What do you use to burn CDs and DVDs?

[Mike]

I'm going to be replacing my Win2K machine soon. On it, I used Easy CD Creator to burn CDs.

My new computer will have a combo CD/DVD reader/writer, so I'm interested in hearing others' recommendations for burning software. My needs are pretty vanilla: make a music CD, make a data CD/DVD, make an MP3 CD, make a photo CD/DVD make a data DVD, make a movie DVD. I never used Easy CD Creator's "Direct CD" feature. I'm not sure what other functionality I might need.

Feedback encouraged! ...thanks!

[jdh]

I've used a couple of different versions of Roxio on Win XP and Win 98 and used Nero on Win XP, but none much at all. I did not find any problems to speak of.

Before buying anything I'd check out if any burning software comes with the PC. I'd be a little surprised if it did not.

BTW, I'm not sure that there is any advantage in burning MP3 CD's as MP3 audio versus MP3 data CD's. I'd hope that most MP3 players today would understand data folders as audio volumes and that you could put meaningful names on folders and on MP3 files which would help navigating the MP3 disk if you play it on a player (e.g. dedicated DVD, JPG, MP3, WMA, audio CD, VCD player) with a video or LCD, etc. display. My portable MP3 player plays WMA files too, but unfortunately the LCD display is only one line and shows only vol. no. and file no. in a vol.

If I'd known that my MP3 CD player could play Mp3 files off a mere data CD as opposed to a specifically MP3 audio CD (I don't know exactly what the real difference might be except in the most vague terms), then I probably would not have bothered to buy Roxio for Win 98 since the old CD burning software that came with it would have burned MP3 files onto a data CD just fine.

DH

[Mike]

BTW, I'm not sure that there is any advantage in burning MP3 CD's as MP3 audio versus MP3 data CD's.
My current MP3 CD player requires a table of contents, and Easy CD Creator can build it without any problem. Since that's the least common denominator, I'd prefer to work with that, rather the burning for the CD players that don't expect that TOC.

[jdh]

My current MP3 CD player requires a table of contents, and Easy CD Creator can build it without any problem. Since that's the least common denominator, I'd prefer to work with that, rather the burning for the CD players that don't expect that TOC. Thanks for that explanation. I seem to remember that both kinds of MP3 CD's seemed to have regular data files unlike regular audio CD's, but I never bothered to look into the exact difference.

I made data disks with folders and MP3 files in the folders but never tried making a "standard" MP3 audio CD per se with actual volumes/folders, so I don't know if the foldering aspect is or is not part of the basic "standard" MP3 audio CD specification or not.

[Mike]

I made data disks with folders and MP3 files in the folders but never tried making a "standard" MP3 audio CD per se with actual volumes/folders, so I don't know if the foldering aspect is or is not part of the basic "standard" MP3 audio CD specification or not.
My MP3 CDs burnt with Easy CD Creator have folders (one level deep). However, the root of the CD's directory also has a .M3U file (I think that's the extension--my CDs are at the office) that lists all the folders and songs. The one CD player mentioned in my earlier message plays the songs based on the order they are listed in the .M3U file (as opposed to strictly alpha order among folders and among songs within a folder).

[Judy G. Russell]

I'm going to be replacing my Win2K machine soon. On it, I used Easy CD Creator to burn CDs.I use and really like DeepBurner (http://www.deepburner.com/) which comes in free and paid versions. It's not fancy but it does everything I've ever needed and everything that's only your list. And unlike both Nero and EasyCD, it has never conflicted with any other software on my system.

[Mike]

DeepBurner (http://www.deepburner.com/) ... unlike both Nero and EasyCD, it has never conflicted with any other software on my system.
Oh, joy! This is exactly what I was hoping to learn! Thanks, Judy!

[Judy G. Russell]

Oh, joy! This is exactly what I was hoping to learn! Thanks, Judy!Glad to help!

