Award-Winning Software from NCH

The true test of a software program is how well it works for the people who install and use it. The number of people downloading and using NCH programs everyday (roughly 3 million downloads every month) suggests our focus on creating powerful, easy and intuitive software is working well for a lot of people out there. And while you have the final word on if a program is right for you, we still appreciate the feedback of reviewers recognizing the work that has gone into making our software programs both powerful and easy-to-use.

Here is a peek into our trophy case, and just a small sample of the award-winning software titles in the NCH Software collection:

WavePad Sound Editor

WavePad has long been praised by reviewers for its easy and powerful, yet lightweight interface for audio editing.

"In spite of its tiny size, WavePad packs a big audio punch."
     - CNET

"WavePad has a lot to offer to the amateur audio editor, while still providing enough tools to make it a useful program for more seasoned audio editors."
     - TopTenReviews

Switch Audio Converter

Switch is not only easy to use, it supports more audio formats than the competition, making it a clear winner.

"Switch is just as useful for professionals that need to convert many songs into multiple formats as it is for the average person who knows they want to convert an AAC file to MP3. Switch is able to handle many different audio formats and has the largest selection of output formats of any program we reviewed."
     - TopTenReviews

VideoPad Video Editor

VideoPad has quickly become a major player in video editing with upgraded features, putting even more advanced options at your disposal.

"NCH Software's VideoPad Video Editor Professional is a full-featured video-editing tool that is surprisingly easy to use... It's a rare video editor that you can just fire up and start making movies with, but that's what we did with VideoPad."
     - CNET

PhotoStage Slideshow Software

PhotoStage lets you bring your digital photos to life and make easy-to-share presentations of every memorable occasion.

"PhotoStage Slideshow Producer shows that slideshow makers don't need to be difficult to use to produce great results."
     - CNET

"PhotoStage is intuitive and savvy photo slideshow software that enables you to assemble artistic, personalized picture slideshows with total ease."
     - TopTenReviews

Zulu DJ Mixing Software

Zulu is the complete DJ software solution for both amateur and professional DJs alike.

"In an extremely competitive field of DJ software, Zulu stands just a bit taller than all of the rest. The intuitive and advanced features of this program, including a user-friendly, simple and straightforward interface, helped it rise to the top of our rankings."
     - TopTenReviews

Inventoria Inventory Management

Inventoria allows businesses of all sizes to efficiently track all their inventory processes, whether for one small retail outlet, or a chain of stores and warehouses across several locations.

"The versatility of Inventoria is an excellent reason to purchase this product. It offers numerous helpful features such as the ability to add notes and photos to each item in your inventory. In addition, you have the opportunity to allow more users to access the program, which can increase productivity and ultimately enhance your bottom line."
     - TopTenReviews

Check out the complete range of NCH Software programs for more easy-to-use and award-winning software solutions for all your software needs.

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Record DJ Mixes Live

The ability to not only save a playlist but record a DJ mixing session to an audio files was a highly requested feature for Zulu DJ Software for a long time running. Now that this feature has been added, we want to give you a quick look at how you can put it to good use for recording your DJ mixes:

Between the two decks there is a Recording indicator, just above the cross-fader. If you click on this indicator with nothing queued in the deck it opens the Recording Options dialog where you can set the output format, destination folder and file name. With your options set once you are ready to start recording click the indicator again to start or stop recording. The recording indicator will blink while recording is in progress. Note if you don't use the date-time stamp to name your recordings you will need to specify a new format, folder, or file name to avoid overwriting your previous recordings.

That is all there is to it. For quick access to your recordings you can open the destination recording folder from the file menu. Then you will be all set to share, save or edit your recorded DJ mixes with WavePad.

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Become a DJ: Learning the Software is Half the Battle

Zulu Virtual DJ Software is an easy-to-use dj software program for mixing track after track during live performances, or you can simply let Zulu be the DJ for you.

To make getting started even easier, we put together this introduction to Zulu DJ Software video tutorial to help aspiring DJs learn their way around the Zulu interface. The video covers the music list, auto play, using the deck, setting the beats per minute (BPM) and using auto-sync, the pitch slider and speed controls for smooth transitions between tracks. It also covers setting cue points, looping, applying effects, and using the headphone output.



Once you've learned some of the basics covered in this video, then all that's really left is picking out the songs to play and keep things moving at your next party.

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Put a DJ in da House (Next to the Christmas Tree)

Do you know someone with tons of music, opinions on how it should be listened to, and with a desire to share their music with others? It might be time to give them the opportunity to become a disc jockey.

At first thought, it sounds expensive. Think of all the records, the turntables, the earth-moving speakers, the disco ball—then calm down. You don't need any of these to get started! All that you need is Zulu DJ software, and your existing music collection. Designed for beginners and professionals alike, Zulu gives any DJ-in-training the tools to start out with a basic setup and will grow with them as they begin to buy and use all that hefty equipment later on.

Beginners can practice transitioning between songs loaded on virtual decks, and with automatic beat detection, cross-fading, live effects, and synchronization between tracks, Zulu will make any DJ newbie sound like they know what they are doing. Soon, they'll be cueing up the next track and applying effects on the fly for a completely customized music experience.

Zulu also works great as an auto-DJ for those who want control over the music without the maintenance. Simply pre-load a playlist into the program, and Zulu will keep the music coming all night long, with seamless transitions between each track so you'll never hear a pause in the music at your holiday parties or upcoming New Year celebrations.

