Despite the fact that USB drives and cloud storage are becoming the main storage location, there is still a field of application for CD/DVD. Windows has a built-in disc burning function, but it only provides basic functionality. If additional settings are required, it is better to install a program from a third-party developer. To select the most suitable utilities, we chose three criteria: ease of use, fast writing speed, and stable operation.
Based on these points, user reviews, and professional reviews, we have prepared a list of the best programs for burning discs in Windows OS. You will not have to spend money on expensive programs, such as Nero Burning ROM, since all the software is completely free and has an interface in Russian.
CDBurnerXP
CDBurnerXP — is a completely free program with no premium versions or limitations. It can be used for both personal and commercial use. Don't let its name scare you, it works great on all versions of Windows.
CDBurnerXP offers all the necessary tools for burning DVD, CD and Blu-ray, where you can burn both regular files and audio, video, and also burn ISO images. There are additional settings for each type of recording. There is support for dual-layer discs.
The program supports most formats (MP3, AAC, OGG, WAV, FLAC, ALAC) that may be needed when recording music. It supports recording without pauses between tracks (disc-at-once mode), import of M3U or WPL playlists or Nero audio projects (NRA) and ReplayGain (the same volume level when playing all tracks).
CDBurnerXP also includes the function of creating your own and burning ready-made ISO images - this can be useful for creating bootable disks, for example, of the Windows or Ubuntu operating system. If necessary, bin files can be converted to ISO. There is also the ability to save a CD / DVD as an ISO file. If necessary, you can use quick or full data cleaning. There is a split function: placing a large amount of data on several disks.
Built-in utility for creating covers with support for LightScribe technology, will allow you to print an image on the back of the disc. Of course, your drive must support this technology. There is a check of the recorded data after recording. Most IDE, USB, Firewire and SCSI drives are supported. It is also possible to work from the command line!
ImgBurn
ImgBurn — is a free tool that is mainly used to burn ISO files to CD or DVD. A wide range of formats are supported, including BIN, IMG, MDS, CUE, and NRG. There is a queue system for burning multiple images and splitting for dual-layer DVDs.
But it can also be used to burn standard files including audio and video (MP3, MP4, WAV, FLAC, OGG, M4A) to DVD. However, there is no special interface or customization options for these files.
There is Unicode support, so you can safely use Russian letters in the file names. By default, the interface will be in English, to translate it into Russian, download a separate file russian.zip on the program download page, unzip it and copy it to the folder C:\Program Files\ImgBurn\Languages.
Ashampoo Burning Studio Free
Music lovers will love it Ashampoo Burning Studio Free for the ability to extract tracks from music CDs with automatic track recognition. MP3, WMA and WAV are supported as saving formats in all possible quality levels. Built-in normalization will allow you to achieve the same volume level on all tracks, and with the help of the built-in player you can listen to each track to select the ones you need.
Working with ISO files is quite common, especially for system administrators. Ashampoo Burning Studio makes it easy to create and burn disc images. In addition to its own ASHDISC format, the program supports ISO and CUE/BIN.
Although the program is free, you will need to provide an email address to receive a license key, which you will need to enter during installation. This is a small sacrifice for a free program that will serve you for many years. The paid version of the program has scratch protection, which allows you to write data that will be readable even when the disc surface is scratched!
BurnAware Free
BurnAware allows you to burn all types of files such as photos, documents, music and videos to CD, DVD and Blu-ray. The application is also capable of creating video discs that can then be played on a DVD player or a gaming console such as Xbox One or PS4.
With BurnAware you can also create bootable or multisession discs, create and burn ISO images, copy discs, extract audio tracks, and recover data from scratched discs.
Besides the standard options, BurnAware offers many additional ones, such as BOOT settings, UDF section, ISO restrictions, CD-Text for tracks, byte verification, direct copying and much more.
Free Audio CD Burner
If you need a simple program for creating audio CDs, then the program Free Audio CD Burner can be a good option. It allows you to burn discs for any music player, such as a music center or a car radio. It uses the IMAPI engine built into Windows for burning.
The utility supports a huge number of audio formats: mp3, wav, flac, amr, ac3 and many others. You can choose one of two recording methods: TrackAtOnce - the program will record tracks one by one, without finalization, which will allow you to add other files in the future, DiscAtOnce - recording will occur, and then finalization, due to which it will be impossible to add or delete a file.
The program can also decode MP3 and WMA files in real time. Thanks to this, you can save space on your HDD, since intermediate copying of files to your computer is not necessary.