Nero is retail just like NeoDVD would be. Personally I'm waiting to get the latest for NeoDVD since that allows you to change the level into to see a longer video file like over 3hrs. burned to disk with the Best, Better, and Good setting not seen with other softwares. Most only burn at one level where anything over 2hrs. has to go onto a second dvd due to the amount of disk used.
The quality level adjustment allows for those all afternoon gatherings or birthday parties that run a bit longer then a 2hr. period. But the freebies are mainly good for burning mpeg II and avi files onto disk while a retail program prepares them for players. DeepDVD Movie looked the best suited for creating playable dvds out of dvd-rs to look over there as far as a free one. The others work better for data disks and seeing iso images burned to make bootable cds or dvds.