Chapter 21. Burning CDs and DVDs¶
Contents
Abstract
K3b is a comprehensive program for writing data and audio CDs and DVDs. Start the program from the main menu or by entering the command k3b. The following sections brief you on how to start a basic burning process to get your first Linux-made CD or DVD.
21.1. Creating a Data CD or DVD¶
To create a data CD, go to ++. To create a data DVD, go to ++. The project view appears in the lower part of the window, as shown in Figure 21.1, “Creating a New Data Project”. Drag the desired directories or individual files from your home directory to the project folder and drop them there. Save the project under a name of your choice with +.
Then select from the toolbar or hit Ctrl+B. A dialog with six tabs offering various options for writing the CD or DVD opens. See Figure 21.2, “Customizing the Burning Process”.
The tab has various settings for the burning device, the speed, and the burning options. The following options are offered here:
The detected writer is displayed under this pop-up menu. You can select the speed here too.
![[Warning]](admon/warning.png)
Select the Writing Speed with Care Normally, you should select , which chooses the maximum writing speed possible. However, if you increase this value but your system is not able to send the data fast enough, the likelihood of buffer underruns increases.
This option determines how the laser writes the CD or DVD. For CDs, there are three modes available: DAO, TAO, and RAW. In DAO (disk at once) mode, the laser is not deactivated while the disk is written. This mode is recommended for the creation of audio CDs. In the TAO mode (track at once), a separate write process is used for each individual track. The RAW mode is not used very often, because the writer does not perform any data corrections.
For DVDs, there are also three modes available: DAO, incremental, and overwrite. For DVDs, DAO mode does not support multisession. If you want a multisession DVD, select the incremental mode. The overwrite mode allows increasing the ISO9660 file system from the first session on rewritable media using growisofs.
Usually, it is best to select , because it allows K3b to use the most suitable settings.
This function can be used to check if your system supports the selected writing speed. The writing is performed with the laser deactivated to test the system.
Burns the desired data without first creating an image file (do not use this feature on low-performance machines). An image file—also known as an ISO image—is a file containing the entire CD content that is subsequently written to the CD exactly as it is.
This option creates an image file. Set the path for this file under on the tab. The image file can be written to CD at a later time. To do this, use +. If this option is used, all other options in this section are deactivated.
Remove the temporary image file from hard disk when finished.
Check the integrity of the written data by comparing the MD5 sums of the original and the burned data.
The tab is only accessible if the option . In this case, determine the file to which to write the ISO.
The tab contains two options. The first one, is available only for CDs. It contains configuration of how data tracks may be written. In general, is considered the best suited method. The is used to append data to an already written but not finalized medium.
In the tab, enter some general information that can be used to identify this particular data project, its publisher and preparer, and the application and operating system used in the creation of this project. In the tab, specify settings for the file system (RockRidge, Joliet, UDF). Also determine how symbolic links, file permissions, and blanks are treated. In the tab, experienced users can make additional settings.
After adjusting all settings to your needs, start the actual burning process using . Alternatively, save these settings for future use and adjustment with .
21.2. Creating an Audio CD¶
Basically, there are no significant differences between creating an audio CD and creating a data CD. Select +. Drag and drop the individual audio tracks to the project folder. The audio data must be in WAV or Ogg Vorbis format. Determine the sequence of the tracks by moving them up or down in the project folder.
With the help of CD Text, you are able to add certain text information to a CD, such as CD title, artist name, and track name. CD players that support this feature can read and display this information. To add CD Text information to your audio tracks, select the track first. Right-click and select . A new window opens in which to enter your information.
The dialog for burning an audio CD is not very different from the dialog for burning a data CD. However, the and the modes have greater importance. The mode inserts an intermission of two seconds after each track.
![[Tip]](admon/tip.png) | Preserving Data Integrity |
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When burning audio CDs, choose a lower burning speed to reduce the risk of burning errors. | |
After adjusting all settings to your needs, start the actual burning process using . Alternatively, save these settings for future use and adjustment with .
21.3. Copying a CD or DVD¶
Select + or + depending on your media. In the dialog that opens, make the settings for the reading and writing device as shown in Figure 21.3, “Copying a CD”. The writing options discussed are also available here. An additional function enables the creation of several copies of the CD or DVD.
Check to burn the medium while it read from another device. Select to create an image in the path specified on the tab in the option and burn the image later.
21.4. Writing ISO Images¶
If you already have an ISO image, go to +. A window opens in which to enter the location of the . K3b calculates a check sum and displays it in . If the ISO file was downloaded from the Internet, this sum shows if the download was successful.
Use the and tabs to set your preferences. To burn the CD, click .
To burn an ISO image to DVD, go to + and select the image to burn. Specify the writing mode and number of copies and choose the appropriate writing option. Check to check the data integrity of the final DVD.
21.5. Creating a Multisession CD or DVD¶
Multisession discs can be used to write data in more than one burning session. This is useful, for example, for writing backups that are smaller than the media. In each session, you can add another backup file. The interesting part is that you are not only limited to data CDs or DVDs. You can also add audio sessions in a multisession disc.
To start a new multisession disc, do the following:
Create your data disc first and add all your files. You cannot start with an audio CD session. Make sure that you do not fill up the entire disc, because otherwise you cannot append a new session.
Burn your data with +.
In the dialog box that appears, go to the tab and select . In the case of DVD, you must not use DAO Writing mode, because it does not support multisession.
Configure other options if needed. See also Section 21.1, “Creating a Data CD or DVD”.
Start the burning session with .
After a successful burning process, you have created a multisession disc. As long as the media contains enough space, you can append more sessions if you like. Finish discs only if you are sure you do not need any new sessions or the space is occupied.
![[Note]](admon/note.png) | About Storage Space on Multisession Discs |
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Be aware that multisession discs need space for bookkeeping all the entries from your sessions. This leads to a smaller amount of available space on your disc. The amount depends on the number of sessions. | |
21.6. For More Information¶
Apart from the two functions described above, K3b offers other functions, such as reading audio data in WAV format, rewriting CDs, and playing music with the integrated audio player. A detailed description of all available program features is available at http://k3b.org/.