC
|
|
VCD Normal
|
352x288
|
352x240
|
|
VCD Hhigh
|
704x576
|
704x480
|
|
SVCD Normal
|
480x576
|
480x480
|
|
SVCD High
|
704x576
|
704x480
|
The "high" resolutions are only available for still images, not
for movies. Versions of Nero lower than 5.0.0.8 implied that "high"
resolutions were allowed for movies. This has now been fixed. The new version
will come out soon...
- For still images, Nero will do the encoding by itself, so the picture sizes
may differ. Nero will automatically fit the picture into the available space
(this will be user-configurable in a future update if users request this).
- The frequency for the video is 25Hz for PAL and 29.97Hz for NTSC. The VCD
format also allows a "MOVIE" resolution of 352x240 at 23.976Hz, but
although this is legal, it is said to cause problems with some players.
- Audio must be MPEG-1, layer 2, at 44.1kHz, stereo. SVCD also allows a second
music channel and MPEG-2 multi-channel. The second channel is usually used for
another language or - in case of Karaoke - for the music without the vocal track.
Apart from these obvious aspects, Nero also requires the MPEG-2 file to have
a pack size that fits directly into a mode 2, form 2 block, i.e. it must be
2324 bytes large. If this (and for VCD also some other minor aspects) is not
met, then Nero will list the file as having an "invalid stream encoding".
Nero does not test if scan information is stored in the user data of a stream.
Scan information is required by the SVCD standard and might be required by certain
players for seeking functions. Nero also accepts streams that contain invalid
stream IDs.
How about suitable MPEG-2 encoders?
We now reached the million dollars question. Below is an list with some
Mpeg2 encoders and if they can produce SVCD Mpeg files:
Ligos does not officially support SVCD, but unofficial profiles can be found
that are good enough to produce a SVCD that work, for instance, in a Yamakawa
SVCD player and perhaps others as well:
- MPEG Encoder 3.0: http://home.earthlink.net/~jdwolf/
- MPEG-2 Adobe Premiere Plug-In: http://www.stanford.edu/~jkratz/plugin.htm
You can often fix broken stream encoding by demultiplexing a stream with Brent
Beyeler's bbTOOLS (see bbMPEG link above) and then multiplexing it again with
bbMPEG.
Ahead is trying to contacting all vendors of MPEG-2 encoding and although
they have replied quickly, fixing their products for SVCD may either take a
while or they are still evaluating the demand on the market. So talk to your
vendor (politely ;-) if you want them to produce an encoder that supports SVCD
correctly. And then burn, baby, burn.
Interesting links
MPEG-2 encoder test: www.tecoltd.com/enctest/enctest.htm
SVCD info pages:
- www.iki.fi/znark/video/svcd/overview/
or www.uwasa.fi/~f76998/video/svcd/overview/
- www.geocities.com/bug2kbug/
- www.ratos.de/
5. Page 5
Nero
5 preview - Page 5
Final Conclusion
|
Positive (+)
|
Negative (-)
|
- SAO burning mode added
- Multiple Burning added
- Super Video CD Authoring added!
- (S)VCD "Still Images and Slideshows" added!
- M3U Playlist support
- CD Database support
- Buffer Size option added
- Filters can be previewed in real time
- New filters
- Very stable
- Support for Win2k |
- No RAW support yet
- No cancel button after the recording has started! |
Our *preliminary* impression for Nero 5.0 is that Ahead managed
to improve Nero and add some unique features for a CD Recording program. SuperVCD
and VCD "still images and slideshows" are not included in any other
CDR software package at this time being. Of course some other packages (VideoPack
5.0 from Cequadrat) will include those two new features but don't forget that
we are talking about CDR recording software here, not a video authoring tool!
Ahead added a multiple burning option too. When reading about
it we thought that it would work almost like Prassi PrimoCD Pro series did.
However Ahead's approach is a little different. If you already have a Nero job
running, you can't do any other task in Nero without opening a second program
instance.
Nero's "Multiple Engine" is smart and when a CDR-W drive
is occupied with one job it does't show up in drive's selection window. The
same thing happens if you are doing a CD Copy job and thus occupying a CDR-W
and CD-Rom drive. As we said, our tests showed that doing a combination of jobs
(data+audio, data+videocd, eraseRW+eraseRW) with two CDR-W drives didn't produce
any problem on first sight. In order to be sure, we need to run more tests on
the "Multiple Burning Option" and update the review soon.
The AudioCD authoring has improved since the new filter engine
allows you to preview them in real time. Splitting the audio files is also quite
easy.
However , there are some features which most of users (including
us) would like to see in Nero 5.0. The Nero 5.0 preview version didn't include
RAW reading/writing. Nero is known to users for it's advanced CD Copy capabilities
on protected CDs. However, in the market there are some new software packages
which acquired the title for the ultimate copier (such as CloneCD). We believe
that Ahead must include RAW reading/writing to it's CD Copy engine, especially
since most manufactures plan to (or have already) supported MMC DAO RAW in their
CDR/W models.