Review of Ulead DVD MovieFactory 5

New Ulead DVD MovieFactory

Ulead continues its popular DVD MovieFactory series with DVD MovieFactory 5. Ulead DVD MovieFactory 5 is a complete CD and DVD burning software package that includes future support for HD DVD and Blu-ray disc burning. I say future support because HD DVD and Blu-ray drives are not yet available to consumers, but should be later in 2006. Ulead is looking ahead to the future of disc burning with its new DVD MovieFactory 5.

Product Overview

DVD MovieFactory 5 includes the following features:

•Launcher - one interface to access any task in the application
•Quick-Drop - drag and drop files, folders, MP3s and WMA music files to desktop icon for burning
•Capture TV and Video from any device - TV capture software works with any TV capture device attached or installed in your PC
•HDTV capture from any HD source - cable, satellite or broadcast
•Capture from VHS, DVD or Camcorder and burn to DVD or VCD
•Future support for HD DVD and Blu-ray disc burning with add-on modules
•Direct to Disc - Capture videotape directly from camcorder to DVD disc
•Video editing and DVD disc authoring
•PureHD Capture - capture from the latest High-Definition camcorders and burn to DVD
•Ad-Zapper - record TV with the DVD MovieFactory 5 and edit out the ads automatically

System Requirements

Minimum Requirements

•Intel® Pentium III 800 MHz, AMD Athlon XP 1800+, 512 MB RAM
•Microsoft Windows 2000 SP4, XP SP2 Home Edition/Professional, XP Media Center Edition, XP Professional x64 Edition
•900 MB hard disk free space for program installation
•DirectX® 9.0c , Windows Media Format 9, Macromedia Flash Player 7 or above
•Windows compatible sound card
•Windows compatible display with 1024 x 768 resolution or above
•Windows compatible AGP or PCI graphics card
•DVD+R/RW or DVD-R/RW Writer

•Requires Intel Pentium 4 HT, 2.8 GHz, AMD Athlon 64 3800+ or higher when capturing and burning from DV/TV Tuner to DVD discs using Direct to Disc

You will get better results using this program with a fast processor and lots of RAM and Hard Drive space.

First Impressions

Installing Ulead DVD MovieFactory 5 was a straight-forward and easy process that involved inserting the disc into my CD-ROM drive, following the installation prompts and then restarting the computer. Once I restarted, an icon appeared on my desktop to start the Ulead DVD MovieFactory 5 launcher.

DVD MovieFactory 5 Launcher

The launcher is a kind of gateway into all the programs you can use with DVD MovieFactory 5. There are six options for working with different media. Once you click on one option, several other options pop up in order to further use the application. For example, the first option available once you open up the launcher is Video Disc. After clicking on Video Disc, several more options become available such as New Project, Open Existing Project, Straight Capture to Disc, Burn from Disc Image and Burn DVD Folders to Disc. A New Project allows users to create a DVD-Video disc from TV shows, non-copyright DVDs, VHS tape, Digital or Analog Camcorders or video files already on your hard drive. The other options in the launcher let users make photo slideshows, copy DVDs, edit non-finalized DVDs (DVD-VR) and erase and format discs.

Capture TV and Video

For this review I tested the Video and TV Capture capabilities and the DVD authoring and burning capacity of the Ulead DVD MovieFactory 5 program. To capture Video and TV, users must open the launcher and then click on New Project (or Open existing project to resume a saved project). I chose to create a DVD-Video with a menu as opposed to a DVD-VR or DVD+VR editable DVD. Once you start your project and choose what type of disc to burn, you are then taken to the capture and edit interface. DVD MovieFactory 5 detected my internal TV Tuner Capture Card and I was able to capture TV by clicking on the "Capture videos from a video capture device" icon. To start the capture, I click on the "start capture" icon and then the "stop capture" icon to stop recording. Ulead DVD MovieFactory 5 is very user-friendly with pop-up messages when you move the mouse over an icon. After capturing TV with no problems, I moved on to capture with a Sony DV camcorder.