Roxio has released a new version of Toast for the Mac. Yes, some Macs no longer have optical drives, but Roxio has re-written Toast adding several new features to make it still worth upgrading. I have just downloaded Toast 11 as I just can not think of owning a Mac without Toast installed as I use it almost daily.
Toast 11 adds many requested features such as recording to multiple drives simultaneously, a much better software updater, and the ability to save custom video profiles. This is quite useful for converting video for a particular device. Toast 11 also brings features for directly uploading media to social networking sites such as YouTube, Vimeo, or Facebook and technology optimizations, dubbed VideoBoost, that help dramatically speed H.264 (high definition) video conversion or encoding.
Toast now includes - Internet audio recording; the ability to capture, save, and convert Web-based video content; disc spanning (automatically spreading a large amount of data or audio tracks across many discs); one-click backup of HD camcorder footage; dual-platform compatible disc creation; and TiVo-to-Go support.
Toast 11 now has built-in video tutorials which should help stop my phone from ringing with the usual how-to questions!
Along with Toast 11, Roxio has released the upgraded Toast 11 Pro version that adds Blu-ray Disc Plug-in and four other digital media applications. Details:
- Adobe PhotoShop Elements 9 – the latest, full-featured version of the #1 selling consumer photo-editing software for the Mac. The application delivers powerful options that make it easy to create extraordinary photos, quickly share your memories in online albums and unique print creations, and automatically organize and help protect all your photos and video clips.
- SmartSound Sonicfire Pro 5 – for creating an ideal soundtrack to accompany videos and slideshows. Use Sonicfire Pro’s unique automatic Mood Mapping feature or select from a library of included music tracks and adjust the mix and feel of the score to match your videos and slideshows.
- BIAS SoundSoap SE – remove unwanted noise like wind, hisses, scratches, and pops from LPs, cassettes, or almost any audio, music, or video soundtrack. Also includes a plug-in for correcting audio in HD videos.
- FotoMagico 3 – turn pictures and video into high-quality slideshows with a few simple clicks, and present them in high definition with the latest version of FotoMagico. Innovative text, transition, and alignment tools ensure astonishing results.
- Blu-ray Disc Plug-In – author HD video content onto standard DVDs and Blu-ray Discs. Take high-def (HD) video footage from AVCHD camcorders, TiVo and EyeTV and create Blu-ray Discs or even standard DVDs with HD content that can be played on Blu-ray set top boxes or PlayStation game consoles.