Nero is one of the most widely known names in CD and DVD software. Unfortunately, this seems to be due more to the fact that the Nero software is bundled with many DVD and CD players, and not because of the value of the software. While Nero Express 6 is useful for burning mp3 tracks to CDs, it is practically useless for copying DVDs.
Installation
The Nero Express CD comes with 6 programs, three of which may be installed separately, and the other three of which may be installed as a suite. The names of the programs aren%27t very descriptive as to their function, leaving the user scratching their head as to what software they should install. The programs include:
* Nero Express - the burning software and the one you want to install
* NeroVision Express - DVD editing and import software
* Nero Media Player - used to organize music and movies
* InCD 4 - a program that allows you to burn files to CD
* EasyWrite Reader - a reader for MRW format (?)
* Content + Template - an expansion pack for the NeroVision Express software
Confused? So were we. It turns out that if you just want to copy DVDs, then you need to pick Nero Express. Unfortunately, it can%27t do the job as we%27ll soon see.
Usability
The main window in Nero Express 6 presents you with a dizzying array of options. We first tried the obvious sounding (but misleading) option "Disc Copy". We were presented with a ton of options, most of which did not have obvious choices, and then attempted to burn. Unfortunately, Nero Express kicked us out with a fatal error, saying that there was not enough room on the target DVD. Apparently Nero Express doesn%27t recognize the DVD format in this mode.
A little more hunt-and-peck turns up the video backup option. Unfortunately, this mode is not much better than the previous one. This screen asks you to drag and drop the actual video files (in VIDEO_TS) from the DVD into the program. After two hours and multiple errors later, we had a non-functional DVD backup. Unfortunately, Nero Express doesn%27t copy tracks that have errors in them and the resulting copy won%27t work.
After hours of effort, we were unable to make a successful DVD backup with Nero Express.
Performance
Nero Express is very slow at reading video files. Copying a 120 minute movie on a 16x drive took over two hours, the slowest of any program we%27ve reviewed to date.
Copy Protection
Nero Express can%27t defeat copy-protection unless run with a third-party CSS decryptor, such as DVD43Free.
Quality
We were unable to make a working DVD backup with Nero Express, so we can%27t comment on the quality.
Other Features
Nero Express is very light on features. For instance, it can%27t compress video:
Nero Express doesn%27t offer compression, so expect to see plenty of errors like this when trying to copy DVDs.