Nero 12.0.03400

Nero's latest release brings together a number of stand-alone packages in one feature-packed media suite.

As in previous releases, Nero Burning ROM will handle all your disc burning needs: CD, DVD and Blu-ray. Support for SecurDisc 2.0 on any disc burner, and any disc type, will help you recover data from scratched or damaged discs. A new DiscSpan project time helps to split archive data across multiple discs, so for instance you could save an entire folder of MP3 files without having to organise them into single disc-sized groups. And extended Windows integration means you can now initiate a disc burning project from the desktop (just select the files, right-click one and click Burn With Nero).

Nero includes a versatile media manager that will import and Windows and iTunes media libraries, let you sort, arrange and navigate them as you'd like, then play back almost anything (apart from commercial Blu-ray discs) at a double-click. There are also basic image editing tools, and you can combine photos and videos into slideshows, as well as publish them directly to YouTube, MySpace, Flickr and Facebook.

And Nero Video provides even more video editing power, with true multi-track editing, professional effects (chroma key, pan and zoom, distortions, picture-in-picture), and NVIDIA CUDA support for great performance. It'll then burn high quality video discs for you including Blu-rays. If you're looking to convert video from one format to another or want to tailor a video for playback on a particular device, Nero Video and Nero Recode are just what you've been looking for.

Nero BackItUp adds support for NAS drives as a backup location, and there is now support for incremental backups of your drives as well as the option of creating 1:1 file copies. Related to safeguarding your data, NeroRescue Agent can now be used to work with partitions that have not been assigned a drive letter.

Other changes and additions across the suite include the ability to create and order photos products such as cards and calendars from within Nero Kwik Media, and Facebook video sharing.

Nero 12.5 brings these changes:

- Improved encoding speed with automatic detection of installed GPU acceleration device
- Job to device enables easy grouping of multiple projects targeting one device destination
- Extensive device support for cross-platform Android, iOS, and Windows 8 RT mobile devices
- Automatic music duration matching for slideshow and video projects
- Use more tracks for complex HD video projects and get even faster output results

Nero Burning ROM is an excellent disc burning package, and Nero Xtra delivers impressive new media organisation, editing and playback features. If you're planning on dipping a toe into the media suite waters then this is a very good place to start