MEDIA SHOW 4

Review by Marie Vesta

Media Show 4 is the latest photo software by the Cyberlink Company that allows you to create your own slideshows, screensavers, and special videos from your digital photos and videos.  The system requirements for this program is Windows Vista/XP (service pack 2), 800x600, 16 bit color or above, at least 512MB (1GB or above is recommended), 1GB harddrive space is required but more is recommended for the DVD productions, Intel Pentium D 3.0 Ghz CPU with hyperthreading or equivalent AMD CPU is minimal, VGA should be higher than Intel 945GM, and a DVD burner is required to burn DVD titles.

Media Show 4 makes it possible to capture photos from your camera, scanner, jumpdrive, as well as your harddrive.  Once you have imported the photos editing is the next event.  The editing program function of this software allows quick fixes for your photos, such as fixing red-eye, and brightness.  If you want to edit without the quick fixes, that is also available, plus the ability to crop, straighten and balance.  These are easy functions to understand and execute.  If you have a question, the help menu is handy and explains in depth how to accomplish your goal.  It is easy to “tag” each photo using this program also.  This helps keep your photos organized and easy to find for the future projects.

Of course, this program also allows you to have the “Effects” of black & white, sepia, glow, antique, and other fun things to work with.  A simple undo will quickly put the photo back to normal if your decision to use the effect is negative. 

One thing that the previous Media Show version did not have was the ability to create a layout of photos to be printed out.  I truly like the idea of being able to take a digital photo and make it small enough to fit into a locket and still be a very sharp image.  Not all editing programs allow this feat.

The creation of wallpaper and screen savers is not much different than in any other program or just using Windows itself to do the same thing.  I did not find anything special about this portion of the program.

This is also a fantastic way to share your creations with family and friends through Flicker or Youtube, (just to name two photo sharing websites).

My 9 year old granddaughter recently saw a slideshow that I made of her and her brother, and her description of the product was, “sweet”.  I am not into preteen lingo, but do know that this to be a positive comment.

Media Show is so easy to use that I was watching my first slideshow within an hour of downloading the program.  The opening screen was uncomplicated and knowing what to do was made simple by clicking the “next button”.  Once you import your pictures, you are asked what kind of a project you want to make, a slideshow, a video, a screensaver or just put your photos in order.  After you have made that decision, you are well on your way to a successful project.

The slideshow controls are exceptionally easy to read and understand.  Some photo programs have so many transitions available in creating slideshows that a beginner gets lost before they have the opportunity to do much creating, but not with Media Show 4.  The hardest part of the creation is to decide what song to use for background music, and I really liked the feature of being able to match the background music length to that of your slideshow.  Things look more professional when everything starts and ends at the same time.  You are able to create slideshows that pan in and out to the music of your choice, pretty much like a movie.

After having used Media Show 2 and 3, I find that this version of the program has taken out some of the options that I came to enjoy with the older versions.  Media Show 3 had dozens upon dozens of transitions for both the photo and the text to choose from, and this newer version basically does all that for you when you select the one of three “styles” of slideshow.  Also, the older versions had a very simple way to rip music to your harddrive to use for a slideshow.  I miss that part also in this version.

Media Show 4 allows you to not only edit and create with photos, but also with the videos that the digital camera takes.  Being able to take a bad shot out of a video truly is a positive aspect and I thought the themes that can be added to the videos were a super idea.  Nothing like showering confetti and scrolling balloons to make a festive birthday video.  This was a definite addition over past versions and thought it was a positive.

You can edit, trim and add touch ups to your videos besides rotating if necessary.  I find that I have a tendency to be a bit shaky when taking videos and this has an auto “fix shaky video” feature.  For me, that is a definite plus!  The ability to tag and put information within these creations are the same as with the still photos.  The ability to put a bunch of short videos into a movie is a great way to watch time go by.  This takes a bit of reading instructions, but not a hard thing to achieve.  The online Media Show 4 User Guide (66 pages) is well worth the download as it gives detailed instructions on each and every project that this software is capable of producing.

This software is great for the beginner or intermediate who is just starting to create slideshows and movies from digital videos.  I miss some of the choices that were available in the older versions, but perhaps it is the resistance to change factor sitting in this old body.  This is definitely an easier version of Media Show to use.

This software sells for $49.99 and is available for download at www.cyberlink.com.  It is also available at your local Best Buy, Office Depot, and other local stores.

Cyberlink has done a good job with this software product and it definitely does exactly what the box promotes.  I would definitely recommend this to someone who wants to get started within a short time to create their own DVD’s, and slideshows.