Reviews
(23)
0
Hooking up the Mac or PC to a tv is not so easy. I involves some interim connectors and even some paid services. I don't want to pay extra for streaming so this is the solution. I go from tivo to Mac/pc, then device or disc. The Windows version though doesn't have streaming. Good choice when I don't have time to convetrt or enough room on my touch ipod. Toast gives me another way to watch video. With the NFL kicking off already I know I'll be using it more. Saves me from being a couch potatoe. I can watch from while waiting on the train, the kid's appointments and so on.
9 price(s)
0
All the options for making disks put this ahead of the pack. I used to settle for plain disk burning software not being aware of other options. Now I can compress files and use a minimum of disks. I can keep the quality high too. Besides saving files I've made the video self running on the dvd since some school pcs didn't want to fill their hard drive. It also makes pc/Mac compatible disks. A bonus is the sound mixer. I didn't notice it when I looked up the specs but I'm glad it's there. It's easy to make a few custom pieces even for a tone deaf person. Keep it up Roxio!
0
This is a nice update to version 5 that I had been using. I found it very useful at allowing me to access and convert my TiVo content. It does not compress as well as some other software but has good video quality and is no slower then other products. If you only got Toast it would be a good deal, but it comes with 6 apps making this a very good bargin. I had trouble getting streamer to work with my firewall and router, but it is still nice to know there is real value with your purchace. Other apps that are a real nice bonus are the disc cover and discCatalongMaker (addressing a real gap for me when I back up documents and want to print an easy index of the contents).
0
Toast, while offering a number of potentially useful features, simply does not play nice with the internal superdrives most Macs come with. From the very start, Toast would not burn any DVD without generating errors resulting in failed sessions. These are not limited to any one category, either-data is just as plagued as video-or any one type of media (DVD-R, +R, DL, RW are all equally affected). A failure in the encoding phase is just as likely as in the burning phase. Further, Roxio's mediocre attempt at web-based support offers the following solutions 1.) download new firmware updates, 2.) buy a different type of media, 3.) buy a new drive. Even a cursory search on Google will turn up many more individuals with similar problems regardless of which version of Toast and/or Mac OS. Only with considerable patience and an endless supply of media will Toast encode and burn a DVD; unfortunately, most people don't spend $100 on software that only works 25% of the time, if that. Save your money
...
more
0
roxio has one of the least user-friendly websites on the planet, and offer customer service ONLY IF YOU PAY THEM by the minute!!! the product didn't work, and dealing with their refund process was frustrating. one of the worst consumer experiences i have had online.
0
Now that I have converted from PC to Mac, I purchased Toast 9 for the Spin Doctor application. I have a Kenwood turntable with a pre-amp that I use to convert my vinyl albums to digital. Spin Doctor works great for this purpose and has many improved features when compared to previous versions of Roxio for the PC. One of the best features is the ability to export directly into iTunes. I've played around with some of the DVD capabilities in Toast 9, but I cannot attest to any of those functions.
0
Toast 9 was an Amazon Gold Box deal when I purchased it. Great price, so I purchased it on a whim. Having used it now, I would have gladly paid full price for it. It has functioned flawlessly writing DVDs, copying discs and creating CDs. There are lots of bells and whistles I haven't tried yet.
I've read reviews mentioning issues some have with version 9, but it has performed perfectly on my Intel based Macbook .
I've read reviews mentioning issues some have with version 9, but it has performed perfectly on my Intel based Macbook .
0
Everything is going HD and blue-ray so I appreciate Roxio's inclusion of these formats. Like all roxio suites, I use the Windows version too, it has a massive amount of features. Standouts are the new formats. With HD tv soon to be the norm I can already start using it. Tivo HD files are an easy way to get the programs on my pc. Toast has tivo file editing options so you're not stuck with just the timed recording file. It can alter the files like most video formats. As others have noted Toast burns regular dvd disks with higher formatting like HD. It makes HD video disks and I can buy my usual dvd disks and not the harder to find and more expensive HD and bluray ones. I can also put these video files on my ipod. Since the HD files are too big it will change to a suitable format that can fit on the portable. How easy is it to just drag the file into the work area and start processing. Good choice.
