What is the best DVD burning software?

the problem here is not not nero express,
these are more than likely the culprits:
it's the new DVD copyrights being introduced.
the poor media quality being sold.
And the DVD drive is probably becoming outdated.
If you added a new extra dvd rom as slave it may not be compatible
or it sits in the wrong ide position to copy from to another cd ie dvd.
the two roms can't be on the same ide cable as Nero cannot read and write the information.
Put one on the true master slave and the other behind the hard drive make sure you have the true master slave as the dvd/cd burner

However, recently it has failed to complete some DVD copies,<< probably poor quality dvd will
fail burns everytime.
 it can't copy from +r to -r <<< dont think that's relevent unless you have not finalised the previous discs.

and it seems to take double the space for some mp3 or wma files to create an audio cd.<< well this is classified as mixed mode audio discs /
where possible use only mp3 audio files all the same, if you want to burn to mixed mode burn them as either mp3 discs or data discs they retain their original format
Audio cd will convert wma and mp3 to CDA.
There is always more to problems that just start
 I'd look at the medium and the hardware.

Thanks for your replies so far.

When I say that it fails to complete, what I mean is that is sometimes fails to complete the read phase so in that case the quality of the output media wouldn't be a factor.

In terms of the double space for audio format, I need the audio format to play the cd in my car. An audio cd is supposed to cover around 70 minutes of recorded sound and I am converting a 45 minute wma file. It should fit comfortably onto an audio cd format. Nero sees 90 minutes and it doesn't fit. Free burning programs that I tried did not double the size and I was able to record with no problem.

The drive is a Lite-on dvdrw shm-165h6s

Are you running XP or Vista?
... and are the DVD's you're trying to read pressed DVDs or DVD recordables?

Yes i understand with car stereo systems and the support for audio discs. ( CDA)
I upgraded my car stereo to support mp3 discs ie data discs and these CD's  support over 200 tracks and more in the format standard mp3 tracks and no need to extract them back from CDA to mp3
WMA maybe 45 minute play time in WMA format on your desktop, but to convert it cda will change the output size on the disc.
take for example I took one of my mwa samples,
A 600 kb wma converted to mp3 becomes 1.15 megs at 128 bites.
the same WMA 600 kb when dropped onto Nero create an Audio disc the file becomes 34 megs at 16 bits on disc.
So your 45 minute WMA on disc may exceed the 700 megs or rather 695 megs to allow the lead in out and finalise disc.
You may have to either convert this file to mp3 and split it or split the wma prior.
Which version of Nero do you have?
I have Nero 7 ultimate, once I drop the WMA onto the work place or new audio CD r/click the audio file properties>extras>and split it
You can use several tools to do this.
Nero can split it as is
Super is one to convert the WMA to mp3 @ 128 bits check the output size then use Audacity to split it.


Nero-split-options.jpg

@ garycase:
Are you running XP or Vista?
... and are the DVD's you're trying to read pressed DVDs or DVD recordables?

I am running XP. CDBurnerXP doesn't have a problem reading and copying but it hangs and can't be gotten rid of when it ends.

We have a free DVD library so I am copying mostly homemade DVD's and some commercial ones that I got permission to copy. How would I tell if they are pressed or recordables?

@ Merete

I upgraded my car stereo to support mp3 discs ie data discs and these CD's  support over 200 tracks and more in the format standard mp3 tracks and no need to extract them back from CDA to mp3

I am fully aware of he advantages that you mention but unfortunatley it's not in the budget right now.

@Merete

So your 45 minute WMA on disc may exceed the 700 megs or rather 695 megs to allow the lead in out and finalise disc.
You may have to either convert this file to mp3 and split it or split the wma prior.

I've split it but it's a pain. As I mentioned, some cd burner programs don't seem to double it like the Nero program does. Maybe it's for 2 audio tracks which I don't need since I am generally not burning music in most cases.

@ Merete

Super is one to convert the WMA to mp3 @ 128 bits check the output size then use Audacity to split it.


I have Nero 6. I also have Audacity. Is the Audacity split done from within Nero and what kind of split is it? Time, tracks?

