Windows DVD Maker and Its Best Alternatives

Have upgraded your Windows Vista/7 to Windows 8/10 and found there is no Windows DVD maker? What happened? And how can I burn videos to DVDs now?

Don’t worry. Though Windows DVD Maker is removed from Windows 8 and Windows 10, there are still many other ways for you to burn videos to DVDs on Windows Vista/7/8/10. Here in this article, we will give you an introduction to Windows DVD Maker and share some wonderful alternatives for your reference.

Part 1: Review of Windows DVD Maker

Windows DVD Maker is a free DVD authoring tool developed and released by Microsoft for users to burn videos and slideshows to DVDs that can be played on a DVD player. It is built in the Home Premium and Ultimate editions of Windows Vista and also in Windows 7 Home Premium, Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate editions.

Windows DVD Maker can not only do the basic job of creating DVDs from videos, but also provides some advanced features for customizing DVD menus, adding background music, etc. It is well-received for its approachability and simplicity. 

Key Features of Windows DVD Maker

• Burn videos in Microsoft formats like AVI, WMV, ASF, MPEG, and more to DVD discs.
• Create Slideshow from pictures and burn it to a DVD disc.
• Contain 20+ animated menu templates and 10+ frame templates for users to create DVD menus.
• Add transition effects and music to Slideshows.

How to convert videos to a DVD with Windows DVD Maker?

Step 1: Run Windows DVD Maker and import the video files you want to convert. Arrange the playback order of the videos.

Step 2: Define the disc title, and click “options” to choose the playback settings, aspect ratio, video format, burner speed and location.

Step 3: Customize and add menu to your DVD.

Step 4: Insert a blank DVD to your optical drive and click the “Burn” button to start the process of burning your videos to a DVD disc.

Drawbacks of Windows DVD Maker

Windows DVD Maker may be a good DVD burning tool for Windows Vista and Windows 7 users to some degree, but some users may have found that it is not fast enough and it supports limited video formats. For example, it is unable to burn videos in MP4, FLV, MKV, 3PG and WRAP to DVDs.

And also, this DVD maker has been removed from Windows 8 for unknown reason, and Microsoft has officially announced that it isn’t supported on Windows 10. Considering all of these, now it’s time to find more efficient alternatives to Windows DVD maker that can be used on various operating systems.

Part 2: The Best Alternatives to Windows DVD Maker

Windows DVD Maker Alternative 1: DVDFab DVD Creator

DVDFab DVD Creator

With this advanced DVD Creator, you can effortlessly create a DVD disc, ISO image, or Folder from 200+ video formats, as well as create your own DVD menu using stylish templates and customizable options.

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Works on: Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7 (32/64 bit) and macOS 10.10 - 13

DVDFab DVD Creator is one of the best alternatives to Windows DVD Maker. It can burn all kinds of videos downloaded from internet or recorded by camcorders to standard DVD discs (DVD-9, DVD-5, DVD+R/RW, DVD-R/RW, DVD+R DL, DVD-R DL), DVD folders and ISO files easily and quickly. While burning your DVD, it also enables you to set select audio tracks and subtitles, or add external subtitles.

Thanks to its support to the newest GPU hardware acceleration technology, it features an amazingly fast DVD burning speed, which can convert or burn videos to DVDs in a few minutes. Though the conversion speed is fast, DVDFab still can ensure you a smooth conversion process and output DVDs with excellent video/audio quality.

This Windows DVD maker also offers a wide range of beautiful menu templates, which allows you to create DVD menu freely. You can also customize and design all the elements in the menu template, such as background art, thumbnails, text font, color, and size, as well as playback controls.

Windows DVD Maker Alternative 2: DVDStyler

Works on: Windows and Mac OS X

DVDStyler is a free and open source alternative to Windows DVD Maker that can be used to create professional-looking and playable DVDs. All the common video formats like AVI, MOV, MP4, MPEG, OGG, etc. and some rare formats are supported by DVDStyler. It also comes with many menu templates that enables you to design your own DVD menu.

Moreover, there are also extra features like add multiple subtitles and audio tracks, create photo slideshow, etc. However, it is not as fast as DVDFab DVD Creator and can only convert videos to DVD discs. As a free DVD maker, it has been discontinued for a few years, so you may be unable to get necessary support when you meet some problems.

Windows DVD Maker Alternative 3: DVD Flick

Works on: Windows 2000 Professional, or any edition of Windows XP, Windows Vista or Windows 7

DVD Flick is a simple but a powerful alternative to Windows DVD maker. This program has the ability to convert the video files to DVDs that can be played on a DVD player, Media Center or Home Cinema Set. It also allows you to add additional audio tracks and subtitles.

This DVD maker provides a small number of menu templates for you to add a DVD menu, but it lacks some options to customize and design your own DVD menu. Its interface is clear and straight forward, so you can learn how to use it quickly. It is a completely free Windows DVD Maker alternative that doesn’t contain any adware and spyware. 

Part 3: Conclusion

This article provided an insightful examination of Windows DVD Maker, highlighting both its advantageous features and certain drawbacks that users might face. Furthermore, for those seeking other options besides Windows DVD Maker, we’ve introduced several top-rated alternatives worth considering. If you also want to a Windows Blu-ray maker to create Blu-rays from videos, take a look at these Blu-ray burners.