0
Kids today, they think Apple makes the coolest stuff so their pc is a Mac although I still use a Dell. Creator for the pc is good so I thought that getting a roxio program for the Mac would be a good investment. I was right. It works different enough from the pc verison that sometimes I sneak time on the Mac and play around. The interface is easy, although I think that is a given for roxio programs. I have gotten frustrated with other Mac programs so I don't think an easy to figur out interface is a given. I like that it pauses in the middle of burning if you need to stop. Another thing it has over the pc version is tv streaming. I would like to see this feature in future pc versions. For now we use toast to the iPhone. Now that I know what it can do I'll be buying Apples new phones as our old ones become obsolete.
0
I have a number of problems with Toast 9. You get NO help from the support at the website. Would not tell anyone to buy this product or any from the company!!!
0
My children's school projects are now demanding more software from my Mac. I'll be getting them their own soon but until then my home Mac is the center of their school work. My son likes to make videos for boy scouts and school assignments. Clearly my my old Apple programs couldn't meet the demands. Armed with an HD camcorder the video he takes demands much more computer space. He also has to burn pc compatible disks. This brought me to Toast 9. It can burn HD video and make hybrid disks. It compresses the video files so it takes as little room as possible. Sometimes we still need more than one disk but the spanning disks feature takes care of that. The program lets us know how many disks are needed before we start the burning process. Toast will convert video to the video ipod. This allows my children to work on their video projects while commuting. After learning a lot by helping with school projects I'm better at organizing home videos. The dvd menu creator is so easy there
...
more
0
At first glance Toast 9 looks like any other burning program. It does much more though. Before you burn there are tools to trim videos and don't worry about wasted space. If you're in a hurry like I am much of the time there is a compression option which is another way it saves room. The end results will work on multiple systems. Come on, not everyone has a Mac so I need Windows playable discs. I'm now saving everything in HD which of course takes a lot more space. I can use ordinary discs and not have to buy any special ones. I've also made more use of my Blackberry. I can export from the Mac to the phone with Toast's tools. I have made use of old tapes too with the tape to digital with the Spin Doctor assistant. Of course with all the options it needs to have a good interface. Check on that. Menu items are organized in a logical fashion. Of course there's still the old point and click for several main functions.
0
I've always relied on Apple for innovative computers and devices but frankly I don't think they've done a lot in the software area. Sure they may have created certain video and audio formats, but they've left it up to other software makers to pick up the slack. I mention this because I think that Toast shows how much can be squeezed out of Apple hardware and its done much better than Apple itself.
I immediately noticed that every aspect of disk authoring is more efficient and faster. Is anyone else surprised that the program burns blu-ray disks on a regular dvd burner? That's what I mean about software utilizing hardware capability. It may not be a true blu-ray disk in the sense that it doesn't have as much data, but the quality is there. There are 2 ways to fit large files to as few disks as possible. There is a fit to DVD feature. If the file is still too big the program will span the files over as many disks as it needs. With better video quality taking up more space I use
I immediately noticed that every aspect of disk authoring is more efficient and faster. Is anyone else surprised that the program burns blu-ray disks on a regular dvd burner? That's what I mean about software utilizing hardware capability. It may not be a true blu-ray disk in the sense that it doesn't have as much data, but the quality is there. There are 2 ways to fit large files to as few disks as possible. There is a fit to DVD feature. If the file is still too big the program will span the files over as many disks as it needs. With better video quality taking up more space I use
...
more
0
Since Apple is selling the best devices I decdied to add a MAC pc instead of getting another pc cpu. Roxio's Easy Media was the program I used, and still use on PC for digital media. I tried a basic Apple burning program which was free but it was really limited. It seemed logical that I get the Mac version of Creator for Mac digital media. Add to this my iPhone and Playstation 3. I lucked out by choosing Playstation instead of Xbox 'cause it has blu-ray. It can't burn blu-ray disks though so I still have to rely on computers. I also have the option of streaming the video to anything that is wired, including my iPhone and PS. These are the extras that make Toast really good. I would still get it even w/o these features because it does the basic digital media activities really well. It burns disks easily and has many more options I made several slideshows and they did work on my pc too. I didnt' have to do any extra converting. There are enough dvd menu looks that are included,
...
