MediaDex Standard 2.0 review

Catalogue your images complete with metadata

Be prepared to add keywords to every photo on your computer

TechRadar Verdict

A good alternative to iPhoto for photo management but you'll need to invest time

Pros

  • +

    Very fast, powerful search function

    Uses professional metadata standards

    Useful tools for batch processing

Cons

  • -

    Requires the user to tag most photos

    Doesn't use some vital metadata

    Spotlight can be better in some cases

Why you can trust TechRadar We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.

We've all struggled to find pictures at some point. MediaDex attempts to eliminate this problem. Principally aimed at photo management, but also able to handle other file types including movies, it comes in Standard and Professional varieties.

The main difference between the two is that the £55-Professional edition can handle PDFs, Microsoft Office files and RAW images.

Superficially, MediaDex is similar to iPhoto, although not as pretty. It enables you to import files into catalogues, storing thumbnails when it can. As well as thumbnails, it also includes metadata - information about the files, such as dimensions, creation and modification dates and so on.

It can also can handle EXIF and other metadata standards, such as IPTC, which can include data about the digital camera used to take the picture, captions, headlines, and so on. You can then search through the catalogue using a simple search interface (or a more complicated SQL-like process) that enables you to string these fields together.

MediaDex also enables you to categorise the photos and add keywords. If the photos already contain keywords, MediaDex will import them and tag them appropriately. There are also a variety of export options, including slideshows and web albums, as well as batch processing features for renaming, converting and editing files.

All the same, despite its power and the speed with which you're able to search, it's hard to recommend to the home user. Unless you're prepared to add keywords to every photo you own, you're going to be in no better a position after investing in MediaDex than you were before. MediaDex is a solid tool for professionals, but home users should stick with iPhoto.

Tech.co.uk was the former name of TechRadar.com. Its staff were at the forefront of the digital publishing revolution, and spearheaded the move to bring consumer technology journalism to its natural home – online. Many of the current TechRadar staff started life a Tech.co.uk staff writer, covering everything from the emerging smartphone market to the evolving market of personal computers. Think of it as the building blocks of the TechRadar you love today. 

Latest in Pro
Nvidia GR00T N1 humanoid robot
Nvidia is dreaming of trillion-dollar datacentres with millions of GPUs and I can't wait to live in the Omniverse
Nvidia Isaac GROOT N1
“The age of generalist robotics is here" - Nvidia's latest GROOT AI model just took us another step closer to fully humanoid robots
Nvidia Earth-2 weather models
Nvidia has updated its virtual recreation of the entire planet - and it could mean better weather forecasts for everyone
Nvidia DGX Station
Nvidia’s DGX Station brings 800Gbps LAN, the most powerful chip ever launched in a desktop workstation PC
Artificial intelligence India
Zoom launches AI Companion 2.0 with a major agent focus
Google Cloud logo
Google to acquire cloud security platform Wiz in $32 billion deal
Latest in Reviews
Assassin's Creed Shadows
I’ve played Assassin’s Creed Shadows for more than 40 hours and can’t stop collecting tea sets, painting birds, and assassinating evil schemers
Samsung SSD 9100 PRO review
The Samsung 9100 PRO SSD makes AI workloads faster—here’s what I found in my tests
A Samsung 9100 Pro sitting on top of its retail packaging
I spent two weeks with the Samsung 9100 Pro, and while it's a dream for professional users, gamers can do better
HP OfficeJet Pro 9012e main image
I tested the HP OfficeJet Pro 9012e - read why this is a cracking home printer
HP LaserJet Pro MFP 4302fdw main image
I tried the HP LaserJet Pro MFP 4302fdw - read why it disappoints
Epson EcoTank ET-2830 main image
I tried out the Epson EcoTank ET-2830 - see how this cheap inkjet holds up