Ashampoo Burning Studio

While disc burning is not as prevalent now as it was in the past, it's still a viable and cost-efficient alternative to using USB sticks or other such methods. While for the most basic tasks, the built-in Windows CD/DVD burner can do a satisfactory job, you'll need dedicated software if you want something just a touch more advanced.

More advanced doesn't necessarily mean more complicated, and Ashampoo Burning Studio manages to offer many functions to facilitate disc burning, while also presenting everything within a clean, intuitive interface.

This is a fairly easy program to operate, and that's owing to the slick interface design. The functions are all clearly explained, and you can quickly cycle through them to pick the most appropriate option for your use. For starters, Burn Data is an all-purpose mode, which you can use to store your files on a disc, or span everything across multiple CDs.

The same holds true for the other options, too. Want to create an audio disc to play in your car, or a movie disc for your DVD player? It's as easy as selecting the appropriate options, inserting the files, and that's all there is to it. Of course, option such as ripping CDs and creating photo slideshows are readily available. There's even a Covers + Inlays functionality, which allows users to create covers for their CDs.

An enticing feature lies in the ability of the program to encrypt, create, and restore scratch protected discs. The last function is most intriguing: a scratch-protected disc has data burned to it in a way that minimizes data loss in the event of surface scratching.

In addition to that, disc images can be created, allowing you to virtually mount them to your system. What's more, backing up data is also possible, no matter whether the files are stored locally, on a USB stick, a phone, and so on.

Ashampoo Burning Studio offers some much-needed additional functionality that users will appreciate: the best thing about it is how nicely everything is presented.