more
0
I've been a die hard pc user but now that Apple has caught up in the processor speed department I bought a laptop. I'm still getting used to the unique Mac functions and Toast has helped me with some hurdles. I've used Roxio 9 on the pc so I bought the Mac equivalent. There are a lot of similarities so it was an easy transition. There is the auto data id system for songs which I found wasn't in previous Toast versions. I like that I can compress a dual layer disk into a regular dvd since the former is expensive. I've also gotten into tivo since it supports computer viewing. I can even edit the tivo files and discard unnecessary footage. This makes it even easier to back them up on disks and my iPod. Blu-ray is now the next generation format and Toast burns this format. It is a great program for dealing with video and music.
0
I'm a long time Toast user who skipped a version. I bought a new Mac recently and upgraded some of my software including Toast. I don't understand how anyone can burn discs on the Mac without Toast. I love Apple, but they've pretty much ignored disc burning and copying. The first thing after install is a notice to upgrade the software (pet peeve - requires registration to download - argh). But Roxio seems to have done a couple of bug fixes already. I have not had any crashes so far. The new look is a nice improvement, but not dramatic by any means. There are a ton more formats supported. It's great to convert audio and video formats and supports all the popular formats. Perhaps not for everyone, but one of my favorite features is burning high-def video from my Canon HD camcorder on to a standard DVD and watching it in HD on my HDTV (using Sony PS3 built in HD drive). Yes on a standard DVD. (TiVo supported as well.) There are some other clever features. For example, you can pause a
...
more
0
Having recently succumbed to representations that graphics might be handled more efficiently on a Mac, I succumbed. Streamed audio downloads are important to me, something that Roxio represents "Toast" can do. What was toast was me and my temper. The product installed, but the registration process was an exercise in futility. There is obviously a glitch in the process that loops one back into an eternal "Error in the Registration Process" or words to that effect. Calls to the "customer service department" availed neither. One was rudely lectured that critical statements would result in the termination of the call. Calls for help are looped back to online services. Don't ask to change your email address either. That will result in a terse message that you will have to start a new account for that.
Maybe Roxio has gotten too big for its own good -- or maybe the deepening recession has impacted quality control. Sad to spend that much money for a product only to be treated as a
Maybe Roxio has gotten too big for its own good -- or maybe the deepening recession has impacted quality control. Sad to spend that much money for a product only to be treated as a
...
more
0
Although Toast 9 has a lot to offer I have been unable to get CD Spin Doctor and iTunes to communicate. I had an older edition of Spin Dr. which worked well in converting my old vinyl to MP3 but after one of the upgrades to iTunes they no longer communicate. With lots of help from many sources including the Genius Bar for 3 hours, I have been unable to get the program to work.
0
How disappointing! I've used Toast for several generations now, but Toast 9.02 is not ready for prime time.
There are so many bugs I've run across encompassing both new features (the built-in video editor won't edit) and old features (Tivo movies won't burn to disk. The program hands instead!)
So, until there is a Toast 9.1 that fixes these major bugs, I'm heading back to Toast 8 where it is safe.
OK, Roxio, here's the challenge: win us back.
There are so many bugs I've run across encompassing both new features (the built-in video editor won't edit) and old features (Tivo movies won't burn to disk. The program hands instead!)
So, until there is a Toast 9.1 that fixes these major bugs, I'm heading back to Toast 8 where it is safe.
OK, Roxio, here's the challenge: win us back.
0
I'm usually a fan of Toast, but this release is very disappointing. I was looking forward to burning Blu_rays from my High-Def video cameras. Unfortunately, so far this has not been possible due to crashes every time it tries to encode video.
Not only does it crash frequently, it is very slow. Not in terms of heavy-duty stuff like encoding video - but trivial things like the interface response time, and startup time.
