CyberNotes: Free CD, DVD, & Blu-ray Burning Software

March 11th, 2008

16 Comments Written by Ryan

Time Saving Tuesday

I used to love the Nero CD/DVD burning software when it first came out because it came in a no-frills package that ran faster than any of the competing alternatives. Since then they’ve added about a dozen additional applications that are bundled with the burning software, and it’s pretty disappointing to see it become so bloated.

If you feel the same way I do then you’ll be pleased with the two free alternatives that I’m about to show you today. They are well updated applications that not only support burning CD’s and DVD’s, but also support Blu-ray and the soon-to-be-extinct HD DVD. More importantly for me, however, is that both of them support burning ISO images.

–BurnAware (Homepage)–

This works on Windows NT/2000/XP/Vista (32 and 64 Bit)
UPDATE: As of June 2008 this software is no longer free. You can find information on downloading the last free version here.

BurnAware comes in both free and paid flavors, but for most people the free version will be more than enough. The thing that really stands out with this application is that it has an exceptional interface that nearly any computer user will be able to understand:

(Click to Enlarge)

From the main interface you just have to select what task you are looking to perform. This is where you can select to burn an ISO image, audio CD, DVD videos, or a data disc. Selecting media to add to a data disc, for example, will really be a no-brainer for most users:

(Click to Enlarge)

Here’s a list of features that you’ll get from using BurnAware:

Writes to all CD/DVD media types including Blu-Ray (BD-R/BD-RE)
Writes discs from disc images
Writes DVDs from DVD-Video files
Writes Audio CDs from WAV, MP3, or WMA files
Creates disc images
Supports all current hardware interfaces
On-the-fly writing for all image types
Writes Multi-Session to all supported media formats
Auto-verification of written files
Supports unicode for multi-byte languages

Thanks to “sorr” for the tip on this one!

–CDBurnerXP (Homepage)–

This works on Windows 2000/XP/2003 Server/Vista

If the interface on BurnAware is a bit too simplistic you might find CDBurnerXP to align better with your taste. This is a personal favorite of mine because the interface is more advanced, and is closer to what I’m used to with Nero. It’s quite reminiscent of browsing files in Windows Explorer:

(Click to Enlarge)

If you’re using this to burn some ISO images you’ll be happy to know that there are a few different settings that you can configure. You can even have the computer shutdown after the burning process is completed:

CDBurnerXP ISO

Here’s a full list of features that you’ll get from using CDBurnerXP:

Burn any Data on CD-R/CD-RW/DVD+R/DVD-R/DVD+RW/DVD-RW/DVD-RAM/BD/HD-DVD, including double layer mediums
Create bootable discs
Drag and drop files directly from any Windows Explorer window
Burn on-the-fly and with buffer-underrun protections
Create audio CD’s from MP3, WAV, OGG, FLAC, and WMA files
Gapless audio CD’s supported (disc-at-once-mode)
Burn ISO files to CD
Create your own ISO files
Convert BIN and NRG files to ISO

–Overview–

I think you’ll be happy no matter which of the two applications you decide to go with. Both of them offer exceptional features for the price… FREE! The best thing is that they are well updated and support a wide array of CD, DVD, Blu-ray, and HD DVD burners. You’ve got nothing to lose by giving them a try.

If you’ve got a personal favorite burning application let us know in the comments below. We always enjoy checking out new programs.

This is just one of the hundreds of CyberNotes we have done. You can find more of them by visiting our CyberNotes category, or by subscribing to our CyberNotes feed. We also have a full feed available if you want to receive all of our articles in your reader!

Tags: CyberNotes, Freeware, Software, Applications, Features

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March 11th, 2008 at 11:16 am Junior

I tried this one. I like it Ashampoo Burning Studio 7
http://www2.ashampoo.com/webca.....1110__.htm
March 11th, 2008 at 11:20 am Junior

I forgot to say, they are offering Ashampoo Burning studio 6 for free.
I love this application. It has a lot of features.
March 11th, 2008 at 11:24 am yeshu

thanks…i am using nero lite..dont know how legal it is to use it..but its working well..will try these apps…
March 11th, 2008 at 1:07 pm Alek Davis

I totally agree with the Ryan’s remark about Nero. I used to be a fan a few years ago, but once they started adding all these bloat, I no longer use it.

My favorite (free) burning tools are ImgBurn (or DVD Decrypter) and CDBurnerXP (I wonder if they need to update the title to something like DvdBurnerVista ). I recently tried BurnAware, but for some reason it could not burn a DivX file to a DVD, which worked fine in CDBurnerXP (the error message said that the media was not writable, although it was). So I kinda gave up on BurnAware.

