Purpose: In this post we will see some CDs/DVDs burning (or writing) software that are available in Debian Lenny. For a long time I have been dreading to burn CDs in Linux (don’t know why) and I always use to end up burning in Windows. Finally I decided to learn burning CDs/DVDs and here are my findings. Hope this helps to all of you guys who were in a similar situation as I was.

CLI (Command Line) based tools

1. cdrecord (or wodim)

# apt-get install cdrecord

cdrecord is basically a dummy package for installing the wodim which is the real program behind cdrecord. This can be used for burning CDs and DVDs. Shortly I will write a tutorial on how to use this program to burn CDs and DVDs. In some ways this is the mother of most of the CD/DVD burning programs in Linux. Many of the graphical based programs are based on this as we will see later.

2. dvdrtools (non-free)

# apt-get install dvdrtools

As per dvdrtools page it provides:

CD/DVD writing program This packages allows you to create both CDs and DVDs using recorders. It supports writing data, audio mixed, multi-session, CD-R(W) and DVD-R(W) disks on most types of CD and DVD recorders.

This package is available in the non-free section of the Debian repository.

Upon installing this package, it provides a utility called dvdrecord just like cdrecord.

# dvdrecord

Difference between cdrecord v/s dvdrecord?

Good question -  which means I don’t the answer to it. I will have to dig deeper into it to find out. May be I can write a post about it too.

3. burn
# apt-get install burn

It is python script which offers a command line utility which enables you to burn data/image/music on CDs only. This utility requires cdrecord package to be installed. My guess is that it uses wodim behind the scenes to burn your CDs. It provides easy-to-use utility. This does not support DVD yet.

4. dvd+rw-tools

# apt-get install dvd+rw-tools

As per dvd+rw-tools page:

dvd+rw-tools makes it possible to burn DVD images created by dvdauthor or genisoimage to DVD+R, DVD+RW, DVD-R, and DVD-RW disks, replacing cdrecord-proDVD in many cases.

The package contains:

  * growisofs to burn DVD images or create a data DVD on the fly
  * dvd+rw-format to format a DVD+RW
  * dvd+rw-mediainfo to give details about DVD disks

and some programs to control the write speed and obtain information from DVD-RAM.

Here is  good page which gives some example on how to use these tools.

5. cdrskin


# apt-get install cdrskin

This package is an alternative for cdrecord and it lets you do the following:

  * Burns to all single layer DVD types
  * TAO mode (CD Track at Once, DVD Packet)
  * SAO mode (CD Session at Once, DVD DAO)
  * Multi session support (not DVD+RW, DVD-RAM)
  * Blanking discs
  * Burnfree and speed options
  * on CD: RAW/RAW96R mode
  - on CD: Audio support

Note that this utility still does not support DVDs.

Graphical based tools

6. xcdroast

# apt-get install xcdroast

This is a fully X based program and serves as a graphical front end to cdrecord.

GNOME based

7. gnomebaker

apt-get install gnomebaker

This is a fully GNOME based CD/DVD burner program. According to the package page it lets you do the following:

  * Data and audio CD burning
  * Multisession CDs
  * DVD formating
  * DVD data disk burning
  * On-the-fly data CD burning
  * Cue bin data CD writing

8. brasero

# apt-get install brasero

Another GNOME based easy-to-use CD/DVD burner program:

 * Burn, Copy and Erase CD/DVD
 * On-the-fly burning of CD/DVD
 * Append data to multisession CD/DVD
 * Burn Audio CD
 * CD-Text writing for Audio CD

KDE based

9. k3b

apt-get install k3b

This is one of the most popular CD/DVD burning program out there in the Linux world. It has great features and is based on KDE. According to k3b page:

K3b is a GUI frontend to the CD recording programs cdrdao and cdrecord. Its aim is to provide a very user friendly interface to all the tasks that come with cd recording.

It can be used to copy CDs and burn:

 * audio CDs (from wav, mp3 or ogg vorbis files)
 * data CDs and DVDs
 * mixed-mode CDs (CD-Extra support)
 * VCDs (1.1, 2.0 and SVCD)
 * ISO files (Joliet/Rockridge and El Torito support)
 * eMovix CDs

Xfce based

10. xfburn

Last but not the least.

# apt-get install xfburn

xfburn is Xfce based program but can be used in GNOME/KDE or any other graphical environment. It can burn CD/DVDs.

Discontinued Packages

Following are some additional CD/DVD burning packages which are now being discontinued i.e. from Lenny onwards. You can still find these in the Debian Etch repositories.

a) arson

apt-get install arson

Arson is a KDE based CD burning program.

b) bonfire

# apt-get install bonfire

Bonfire has been replaced by brasero from Debian etch onwards. It is a dummy package which points to brasero.

There is a high possibility that I might have listed/mentioned something incorrect for any of the above packages. If you find a typo or a feature that I listed incorrectly please post it in the comment section and I will update the post. Thanks in advance.

Happy Burning!

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