Free alternatives to Nero

Nero is pretty much the brand standard for CD/DVD burning and compiling, but not everybody can afford it. Nero themselves realize this, and have just released “Nero Essentials“. Unfortunately Nero Essentials actually doesn’t include the essentials - as it only allows you to burn data discs! That’s a bit like someone giving you a free car and then shooting the tires out so you can’t use it.

Here’s my pick of software that will replace most of Nero’s functions, for free.

Ripping and Burning: When it comes to CD burning, if you want to make an MP3 or normal CD, stick to iTunes! It’s fantastically intuitive, quick and easy - as long as you don’t want to edit anything. Want to create a DVD? Give ImgBurn a go. You can rip discs, create “images” for DVD, HD DVD and Blu-Ray and more, and unlike iTunes it will read and create audio CDs from any file format you are likely to see. What it won’t do is create fancy DVD menus, but hey, it’s free!

Audio Editing: Nero 9 allows you to edit music files, and mix them too. The best free audio editing app is without a doubt Audacity. It’s a really flexible program, that accepts pretty much any format, and allows you to combine tracks, alter their pitch, tempo and much more. I wrote a guide to making a CD mix here - once you’re done, you can burn it to a disc using iTunes or ImgBurn! It’s also a great app if you want to import live audio from vinyl or cassette - it has automatic hiss and crackle removal if you want (I prefer that authentic dirty sound myself).

Nero 9 of course has many more features, but I think that covers the essentials. Your questions are welcome if I’ve missed a Nero feature you need!