Audio Tips

1. Get organized. Use AudioCentral's Media Library to keep all your music files in easy-to-access order. In AudioCentral Player, click the Open Media Explorer button. In the File menu of Media Explorer, click Add Files To Media Library. Add files using the system browser dialog box.

You also can organize your music files into playlists that make burning compilations to CD-R (CD-recordable) a one-click task. In AudioCentral Player, click the View Playlists button near the top of the screen and then click the Create A New Playlist button next to the Playlist drop-down menu. Click the Add Selected Tracks To Playlist button located at the top of the screen to add selected files from your media library or anywhere else on your PC.

2. Let it rip. To transfer (rip) tracks from an audio CD to your media library, click AudioCentral Player's View CD/DVD Drives button. In the Drive drop-down list, select the disc drive containing your audio CD. Click the checkboxes next to the tracks you want to rip, then click the Copy Tracks To Library button at the top of the screen. Audio-Central automatically transfers the selected tracks to your Media Library in MP3 format.

You can change your audio transfer file format or your MP3 processing parameters by clicking the Options command in AudioCentral Player's Tools menu, clicking the Encoder tab of the Options dialog box, and adjusting the controls.

3. Play tag. You can use the Tag Editor to add or change information about your audio tracks. In Media Explorer or AudioCentral Player, right-click a track in any playlist and click the Edit Tracks command.

In the Track Editor, you can add or change the title, album, artist, composer, performer, band, and release date information for a track. You can add personal comments. You also can select whether you want to save your changes only in your own media library or in the audio file itself.

4. Master your mixes. If you've ever made a compilation CD-R of your favorite tunes, you've likely experienced a common annoyance: One track is too loud, the next too soft, and you find yourself constantly riding the volume knob.

You can solve this problem using AudioCentral's volume leveling function. In Media Explorer or AudioCentral Player, right-click any track in a playlist and click the Apply Volume Leveling command. AudioCentral will analyze the volume levels of each track in the playlist, optimize the playlist so all the tracks play at a similar volume, and store the new volume levels in the playlist without modifying the source audio files in your media library.

5. Xplore FX. Be your own sound engineer. You can boost bass, remove static, add reverb, and apply a host of other effects to your audio files. In Media Explorer or AudioCentral Player, right-click any track in a playlist and click the Edit Playlist Audio Effects command. After you apply the desired effects, AudioCentral saves your changes in the playlist without modifying the source audio files in your media library.

Video Tips

6. Automatic chapters. When you capture video from a camcorder or other external video source, DVD Builder can automatically separate your video into individual clips, which you can later arrange into a final sequence in the Workshop area.

Select your video source and click Advanced to display the Advanced Settings dialog box. Select the Automatic option. If you are capturing DV (digital video) from a DV camcorder, for example, select the Scene Detection option to automatically separate your footage into individual clips based on the time code contained in your DV footage. If you are capturing analog video such as VHS, select the Create Chapter Every (HH:MM:SS) option to create individual clips at each time interval you specify.

7. Smooth transitions. You can add polish to your home movies by adding scene transitions. In DVD Builder, click the Change Transitions icon in the DVD Builder Library Drawer. Drag the icon for the transition you want to use to the small arrow, or movie handle, between two video clips you've sequenced together in the Workshop area.

You can right-click the movie handle to adjust the duration of the transition (the length of time it takes the first clip to dissolve, for example, into the second clip).

8. Add a soundtrack. The fastest, simplest way to add music to your video is to right-click the video clip or movie handle where you want the music to begin in the Workshop area of DVD Builder. Click Attach Audio and find the sound file you want to add on your hard drive (or on an audio CD in your CD/DVD-ROM drive) and click Open.

9. Order off the menu. To give your DVD eye- and ear-catching chapter menus, such as the ones found on commercial DVDs, click the Change Menu Themes icon in the DVD Builder Library Drawer. Select one of Roxio's predesigned menu themes and drag it to the Screening Room area.

Photo Tips

10. Transfers. PhotoSuite 5 will walk you through the process of acquiring photos from an external device. Just click Transfer on the main page, click Transfer From New Device, select your device from the list, and follow the on-screen instructions.

11. Get the red out. Among the many photo-editing features included with PhotoSuite 5 is the novice-friendly red-eye reduction function. Click Edit on the PhotoSuite main page, open the photo you want to edit, zoom in tight on the subject's eyeballs, and click the Red Eye button on the Guide Panel. The software will walk you through the rest of the process.

12. Everybody loves a slideshow. You can create a slideshow out of your photos in a few easy steps. Click Print & Share on the PhotoSuite main page, click the Slide Show option, select the Create A New Slide Show radio button, and click Next. Add the photos you want to the slideshow and click Next again. Follow the on-screen instructions to adjust the slideshow settings. Your slideshow can be burned to CD/DVD or emailed to friends and family.

Data Tips

13. Drag it, drop it. You can back up your data on CD/DVD-ROM as easily as transferring a file from your hard drive to a floppy diskette. All you need to do is drag the files you want to burn to the Drag-To-Disc icon Roxio puts on your Desktop or in your Windows System tray when you install Easy CD & DVD Creator 6. Click the Settings command on the Drag-To-Disc menu and select the eject settings that will produce the type of disc you want to create. Click the Eject button on the Drag-To-Disc toolbar.

14. Get in the raw. If you have the need and your disc drives support it, you can use the Raw Mode feature to make backup copies of single-session data discs that can't be copied using the standard copy settings. Open the Disc Copier application, expand the Options menu at the bottom of the interface, click the Raw Mode checkbox, and proceed with your burn.

15. Kill two discs with one burn. If you have more than one recordable drive, you can send the same burn to all of them simultaneously. In the Disc Copier application, click the Preferences menu and select the Allow Multiple Destinations option. In the Destination drop-down menu, click the checkbox next to each drive you want to use. Make sure there is a blank recordable disc in each destination drive and click the Burn button as usual.

Miscellaneous Tips

16. Trust the classics. If you used a previous version of Roxio's CD Creator to burn your music discs and you don't really feel like taking the time to learn a new interface, click the Creator Classic button on the Easy CD & DVD Creator Home utility.

Tip 17