The SHM-165H6S's software bundle is very similar to what Lite-On has included with their previous DVD writers. The two CD's that come with the drive contain a number of applications from Nero including Nero Express 6, NeroVision Express 3, Nero Media Player, InCD 4, BackItUp and PhotoShow Express as well as PowerDVD 5 from CyberLink.
Nero Express 6 - With Nero Express, Nero has taken the features and performance people have come to expect from Nero Burning Rom and combined them with a user friendly interface. While the interface has been simplified, Nero Express still supports more advanced features like VCD and DVD creation, CD/DVD duplication, overburning, CD-Text and realtime audio filters
The version of Nero Express that Lite-On included with their new DVD±RW drive is 6.6.0.17. You can download the latest version of the software from Nero's website.
NeroVision Express 3 - NeroVision Express 3 is Nero's video authoring application. Using a user friendly interface very similar to that of Nero Express, NeroVision Express makes it easy for users to capture, edit and then burn their favorite videos to VCD, SVCD or DVD or export it to Nero Digital format.
NeroVision Express also lets users add things like transitions, custom backgrounds, animated menus and text effects. You can even use it to turn your photos into custom slide shows.
Nero BackItUp - If you're looking for a way to quickly and easily backup your data, Nero BackItUp is the answer. This new program from Nero lets you backup your data to CD/DVD, hard disc, image recorderor another computer on your LAN.
Nero Media Player - Nero Media Player features on-the-fly encoding of audio CD's to MP3, HE-AAC, TwinVQ, WMA, and WAV format.The MP3 encoder uses the latest audio codec technology from Fraunhofer.While most of the plugins are unrestricted, the MP3 encoder included with this version of the program is limited to only 30 audio tracks.If you need to encode more you will probably want to upgrade to Nero's NeroMIX.
InCD 4 - InCD is Nero's packet writing software. Like Roxio's Drag-to-Disc or Sonic's DLA, it allows a person to use their CD-RW drive as a big floppy disk. The person can then drag and drop files onto a CD-RW or DVD±RW disc. Many people consider InCD to be one of the best packet writing tools because of its simplicity and performance.
PhotoShow Express - Lite-On's new drive also comes with Nero's all in one photo suite, PhotoShow Express. This software can do a number of things including edit and touch up your photos and organize them into various albums. PhotoShow can even be used to create musical slideshows. These slideshows can then be burned to disc or published to the web.
CyberLink PowerDVD 5 - CyberLink's PowerDVD is one of the more popular software DVD players on the market right now. PowerDVD offers a complete set of navigation commands, including advanced features like multi-angle viewing, dual subtitle display, digital zoom and parental controls.This new version also adds features like DivX playback, audio time stretch and support for CyberLink's new Eagle Vision technology.
Unfortunately, the version of PowerDVD bundled with the SHM-165H6S only supports 2 speaker output. If you want to take advantage of DVD's encoded with DTS or use Dolby Pro Logic II, you'll need to buy an upgrade first.
The SHM-165H6S is Lite-On's most feature packed DVD writer to date. Their new "Super AllWrite" drive not only supports all major DVD formats, it sports some pretty impressive specs. The SHM-165H6S is capable of 16x DVD±R, 8x DVD+RW, 6x DVD-RW, 8x DVD+R DL, 4x DVD-R DL writing speeds and a maximum DVD read speed of 16x. On top of that, it can read and write DVD-RAM media at 5x. Along with support for LightScribe, the drive includes many of the features we've come to expect from Lite-On as well as new ones like HyperTuning and OverSpeed. With all this, it's easy to see why the Lite-On SHM-165H6S gets the full 10 points for its features.
