Burnaware Technologies has released the latest generation of its disc burning packages, in the shape of BurnAware 5.0 Free, Home and Professional.

The most apparent change is a simplification to the interface. There’s no longer any need to choose between “Data CD”, “Data DVD” or “Bridge Disc” when creating a data project: now you have “Data Disc” and “Custom Disc”, and on choosing the latter you’ll now get to decide the file system (ISO, UDF or Bridge).

“Custom Disc” projects can also be used for multisession discs, courtesy of a new dialog which allows you to import any session.

Whatever project type you’re burning, it’s now possible to set the “Hidden” attribute for files or folders (right-click, select Properties, check Hidden).

The latest BurnAware release gains a slightly simpler interface

The disc burning SDK has seen numerous enhancements, including expanded DVD/BD recorder support, updated disc notification handling and improvements to the verification and burning process.

And of course there are assorted other lesser changes, ranging from a new Unicode installer to the addition of a Georgian translation (the official changelog entry has more).

What hasn’t changed is that BurnAware Free is still missing a disc-to-disc copy function, and is free for personal use only.

If that’s a problem then BurnAware 5.0 Home ($29.95) adds disc copying, audio track extraction and file recovery, while BurnAware 5.0 Professional ($39.95) extends the franchise further by burning ISOs to multiple drives simultaneously, and permitting commercial use.

But if BurnAware Free is sufficient, keep in mind that it will by default install the AVG Security Toolbar. If that doesn’t appeal, then pay close attention during the setup process, make sure you choose the Custom Installation option and clear the relevant check boxes.