Nero's 8th Burning ROM

excellent
key review info
application features
  • Create bootable CDs/DVDs
  • (6 more, see all...)

You all heard about it and all of you have used it. I remember the times when it used to be about the only solution for burning your discs right. It is the most complicated (but also feature-full) correspondent of Nero Express or Nero Start Smart. Included in the huge Nero 8 Ultra Edition, Nero Burning ROM remains the core feature of the suite. Burning capabilities have extended and the user has a very wide range of options in this field.

The application comes completely equipped for any burn job you may need. Regarding the feature set, the changes are minor in this part of the suite. Almost all the modifications are purely cosmetic and, in some cases, the default values have been a bit altered (data buffer size default shrunk from 80MB to 39MB, but the same flexibility is available).

Actually, even if you take a close look you won't see much of a difference compared to the earlier major release from Nero and Burning ROM has very much remained the same, save for small adjustments here and there. You can proceed to exactly the same operations, no matter if the job involves a CD / DVD copying or writing. The user can copy DVD-Video (in about ten minutes if a regular DVD ROM is used), create Audiobook CDs, bootable CDs and DVDs, write DVD Video, write DVDs from ISO, copy them as NRG files etc. There is a wide range of activities that can be done with this application and the quality has some high standards in this case.

One might have expected Blu-Ray and HD-DVD writing to be included in the default package, but this kind of burning will continue to be done with the aid of plugins. The developer has not included these capabilities by default in the suite, yet. True that the cost of a Blu-Ray burner is more than an average user can handle, but those having the units will have to pay for the plugin in order to write that kind of discs. It is a bit awkward that Nero did not include these features in this release of Burning ROM as competition has been providing them for quite some time now.

The application moves with the same grace and determination as its previous version and finishes writing a DVD video in about 15 minutes. It seems that Nero Burning ROM 8 feels perfect in Vista environment as there was absolutely no problem during testing.

Audio encoding options have not been altered either as the same output and input sound formats are supported (MP3, MP4, AIFF, AC3, OGG, WAV, WMA, AAC and MP4a). The settings are minimum, but for the average user they are more than enough. The quality of the output result is German, so there isn't room for failure or unpleasant events. Of course an expert would not be content with the result, but home users shall be more than happy with it. The process is fast and the quality of the original file is not altered too much.

The great part about Burning ROM application is that the user can use its features even during burning. Of course, the condition is for the computer to have the necessary CPU power and RAM to support it. During our testing, we proceeded to burning a DVD-Video and converting some audio files. With 1.5 GB of RAM and a relatively good CPU, Nero Burning ROM did not even stagger.

No burner is complete without disc erasing. Nero always had this feature and its latest version does not provide less. The two options available (Quick and Full erase) do a good job blanking out any CD-RW or DVD-RW you insert. But the one feature I always liked about Nero is its capability of writing an already written disc. Inserting an invalid blank CD/DVD-RW will cause the application to prompt you that the disc is not yet ready for burning and will offer to initiate a Quick erase process. Immediately after the disc is ready, the burning process starts automatically.

Unfortunately, the previous version of the application came with some downsides also inherited by issue number 8 of Nero Burning ROM. One of them is its inability of compressing the files into ISO format. ISO is much more popular than NRG and easier to handle. Nero Burning ROM 8 keeps standing by its native image format and can only write from ISO files.

Another mischief (minor, but some users could use it) is the log file after burning a disc. It lacks the duration of the process. I know that estimated time is displayed in burn process window, but it would be nice to have this detail in the log also.

However, the greatest pain of them all is the inability of copying protected discs. The issue is sensitive, indeed, but it is a known fact that carelessness is in every user and that DVDs do get damaged, even if handled with the greatest care as time is a ruthless enemy. Fixing this issue is a hell of a long shot but it would be nice to be able to backup the discs which you bought and paid for.

The Good

The interface has become smoother, and though there aren't impressive changes, it is definitely a step forward.

The developer preserved the user-friendly interface and made it even more intuitive. Handling the files is a walk in the park due to the built-in explorer-like file browser.

The Bad

Save for the interface, this version brings no new features. Blu-Ray and HD-DVD burning requires a plugin as the operation is not supported by default in the application.

The Truth

Be that as it may, Nero Burning ROM continues to dominate the market and taking a look at what it has to offer, it's no wonder why. However, the feature many users expected (copy protected DVDs) is not yet implemented. The looks are changed and are better than ever.

Proceed to Nero BackItUp, Nero CoverDesigner, Nero Express, Nero Home, Nero PhotoSnap, Nero PhotoSnap Viewer, Nero Recode, Nero ShowTime, Nero Vision, Nero WaveEditor, Nero StartSmart, Nero Scout, Nero InfoTool, Nero RescueAgent, Nero DiscSpeed, Nero DriveSpeed, Nero BurnRights, Nero ControlCenter, Nero SoundTrax

Here are some snapshots of the application in action:

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user interface 5
features 4
ease of use 5
pricing / value 5


final rating 5
Editor's review
excellent
 
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