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Software Review of:
Gear Pro
5.0 for Windows 

From the February, 2001 issue of PC Alamode Magazine
by Dale Swafford
Gear ProWe last checked out Gear Software’s Gear Pro version 4.41 in the July 2000 issue of The PC Alamode. That was some heavy duty burner premastering software. Well, the folks at Gear have been busy making an excellent package even better. The Gear Pro 5 for Windows is designed primarily for professional level premastering of CD recording of imaging, prepress storage, mission critical archiving, title development, pre-master testing, and audio applications. What that translates to is almost complete control of the burn process for business and the type-A digital phreaks who are always pushing the envelope. This is not the crippleware the burner makers include to get you started burning coasters. Rather, this is the software you search out when you tire of someone else setting all of the parameters for a burn. 

The new graphical user interface makes learning the program much easier. Don’t be confused though, this is not a program for beginners. This is an elegant tool for knowledgeable burner operators who demand control over the burn process. Version 5 has expanded support for almost every CD-R/RW recorder currently marketed, both IDE and SCSI interface. It also supports burning four different sizes of CDs (18, 63, 74, and 80 minutes). The program will run on Windows 95/98/NT/2000 operating systems and loads effortlessly. 

Minimum computer rig
A Pentium CPU with 16 MB of RAM; a fast hard disk (12 ms or less with descent thoughtput) with about one GB open to create an image file; and, of course, a compatible CD recorder.

The manual is one of the best available. It clearly explains the fundamental terms and various recording procedures. Not as basic as Adaptec’s, but certainly more comprehensive.

Don’t be mislead. My knowledge of premastering is somewhere between zilch and duh! So when I look at this burner software, it’s as an intermediate computer user looking for that elusive do-all software that burns without making coasters. I managed to burn three coasters while exploring the many facets of this pro level software. Not too shabby, considering.

Like most American burner software, this program will choke on audio copy protection when the music track is copied using digital audio extraction. Download the alternate CD file system, cdfs.zip. Then drag and drop the audio wav files from the music CD to your hard disk. Reset the file attributes and rename the wav files. Load the wav files in the Project Window - play or filter the wav files, setup Settings and Preferences, and write a CD.
With all the different CD formats supported, I can see a medium to large company, desiring to create a quantity of CDs, utilizing the potential of this powerful and reasonable ($150) software package. Check it out at www.gearcdr.com Or download a demo of version 4.4 from www.zdnet.com/downloads.
 

Dale Swafford