Express Burn vs mkpsxiso
Express Burn
nch.com.aumkpsxiso
github.comSide by side
| Figure | Express Burn | mkpsxiso |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $2.92/mo | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 4 | 1 |
| Spec score · ISO Creation Software | 8.3 (#4) | 8.2 (#6) |
| Platforms | The product page lists Windows 7 to 11 and macOS 10.5 or above, along with a disc drive that supports burning, as system requirements. | Prebuilt releases are listed for Windows, Linux, and macOS and are built by GitHub CI. |
| Purpose | Express Burn burns audio, video, and data to CD, DVD, and Blu-ray discs. | mkpsxiso builds PlayStation CD images from an XML document. |
| Security | NCH says its site uses SSL to encrypt personal information in transit and that it does not store credit card information. | GitHub reports that the project has no security policy file and no published security advisories. |
Plans
Express Burn
- Express Burn FreeFree
- Express Burn Plus CD Burner Annual Plan$34.99 a year
- Express Burn Plus CD + DVD Authoring Annual Plan$49.99 a year
- Express Burn Plus CD + DVD + Blu-ray Authoring Annual Plan$59.95 a year
In their own words
Express Burn
Express Burn burns audio, video, and data to CD, DVD, and Blu-ray discs on Windows and macOS. For audio, it can create MP3 or audio CDs and supports WAV, MP3, WMA, OGG, and FLAC. Video functions include DVD and Blu-ray burning, chapter management, and PAL or NTSC output. DVD authoring provides more than 20 menu templates, with the option to add custom images. Data discs can use ISO/Joliet, UDF, or Hybrid formats, and the software can create and burn ISO images. It supports recordable and rewritable media, dual-layer DVD and Blu-ray burning, bootable data discs, and disc copying. Command-line operation is available for automation and integration with other programs. The free edition does not expire, but is limited to non-commercial use and CD burning. Paid annual plans cost $34.99 a year for CD burning, $49.99 a year for CD and DVD recording, or $59.95 a year for all supported disc types. NCH says the audio and video functions are for users' own content and cannot be used to break copy or region protections.
mkpsxiso
mkpsxiso builds PlayStation CD images from an XML document, with output in .bin/.cue or .iso formats for emulators or CD burning. File order in the XML sets LBA placement, which the project says can support access-time optimization. The builder handles mixed-mode CD-XA content, including XA audio and STR video, and CDDA tracks sourced from WAV, FLAC, PCM, or MP3 files. Its related tool, dumpsxiso, extracts PlayStation disc images and can generate compatible XML. It supports 2352-sector images and CUE files, and can extract tracks, license data, and raw sectors. Generated XML follows strict LBA order and preserves timestamps and XA attributes. The project targets homebrew development, ROM hacking, and reverse engineering. It runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows, and is GPL-2.0 licensed. Documentation covers command-line use, XML structure, track types, ordering, errors, and validation. Users supply their own Sony license data for injection. On ext4 and xfs, absent XML dates prevent 1:1 rebuilding for certain older files; Windows also has a documented directory-browsing issue with some nested structures.