Best CD Burner

mail2me · 11 Apr 2003, 03:50 AM

What is the best CD burner?

Easy(?) CD Creator or Nero Burning ROM

Adrian Bell · 11 Apr 2003, 04:15 AM

In my opinion Roxio Easy CD Creator is the easiest to use. Also we tried Nero at work once. We had these CDs with files on them and just wanted to add one more file later. When we added an extra file with Nero we found that an ordinary CD drive couldn't read all the other files. We did this with Roxio's Easy CD and it worked fine. Mind if you add too many sessions it eventually breaks. I have heard people say that Nero is better for music though but I don't know why.

lux · 11 Apr 2003, 04:49 AM

Also Nero is better for copying CDs...

kaptitsky · 11 Apr 2003, 05:41 AM

Nero definately has the most power in the smallest footprint.

The reason it's better for music is because it uses the original fruenhofer codecs to transform from MP3 to audio, and allows encoding with them also, though not in the base price.

The big issue with Nero was user friendlieness, but with Nero Express as an alternate interface, much of the power can be masked very well.

EZ CD Creator is big and cushy -- and sloppy. Nero does the job fast and effectively, with updates issued every two months or so, so it's not buggy.

I was dismayed to get Nero with my first CD-RW drive. Now that I know the Roxio product, I am pleased with what I got.

Nero is fast, powerful and getting graceful.

mail2me · 11 Apr 2003, 08:27 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Adrian Bell
we tried Nero at work once. We had these CDs with files on them and just wanted to add one more file later. When we added an extra file with Nero we found that an ordinary CD drive couldn't read all the other files. We did this with Roxio's Easy CD and it worked fine.

I have experienced this problem with Easy CD creator. I have never used or tried Nero so far to comment. I think this can be avoided by burning directly with Windows XP since it supports CD burners. I don’t think it can do CD copying though without installing third party software. If it can then we don’t need any third party software at all except for music.

Quote:

Originally posted by Adrian Bell
I have heard people say that Nero is better for music though but I don't know why.

I think MusicMatch is the best for music, which I have. I need another software mostly for CD copying.

I was (still am) an Easy CD Creator 5 user on Windows XP. Unlike the previous versions on previous Windows versions, installing the software alone was far from easy which involved several reboots after each update to make it Windows XP compatible. I heard that they have a simple one update patch now from their website, but that didn’t work for me. So I managed to get hold of a copy of the latest Easy CD & DVD Creator version 6. However, the install files take nearly a full CD, and it takes 800MB of hard disk space to install. It also doesn't work properly on my laptop due to lack of resources. So now I'm thinking of switching to Nero, but have no idea whether the switch is worth it. Not that I have much of an option either, unless I continue with Easy CD Creator with all the old Windows XP update patches and the messy installation with the reboots in-between.

lux · 11 Apr 2003, 11:09 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by mail2me
I need another software mostly for CD copying.

Definitely Nero. It is a lot better than easy CD creator ...

kaptitsky · 11 Apr 2003, 11:51 AM

The up and coming CD Software seems to be CD-Mate

It's good and fast and much cheaper than Nero, expecially because Nero charges extra for the modules you need to create MP3 files.

And it does copy CDs well. Yes, it does.

GR8Madmax · 11 Apr 2003, 02:39 PM

squabsy · 11 Apr 2003, 08:11 PM

Furieo is a streamlined version of Nero for Music only.
It is written by one of the Nero programmers and much smaller and cheaper.
It also has a very high quality CD ripper.
MusicMatch on the other hand has a very nice GUI but I have found the encoders to be inferio.
Exact Audio Copy is the best CD ripper

CDRWin is another high quality CD burner

mail2me · 12 Apr 2003, 08:38 AM

Nero maybe small in size, more efficient speed-wise and even have more functionality than Easy CD Creator, but it sure lacks hassle free convenience and user friendliness with so many separate installers instead of just one for full functions.

What is NeroMIX and how do I use it? Since the price of that is less than Nero Burning ROM, is all NeroMIX functions already in the standard Nero Burning ROM, or is it also another required installation for additional functions not included in the standard version?

Jeremy Howard · 12 Apr 2003, 12:00 PM

I've found Prassi PrimoCD fast and reliable and easy.

I've also got EasyCD and Nero.

I find XP's built-in stuff unreliable and clunky.

Agree that 'Exact Audio Copy' is the best ripper. I use the command-line LAME encoder since it's so easy to automate.

mail2me · 13 Apr 2003, 10:59 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Jeremy Howard
I've found Prassi PrimoCD fast and reliable and easy.

Is the company behind the software still in existance? The web search for the prodoct takes me to another site called www.sonic.com that doesn't have the above mentioned product anymore.

vidvandre · 13 Apr 2003, 12:21 PM

Nero is my preferred “burner”, while it is has a rather messy and sometime illogical GUI it’s definitively my proffered application due to features, flexibility and reliability.

To get audio of a cd -> CDex! (which incorporates LameENC and is OpenSource!)

mail2me · 14 Apr 2003, 06:08 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Adrian Bell
In my opinion Roxio Easy CD Creator is the easiest to use. Also we tried Nero at work once. We had these CDs with files on them and just wanted to add one more file later. When we added an extra file with Nero we found that an ordinary CD drive couldn't read all the other files. We did this with Roxio's Easy CD and it worked fine. Mind if you add too many sessions it eventually breaks. I have heard people say that Nero is better for music though but I don't know why.

