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

How-To: Compile and Install K3b 1.65.0 Alpha from Source in Ubuntu Jaunty Jackalope

Over time K3b got its reputation as one of the most powerful burning applications not only for KDE, but for Linux in general. Development at the KDE4 release evolved rapidly in the last couple of months and the first usable alpha of the KDE4 port was put up for testing a few days ago, on April 22. Earlier today I made a brief review of this release, which you can read here (nothing is new, K3b 1.65.0 comes with the same features of 1.0.5, the only major difference is that it was ported to use the KDE4 libraries).

This short guide will list several easy steps you need to follow in order to compile and install K3b from source in Ubuntu/Kubuntu 9.04 Jaunty.

Notice that since this is an alpha release, it is not recommended for production work.

Here are the mandatory (and several optional) dependencies which you need to install before building K3b:

sudo apt-get install build-essential
sudo apt-get install cmake

The following is just one line of code:

sudo apt-get install kdelibs5-dev libsamplerate0-dev libkcddb-dev libcdparanoia-dev genisoimage wodim dvd+rw-tools cdrdao libflac++-dev libdvdread-dev libtag1-dev libmusicbrainz4-dev ffmpeg libsndfile1-dev libvorbis-dev

These should be (almost all). Anyway, they should be enough to compile K3b.

The next step is to go on the official website and download the source (direct link). Then, make sure the current working directory is the one where you saved it and uncompress it:

tar -xjf k3b-1.65.0alpha1.tar.bz2

Change the working directory to k3b-1.65.0, then compile and install it:

cmake -DK3B_BUILD_K3BSETUP=OFF
make
sudo make install

The -DK3B_BUILD_K3BSETUP=OFF switch will get rid of the Polkit-Qt error (great thanks for a comment in this thread on the Fedora Community forums).

That's it! K3b should be now properly installed. Here's a screenshot:

K3b 2.0 Alpha Preview - First Release of the KDE4 Port Is Out

I was pleased to hear a while ago that K3b got two new developers assigned by the Mandriva project and that work at the KDE4 port is going well now. Although K3b was inactive for a pretty long time (the last stable release was 1.0.5 for KDE3 on May 27, 2008), it looks like development goes at a fast pace and the first alpha of the KDE4 port was put up a little earlier this month.

It's a well-known fact that K3b is one of the most popular CD/DVD burning applications for Linux (if not the most popular) and sometimes the burner of choice for GNOME users too, not only KDE ones. So I decided to compile and install this alpha preview on a Debian Sid system with KDE4 and see how it looks by now.

Currently K3b 1.65.0 alpha1 does not include any new features over its KDE3 version, but it has been ported to KDE4, which is just great news.

Here are several screenshots of the new alpha:

The interface hasn't changed much, and the menu structure is the same.

Usual instance of K3b 1.65.0 alpha1

K3b settings

About

K3b comes with the features which it already had in KDE3, and they were plenty: on-screen display, support for themes, the ability to burn CDs/DVDs and ISO images, Konqueror integration (by the way, I think Dolphin integration is required too), notifications, CDDB support and more.

Overall, I was extremely enchanted to see this port of K3b and I'm sure it won't be long and the official 2.0 release will be out. Although there isn't much to say at this point because currently it does not seem to include new features (K3b was kind of full-featured already in the KDE3 version), they will surely come.

Official website

4 Ways to Create CD/DVD ISO Images in Ubuntu

In this guide I will show how to create CD/DVD ISO images in Ubuntu using four easy methods.

1. Create ISO Images With K3b
K3b is the KDE default CD/DVD burner and also one of the most popular (if not the most popular) burning application for Linux. The current version comes installed by default in Kubuntu 8.10 and 9.04, but if you are using Ubuntu and want to get install it issue the following command:

sudo apt-get install k3b

A port for KDE4 is in the works too, but until now there is no stable release. (Update: This applies for K3b 2.0+ too)

To create an ISO image just fire up K3b and follow the steps below:

Go to File -> New Project -> New Data CD Project (or New Data DVD Project, depending on what size the image you want to create will have):


Next, drag and drop the files and folders from the file browser to the bottom area:


Now, click the Burn button and, in the window that appears, tick the Only create image option under the Settings widget. The image will be created by default as the /tmp/kde-YOUR_USERNAME/image_name.iso, but you can change this location in the Image tab.



Next, click on Start and wait for the image to be created. This should be all.


Here's what the file /var/kde-embryo/my_iso_image.iso shows:

embryo@kubu:~$ file /tmp/kde-embryo/my_iso_image.iso
/tmp/kde-embryo/my_iso_image.iso: ISO 9660 CD-ROM filesystem data 'my_iso_image '

2. Create ISO images with Brasero
Brasero is the default CD/DVD burning application in Ubuntu. The way Brasero creates images is similar with K3b's. If you don't have Brasero installed for some reason, type:

sudo apt-get install brasero

Start Brasero (or fire it up, as you wish to call it) and click on the Data project button (or go to Project -> New Project -> New Data Project).


Change the name of the disc at the bottom to whatever you like and then click on the green plus sign in the upper left corner in the toolbar to start adding files and directories to your image:


After you finished adding files click on Burn and make sure no empty CD/DVD is in your optical drives:


This should be all. The image will be located in the home directory.

3. Create ISO images using AcetoneISO
AcetoneISO is a GUI (graphical user interface) application built in Qt4 for mounting and unmounting CD/DVD ISO (NRG, MDF and BIN too) images, but it can also be used to create ISO images.

To install AcetoneISO in Ubuntu you can follow the guide I put up a while ago, here. I will use version 2.0.2 for this example. In newer Ubuntu versions, just type in a terminal:

sudo apt-get install acetoneiso

First, put all the files and folders you want included in the image into a new, empty directory. Next, in the menu go to Conversion -> Generate ISO from folder, select the desired folder and enter the name of the image:


That's it.

4. Create ISO images using command-line
What, you thought I was going to leave CLI behind? Here's (probably) the easiest way to create ISO images using command-line interface.

First, install the tool called genisoimage (if you already have Brasero or K3b installed, this package is probably already installed):

sudo apt-get install genisoimage

Use it like this:

genisoimage -o my_image.iso my_directory

Or:

genisoimage -o my_image.iso file01 file02 file03

The first command will create an ISO image from the contents of folder my_directory (and it will include it as the root directory), while the second one will create an image containing file01, file02, file03 (and no root directory).

For Rock Ridge extensions (which provide permissions and ownership support), use:

genisoimage -o my_image.iso -R my_directory

So, these are the four methods I find most accessible for creating CD/DVD images in Ubuntu. Please share other ways of accomplishing this in the comments below.

Updated: September 19, 2010