What is a decoderEasy CD and DVD ?

I just installed a DVD drive in my rig. It was OEM, so it came without software (heck, no cables either!). All is installed, now I just have a few software questions. Although I am pretty computer saavy, the whole DVD software thing is new to me. I only had a CD drive in my computer all these years. My laptop has a DVD but of course everthing came preinstalled so I really never had to work with installin DVD software and such. So - bear with me.

The drive in question is an NEC 3550-A. Physical install went fine. I soon discovered it would write CD's only and it would not read movie DVD's for viewing. I thought it was a problem with the drive.

Upon research, I concluded I need software. Is that correct? I researched Nero, which is on my laptop. It seems to work fine. However, I read some negative reviews saying it utilized too many resources and the overall package seemed disjointed. I researched Easy CD and DVD which can be had for about $30, much cheaper than Nero. It seemed to get pretty good reviewes, especially for it's simplicity.

The only real requirement is that I be able to backup data such as digital and photos, and maybe play some DVD based games in the future. I assume Easy CD and DVD will allow me to do that? I don't need all of that extra stuff.

Thanks for an replies.