Digital Home Thoughts: Ulead's DVD MovieFactory 6 Plus

The Complete Package
From burning CDs and DVDs, to editing videos and backing up data, DVD MovieFactory 6 Plus includes just about every tool you could need to author your discs, and gives you multiple options for doing so. The program’s even future-proofed should you eventually get an HD-DVD or Blu-ray burner.

First there’s the DMF Launcher, which acts as a launching point for creating any type of disc you want. In a wizard-like style, the Launcher allows you to choose what type of project you need to do and launches the appropriate program, or, in some cases, gives you a simplified version of the function you need. The more technically-inclined can go straight to the program they need, either Ulead’s Burn.Now (for audio or data CD and DVDs) or DiscRecorder (for video DVDs), and last but not least is Ulead’s nifty QuickDrop, a gadget-like program that sits on your desktop and allows you to do quick-and-dirty disc authoring.

DVD MovieFactory 6 Plus also comes bundled with InterVideo’s WinDVD and DVDCopy, in case you actually wanted to play the DVD you just made, or want to quickly dupe it for friends and family.

All those programs and options are nice, but do they add up to an easy and enjoyable user experience? I was anxious to find out.

The Launcher
When you first install DVD MovieFactory, the only icon it puts on your desktop is to the Launcher. All other programs need to be accessed from the Start menu. This didn’t prove to be a problem though since every function you need can be initiated from this launcher screen (except the QuickDrop, which is really a Launcher-alternative).


Figure 1: DVD MovieFactory 6’s main Launcher window.

Along the left side of the screen are the different disc authoring options available. Clicking on each one will reveal more refined options on the right side. For example, clicking on Audio Disc gives you the options of making an MP3 Disc, an Audio CD, DVD Audio, Music DVD Video or CD Extra (both music and data) disc.

Along the bottom of the window are the buttons for Preferences, Disc Info, Drive Info and Print Disc Label. These buttons seem out of place, like they couldn’t figure out where else to put them, but they function and are easy enough to find. Clicking Preferences will allow you to choose the working folder that DMF uses and other less useful things like Registering the product. The Disc and Drive Info buttons do just what you would think they do.