Red Burner .NET

Nowadays, flash drives and other storage devices have gained popularity to the detriment of CDs, DVDs and even Blu-ray, proving to be a more reliable and versatile storage media.

Today’s trends are clearly headed towards the slow disappearance of optical drives and discs and, with them, disc burning software. I, for one, don’t even own an optical drive anymore and it has been years since I used a CD or a DVD, except for music originals.

Even so, disc burning apps are still out there for the nostalgic who still work with CDs and DVDs. If you are to use such an application, at least make sure to opt for a lightweight tool that doesn’t require too much of your system’s resources. One example is Red Burner .NET.

It is worth mentioning that Red Burner .NET requires no installation. The application is up and running as soon as you double-click on the main executable, which is clearly a plus.

You might find the interface of Red Burner .NET a bit outdated. Let’s call it “retro”, if you will, but given its purpose, I would say this choice of looks is more than appropriate.

The main window bundles several buttons, one for each of the application’s functions, providing one-click access to all of them.

But what can you do with Red Burner .NET, you might ask. First of all, this application can be used for image burning, creation and verifying. You can use it to burn an existing image to disk using one of the available writing modes: TAO, DAO or DAO96. If it is a re-writable discs we are talking about, then the application can be configured to automatically erase media before burning.

Aside from disc burning, Red Burner .NET can also retrieve detailed information about the disc in the optical drive (e.g. vendor ID, size, available space, session and track numbers, the maximum read and burn speeds, compression rate and encryption).

Copying discs and ripping audio discs is also possible with Red Burner .NET. It can erase a disc and prepare it for re-writing.

Red Burner .NET's main advantage is that it delivers a lightweight and easy-to-use burning tool with full support for CDs, DVDs and Blu-ray discs. It can burn both data and audio media and is fully compatible with ISO, IMG and CUE images.

While not the best in its field or the most good-looking, Red Burner .NET carries out its tasks successfully, which turns it into a good alternative for larger and more complex disc burning tools.