Does anyone know if the the Nero 7.11.10.0 update requires that all prior updates be installed? It's 388MB, so it is possible that it updates the prior version without regard to which updates may have been applied.

Never mind, I guess. The version I got when I bought Nero was 7.0.1.4. When I installed the 7.11 update, Nero completely uninstalled the old version, and when it installed the new version, it said my serial number was out of date. That must mean that I am not entitled to update the 7.11. That seems strange. The question now is, should I update at all, and if so, to what level should I update?

Unless you're using hd or blu-ray your old version should be fine. Just reinstall. Any spesific reason for the upgrade ?

Presumably updates have bug fixes. Sometimes they have new features.

Agreed, but "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" unless you have spare time and money

As long as you have the full version of nero, you are entitled to ANY future updates. Not upgrades, but updates.

Even if you are an oem or essentials user, you are still entitled. Just remove old version, download new version, install and when it ask for serial click the link that says something like 'find my serial'. It should prompt you to load the cd and should find it automatically.

You can also check the release notes to any new release, by going to support> downloads> software updates> nero 7 and clicking additional information link. Here a link to the release notes for the newly released update
http://www.nero.com/enu/support-nero...ase-notes.html

or I can be nice and copy and paste them:

Nero Home:
* Some video streams could not play from specific external UPnP devices
* SVCD TV recording did not save in the appropriate format
* The application could stop working after pressing twice on the remote control's "Stop" button
* SVCD playback did not work properly
Nero Scout:
Editing the properties of some files could generate some errors
Nero StartSmart:
* Under Windows® XP SP2, changing the display DPI settings could cause the application to stop working
Nero Express:
* The option to change the FourCC codes when burning avi files was not available in the application
* Some video files could be shown upside down while previewing from the compilation window
* The application could remain listed as an open process even after closing it
* Several audio track property context menus could be opened at a time
* The SecurDisc™ log file content created by the application could be empty on multibyte operating systems
* In some specific cases, burning on multiple recorders at once was not possible anymore
Burning Rom:
* Some video files could be shown upside down while previewing from the compilation window
* The application could remain listed as an open process even after it was closed
* Several audio track property context menus could be opened at a time
* In some specific cases, burning on multiple recorders at once was not possible anymore
Soundtrax:
* Clicking the "Undo" button many times was not possible
* "Import Audio File", "Audio Loop", or "Audio CD" was not possible
Nero Vision:
* Some video effects were not accessible anymore
* AVCHD transcoded files could not be played properly afterwards
* No sound was available during preview
Showtime:
* Playback of specific HDTV files which contain invalid timings was not possible
* Playback of Windows Media® DRM files did not always work properly with the previous version of the application
Photosnap:
* Some file format extensions were systematically associated to the application during installation
Backitup:
*Creating a job under Windows Vista™ was not possible even with administration rights
*"Update backup" job function created several partial backup files instead of updating the backup
Incd:
The application could generate a send error message when launched after the trial period
ProductSetup:
* Specific previous Nero versions could not be updated
* Nero ProductSetup could ask for Nero.msi file when trying to update; updating was not possible then
* Installation could not occur if the Windows Firewall was disabled
Webinstaller:
* Under Windows Vista™, closing the installer windows instead of clicking "Exit" could generate an error
* Specific previous Nero versions could not be updated, showing a "unable to access file association manager" error message
* Installation could get interrupted with a "system is not modified" error message
* The signature of complete sfx-installer was invalid
* Specific previous Nero versions could not be updated; they showed a "versions are not compatible" error message
* Under some Windows Vista™, a valid serial number could be interpreted as false and the installation could not occur

I have version 7 of NERO ESSENTIAL with my DVD Writer. However, I noticed that the RECODE is only a Trial version that last for 30days. Apparently, I need to "buy" the upgrade to version 8 to continue using RECODE.

I also updated to the latest version 7.11, it too automatically uninstalled the previous version.

I copy and paste the serial number to the upgrade and it automatically download the new version and installed.

So far I have no problems using the latest version of Nero 7, but I wished that the RECODE could have also been included and not only TRIAL version. Looks like only RECODE that is in trial version, I assumed that other programs in the ESSENTIAL version are also trial, but I have not tried them.

Chow.