May 4, 2013
You insert a DVD into your Windows 8 computer – you want to watch a movie. Nothing happens. You try opening Windows Media Player. It can't play the disk. What's going on with Windows 8 and DVDs? And for that matter, Blu-ray discs? You're not the first person to ask this, and you won't be the last. The answer, basically, is that Windows 8 cannot play DVDs or Blu-Ray disks out of the box.
Keep Reading »
January 23, 2013
Your CDs, DVDs and Blu-Ray discs are rotting and optical discs as such are slowly disappearing from the market. ISO and other image file formats, however, are here to stay and are a good way to back up existing optical discs. Once the original disc has degraded beyond repair, you can burn its image backup to a new disc. Or you could give your discs and your wallet a break and just read the data directly from the hard drive. But how do you read ISO files?
Keep Reading »
January 16, 2013
Optical discs are not forever, but although they are losing significance, DVDs and Blu-Ray discs are still a great medium for long term backups, given you store them right and don't use them as your only backup method. In other words, do keep a backup of your optical discs. To burn discs, you need a versatile utility that masters all of these tasks.
Keep Reading »
January 10, 2013
People have been ripping DVDs for years, so most people assume it's an entirely solved problem. That’s not the case. Searching Google for "rip dvd" will present a variety of options and articles. Some are valid. Some are for paid software, or software which either does not work, or tries to install adware. There are still only a few free DVD ripping utilities that are of high quality and consistently stable.
Keep Reading »
December 22, 2012
A lot of people have been arguing lately that CDs, DVDs, and other physical media are slowly becoming an outdated means of transporting data, as the push to ultrabooks has threatened the use of physical disc drives. Instead, content providers are pushing downloads via the Internet as the new method for transporting data. No matter [...]
Keep Reading »
December 11, 2012
There is absolutely no reason why you would still want to routinely run games, movies, or music from optical discs. Inserting, ejecting, and switching discs is a nuisance and subjects both the drive and the discs to wear and tear. Moreover, optical drives are annoyingly loud and probably use a fair bit of energy. Finally, you might not have an optical drive to begin with. So what should you do instead?
Keep Reading »
October 29, 2012
The MacBook Air is one of the thinnest and lightest computers available today; thin as your finger, and so light every computer after will feel like you're hauling a sack of potatoes. In fact, ever since Apple set the trend with its MacBook Air, the ultrabook genre has been gaining ground in the Windows scene. But you don't get a laptop as thin and light as the MacBook Air without making compromises.
Keep Reading »
October 15, 2012
ISO files can be created from any CD or DVD you have lying around. They’re called "disc images" because they’re an exact image of a disc. An ISO file contains an exact representation of the contents of a disc, allowing you to create backup copies of discs and store them digitally. These ISO files can be used as if they were physical discs, making them particularly useful I you have a computer without a disc drive.
Keep Reading »
September 27, 2012
I recently inherited a huge amount of German classical CD's, and since I spend all day sitting at a computer, my first instinct was to burn all of the disks to MP3 format so I could listen to them on the PC, while I worked. But when you have something like 100+ CD's, you want to have a ripping tool that can streamline the process for you, and have it done with a minimum of effort. CDex ticks all of those boxes and the portable version is a delight to use.
Keep Reading »
September 14, 2012
My computer doesn’t have any optical drives anymore. That means CD drives, DVD drives, Floppy drives--they’ve all been cut out and done away with forever. If a particular piece of peripheral gear doesn’t have a USB interface, then it won’t be dealing with my PC. But luckily, even if you don’t have a CD or DVD drive, you can still find use in a disc by using the ISO format. Most ISO manipulating programs are extremely straightforward and easy to use. Here are some of the best ones.
Keep Reading »
July 26, 2012
Fans of disc management software like Daemon Tools and UltraISO will be able to appreciate WinISO, a tool that combines the features of being able to create, extract, and edit ISO files while also giving you the ability to virtually mount and burn image files to a CD, DVD, or Blu-ray. We'll be giving away 25 copies of WinISO Standard 6 (retails for $29.95) this week, at a total value of nearly $750! Interested? Read through this article to get familiarzed with the features of this software and check out the bottom of this article for participation instructions.
Keep Reading »
May 28, 2012
WinISO can perform every function you’d need a disc utility for, including creating, converting, editing, extracting, and burning disc images. It supports CD, DVD, and Blu-ray disc images in ISO and a variety of other formats. This week we’ll be giving away 25 copies of WinISO, worth a total of nearly $750. Read on for your chance to enter our giveaway (it’s free!) and win yourself a copy!
Keep Reading »
September 29, 2011
InfraRecorder is a free CD/DVD burning tool for Windows 2000 through 7. It's available as a desktop client or portable application for both 32-bit and 64-bit operating systems and has been translated to over 20 languages. InfraRecorder is open source software released under the GNU General Public License version 3.
Keep Reading »
September 7, 2011
Watch everything on your favorite DVD, including special features and commentary, from a single file on your hard drive. With the right software you can overcome the file protections on your DVDs and watch them on your computer anytime. BDlot DVD ISO Master is a free piece of software that does what very few free programs can do.
Keep Reading »
March 16, 2011
One of my acquaintances, who has just got his first personal computer, has a weird new hobby – buying and copying CDs and DVDs (music, applications, movies) to his laptop’s hard drive. His reason is that he wants to put his collection all in one place, and he has plenty of storage space to spare. [...]
Keep Reading »
