14 September 2004 15:28 GMT / By Kenneth Henry

For all those who think Easy Media Creator 7 is too expensive, Roxio has slimmed down the bread and butter of the package. So if you want to design your own labels or do anything the big big package does, you'll need a lot more money and go look elsewhere. Those of you on a budget can tap into the basic Easy DVD Copy, which, not overlooking Roxio's roots, still burns CDs happily.

If you've ever used any Roxio product from the Adaptec days of eight years ago to today, the interface is familiar; insert the disc to be copied in the drive or point out the location of the data to be copied, insert the blank media, choose the speed and whether you want a test burn first, and away you go, repeating the process for however many copies you'd like.

On the surface that's all there is unless you're doing DVD-to-DVD copying when you get greater control by running through the options, for instance, creating your own Superbit discs by ditching the extras and giving you the best possible video quality for just the film. It makes a change to see a publisher making an effort to ensure compatibility for its DVDs though this had been made easier by not bothering with DVD-RAM with or without the caddy and leave that to the makers of all-format drives. DVD being naturally larger, it's useful to have a straight snapshot of what you've got and can select what to copy, keeping the simplicity of the smaller format but re-applying it for the larger capacities.

The software won't copy encrypted or RCE DVDs but of course we wouldn't expect it to. Three years after the introduction of XP, it's unfortunate that Windows ME has been left behind but NT and 2K owners can also pick it up. The sub-£20 price point is right for something on the level that you'd receive free with any new DVD Burner you'd buy, albeit without Roxio's smart skin. Patch it, and it will copy dual-layer DVDs too.

Verdict

That's all there is to it, so with new Nero 6 at £40 on the street and the full blown Media Creator no cheaper, depending on where you look this is a slimmed-down bargain if you just want copying and that's all. It's all down to what you're burning and what disks you're burning on, as DVD-RAM support is conspicuous by its absence.

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Review Recap

Made by

Roxio

Price as reviewed

£20

The good

The Price

The bad

If only burning CDs you could get away with XP built in or your burner’s own software

Quick verdict

The cost could almost get you an internal burner, but if you need the core burning engine for an existing drive, great- if your burner’s supported.

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