Another tool to consider is InfraRecorder (see http://infrarecorder.sourceforge.net/ ). It’s the only free tool I was able to find for CD duplication (if I just want to make a copy of an audio CD).
March 11th, 2008 at 4:34 pm Ryan (Author)

Alek Davis wrote:

Another tool to consider is InfraRecorder (see http://infrarecorder.sourceforge.net/ ). It’s the only free tool I was able to find for CD duplication (if I just want to make a copy of an audio CD).

That is a great application, but I wanted to find ones that already supported Blu-ray. That way when those recorders start to become popular people can feel comfortable with the software they have.
March 11th, 2008 at 4:52 pm leland (All-Star)

There are several other free CD/DVD burning softwares out there. For one there is StarBurn at http://www.rocketdivision.com/starburn.html I have tried it and found it to be a useful package. There is also DeepBurner Free at http://www.deepburner.com/?r=products I have also used this product and found it to be good. Another one I haven’t tried but have kept in mind is Ultimate CD/DVD Burner at http://www.mispbo.com/burner.htm

As for Ashampoo Burning Studio the only version I could find for free at the moment is 5.5.1 availble at http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/d.....ing-studio

I looked quite a bit, but that was the only version that is still free. You do have to provide an email address to register, but it is free and is cheap to upgrade.
March 11th, 2008 at 5:51 pm Alek Davis

leland wrote:

As for Ashampoo Burning Studio the only version I could find for free at the moment is 5.5.1 availble

Version 6.6. of Ashampoo Burning Studio seems to be free as well:

http://www.download.com/Ashamp.....=0&v=0

I haven’t tried it (beyond installation), so can’t vouch how good (or bad) it is.

Ryan wrote:

I wanted to find ones that already supported Blu-ray.

Sorry, I missed the Blue-ray part in the title.
March 11th, 2008 at 8:10 pm CoryC (All-Star)

I like ImgBurn.
March 12th, 2008 at 10:09 am kvascola

CoryC wrote:

I like ImgBurn.

So do I
March 12th, 2008 at 2:36 pm leland (All-Star)

Thanks Alek, that worked. Ashampoo supports Blu-ray so it meets Ryan’s requirements. The interface seems kind of basic, but I am sure for many they will find it quite useful. Besides who can argue with free.

I forgot ImgBurn, that is another very useful burning program.
March 12th, 2008 at 3:57 pm Ryan (Author)

Alek Davis wrote:

leland wrote:

As for Ashampoo Burning Studio the only version I could find for free at the moment is 5.5.1 availble

Version 6.6. of Ashampoo Burning Studio seems to be free as well:

http://www.download.com/Ashamp.....=0&v=0

I haven’t tried it (beyond installation), so can’t vouch how good (or bad) it is.

Huh, so it looks like they offer their older versions for free. I’m surprised to see that it actually supports Blu-ray in that edition, but then again it was only released like a month ago. Nice find.
March 24th, 2008 at 2:42 pm leland (All-Star)

I see BurnAware Home edition is being offered for free today (3/24/08) on Giveaway of the Day. You can find it at http://www.giveawayoftheday.co.....e-edition/
March 24th, 2008 at 4:57 pm Ryan (Author)

leland wrote:

I see BurnAware Home edition is being offered for free today (3/24/08) on Giveaway of the Day. You can find it at http://www.giveawayoftheday.co.....e-edition/

Thanks for the heads up. I’ve enjoyed some of the software offered on Giveaway of the Day, but I often find myself not bothering with the applications because if I ever wipe out my computer I won’t be able to install them again. Granted that’s the whole reason companies want to participate in it, but I don’t want to get comfortable with something that I won’t be able to reinstall later on.
March 25th, 2008 at 11:50 am leland (All-Star)

Yes, and that is often why I don’t use them. But also consider if you use something like Acronis True Image you can always have a restore disc or external hard drive on tap at any moment and then you would not lose it. When I install new systems I love using this method so I can easily take a computer to a known working state at any time I need to. There are also free tools that can to the same thing like Drive Image XML (http://www.runtime.org/dixml.htm). Also, if you have a Maxtor or Seagate drive you can get Acronis for free. Just some food for thought.
March 25th, 2008 at 6:29 pm Ryan (Author)

I’ve thought about using restore drives before, but they’ve never really appealed to me. When I want a fresh install I like starting fresh. It also gives me an opportunity to re-evaluate which applications I need, and which ones I don’t.
March 26th, 2008 at 11:55 am leland (All-Star)

I prefer to take a fresh installation with the applications I know I use daily and use that as my base image. Acronis has options for doing incremental updates now too. I know about wanting to start fresh, that’s why I try to capture an image that is just the way I like it with exactly what I need and nothing I don’t.