Reviewed by Harry Eaton

MediaShow 4 is a total solution for user-generated video and photo content: import, manage, enhance, produce and burn, all with a few easy clicks. Users who love to record videos with their mobile phones and digital cameras will love MediaShow’s media-enhancing features, its stunning graphics, and its ease of use.

Media management is now easier and more fun than it’s ever been. Users can enhance their photos and videos (yes, videos!) with one-click editing tools or fine-tune them to suit their needs. They can unleash their creativity in creating stunning slideshows that pulse with synced soundtracks, burn mixed-content DVDs in 3 clicks and share their photos and videos online by uploading directly to YouTube or Flickr, or emailing them, with just a few clicks. 

MediaShow 4 is the most comprehensive, one-touch digital media organizer, delivering fast photo and video management, and ease of use, with a 3D liquid user interface featuring lightning-quick responsiveness and stunning graphic effects.

Quick Media Management. Organize, enhance and share photos and videos. MediaShow 4 automatically scans a user’s media files and organizes photos and videos by date, or lets users sort as they please, with the aid of customized tags and descriptions. Albums can be edited for better functionality, as well. Managing personal media has never been so fast, easy, and fun!

Quick Import, Quick Search. Content is quickly imported from connected cameras and DV camcorders, and easily accessed through Quick Search. MediaShow scans all your hard drives for media or lets you choose folders to import from. The content you choose to import is automatically grouped, and you can name the album.

Liquid Interface. Combines a beautiful, 3D “liquid” style with easy access, fast responsiveness and one-click functionality. Photos and videos can be managed and moved with a simple drag and drop. Users can change the color of their interface, choose the size of their thumbnails, and enjoy previews of all their content with stunning graphics

1-Click Auto-Enhancing Tools. Edit and enhance photos and video content in just one click. A complete kit of auto-fixing features lets users remove red-eyes, fix lighting and exposure, stabilize shaky hand-captured videos, crop and trim content. Users can also fine-tune their photos and videos with customized enhancements. Batch Edit applies common quick fixes to a selection of photos or videos.

Stunning Slideshows. Apply a choice of slideshow styles, including the innovative “cell” slideshow. Users can choose to display photo captions and to let MediaShow’s beat-detection engine sync slideshows to background music, for movie-like effects, giving a new pulse to their photos. MediaShow automatically adds a slideshow title and author’s name.



3-Click DVD Authoring & Instant Preview. Authoring and burning DVDs is as easy as ever. As easy as 3 clicks, to be exact: just pick a title and menu style, add content and burn. Finish off DVDs of video content and photo slideshows on the same disc with stylish menus. Users can preview their DVD menus before burning. New menu templates offer the choice to “Play All’ or selected “Scenes”—just like Hollywood-style DVDs.

Superior Organization. Content is imported quickly from connected cameras and DV camcorders. Files and folders are automatically analyzed and sorted by date on a user’s hard drive. Users can also sort their library by date, name, or file size. MediaShow allows users to tag their videos and photos to make them easier to manage and locate.

Quick Searching. The Quick Search feature lets users find what they want when they want it—simply by typing key words. The Smart Album features and the Favorites button allow users to keep selected photos within easy reach, while the Side Tray lets them hold the content they need while they keep browsing.

Easy Video Importing. MediaShow allows easy importing from DV camcorders, cameras, and mobile phones. MediaShow automatically detects connected devices, and lets users name the folder in which the files are stored.

Multiple Ways to Share. Users can quickly share their videos through direct uploading to YouTube.com, or via email. Built-in disc authoring features let users output their videos and slideshows to DVDs featuring stylish menus, in 3 simple clicks. 

Other video features include:Rotate videos for even more personalized effects and Zoomable video playback and editing window size.

Photos MediaShow 4 syncs with digital cameras connected to a user’s PC, and allows quick import of content, for easy indexing and cataloging. The 3D liquid interface is stylish, stunning and easy-to-use, with big thumbnails and buttons for comfortable browsing. Users can also add descriptions and tags to their photos, to make sorting and management easier. Quick editing tools, both automated and customizable, are a breeze to use, and the results can be seen right away thanks to a split-screen editing window, or previewed in all their beauty.

Fast Photo-Retouching. Users can touch-up their photos with one-click enhancing tools, or manually crop, straighten, and fine-tune them. A very convenient split-screen editing screen lets users see the “before” and “after” of their photos, without unnecessary squinting nor constant clicking back and forth. A library of effects offers easy one-click styles for changing the mood and tone of photos.

Stunning Slideshows. With MediaShow, slideshows are a breeze to make and can achieve unique, stylish results. MediaShow’s beat detection technology—featured in the revolutionary “cell” style—automatically syncs the display of images with a user’s selection of background music. The same set of photos can be turned into many different styles of video-like slideshows, by simply changing the music. MediaShow delivers the most stunningly gorgeous slideshows to date,easily.


.

Easy Sharing: One click is all that’s needed to email images and print photos on your printer, or order them online. In a few steps users can burn DVDs (as little as 3 clicks!) with their photo collections and slideshows, or upload photos to Flickr and slideshows to YouTube.

Other photo features include: Users can create gorgeous screen savers with a simple drag-and-drop of their favorite pictures onto the Screen Saver icon, or update their desktop background. Rotate pictures to suit users’ editing needs Zoomable photo editing and preview windows

Online Publishing. Users can share their creations online, with direct uploading of videos and slideshows to YouTube.com, and photos to Flickr.com.

Direct Emailing. A link to email files directly from MediaShow provides a fast way for users to share videos or photos with others.

Photo Printing. Options include direct printing to a local printer, or the ordering of photo prints via Shutterfly.com (for users in the USA).

Personalizing the PC. MediaShow also provides stylish options for enhancing a user’s PC, with easy drag-and-drop creation of desktop screensavers and the creation of desktop backgrounds from photos.

 Other sharing features include:
Print previews.
Different video, audio, aspect ratio and encoding formats to choose from when creating videos and DVDs.
“TV safe zone” highlighted to ensure full display of video and photo contents on TV screens. Convenient previews of slideshows, videos and menus before burning.
Include videos and pictures on the same DVD.

Supported Formats
MediaShow supports a wide range of audio, video and DVD burning formats. These include:

Video Format Support

• DV-AVI, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, DVR-MS, WMV. Export to MPEG-2 and WMV.

Image Format Support

• BMP, JPEG, PNG.

DVD Burning Format Support

• DVD+-R, DVD+-RW and Dual Layer
• LPCM audio and Dolby Digital audio (in retail version).

System Requirements

MediaShow 4 - Manage your videos & photos

Check out Cyberlink MediaShow 4 at Cyberlink's Website  

Specifications are subject to change without prior notice. © 2008 All rights reserved, CyberLink Corp.