We ended the last report after talking about the third project type, which is ‘Video.’ We are going to skip the fourth one, which is Copy, because there is nothing new. (See Screenshot 30.)

By the way, what happened to the Export button? (See Screenshot 31.) Toast 7 & 8 enables the user to compress a video by clicking on this button. Then you will have access to QuickTime compressors, right? Toast 9 doesn’t have this button under Video.

Screenshot 30

Screenshot 31 From Toast 8

Convert

As shown in Screenshot 32, there are 5 options in this new category. This category is new. But, basically, the software developer has incorporated the export function into Convert. By selecting DVD Disc, VIDEO_TS Folders or Video Files, you can compress your video(s) with Animation, DV, MPEG-4 Part 2, H.264 and other compressors.

Screenshot 32

Screenshot 33

Okay. Last time, I created several DVD images. So if I want to compress one of them with DV, I should select Image File under the left column and drop the image onto the application window, right? Actually, as shown in Screenshot 33, if I drop a disc image, a message window pops up and says “There is nothing to export.” Does that mean I cannot export a DVD stored in a disc image with a different compressor? You can.

The following is what you should do. Simply, double-click on the image. Then you will have a DVD image on the desktop. Set the option under Convert to DVD Disc on Toast 9. You will see a pull-down menu to the right. Finally, choose the disc. (See Screenshot 34.)

Screenshot 34

Screenshot 35

Screenshot 36

All right. Let’s see what will happen after importing a video file. As shown in Screenshot 35, I have a video file. So I set the option to Video Files and drop off the file. If I press the Record button, then I will enter Player Setup. (See Screenshot 36.) There are 4 device formats to choose from. Let’s choose QuickTime Movie. If you use QuickTime Pro’s export function, you should know how to handle Movie Settings. (See Screenshot 37-8.)

Screenshot 37

Screenshot 38

Screenshot 39

So which video compressor does Toast 9 support? Screenshot 39 shows that I can import an M2V (MPEG-2) file but not a WMV (Windows Media Video) file. Actually, I just reinstalled OS on this Mac. So I don’t have the freeware version of Flip4Mac QuickTime Component. Let’s try importing the file again after installing Flip4Mac. (See Screenshot 40.) As shown in Screenshot 41, you can import WMV files with Flip4Mac. How about Matroska? As shown in Screenshot 42, if I try to import an MKV file, Toast 9 rejects it.

Screenshot 40

Screenshot 41

Screenshot 42

Okay. Let’s move on to Audio Files. This is a totally new option. You can import different formats of audio files and export them all in the same format at a time. In Screenshot 43, I have two files formatted in Ogg Vorbis, 2 MP3 files, 1 M1A and 1 AC3. Interestingly, Toast 9 supports all these audio formats including AC3. If you press the red button, then you will be asked to choose the location to store files. (See Screenshot 44.) Export audio formats that Toast 9 supports include AIFF, WAV, AAC, Apple Lossless, FLAC and Ogg Vorbis. There are several software titles that allow you to export audio files with AC3, and Toast 9 doesn’t appear to be one.

Screenshot 43

Screenshot 44

Screenshot 45

Screenshot 46

Screenshot 47

Screenshot 48

There is another set of nice features supported under Audio Files. You can apply fade in and fade out to audio files. (See Screenshot 46-7.) You can also apply sound effects to audio files. (See Screenshot 48.)






Compare

We have covered all 5 project types briefly or not briefly. There is actually one more new feature to talk about. If you reach your Mouse over Utilities on the menu bar, you will find it. (See Screenshot 49.) As you see Screenshot 50, how Compare works is simple. Just import two files to compare. And click on the Start button.

Screenshot 49

Screenshot 50

Screenshot 51

Well, let’s give a small challenge to Toast 9. Screenshot 51 shows 2 PHP files where the only difference is one letter at Line 18. Both files share the same file name though stored in different locations. More importantly, they have the same file size. (See Screenshot 52.) As shown in Screenshot 53, I imported both files. You can drag and drop files onto the application window. Ahh… That’s interesting. Toast 9 says that they are different. (See Screenshot 54.) Good job!

Screenshot 52

Screenshot 53

Screenshot 54

Conclusion

Toast 8 supports Blu-ray drives but not its video format. Toast 9 doesn’t just support Blu-ray and HD DVD drives but also supports their video formats. Roxio Toast is now a compression master. Toast 9 doesn’t just let you compress videos but also lets you change audio formats all at a time.

One video format that Roxio Toast still doesn’t support is Matroska. Matroska is quite widely used by Windows users.

Finally, while reviewing this software title, our Mac encountered a deadly system shutdown.






You need to restart your computer. Hold down the Power button for several seconds or press the Restart button.






Once, it happened when I turned off the power of a USB-connected external DVD drive. And it happened again when I had several applications including Toast 9 open.

MacHouse recommendation: If you don’t own Roxio Toast, buy it. Roxio Toast is one of the most popular third-party software titles that are available for Mac OS. And its popularity tells it all. It’s a nice software title.

We won’t necessarily give a Buy-It! recommendation to those who already have Toast 7 or 8. If you don’t own a Blu-ray or HD DVD drive, you probably won’t benefit a lot from upgrading your version to Toast 9. Personally, I would even stick to Toast 7 since I don’t a Blu-ray or HD DVD drive.






Roxio Toast 9 Titanium is a product of Roxio, a division of Sonic Solutions.






References:

Mac Software Review: Roxio Toast 9 Titanium – Part 1
Roxio Toast Titanium 8 Quick Overview
Mac Software Review: Roxio Toast Titanium 8

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