One of the drawbacks I'm finding with Premiere Elements 4 is that I can't create a VIDEO_TS folder, then burn it to disc, without going through the lengthy encoding process again. I prefer to create the VIDEO_TS folder so I can check the encoding on a PC DVD Player before burning.
For this reason I'm using ImgBurn - a fully functioning, and free program, although you can make a voluntary donation if you want to. This is the ongoing development of the burn engine originally used in DVD Decrypter.
It has various modes of operation, but the two I use are:
BUILD
This mode builds an ISO file from the VIDEO_TS folder, plus any other folders you want to include - a slideshow to run on a PC for example,
BURN
This mode burns the ISO file to disc. There are various options you can set, but I tend to use the defaults, but drop the burn speed down to 4x.
Here are the links:
Main site: http://www.imgburn.com/
User Forum: http://forum.imgburn.com/
Just like to add that I'm in no way connected with the software - just a very satisfied user