A pressed DVD is a commercial DVD -- in addition to the commercial artwork on the DVD, you can tell by looking carefully at the recorded side ... once you examine one closely at the same time as a recordable DVD you'll see the difference i the "sheen" of the recorded surface.   If you're having difficult reading recordables, THEY may have been recorded at too high a speed and/or on relatively poor quality blanks.

It's also possible that your DVD burner is simply not working well -- lasers do get weak and/or fail over time ... if that's happening that could also cause these issues.   Also, have you checked for firmware updates for the burner?   These often make improvements in burner:media compatibility.   Lite-On has one firmware upgrade for that model drive ... I'd download it just to be sure you're using the most current.  [Detailed instructions on how to apply the update are at the same page as the download -- a link won't work, as you have to "step through" the choices at Lite-On's site to get to the download page].

As for your audio issue ... something's not right (or being described right) here.   You SHOULD be able to get the full TIME on an audio CD if the tracks are being correctly converted to Red Book standard CDA files.   Unless you're adding a very large number of gaps (these count as "time" as well) you should get over 70 minutes ... no matter WHAT the original encoding is.   When the data is converted to a standard audio CDA file, it's a 44.1KHz sampled stereo mix that should provide up to 74 minutes on your CD.   A "45 minute WMA file" should easily fit => no splitting needed.   Post more specifics on the file (bit-rate; what options you're choosing in Nero; etc.).   45 minutes is 45 minutes -- period !!

I'll get the latest firmware and install it if I'm out of date.

I generate voice recordings on my Olympus WS 320 digital recorder. The specs for a file recorded with it are Bit rate - 64kbps, audio sample size - 16 bit, channels - 2 (stereo), audio sample rate - 44 khz.

I have the same problem for voice lecture mp3's that I download. They are also doubled in time by Nero.

What do they sound like when played after Nero processes them?   Is the same recording played twice?   Is there a lot of silence added?

Actually,  I made a mistake. WMA files are handled properly. MP3's are not. I have an mp3 file of 45 minutes duration bit rate  - 16 kbps, channels  - 1 mono, audio sample rate - 11 khz which is appearing in Nero as 90 minutes.

While the filesize will clearly be a good bit larger when an 11KHz mono file is converted to 44.1KHz stereo (RedBook standard), the TIME of the recording shouldn't (obviously) change ... so it should still easily fit on a CD.   Same question as before:  If you process this with Nero (which "doubles" the time), what does it SOUND like?

... This may, in fact, be an error with your early version of Nero => in which case a simple upgrade should easily resolve it.   To back up to your original question (best burning software) ... as I noted in my first post, that's both a subjective question, and it depends to some extent on just what you're burning.   In general, Roxio's Easy Media Creator has more flexibility in creating audio CDs ... and I've never seen an issue like you're describing here with it.   But the later Nero packages also work fine -- this should NOT be happening .    Have you tried, for example, converting the MP3 to WAV before using Nero?   There are several free MP3 to WAV convertors (just Google "MP3 to WAV").

Hi, working 12 hours days so cannot get back till late,
Ref:
Super is one to convert the WMA to mp3 @ 128 bits check the output size then use Audacity to split it.


I have Nero 6. I also have Audacity. Is the Audacity split done from within Nero and what kind of split is it? Time, tracks?<< nope, drop the mp3 onto audacity then using the curser highlight a piece or half of the track, play it if you like then go to file export selected as mp3. then do the same for the other half.
There is a time and length shown in numbers at the bottom.
This can be done in Nero Wave editor as well but I don't have time to show you since I need to get to bed up at 5.30 am.
Check out my snap from Audacity it's a lot quicker and simpler.
 I dropped one of my mp3 on and highlighted the end bit

here's a guide to Audacity too
http://polaris.umuc.edu/de/ezine/how_to/audacity/audacity.htm


audacity-example.jpg

Merete,

Thanks for the info about Audacity. However, I thought you were referring to some option in Nero to not extend the time of the mp3 file by checking off some checkbox or something. I have already done the kind of splitting you are describing and it works well. I don't want to work so hard with Nero. I would rather correct it so that it doesn't artificially extend the time of the recording.

I will check out GaryCase's suggestion to burn one and hear what it sounds like. I will also checkout the firmware of my drive.

My firmware was up to date.

I burned a 22 minute mp3 file which took 44 minutes on the cd. I played for 22 minutes and the rest of the 22 minutes was silence.

