Burning CDs/DVDs in Linux Using Brasero

For a while now, burning a CD or DVD in Gnome Linux meant doing one of three things:

1. Use the command line (which meant learning and typing an esoteric string of options and files into the terminal and hoping it worked).

2. Use Gnomebaker (which is a Gnome program, but not all that actively developed, which meant using a program not incredibly up-to-date).

3. Use k3b (which has been - by far - the most popular graphic burning tool for Linux in recent times, but which is also a KDE tool, which left Gnome users a bit out of the loop).

There is now, thankfully, another very nice option for Gnome Linux users: Brasero

Brasero is to Gnome (or soon will be), what k3b is to KDE users, which is to say it is trying to be the be-all, end-all of optical disc manipulation programs. At the moment, Brasero can burn CDs (both CD-R and CD-RW), burn disc images (such as .iso), and burn DVD's (both DVD-R, DVD+R, and DVD-RW). While it is not, as of now, able to rip songs off a music CD and convert them into other formats, nor is it able to convert video files on the fly and turn it into a Video CD or DVD, that is, apparently, in the works. Should that happen, then Brasero would truly be a competitor to k3b (which is currently able to do all those things, and more).

Still, in spite of a lack of features, at least in comparison to k3b, Brasero is a very nice, very stable, very capable burning program. In fact, most users will be quite happy with the features it has right now, and would consider any additional uses to be a bonus. And they could be right. While k3b has numerous features, one school of thought for Linux users has always been a piece of software should be a sharp tool, designed to do one thing, and do it well. The fear is that as a program expands, and takes on new features, the old ones will stagnate, and the new ones will never quite reach their true potential. It is for this reason that there is a place in the Linux world for a program such as Brasero, which at the moment attempts to do one thing - burn discs - and do it well.

Which it does, and quite simply, as well. When first opening Brasero, the user is presented with a very basic screen, listing four options. The user can choose to start one of the following: Audio Project, Data Project, Disc Copy, or Burn Image. All are fairly explanatory, but I will go into a bit of detail for each.

The Audio Project option is simply to create an audio CD from various audio files on the user's computer. Clicking the option brings up a screen; on the left side of the screen is a large space for dragging audio files, while the right is a file browser, so a user can navigate to and select the correct files. The user is able to select from a variety of CD sizes (from 74 minutes up to 100 minutes, depending on brand and storage capacity of the disc), and as songs are dragged into the project, the available time increases until the disc is full. If a disc is loaded too much, the progress are will read "Oversized," as a warning. At this point, simply remove songs until the length fits within the existing space. When ready to burn, simply click the "Burn" button, and you are taken to a burn dialogue, where you can enter a name for the disc, as well as choose whether to leave the disc open for a later sessions (if you are burning to a CD-RW and your drive supports multi-sessions burning, of course). Since it is likely that you were dragging files such as mp3 or ogg vorbis or FLAC onto the disc (files not native to an audio CD format), the program automatically converts them to the proper WAV format, and when this is done, burns the disc.

The next option - Data Project - is nearly identical, except the progress bar at the bottom of the screen reads total space on the disc, as opposed to number of available minutes for music. Again, choosing files that are too large for the disc brings a warning that the disc is "Oversized," and (as with the audio disc), the user is given the option of removing files until the size is within limits, or initiating "overburn," which will attempt to use the very edge of the disc, which can provide a few more megabytes of space, but which can also lead to a failed burn or very choppy music. Again, as with the audio disc, simply click the "Burn" button, fill in the optional choices, and the program will do the rest.

Finally, Brasero gives the user the option of Disc Copy and Burn Image. These are the simplest of procedures. For Disc Copy, simply insert a disc you wish to be copied bit for bit, and tell Brasero if you wish to immediately burn the image created, or save it to disc. Choose where you would like the image saved (if that is your choice), and click to start. If you chose to immediately burn the copy, then Brasero will save the image created to a temporary file, which allows you to use the same drive for both copying and burning. Burn Image, on the other hand, is even simpler. If you have already made a copy of the disc, you will have the image file on your hard drive. Simply choose Burn Image, find the file, and click to burn. Brasero, again, will do the rest.

So, while not able to rip DVDs or encode video files on the fly, like k3b is able to do, Brasero certainly fits the bill as a basic, easy-to-use and easy-to-understand burning program. The author says on his website that there are plans to support video formats at some time. If they are supported in as easy-to-use fashion as Brasero handled audio, then it may definitely become THE burning program for Gnome users, and maybe for a few KDE users as well.