[ndebord]

My MP3 CDs burnt with Easy CD Creator have folders (one level deep). However, the root of the CD's directory also has a .M3U file (I think that's the extension--my CDs are at the office) that lists all the folders and songs. The one CD player mentioned in my earlier message plays the songs based on the order they are listed in the .M3U file (as opposed to strictly alpha order among folders and among songs within a folder).

Mike,

I like IMGBurn 2.4.0.0, a freeware image burner. Very easy and straightforward to use.

[Mike]

IMGBurn 2.4.0.0
Thanks, Nick. It's worth having, even if as a supplement to DeepBurner.

[MollyM/CA]

Mike--

It was such a relief to get away from those bloated, crippled "suites" when I got this new (blank) computer. And such happiness to go back to Deep Burner. A few inconveniences -- only way to sort tracks on an audio disk is move them by hand, and the help hasn't improved much (but then it's not much needed).

Deep Burner won't copy ("clone") a CD -- I'm quite satisfied with a program called 321Soft Clone CD, very simple and cheap -- doesn't have any provision for making two copies but otherwise has done very well. Whatever came with Vista exists only to make frisbies out of blank CDs -- this has copied everything I've thrown at it. The whole folder is less than 2mb.

I also have a program called DVDClonerV that I like very much so far. It copies commercial DVDs to several formats and does double layer DVDs, and has not so far been foiled.

Both are quite well behaved and haven't seemed to put any adware or spyware onto the computer -- though I did get in some trouble when I foolishly opened both at the same time to check the names. I think I had iTunes opened too.

www.dvd-cloneriii.com

iTunes is a pretty formidable CD handling program itself, and will more conveniently make and sort playlists for burning than DeepBurner will -- if the tracks are in its music library. Its default was some vile compressed format -- I have it set to convert to WAV files, which can also be edited. Easy enough to save spoken word to MP3, then.

[Mike]

... Deep Burner ... 321Soft Clone CD ... DVDClonerV ... iTunes
Thanks, Molly. I'm definitely going to check into Deep Burner, and should I need clone software, the others, as well.

I don't use iTunes, though others have told me of its virtues. I use a couple of other players for listening to my MP3s, which I rip myself, or buy from Amazon.com.

[MollyM/CA]

iTunes is possibly the program I use the most as I back up CDs to my HD as soon as I get them, and it doesn't care if you have an iPod or not. I clone the irreplaceables also, discs sent me by my composer friend.

I don't know of any reason you couldn't load the files iTunes downloads to your HD into any other MP3 player, they're just files. It's the best thing I have for playing music while I type, because I can put anything from anywhere into a day-long playlist so easily. (Or maybe the software that came with your players is really good too--) The Gracenote Database iTunes uses is seldom foiled (though once the titles to one of the Gardiner Beethoven Symphonies came up in Chinese). It got all my bird call CDs' track names (the bird names) -- a real lifesaver. (Great sleep 'music' and even useful when hearing a bird, sometimes)

[Mike]

I've been using Quintessential Player (http://www.quinnware.com/) lately. In the past, I've used VLC and the program that came with my SoundBlaster board in the computer.

Doesn't iTunes use the AAC format for the music it rips? Or has it been changed lately to rip MP3s.

I use EAC (Exact Audio Copy) to rip MP3s from CDs. Of all the utilities I've tried, it seems to be the best. However, I did not use the default configuration--I followed the advice in an issue of Maximum PC magazine to use a variable bit rate to give me a better balance between sound quality and file compression.

[davidh]

Mike,

I like IMGBurn 2.4.0.0, a freeware image burner. Very easy and straightforward to use.
FWIW,
I tried to burn an ISO image of a DVD to a new DVD blank. It would not fit, but IMGBURN did not tell me until too late, so blank DVD-R was wasted.

However, Nero warned me, and recovered gracefully somehow even when I forced it to go ahead and burn. So most of the ISO got burned more or less ok.
DH