Clearly there's some conversion issue with the version of Nero you're using when used with those MP3's => either there's a "glitch" in the MP3 header, or Nero is doing it incorrectly (sounds like the latter).

I'd simply use an MP3 to WAV conversion package BEFORE creating your CDs ==> as long as the .WAV file is correctly formed, Nero should have no problem creating CDA's from that.

Isn't wav sound quality poor?

In any case, the main issue I'm concerned about is the fact that DVD copies often fail either on the read or write phase. Would upgrading help for this?

WAV is uncompressed -- FAR better than MP3 or WMV  (although not if it's created from one of those compressed formats -- in that case it will be identical to the quality of the compressed source).

If you rip a CD, the BEST format to rip to is WAV --> that way you won't lose any quality (but of course the file will be larger than an MP3).

@Merete:
@ check the audio file out and that it's ok, if you recorded this maybe the signal was lost, how long since you played the entire audio through?

I played the recorded cd and it played through to the end.

@REF
@I burned a 22 minute mp3 file which took 44 minutes on the cd.<<< what!!
No way should that take 44 minutes?? to burn

It didn't take 44 minutes to burn. It took the 22 minute audio recording and burned a 44 minute audio on an audio cd.



@  It played for 22 minutes and the rest of the 22 minutes was silence.
What is the format you chose in Nero?
Audio disc?

Yes


@ Please post back a snapshot of gspot results of this audio track
guide

I looked at the Gspot site and it seems targeted to video. Will it work for mp3?


Does it pay to upgrade to a later version of Nero in any case because of my DVD unreliability problems?

Yes Gspot supports audio, if it reports it's a video we have a problem :)
For myself I very happy with Nero 7 ultimate boxed
I cannot answer for Nero 8 from user opinions it's more complicated so have stayed from upgrading to it.
the benefits of buying Nero boxed from yoru local store is you can change your dvd burner as many times as needed.
Nero OEM is defunk ( non usable if you change to a new DVD burner combo.
I woudl look at the medium you bought as a possible problem as well.
The Nero version you have should come with a toolbox which can test your rom drive for any problems.
If you do a lot of video editing DVD re-authoring Audio I love Nero 7 ultimate  it's brilliant
Pity I cant test the burn for you :P

gspot snap with an audio file,
if there is a problem use the porposed codecs and solutions at the bottom
after it's analysed click under AUD number 1 then 2 then 3 to play it
Supports audio and video

audio-in-gspot.jpg

@ Merete

@ the benefits of buying Nero boxed from yoru local store is you can change your dvd burner as many times as needed.

I changed by DVD burner without changing my Nero. Could this be the cause of some of my problems?

Do you want the gspot of the original mp3 or of the audio cd?

Changing your DVD burner is fine -- the modification in the bundled OEM Nero versions is only the INSTALLER ==> it won't install if you don't have the DVD burner it came with ... but once it's installed, it will support any DVD burner in the system.

What version of Nero are you using?

Nero Express version 6

Running XP or Vista?  [I presume XP, as I don't believe v6 is Vista coompatible --> IIRC correctly that's why I had to upgrade to v7]

Also, is this conversion issue consistent with ALL MP3's ... or only with those you record on your Olympus and specific voice lecture downloads?

I'm running XP and it's a problem with all mp3's.  Your solution of converting to wav works fine so I consider that part of the problem solved even though it's a pain to have to convert.

I just attempted a DVD copy and it failed 3 times and died on the read reporting some sort of read error. I tried the same DVD with CDBurnerXP and it went through without a hitch.

Nero is either more sensitive to errors or has some error. Do you think that upgrading Nero to the next version would help?

It's certainly possible ... that does tend to indicate the issue may indeed be the software.   Uninstall your copy of Nero and download a demo of the new version and see if it works okay.   You can use it free for 15 days ... you'll certainly know then if that's all the issue was [and, if will almost certainly also resolve the MP3 to CDA conversion error].

The DVD I was using had serious read errors.

However, despite this CDBurnerXP was able to ignore them and copy the DVD (after a couple of tries).

Nero should offer an option of ignoring certain errors.

