Disc burning software

These days, most computers come with a DVD burner. This disc drive allows you to ‘burn’ data and files – like photos, video or audio – onto blank DVDs. DVD burning software allows you to burn audio and data CDs, DVDs and Blu-ray discs.

Disc burning software explained

If your computer has a recent operating system, like Windows Vista or 7, or Mac OS X, you can probably use it to burn DVDs without any extra software. However, DVD burning software offers lots of extra features and flexibility.

A common use for DVD burning software is to create video DVDs which can be played in ordinary DVD players. This is a good way to watch home movies on your television (rather than your computer).

Some packages even let you add a menu screen, subtitles and more. You can also create copies of existing DVDs, with the permission of the copyright holder.

Save important files to DVD

Blank DVDs can hold lots of information, and are useful for keeping a safe copy of important files or for sharing photos and videos. Popping a DVD of photos in the post is often more practical than sending them by email.

However, there are several kinds of blank DVD. Some you can use once, and some you can burn to again and again. Most DVD burners and burning software can handle them all, but some ordinary DVD players may be fussier, so check carefully.

Fine control over your DVDs

DVD burning software gives you tight control over how you burn DVDs. For example, DVD burners operate at different speeds, but some blank DVDs may fail at higher speeds. DVD burning software helps you find the optimum speed, so you can create error-free discs as quickly as possible.

Similarly, the software may be able to compress your files so you can fit more onto each DVD. It might also be able to automatically select the most suitable video format, so all your video fits a single DVD at the best possible quality.

DVD burning software is increasingly able to handle new types of disc. These include Blu-ray discs. Although these can hold much more information than DVDs, you will need a Blu-ray burner fitted to your computer to use them.