Product Reviews

Both iTunes and Windows Media Player (WMP) offer free, easy-to-use MP3 management, so any application that charges for similar features has to offer a lot more. Data Becker's MP3 HQ 2.0 tries to do just that; it comes with an audio editor and internet radio recorder.

Sadly, while it adds extra features, it lacks the simplicity that iTunes and WMP have in spades. First, the installation process doesn't install an MP3 encoder automatically. The first time you run the application, it searches your hard disk for the Lame encoder. This took around 10 minutes on our test PC, eventually failing. MP3 HQ then downloaded it automatically, but

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it would have been better to provide this essential program with the software. MP3 HQ manages and organises your music collection and even imports existing music files. The interface isn't as neat as iTunes' or WMP's, though, so it's harder to find a specific track.

As well as dealing with existing tracks, you can import CDs, downloading track information automatically from the net. For each CD you import, you can choose the format - MP3, OGG or WMA - and the bit rate. It's not as simple as iTunes or WMP, which store your preference and import CDs without prompting for the format or quality.

The separate Web Radio Recorder application streams internet radio on to your PC so you can listen to it later. It has a timed record function, but you can set only one schedule per station, so it's no good if you want to record two programmes at different times. Replay Radio (What's New, Shopper July 2005) does a better job with a complete EPG.

The Audio Editor supports MP3 files, but it's hard to use and provides only basic fade-in and fade-out controls. As both iTunes and WMP provide better functions for free and have online music stores, MP3 HQ 2.0 shows that paid-for applications of this type have had their day.