I had been using Toast 7, which is fast, convenient and reliable. It is one of the better Mac applications around. And I'm actually still using Toast 7, and will until they get the bugs out of Toast 9 and get the video encoder burning working properly.
I couldn't even get Toast 9 to recognize a perfectly valid disk image. So I went back to Toast 7 and it worked perfectly. I'm seriously wondering how this one got past quality control. I feel stupid for having spent my money on this upgrade.
Not only does it crash frequently, it is very slow. Not in terms of heavy-duty stuff like encoding video - but trivial things like the interface response time, and startup time.
I had been using Toast 7, which is fast, convenient and reliable. It is one of the better Mac applications around. And I'm actually still using Toast 7, and will until they get the bugs out of Toast 9 and get the video encoder burning working properly.
I couldn't even get Toast 9 to recognize a perfectly valid disk image. So I went back to Toast 7 and it worked perfectly. I'm seriously wondering how this one got past quality control. I feel stupid for having spent my money on this upgrade.
0
I just recently upgraded from Toast8 to Toast9. This new version is full of bugs. My Tivo Transfer function for instance won't work anymore. It ran 16 hours encoding a 21min clip I had from my Canon HV30 on a Mac G5 dual processor machine before it finally burned the DVD. Crashes repeatedly where my Toast8 worked fine. I would not upgrade to this version until they have more fixes.
0
If Roxio Toast offers so many features not otherwise intrinsic to the supposedly user-friendly applications of Macintosh computers, why hasn't mammoth Apple simply bought out this relative small fry (now listed on the exchange as Sonic Solutions)? Is it because Roxio is too well-positioned, cutting edge, undervalued and besieged by competing offers to be easy prey for Apple (like Yahoo evading the presumptuous Microsoft)? Or is it because Roxio's technology and software don't pass the stringent requirements of the makers of the iPod and MacAir?
If Toast 9 is sufficiently compelling in quality, improvements and price to be worth ditching Toast 8 (which I purchased in late 2007), then by all means make the upgrade and pay the freight. It's certainly the brightest and most colorful software program of its kind, more inviting and occasionally more user- friendly than Apple's comparable onboard programs. And maybe for TiVo fans and Blue Ray enthusiasts, it repays the investment. All I know
If Toast 9 is sufficiently compelling in quality, improvements and price to be worth ditching Toast 8 (which I purchased in late 2007), then by all means make the upgrade and pay the freight. It's certainly the brightest and most colorful software program of its kind, more inviting and occasionally more user- friendly than Apple's comparable onboard programs. And maybe for TiVo fans and Blue Ray enthusiasts, it repays the investment. All I know
...
more
0
First off if you use avchd (.mts) files then it is worth the upgrade with the hd plugin. Why ? Well it will actually convert your .mts files to mp4,psp,appletv, etc... straight from the raw .mts file which up to know was a total pain because you need imovieHD08 to read the avchd file then pull off the huge .mov file and then convert...
Tost9 will see the .mts file and work with it... Also the Toast Video Player will PLAY the .mts file ! Thats a first! However there is no editing that it can do so bummer there.
No the weird stuff... you are suppose to be able to take a avchd file and burn it on to a standard dvd-r for hi def playback on a bluray player... but my PS3 sees the disc as a data disc ... others have said there player sees it fine... so its not totally reliable yet... same goes for hd-dvd, I made a hi def disc on standard dvd-r and it played back wonderfully on my Toshiba A30 player but my xbox 360's hd drive hated the disc... so the same problem exists there too. If you really
Tost9 will see the .mts file and work with it... Also the Toast Video Player will PLAY the .mts file ! Thats a first! However there is no editing that it can do so bummer there.
No the weird stuff... you are suppose to be able to take a avchd file and burn it on to a standard dvd-r for hi def playback on a bluray player... but my PS3 sees the disc as a data disc ... others have said there player sees it fine... so its not totally reliable yet... same goes for hd-dvd, I made a hi def disc on standard dvd-r and it played back wonderfully on my Toshiba A30 player but my xbox 360's hd drive hated the disc... so the same problem exists there too. If you really
...
more
