gBurner 5.5

Overview

gBurner is a Blu-ray, DVD and CD burning tool for Windows. With this software it is possible to create single-session and multi-session discs. Create bootable data Blu-rays, DVDs and CDs with recovery software to boot to should Windows no longer boot up. Access BIN and ISO image files and burn them to a disc for use as software tools at system start up or to install secondary operating systems.

The software supports a wide range of disc types including CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+RW, DVD-R DL, DVD-RAM, DVD+R, and Blu-ray disc types like BD-R, BD-R DL, BD-RE and BD-RE DL.

Beyond BIN and ISO, GBI, DAA and UIF compressed disc images are also supported. gBurner can also convert other disc image formats to BIN/ISO before committing the disc image to a disc burning process.

Music audio discs can be burned with OGG, APE, lossless FLAC, WAVE, WMA or MP3 files for playback in a CD player later.

Unicode file-name support is included. Alter the file layout for a disc to optimize the amount of space needed and maximize what can be stored on a single CD, DVD or Blu-ray disc.

Installation

gBurner unfortunately packages in an offer to install the Baidu Antivirus software which has nothing directly to do with disc burning. The Custom installation and unchecking the Install Baidu Antivirus checkbox (two actions) are necessary to avoid this software installing.

gBurner comes with a 30 day trial period.

The software requires Windows 8 / 8.1, 7, Vista, XP, NT 4.0 or Windows Server 2008/2003/2000

Interface

The interface is actually quite colorful with pleasant splashes of light orange and blue.

A small menu and the left sidebar present most of the burning options to the user. The right pane changes depending on what disc type has been selected for burning. A mini toolbar is included at the top of this pane to enable the user to add the files necessary to fill up the selected disc type. Options like Bootable (or not Bootable) can be selected at the bottom of the disc type pane. There is also a bar indicating for the selected disc type how much free space is left on the planned disc to be burned.

Pros

• Burn Blu-ray, DVD and CD discs in numerous permutations
• Use the following disc types (CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD-R DL, DVD+R, DVD+RW, DVD+R DL, DVD-RAM, BD-R, BD-R DL, BD-RE, BD-RE DL)
• Create single-session or multi-session Blu-ray, DVD and CD discs
• Make Blu-ray, DVD or CDs bootable
• Burn ISO/BIN image files
• Convert GBI, DAA and UIF compressed disc images to ISO/BIN images prior to burning
• Erase a write-able disc
• Copy a Blu-ray, DVD or CD disc
• Optimize file layout to pack more on to a BD/DVD/CD
• Supports context menus and drag and drop actions
• Unicode-compatible file naming

Cons

• Comes packaged with unrelated Baidu AntiVirus package which takes two actions to avoid it being installed. Deducted 1 point from rating.

Alternatives

OpenCloner UltraBox, Ashampoo Burning Studio FREE, ImgBurn, CDBurnerXP, Nero Burning ROM, Burn4Free, and BurnAware are just a few alternative options.

Conclusion

gBurner is an excellent Blu-ray, DVD and CD burning application that supports all the major disc types and has an easy to understand interface.