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Buying Guide: The Best Disc Burning Software
If you buy what pundits and technorati are selling, you might be under the impression that CDs and DVDs are dead, both as a method for enjoying music and video and as a way to store and back up computer data. And the emergence of the "cloud" as the new place to store all your data and digital media is undeniable. But judging from Internet search volume, millions of people are still interested in working with optical discs, whether for burning, ripping, copying, or just consuming them.
If you just want to burn CDs, Windows Media Player on Windows and iTunes on either Windows or Mac do just fine. For data backup and transporting, both OSes have built-in DVD burning capabilities, too. And if you want to take advantage of the hugely more capacious Blu-ray discs—typically 25GB, 50, or even 100GB, compared with DVD's typical 4.7GB and 8.5GB sizes—you'll need third-party software.
Most of the apps in this space now offer far more than mere disc burning, with authoring tools that let you create intros, menus, and chapters on the media. Some also offer help with creating backups that span multiple discs. Some add disc-securing features. But they all still can perform their original task—burning discs. Read on for the best solution to your burning needs.
FEATURED IN THIS ROUNDUP:
Ashampoo Burning Studio 11
$49.99
Ashampoo's disc burning app offers the best combination of interface and features we've seen. With a clear wizard-driven process for any project, good authoring tools for both DVD and Blu-ray movie discs, and backup capability, Ashampoo Burning Studio 11 is definitely worth consideration as your go-to sofware for disc burning.
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CyberLink Power2Go 8
$49.95 - $69.95
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Coming from the maker of our Editors' Choice enthusiast video editing software, PowerDirector 10, Power2Go has one of the most attractive interfaces around. It does a fine job creating intros and menus for your DVD movie projects, but it can't do the same for Blu-ray. A Backup and restore tool, slideshow creation, and encryption capability are notable plusses.
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ImgBurn
Free
This free techie fave has all the dials and settings, but it also offers interface options that make it easy enough for novices to both burn or copy disc image files to and from discs. A basic burning utility that also can analyze the functioning of your drive and integrity of your discs, ImgBurn however doesn't offer authoring or backup capability, and its interface isn't at the friendliness level of some of the competition's.
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NCH ExpressBurn Plus Video
$59.95
This utility is quick to download and install, and performs some tasks speedily, but its interface and capabilities aren't on a par with what you get from competitors—especially for its hefty price tag. The program couldn't find title and track information for ripped CDs, and couldn't create MP3 DVDs. Its video disc menus were very basic.
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Nero Burning ROM 11
$49.99
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Nero's venerable disc-burning software can do the job, but its clunky interface is a relic from years gone by. Burning ROM does add some intriguing SecurDisc protection, but look to competitors for better interfaces and more features. Though it can set up the folders correctly for a DVD or Blu-ray movie disc burn, it can't transcode your source clip files to the correct format, and it doesn't include any disc-menu-authoring capabilities.
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