I plan on purchasing an external DVD burner tomorrow at Comp USA so I can burn my Netflix movies and stuff I rent from Blockbuster, but I'm sure the software that comes with it is going to suck. Can anyone recommend a good DVD burning software for what I'm trying to do? I'd prefer if it's either free (probably not) or downloadable so I can get a crack from the pig.

EDIT EDIT EDIT:

So I bought this:

http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?pfp=cat3&product_code=328792&Pn=16x4x16_External_USB_2_0_DL_DVD_RW_Drive

At CompUSA today and brought it home. I hooked it up to my laptop with the included USB cable and everything was going smoothly. I ripped the Ninth Gate onto my laptop using CloneDVD (everything saved on my desktop as BUP, VOB, IFO files, except the folders) and I went to burn it using Nero. It started writing, got about 10% done then a failure notice came up saying it was probably bad media, so I tried again. Again it failed after writing a bit (you can see on the back of the DVD that it has been written a little)

I then tried to burn it using CloneDVD at a lower speed (8x,4x - its supposed to burn at 16x) and again the same failure. Anyway, I assume this is a problem with the burner as opposed to the brand new DVD+R's I've bought?

I'm thinking about going to Staples tomorrow and buying some DVD-R's but I don't want to waste the money if the problem is the burner...

Right now I plan on hooking it up to my desktop when i go home from college on Wednesday and seeing if it works (even though all my connections on it are 1.1), but if it still doesn't does anyone know how much a little mom and pop computer store (not some place like Best Buy) would charge to install an internal one?

Thanks for reading, I'm frustrated, but I'm not giving up. Thanks if anyone has any input

Nero is the best burning software. However, if you are just cloning movies, I recommend installing these two programs:

AnyDVD
http://www.slysoft.com/en/anydvd.html

CloneDVD
http://www.slysoft.com/en/clonedvd.html

I've used these two free programs in the past:

DVDDecrypter for DVD-5 (single layer) - I use this for all my PJ DVDs
DVDShrink for DVD-9 (dual layer)

There might be newer (and better) programs out there now...

If you are running Linux I've heard k9 works pretty much like DVDShrink.

DVDdecryter, DVDshrink, and DVDsanta are what I've used. Free and easy.

dvd fab is good too

it costs money..but i figure dl the free trial for a month..remove program..dl it again..etc..

i love when that trick works.


Thanks for the suggestions guys, I'll be trying a bunch once I hook up my drive during xmas break

Nero is the best commercial burning software, not just for movies but for pretty much everything. However, for copying movies that have any sort of copy protection, Nero ain't gonna help you at all.

I highly recommend RipIt4Me. It's freeware, it's a tiny download, it's updated often, it's easy to use, and it has a great support forum at Digital Digest.

Were the DVD+Rs you used dual-layer? I don't have a DL burner, but from what I've read I understand DL media to be really finicky. What brand were they? Have you tried burning any CDRs or single-layer DVDs yet?