Toast 7 to allow one-step DivX disc creation, more
Posted by Dennis Sellers 
Aug 22, 2005 at 8:24am
Roxio has announced Toast 7, the latest version of its Mac CD and DVD burning suite. The update—which include multi-image high definition slideshows with pan and zoom effects, transitions and background soundtracks, audio DVDs with over 50 hours of Dolby music and data spanning—will be available direct from Roxio starting Aug. 31 and in stores in early September.
Data spanning allows users to back up large files, folders and applications across multiple CDs and DVDs. Toast 7 is also the first third-party application on any platform to support DivX 6, according to Adam Fingerman, Roxio’s director of product management. The integration of the latest compression technology allows users, in a single step, to turn DivX format files into DVD-Video discs, he says. What’s more, you can convert any video file to DivX and turn iMovie HD and FinalCut HD projects into high-definition video discs to enjoy in the comfort of their living room on a DivX HD-enabled DVD player.
With Toast 7, you can create hybrid discs with content for Mac or Windows users. You can personalize data discs with custom icons and backgrounds. The app’s iLife Browser lets you access your music, photos, and movies with the iLife media browser.
Toast 7 lets you create audio DVDs with over 50 hours of music, on-screen TV menus, and advanced navigation with smart playlists and shuffle play that can play in standard DVD players. You can add rich Dolby Digital sound or full-quality 96 kHz, 24 bit audio. You can also capture live audio to add to iTunes with Roxio’s Dashboard widget, Desktop Recorder. Toast 7 has extended audio file support. You can convert audio files to the newly supported OGG, FLAC, and AAC formats and use such formats as OGG and FLAC in audio CDs and music DVDs.
With the latest version of Toast, you can convert iMovie HD or Final Cut HD projects into DivX HD discs, as well as select from a gallery of DVD menu styles, and add chapter menus or slide menus with shuffle mode. There’s support for multi-image HD slideshows. This feature allows you to turn still photos into multi-image HD slideshows with collages, motion effects, and soundtracks. With the update’s extended video file support, you can convert video files to DivX, 3GPP, H.264, AAC and more.
According to the folks at Roxio, Toast 7 allows you to compress and copy a 9GB dual-layer DVD-Video to a standard 4.7 GB recordable DVD disc. You can maximize video quality by selecting the items on a DVD to copy such as main movie, language and audio format, they add. With the VR disc copying features, you can import and copy from VR discs created in set-top DVD recorders and camcorders, as well as exxtract individual titles and chapters from standard DVDs. Toast 7 also allows you to mount virtual image drives directly from the desktop.
Toast 7 has a suggested retail price of US$99.95. In the U.S., a $20 mail-in rebate will be available on Aug. 31 to current owners of Toast, Jam, Popcorn, The Boom Box, iLife, and Mac OS X. Details are included in the box. Registered Toast, Jam, Popcorn and The Boom Box users will be eligible for other discounts direct from Roxio. Look for an upcoming review of Toast 7 from Macsimum.
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Dennis Sellers
Dennis has been a newspaper editor/reporter (seven years) and teacher (seven years). He has over 4,000 magazine, newspaper and online articles to his credit. He has also covered the Mac and tech industries for over a decade for such online publications as MacCentral, MacMinute and now MacsimumNews.
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