If you’re semi-serious about video, Sony's Vegas Movie Studio 9 Platinum Pro is well worth shelling out for. In particular, the inclusion of Sound Forge Audio Studio will help give your productions the professional sheen they need.

Although DVD Architect Pro 4.5 isn't a major update, Vegas 8 itself has plenty to make it worth the upgrade. It now matches the Adobe and Avid competition for most major features, and, priced between Premiere Pro and Liquid, it's great value for an all-in-one editing and authoring suite.

At over $3000, this looks expensive, but actually represents incredible value despite a couple of rough edges. Even if you don't necessarily need Flash CS3, you're getting a huge amount for your money, and the integration between such powerful standalone applications can't be matched.

For the professional there are certainly better alternatives. But if you're a home user who wants a fantastic bundle at a remarkable price, this is one of the best buys around.

With more versatility than a Swiss Army knife, Creator is a great solution for home enthusiasts. It’s forward thinking, with support for Vista and Blu-ray -- but you might want to keep a copy of Paint Shop Pro handy for photo editing.

As a one-stop-shop, Easy Media Creator 8.0 could be just what you are looking for. However, you may find yourself outgrowing the program within a few projects.

Put the innovation and integration together, and you have a clear winner.

A tightly integrated set of tools that's extremely hard to beat if you're looking for a comprehensive post-production solution.