Despite the price reduction, Avid Media Composer still isn’t cheap. It’s around £150 more expensive than Adobe CS3 Production Premium, and you can buy Final Cut Studio 2 for under £700 — less than half the price. The latter may lack Blu-ray burning abilities, but if you’re a Mac user on a budget, Avid’s new pricing is still going to look a little steep, even if you do get a lot for your money.

There's little ALLCapture 3.0 can't do in terms of capturing your screen and creating slick movies. But the list price is a mighty $326. Although the program seems to be on a permanent 50 per cent discount at $299, this is the sort of money that will deter personal users and make ALLCapture a program suitable only for business use.

It's tempting to see Director's resurrection as a timely response to the focus on rich-media online and offline applications, which has been sparked by Adobe AIR and Microsoft Silverlight. However, aside from workflow enhancements and some changes to scripting and physics, there's nothing groundbreaking in this release. The logical next move would be to beef up the feature set with something really novel.

Studio Ultimate 12 has more features than any other consumer-level video editor, but I still prefer Adobe Premiere Elements 4 because of its more elegant interface and superior stability. (That product doesn't yet support AVCHD editing, however.)

As a standalone product, Encoder has quite an attractive price point and will suit designers who need to produce Web video, as well as those involved in broadcasting.

The iRadio Pop simplifies finding and listening to Internet radio stations that suit you. It attempts to compete against free alternatives through ease of use and a massive catalogue of stations.

Cyberlink has managed to refine and build upon its entry-level editing suite, delivering a product that will appeal to beginners and semi-professionals alike. With the addition of the DirectorZone database, its value is almost limitless.

Cyberlink’s MediaShow v4 provides home users and beginners with a comprehensive solution for photo and video management. While there are some shortcomings in terms of format support, the software remains an ideal option for families.

PowerDVD v8 is the best version of the software yet. The inclusion of Movie Remix and the MoovieLive service lifts it head and shoulders above its dull, one-note competitors. If you want more interaction and creativity from your video player, it won't disappoint.

When it comes to one-stop digital media creation, Mac owners need look no further than Roxio's latest Toast offering. From HD disc burning to in-program video editing, this comprehensive software bundle has you covered.

liteCAM is an intuitive screen-capture tool, albeit one that can't capture cursor movements.

liteRecorder is a worthwhile purchase only for those who value ease of use and quality of capture over, well, value. But at $14, it's hardly bank-breaking.