Saturday 18 July 2009

Top 3 Linux Burning Applications

1. K3b
Not many can argue against this one. K3b is the most popular burning application for Linux, and although it uses KDE3 libraries, many GNOME users prefer it too over native GTK burners.

K3b 1.0.5 running in Debian Lenny

The version I'm going to talk about is 1.0.5 for KDE3, but K3b 2.0 for KDE4 is in the works, and the second alpha was made available for testing purposes earlier this year. You can read my review of K3b 2.0 Alpha 1 here.

K3b can burn anything, from audio CDs to DVDs or ISO images. It allows you to save the projects, it includes a powerful file explorer and an easy to use interface. You can also use K3b to create CD/DVD ISO images, it supports projects, multisession mode and ripping video DVDs.

2. Brasero
Brasero is the default GNOME burning application. As usual, it features a simple interface which integrates very well in GNOME, with five large buttons for fast access to the most common actions:

- Audio project, to create an audio CD
- Data project, to create a data CD or DVD
- Video project, to create a video DVD or SVCD
- Disc copy, to copy a CD or DVD
- Burn image, to burn CD/DVD ISO images

Brasero 2.26.1 in Ubuntu 9.04 - start-up window

The nice thing I found about Brasero is that it also includes a simple but useful cover editor for your CDs or DVDs.

Brasero cover editor

3. GnomeBaker
I think GnomeBaker is a little underrated by some. It has a simple interface, which kind of resembles the one of K3b, with the file explorer in the middle of the main window. GnomeBaker can burn CDs, DVDs, audio CDs, CD/DVD ISO images, it supports multisession mode, dragging and dropping files and projects. A very good alternative to Brasero for GNOME users.

GnomeBaker 0.6.4 in Ubuntu Jaunty Jackalope

Several others are also worth mentioning. We have MyBashBurn, which is a wonderful text user interface frontend to cdrtools and growisofs for burning CDs/DVDs, it supports multisession and burning ISO images too.

There is also Nero Linux, which is great, but unfortunately closed-source, from the same project which does Nero for Windows. A trial version is available for download here. In Ubuntu, just download the (currently) nerolinux-3.5.3.1-x86.deb file and use sudo dpkg -i nerolinux-3.5.3.1-x86.deb to install it.

Nero Linux 3

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

El nero, segun mi opinion, es el mas completo y que da mayor seguridad... No quemo con cualquier software mis respaldos que valen cientos de horas de trabajo

Thierry said...

K3B is the only linux burner (with GUI) that can burn Enhanced CD (data and music on same CD). So K3B is my choice.

Hezy said...

You should also take a look at Xfburn. Nothing out of the ordenery here, but it works fine and it's light.

Anonymous said...

k3b all the way!!!

Zona de Slumbergod said...

My vote goes with GnomeBaker. It has always been the most reliable writer for me.

K3B was excellent last time I tried it (just not a fan of the QT look).

Brasero has always been a disaster for me. It consistently messed up writing of audio CDs. I also found data verification almost always failed. Finally, the latest interface was a step backwards. Actually, I am surprised it is the Gnome choice.

NotZed said...

I use wodim and genisoimage. They can do anything you can do with a burner and can be scripted for easier operation.

They even come with documentation.

Anonymous said...

K3B is like VLC: there is nothing more than I need it to do.

It is in my view, perfect in the sense that I dont even think about it.

NoobixCube said...

For burning video DVDs I can't go past "DeVeDe". Lets you edit menus VERY easily, and it will convert any format that mencoder (or was it FFMPEG?) can handle.

United against said...

When ever I have burned iso's using k3b I end up with a coffee coaster. It never works but it burns music cd's well.