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No matter how popular are becoming storage devices like the flash memory drives, the optical discs still have a peaceful life ahead, in my opinion. Of course that it's really easy to burn CDs, DVDs and Blu-Ray discs on your computers these days using the tools built into your operating system, but those tools are not as flexible as we'd like them to be. I don't have to prove what I just said, all you have to do is look at all the data burning applications on the market and you'll know that I am right!


Setup

Ashampoo Burning Studio, the burning program I have under my scope today, is not that hot, its last version being released early this February. Labeled 6.50, you can easily download and use it for a quick 10 day trial that can be extended to a full month by registering on the official site to receive a free trial key. The setup package has 10MB in size, and installing the program is as easy as possible.


Interface
Since most optical drives that are able to burn data come with a OEM version of a burning software, and in most cases, that application is Nero Burning ROM, the wizard-like interface used by Nero as default is well known to a lot of computer users. Ashampoo Burning Studio is based on the same recipe, but it's not a copy. As you can see in the screenshot to the left, all the features are in sight, one or two mouse clicks away, which makes data burning (and a bit more) really easy for beginners, but giving more customization opportunities when compared to the default burning method of the operating system.


Features

The best way to discover what this program can do is to take a short tour and try to perform a basic task. First of all, you have to decide what to do, because "burning" is only a small word.

Ashampoo Burning Studio can burn files to a new disc and also updated an existing session on one, but this is only the basic part. Obviously, CDs/DVDs and Blu-Rays are supported, so no need to worry about this part.

Moving on, we find the backup feature. All you have to do is follow the wizard, and you'll be guided all along the way. First, pick the files or folders to backup, choose the destination (USB sticks, local drive or network locations can also be used to store your backups) and maybe even add a password to the archive. Simply excellent!

The remaining tasks should be obvious already - you can burn or rip your favorite music, burn movies in various formats compatible with most DVD players, such as Video CD, copy discs (if you have two optical drives, on-the-fly copy is also available)... but wait, it's not over yet!

At last, you should know that Ashampoo Burning Studio is able to create disc images from CDs and DVDs or from a project (one or more folders on your hard drive can be saved as a disc image) and, of course, burn such images to any optical disc in one of the 3 formats supported. All these, for a mere 20$!


The Good

Ashampoo Burning Studio looks good, is very easy to use and has an amazing prize for all the features you get.

The Bad

While appending data to my backup DVD, all went fine. When I checked the disc, I noticed that the files from my first session were broken. I know, it's partially my fault, because first data session on the disc was burnt using Nero, but I should have got a warning, I think. Also, there is no estimation on the time remaining to complete the burning operation.

Conclusion

It's really a pity that in the real world you can't get such offers, because I would really like to get myself a brand new Lamborghini for 5,000$. Well, since this will always remain a dream, I could easily grab a license for Ashampoo Burning Studio, because this program is one of the best buys in the software world that I have seen lately!

Developer: ashampoo GmbH & Co. KG
Price: 19.99$
Trial Link: Download