I have Nero 7 essentials that came with my pc, however it cannot burn avi's to DVD without upgrading or buying the nero specific codec. I have always used Nero and really like it, but now I am getting a bit p1ssed off with it, so looking to replace it with some freeware.

The main things I will be using the burning software is to create audio CD's from mp3, DVD's from avi's and then just data (backups, moving large data from one pc to another etc)

Anyone recommend a good bit of freeware that can do this?

Or should I just purchase the codec for Nero?

P.S. my o/s is Vista Home Premium

You know, I purchased Nero 8 at an upgrade price of $49.99... hoping it would be better than my experience with Nero 7... I was disapointed... Don't even have it installed at this time and doubt I ever bother with it again.  While I suspect it has something to do with AHCI mode (SATA) on my Intel Core2Duo/P965 system, I can say that I have tried other software and not had any problems with it.  They include VSO CopyToDVD, Ashampoo Burning Studio, Prassi ONES (good one, but not developed anymore), Padus DiscJuggler, Golden Hawk CDRWIN (personal favorite), ImgBurn (free... and another favorite for data/video Images).

I have also tried the free CDBurnerXP... Works well but has a few bugs, but it is only getting better and would likely fill your need for a basic straight forward Nero Burning ROM "like" interface.

I can say though, that Nero 7/8 did work well on my AMD nForce4 system.  But really, I have lost interest with all the other options.  Nero is a good value as an upgrade, but it is a cash cow for them since they are taking advantage of the fact they are the industry leader... I feel they are not focused on the product with all that money getting in the way.

If you need to convert AVI's to DVD... I really like VSO ConvertXtoDVD... there is also an open source/free product called DVD Flick.

(in reply to jomuir)