The latest version of Ulead's DVD MovieFactory is geared up for two technology evolutions which are due to take place this year. First is the provision of High Density (HD) TV broadcasts, which will have much higher resolution and definition than the standard quality signals we're used to.

Second is the arrival of new DVD formats, designed in part to hold the much larger files required for HDTV, but also for the HD videos from a new generation of camcorders. Although it's almost a cliché to say it, we have two rival technologies, HD DVD and Blu-ray, determined to re-enact the VHS/Betamax skirmishes of the 1970s. Fortunately DVD MovieFactory 5 caters for both disc formats, so you can at least hedge your software bets.

The Ulead application is not a video editor, though it does have some simple editing functions built-in. Rather it's an application to help create CDs and DVDs of all types from media you already have to hand. It can put together CDs of data, audio or video and for a very basic compilation you can use the QuickDrop token. This sits on the desktop and, by simply dragging files onto it, you can copy those files to disc.

If you need more control over your compilations, the main program provides it. Starting from a newly designed launcher, you can select exactly the type of disc you want to create before moving to the main preparation screens.

The various stages of preparing a CD or DVD are structured like a sophisticated Wizard, so you start by pulling together your images or video clips, loading them from a camera, video recorder or as files from your hard drive. As you assemble your files, you can preview any on a large playback screen and edit the transitions and pan and zoom effects via a pop-up editing window.

While the range of transition and display effects is good, you're limited to a single effect per slideshow, rather than per slide. With video clips, you can put a transition between each clip and perform simple adjustments, like auto-correcting for brightness and contrast.

A useful feature included is Ad Zapper, a utility which searches through imported video looking for advert breaks and providing the opportunity to remove them. Combine this with the video jog dial and you can edit out disruptions in recorded videos with precision. This is ideal if you're converting your old VHS collection to DVD.

The next stage in the process is adding a menu front-end, similar to those you see on commercial DVD movies. There are a number of stock designs to choose from, but you can build your own too and customise the position of the different elements and text. Finally, the burn screen handles the actual recording to standard density or high density media.

This is an excellent general-purpose CD and DVD creation program, which is ready for the next phase in silver-disc media. It's truly easy to use and handles the many, diverse types of CD and DVD you may want to create on your PC. The price, particularly for upgrade, is very reasonable, too.