Despite external hard drives, USB drives, memory cards, and cloud storage, optical discs haven't gone anywhere. Many users still back up their data on CDs, DVDs, and Blu-ray discs, and I say "trying" because the burning tools built into the major operating systems are laughable. For those of you still in the fight, today we'll recall four of the best options for burning and copying optical discs.
There was a time when it made no sense to look beyond Nero Burning ROM. Its old version 5.5 worked wonderfully, but time was not kind to the application. Besides falling into the bloatware trap (and never escaping it), free and much lighter alternatives quickly appeared, with very similar features. Still, burning optical discs lost a lot of luster in recent years. USB drives, memory cards, and external hard drives managed to seduce most users without much effort, offering the ability to create quick and dynamic backups. The arrival of Blu-ray technology didn't do much to change this trend; however, the idea of duplicating an original disc (and thus preserving its physical integrity) makes all the sense in the world, as does making deep backups of our data. What kind of programs can we use today? Honestly, the best ones are still the classics.
The Best Programs to Burn CD, DVD and Blu-ray
BurnAware
BurnAware not only has one of the friendliest interfaces, but despite its years on the market, it continues to receive updates and fix bugs. Some of its advanced features are limited to the Pro and Premium editions (for example, extracting audio tracks), but if you want to create your own data structures, create ISO images, erase rewritable discs, and burn data across multiple discs, the Free edition is enough.
CDBurnerXP
For a large number of users, CDBurnerXP became the definitive replacement for Nero Burning ROM. At first it had performance issues (mostly due to the .NET Framework) and its compatibility with certain burners was limited, but today we have before us a mature, flexible, and very easy-to-use program. (Note: The conventional installer includes OpenCandy, but there is an alternative without that module.)
ImgBurn
The venerable ImgBurn has accompanied us on many adventures. Its first steps go back to the unforgettable DVD Decrypter, and since then, it has become the ISO image burner par excellence. The fact that it hasn't received updates in over two years hasn't changed its value at all, and to be honest, I still have it installed on my system. If you want to create or burn ISO images, or need some advanced burning parameters, ImgBurn is the answer. (Note: It offers OpenCandy.)
Ashampoo Burning Studio FREE
The people at Ashampoo offer many applications in the computer market, and as expected, their package also includes burning software. The free version of their Burning Studio sets aside more complex functions, and its 31-megabyte installer makes it the "heaviest" on the list, but all the essential functions are there, it supports more than forty languages, and its interface reduces the burning process to a couple of clicks.
Now, why these four? Surely some readers are thinking of options like Alcohol 120%, CDRWIN, or CloneDVD and its family... but the reasons also come down to four: They are stable, easy to use, very complete, and free. I think that says it all. Don't hesitate to try them, and good luck!
