I have DVD Shrink, PlatinumRF, Alcohol & Nero. I have Anydvd & DVD43 too. I burnt 30 dvds this weekend for my brother. I found that by using platinum it was slightly quicker, overall, than shrink was. I was copying movie & episodic dvds, all of similar size.I can read a 7.5gig movie dvd in 25-26mins & burn it in 12-13mins. Shrink reads the same in 35mins & burns in about 20mins. My version of shrink is the latest (I have read that the latest is slower, not sure if this is true though!) I really like my platinum. In the express version you can use a second burner & the prog will automatically burn for you when it has finished reading the disc.(I know this isn't space age but it does help!) I know there are a lot of people out there who have had loads of problems with this software, due to conflicts & the infamous blacklist! I guess I am one of the lucky ones. In reality, I only use my platinum for copying, as I have found it the quickest to do the job. I activated an xcopy product only last week, but I have to agree, how much longer? I would like to stress that this is just my opinion. there are many who hate it, I love it! I would also say that my PC has 2 hard drives, one for gaming & the other for burning. I have found that this keeps my problems to a minimum.