I think I've figured out why files cannot be read with ordinary CD drives as quoted below:

Quote:

Nero normally writes ISO data in the CD sector format Mode 1 . However Nero also supports the so-called XA-Format for ISO data. The XA format is an extension of ISO structures and can only be burned onto the CD in Mode 2 (another CD sector format). 'Normal' ISO Mode 1 tracks behave just like Mode2/XA tracks when read under DOS/Windows and using modern CD-ROM drives.

The latest CD-ROM drives can easily read Mode 1 and Mode2/XA-CDs. However there are still some CD-ROM drives around that cannot read the Mode 1 CDs correctly. Owners of these older drives are advised to write data in the Mode2/XA-format.

From what I understand the Mode 1 takes up more space to record but is better with error correction. However older CD drives cannot read them.

I am now trying Nero and it seems okay once you take some time to master it, but I must admit that it lacks the easy windows style user friendly interface that Easy CD Creator provides. The main reason to switch is the Easy CD Creator's Windows XP compatibility issues with versions prior to 6 and the amount of resources the latter version consumes in terms of processor speed, memory and gigantic storage space.

mail2me · 14 Apr 2003, 06:12 AM

Does anyone know whether it is possible to do CD copying without third party software directly from Windows XP too. The Windows XP burning works great otherwise since most people have a separate program just for playing and recording music.

11 Apr 2003, 03:50 AM	#1
mail2me Master of the @ Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: California, USA Posts: 1,597	Best CD Burner What is the best CD burner? Easy(?) CD Creator or Nero Burning ROM

11 Apr 2003, 04:15 AM	#2
Adrian Bell Cornerstone of the Community Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Darlington, UK Posts: 938	In my opinion Roxio Easy CD Creator is the easiest to use. Also we tried Nero at work once. We had these CDs with files on them and just wanted to add one more file later. When we added an extra file with Nero we found that an ordinary CD drive couldn't read all the other files. We did this with Roxio's Easy CD and it worked fine. Mind if you add too many sessions it eventually breaks. I have heard people say that Nero is better for music though but I don't know why.

11 Apr 2003, 04:49 AM	#3
lux The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 2,274	Also Nero is better for copying CDs...

11 Apr 2003, 05:41 AM	#4
kaptitsky The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 2,186	Nero definately has the most power in the smallest footprint. The reason it's better for music is because it uses the original fruenhofer codecs to transform from MP3 to audio, and allows encoding with them also, though not in the base price. The big issue with Nero was user friendlieness, but with Nero Express as an alternate interface, much of the power can be masked very well. EZ CD Creator is big and cushy -- and sloppy. Nero does the job fast and effectively, with updates issued every two months or so, so it's not buggy. I was dismayed to get Nero with my first CD-RW drive. Now that I know the Roxio product, I am pleased with what I got. Nero is fast, powerful and getting graceful.

11 Apr 2003, 11:51 AM	#7
kaptitsky The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 2,186	The up and coming CD Software seems to be CD-Mate It's good and fast and much cheaper than Nero, expecially because Nero charges extra for the modules you need to create MP3 files. And it does copy CDs well. Yes, it does.

11 Apr 2003, 02:39 PM	#8
GR8Madmax Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Chicago Posts: 20	Nero

11 Apr 2003, 08:11 PM	#9
squabsy Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: UK South Coast Posts: 149	Furieo is a streamlined version of Nero for Music only. It is written by one of the Nero programmers and much smaller and cheaper. It also has a very high quality CD ripper. MusicMatch on the other hand has a very nice GUI but I have found the encoders to be inferio. Exact Audio Copy is the best CD ripper CDRWin is another high quality CD burner

12 Apr 2003, 08:38 AM	#10
mail2me Master of the @ Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: California, USA Posts: 1,597	Nero maybe small in size, more efficient speed-wise and even have more functionality than Easy CD Creator, but it sure lacks hassle free convenience and user friendliness with so many separate installers instead of just one for full functions. What is NeroMIX and how do I use it? Since the price of that is less than Nero Burning ROM, is all NeroMIX functions already in the standard Nero Burning ROM, or is it also another required installation for additional functions not included in the standard version?

12 Apr 2003, 12:00 PM	#11
Jeremy Howard Ultimate Contributor Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Australia Posts: 11,501	I've found Prassi PrimoCD fast and reliable and easy. I've also got EasyCD and Nero. I find XP's built-in stuff unreliable and clunky. Agree that 'Exact Audio Copy' is the best ripper. I use the command-line LAME encoder since it's so easy to automate.

13 Apr 2003, 12:21 PM	#13
vidvandre Cornerstone of the Community Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Sørumsand(!), Norway Posts: 625	Nero is my preferred “burner”, while it is has a rather messy and sometime illogical GUI it’s definitively my proffered application due to features, flexibility and reliability. To get audio of a cd -> CDex! (which incorporates LameENC and is OpenSource!)

14 Apr 2003, 06:12 AM	#15
mail2me Master of the @ Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: California, USA Posts: 1,597	Does anyone know whether it is possible to do CD copying without third party software directly from Windows XP too. The Windows XP burning works great otherwise since most people have a separate program just for playing and recording music.