So if you're struggling with those last-minute gifts, consider Zulu for the music lover on your list. Then throw a party and put them in charge of the tunes!

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Zulu DJ Mixing Software Gets the Gold

We are steadily collecting more Gold here at NCH—Michael Phelps might need to look out. The latest Gold is for the always fun Zulu DJ Mixing Software. The good people at TopTenReviews just gave it the number one spot in the DJ Mixing software category, going so far as to declare "You can't lose with Zulu DJ mixing software." And that is just the beginning of this very good review for Zulu. They went on to say:

"In an extremely competitive field of DJ mixing software, Zulu stands just a bit taller than all of the rest. The intuitive and advanced features of this program, including a user-friendly, simple and straightforward interface, help them rise to the top of our rankings. The software is compatible with most, if not all, audio formats, including wav, mp3 and wma."

– TopTenReviews

You can read the complete review of Zulu DJ Mixing Software on the TopTenReviews website. Or, simply download and try it out for yourself, take your DJ skills to the next level and try being the DJ at your next party.

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Be The DJ At Your Next Party

Whether you're planning an end-of-summer bash or are gearing up for parties back on campus, you should checkout Zulu DJ Software and consider playing your personal favorites for the best possible playlist at your next party.

Just this last week, Doug Bardwell, a technology writer for examiner.com posted an article, Become the DJ you always wanted to be, recommending Zulu and some high quality headphones for those students whose "playlists are more important than [their] class schedules."

Zulu allows for a wide range of control over a playlist, from an AutoPlay mode for hands-off mixing, to powerful tools for more advanced disc jockeys including real-time pitch and tempo control, cue points, and an effects rack. Plus the automatic beat detection and cross-fading between decks give you smooth transitions between songs. With all of this in an easy to use interface and your extensive music collection, why not download Zulu and give your own playlists a spin at your next event?

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NCH Audio Suite Complete for Mac

With the release of Zulu DJ Software for Mac earlier this week, all five of the core audio software tools that make up the NCH Audio Suite are now all available for the Mac, completing the Audio Suite for Apple fans. Take a closer look at these 5 essential audio tools for Mac and Widows PC users alike:

• WavePad audio editor
  
• MixPad multitrack recorder and mixer
  
• RecordPad audio recorder
  
• Switch audio file converter
  
• Zulu DJ Software
  

Note: All 5 audio software products are available for download and purchase individually through the NCH Software website, and the retail box with all these audio tools bundled together is available at a selection of retail stores in the US including Fry's, MicroCenter, CompUSA, Amazon and more, so keep your eyes peeled for NCH Software in a store near you.

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Zulu Virtual DJ Software New Mac Version

Zulu DJ Software is now available for Mac, providing all the same powerful features professional and amateur disc jockeys alike have relied on in the Windows version.

Zulu allows for a wide range of control over a playlist, from AutoPlay mode for hands-off mixing, to powerful tools for more advanced disc jockeys including real-time pitch and tempo control, cue points, and an effects rack. Users can drag and drop music files anywhere on the Zulu DJ Software interface and preview tracks before they play, and then mix music while adding special effects such as distortion, reverb, and delay on the fly. With all this and Zulu's advanced automatic beat detection, users can easily take their DJing skills to the next level.

So whether you have a PC or a Mac, are a professional disc jockey or just learning the ropes, Zulu Virtual DJ Software offers a complete solution that you should be sure to check out before your next party or event.

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New Year's Resolutions

It's that time of year again, when everyone makes their new year's resolutions. And as we all look forward to the new year and start planning for how we would like to see things go there is a surprisingly consolidated list of resolutions that the majority of people make. While searching on-line here is one Top Ten List of New Year's Resolutions that many of you may find yourself on:

1. Spend More Time with Family and Friends
   
2. Fit in Fitness
   
3. Tame the Bulge
   
4. Quit Smoking
   
5. Enjoy Life More
   
6. Quit Drinking
   
7. Get Out of Debt
   
8. Learn Something New
   
9. Help Others
   
10. Get Organized
    

My personal resolution is getting to the gym more which fits right in there with number two on that list, and I'm sure that plenty of you are with me on that. Sadly none of our software will help me make that particular goal happen, but we do have software that can help with some of the items on the list. Take a look at some the software programs that you might enjoy whether or not they are related to your resolution: Get Organized Sort through all of your photos and home movies and turn them in to memorable presentations with either PhotoStage Slideshow Software or VideoPad Video Editor. Your memories do deserve a life outside of a dusty shoebox, so turn them into something worth watching. Then use Disketch Label Maker to create CD and DVD labels and covers for all of your mixed CDs and home movies. Help Others Are you bursting with enough information to start your own podcast or tutorial series? Record yourself with RecordPad or capture video of yourself or your computer screen with Debut Video Recorder, and then share your knowledge with the world using BroadWave Audio Streamer or BroadCam Video Streamer. Enjoy Life More and Spend Time with Family and Friends One great idea would be to have more parities, and with Zulu DJ Software you can be the disc jockey for a guaranteed playlist with all your favorites. NCH Software 2010 Resolutions As always we have lots of things in the works but I would say the most exciting are plans to develop a healthy library of apps for the iPhone and Droid. Currently the top five programs that we are working on for Android and iPhone platforms are Express Dictate, WavePad Audio Editor, RecordPad Sound Recorder, PitchPerfect Guitar Tuner, and TempoPerfect Metronome Software.

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