DICOM Burner Documentation

1. Install DICOM Burner

Download the MSI installer from the download link and run it. DICOM Burner requires Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit) and the .NET 7.0 runtime, which the installer will prompt you to install if it isn't already present.

2. Add a PACS server

Open Options > PACS Nodes from the main menu. Click Add and fill in:

• Server name and a short description, for your own reference
• Host/IP address and port (most PACS servers use port 104 or 11112)
• Called AE Title (the PACS server's AE title) and Calling AE Title (your own)
• A Move Destination AE Title, used if the server supports C-MOVE
• Retrieval method: prefer C-GET (a direct transfer, simpler to set up) or C-MOVE (requires DICOM Burner's built-in Storage SCP to be reachable from the PACS server, but is more widely supported by older PACS systems)
• Connection and request timeouts

Click Test Connection to send a C-ECHO and confirm the server is reachable before saving. You can add as many PACS servers as you need and switch between them from the main window's PACS Server dropdown.

3. Search for studies

On the main window, pick a PACS server and enter any combination of Patient Name, Patient ID, Modality, and a Study Date range, then click Search Studies. DICOM Burner sends a C-FIND query and lists every matching study with patient demographics, study date, modality, and referring physician. Leave a field blank to match on it broadly; DICOM Burner will ask you to confirm before running a completely unfiltered search.

4. Retrieve, burn, or copy studies

Tick one or more studies in the results grid (or just select a single row), then choose what to do with them:

• Download Selected retrieves the studies from the PACS server (via C-MOVE or C-GET, whichever the server is configured to use) into your local DICOM library.
• Burn to DVD retrieves the selected studies and writes them straight to a disc in the drive chosen under Optical Drive — DICOM Burner detects attached CD/DVD/Blu-ray burners automatically via Windows IMAPI2. Use Refresh if you plug one in after starting the app.
• Export to USB retrieves the selected studies and copies them directly to the USB drive chosen under USB Drive, with no burner required.
• A Save as ISO option (under More burn options) retrieves the studies straight into an .iso file of your choosing, if you want to burn later or distribute the image directly.

Every retrieve, burn, or copy operation appears in the Burn & Copy Queue at the bottom of the window with live progress and a plain-language status message, so failures (like a verification error after copying to USB) are easy to spot and retry.

5. Include a DICOM viewer on the media

Choose a viewer from the Viewer dropdown on the main window before burning or copying — it gets bundled onto the disc or USB drive alongside the study, so recipients can view the images without installing anything themselves. Manage the list of available viewers (add a custom one, set the default, or remove one) under Options > DICOM Players.

6. Manage your local library

Studies retrieved from a PACS server are stored locally in a hierarchical patient/study/series folder structure, fully compliant with DICOM Part 10 (including an automatically generated DICOMDIR index for CD/DVD compatibility with third-party viewers). Open Options > Library to browse what's stored locally, see free disk space, and manage older studies.

7. Settings and updates

Options > App Settings covers app-wide preferences including your local AE title, default library location, and job concurrency. DICOM Burner checks a public update manifest on startup and shows a banner if a newer version is available, with the option to update now, skip that version, or be reminded later. See the Privacy Policy for exactly what that check does and doesn't send.

Getting help

Use Help > Contact Support in the app, or the support links on this site, if you run into a problem. If you're reporting a bug, DICOM Burner's Help > Open Diagnostics Log option can help you find the details worth including.