I have been using Roxio and Nero for many years. Recently, I downloaded a few free DVD burning software, such as BurnAware, etc. They are small downloads 5-25mb, Nero and Roxio are 150mb-350mb and cost mucho $. The free software seem to work fine, and load faster, and do basically the same thing as Nero and Roxio. Besides a few minor features, nicer interfaces, I just dont see any real difference between using the free/shareware software vs. Nero or Roxio.
I don't think I'd refer to them as "minor features", more like ungodly bloat, especially for Nero. I agree, however, that for basic functions or strictly burning there are many capable and free programs available