Regardless of whether the copy utility supports ignoring errors ... there should NOT be any !!   The error correcting features should allow soft errors to be corrected.   The fact you're getting read errors (as I noted before) means you have an issue with either the drive; the media; or the speed at which the DVD was written.   You need to experiment a bit to confirm which of these -- I agree that Nero v6 should NOT be the problem (although the audio conversion issue is almost certainly an incompatibility between Nero and the structure of the MP3's you're using).

I checked the DVD's on another drive on another computer and got the same error os it apparently was a DVD error.

You are correct in saying that there shouldn't be any errors.

I am trying Nero 8 and it appears that the improvements are worth going for.

Unfortunately, if the DVD library was burned using poor (relatively speaking) media and/or at too high a burn speed; there's nothing you can do to correct it.   You MAY be able to find a DVD reader that's more tolerant of the errors -- some do better than others at reading marginal disks.   Just be sure that any that YOU burn use high quality media and are burned at a modest speed (no faster than 8X).

Is there a big difference in longevity of the data for poor quality DVD's as opposed to better ones?

not that  know of, but any DVD ie Video burns require slow burns recomended burn speeds is x4 x8 the max.
So when you buy dvd discs look for burn speeds of x4  and x8

Actually, yes.  The substrate is chemically different ... and they are rated for substantially more years of life.   As for buying good media -- it doesn't matter what the rated speed is (as long as it's at least as fast as you burn) ... but what speed you actually burn at.   You could buy Taiyo-Yuden x16 media ... but burn it at 8X (or even slower).   I always buy Taiyo-Yuden 8X silver blanks (as I noted earlier) ... have burned thousands of discs with no "coasters" -- and have never had any problem reading them.

Why does the burning software default to burning at 16 if 8 is the fastest that should be used?

I am currently using Sony dvds and I'm getting write errors. Is Sony that flaky?

How do I create a disk image so that if the write fails I don't have to recreate the read copy?

Does this look like the right thing for Taiyo-Yuden?

http://www.burnsmart.com/ty-8x-vl-tsl-dvdr.html

Sony should be reasonable blanks -- but I'd still use Taiyo-Yuden.
The link above is for their "Value Line" (B grade) discs -- you want their premium blanks:  http://www.burnsmart.com/ty-8x-tsl-dvdr.html

You can choose to write to Nero's "Image Recorder" and it will create an image of the DVD on disk => then you burn that image.   If you need to burn it again (due to a failed write; or just to make another copy) you simply burn from that image.   Of course you need to delete the images when you're done with them -- they occupy a lot of disk space.

I buy only Verbatum from Ebay.
I setup my favourite  ebay seller so that he sends specials by emails direct.
Here's his latest specials great price
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200247517706&ssPageName=ADME:B:FSEL:AU:1123

But using Nero image drive is exacly that it creates a virtual drive like daemon tools and now you are getting into burning images such as  bin cue files.
The thing is with Nero 7 and 8 it has what's called burn rights and will request you sign an agreement to what you copy before it works.
the great thing with Nero any version there is plenty of guides, go to your start menue Nero and look in manuals
http://www.nero.com/enu/support-manuals-helpfiles.html
this what comes bundled with Nero 8
http://www.nero.com/enu/nero8-applications-included.html

Why should video burns be limited to 8x?

Will I have a problem burning at 8x to a 16x dvd?

No, there's no problem burning at 8X to a blank that's rated for higher speeds ==> the rating is for the max speed you can write to the DVD.   The speed issue is simple:  even an 8X burn is a data rate of over 11MB/second.   That's a lot of data to be steaming from your system to the burner.   And despite the "burn proof" technologies that allow packet interruptions to be "seamlessly" blended, discs are still much more reliable if there are never any interruptions.   Further, the slower the speed, the more time the laser has to write each bit, and the more reliable the outcome.   I've found 8X to be exceptionally reliable as long as you have a fast system so the 11MB/sec data rate isn't an issue => so I never exceed that.   In fact, if it's a data DVD with a lot of small, scattered files, I burn at 4X.

I have cds that are silver and it's hard to tell the writing side from the other side.

In the Taiyo-Yuden silver laquer can you easily tell one side from another?

Yes.

I have found that CDBurnerXP seems to be more tolerant of errors on my system and works better for a DVD copy than Nero does.

Nero does other things well.

Thank you both for sharing your wealth of knowledge in dealing with my DVD issues.