www.roxio.com ¦ Retail price: Toast 11 Titanium, $80 single copy (after $20 mailin rebate); Toast 11 Pro, $130 single copy (after $20 mail-in rebate)
By Carol S. Holzberg
Roxio Toast 11 is a multipurpose software application for Macs that burns audio and data CDs, converts audio files from one format to another, publishes video clips online for sharing, and exports video in a variety of formats for playback on iPad, iPhone, iPod Apple TV, and Android devices.
Quality and Effectiveness: Toast 11 Titanium captures streaming video from the Web. It also imports video from FlipVideo camcorders, EyeTV tuners, and TiVo DVRs. Its Spin Doctor companion captures streaming media from analog or digital (e.g., Internet radio) sources. Its export formats facilitate playback on mobile devices, such as Apple’s collection of i-device handhelds; Blackberry, Android, and Palm Pre and 3G smartphones; and on video-game systems, such as PlayStation 3, Sony PSP, Xbox 360, and Wii.
Ease of Use: This version of Toast 11 Titanium has a friendlier look and feel than previous editions. Roxio modified the application’s user interface to make the program easier to install. At start-up, the Toast 11 Titanium’s main window presents tools as big, bold categories and tab options. The ability to choose between “common” and “advanced” projects makes for a user-friendly environment.
Creative Use of Technology: Toast 11 Titanium does not rip or copy encrypted or copy-protected data. It does, however, let you convert Flash-based videos that have played in a Web browser while Toast is open. This works for videos on YouTube, Vimeo, and similar sites. If the selected clip is compatible with Roxio, it will display in the Media Browser window. Video that shows up in the Media Browser can be dragged to the Toast 11 Titanium Content Area for burning, copying, or format conversion using dragand- drop.
Suitability for Use in a School Environment: Toast 11 Titanium does much more than just create disc images or burn content to disc. It enables users to personalize teaching by making analog and digital content more accessible. Another notable feature is the program’s tie-in with iTunes as a destination. Users can save video clips directly to the iTunes library for playback on iPad, iPod, and Apple TV. If you have an account on YouTube, Vimeo, or Facebook, you can publish your videos directly to these sites.
Top Features
¦ Toast 11 makes analog and digital content more accessible.
¦ Its friendly user-interface organizes projects into categories, and it has howto tutorials and a helpful User Guide.
¦ You can easily select audio and video files by dragging and dropping them into the Content Area from your hard disk or the Media Browser.
