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vsp · 06-15-2003, 10:42 PM

It's not too difficult to find an OEM version of Nero 5.5 for cheap-- most of the online-bargain sites list it sooner or later. The OEM version will be keyed to a specific make of burner; if it matches, that's a nice surprise. If it doesn't (like in my case, where I had an LG burner and a Samsung Nero OEM), write to them, and you can upgrade to the full Nero 5.5 for $19. That $19 plus the OEM price is usually far less than you'd pay for the complete version in a store.

There are two mildly annoying things about Nero. One is that when you're burning audio CDs, you cannot automatically normalize the volume levels of the source files (so that you don't switch tracks and SUDDENLY THE GODDAMN OUTPUT IS THIS LOUD!!!!! MP3 CD Maker (a much older burning program) does this. Another bugaboo is that even when ISO Level 2, ASCII and Joliet are selected, you're limited to 63-character filenames; this is occasionally a problem for me. DiscJuggler 4.0 gets around that limitation.

Easy CD Creator is extremely generic -- if you get it free with your system, that's nice, but I wouldn't pay for it. On the flip side, I have paid for:

* Nero 5.5
* DiscJuggler 4.0 (very useful for Dreamcast hacking/emulation)
* CDRWin 4.0A (the granddaddy of all Disc-at-Once burn programs)
* CloneCD 4 (a wonderful program, if your burner supports its modes)
* an Easy CD Creator 4.x that came with my system
* Easy-CD Pro 95 (I got it free, and it's useful for a specific task (Sega CD backups).)
* MP3 CD Maker (an oldie that was among the first to rip MP3 to audio CD directly, and can normalize)

06-15-2003, 10:42 PM	#4
vsp Syndrome of a Down Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: West Chester Posts: 1,367	It's not too difficult to find an OEM version of Nero 5.5 for cheap-- most of the online-bargain sites list it sooner or later. The OEM version will be keyed to a specific make of burner; if it matches, that's a nice surprise. If it doesn't (like in my case, where I had an LG burner and a Samsung Nero OEM), write to them, and you can upgrade to the full Nero 5.5 for $19. That $19 plus the OEM price is usually far less than you'd pay for the complete version in a store. There are two mildly annoying things about Nero. One is that when you're burning audio CDs, you cannot automatically normalize the volume levels of the source files (so that you don't switch tracks and SUDDENLY THE GODDAMN OUTPUT IS THIS LOUD!!!!! MP3 CD Maker (a much older burning program) does this. Another bugaboo is that even when ISO Level 2, ASCII and Joliet are selected, you're limited to 63-character filenames; this is occasionally a problem for me. DiscJuggler 4.0 gets around that limitation. Easy CD Creator is extremely generic -- if you get it free with your system, that's nice, but I wouldn't pay for it. On the flip side, I have paid for: * Nero 5.5 * DiscJuggler 4.0 (very useful for Dreamcast hacking/emulation) * CDRWin 4.0A (the granddaddy of all Disc-at-Once burn programs) * CloneCD 4 (a wonderful program, if your burner supports its modes) * an Easy CD Creator 4.x that came with my system * Easy-CD Pro 95 (I got it free, and it's useful for a specific task (Sega CD backups).) * MP3 CD Maker (an oldie that was among the first to rip MP3 to audio CD directly, and can normalize)