Date: April 5, 2005 - Author: Rob Williams - Editor: Rob Williams
Ahead has stepped up to the Linux plate with their NeroLinux offering. Does the program offer enough to drag people away from K3b and other Burning apps? Check out the review to find out!
Even if it's commercial software, it's good to see software companies deciding to publish for Linux based operating systems. Up to now, the primary CD/DVD-Burning program has been K3b, which is open source software. Does NeroLinux offer enough to sway people away from K3b?
NeroLinux's goal is to provide you will all the CD-Burning needs that you have. At first look, it appears quite similar to the Windows counter-part, which you can also see a screenshot of below. The primary features of the program are: CD/DVD Burning and Re-Writing, Audio CD, Data CD, Image Burning, Disc Copying and Image Recording. Obviously there is nothing special here, but what you use most.. is.
As much as I enjoy using K3b for burning needs, I was looking forward to checking out NeroLinux. I have used Nero for Windows since it first came out, and it became my preferred burning app. Needless to say, I had high expectations for the Linux version.
If you are using Red Hat or SuSE, which are the only supported Distros for the software, you can install the program using an RPM or BIN package. I installed via the RPM file, so it was seamless. By default, it installs itself into the /usr/bin/ directory, and the executable is 'nero'. I had zero issues while starting up the program.. everything worked off the bat.
We can first check out the program settings, and tweak them to our liking. The option that stands out is the ability to Pre-cache your Data Tracks, which ultimately should make your Audio Ripping faster. It also helps Nero with determining the tracks correct length, especially if the file has defected areas. The following screen allows you to configure your file types for encoding and decoding.
Data CD:
If you've used the Windows version of Nero, you know what to expect here. Simply drag and drop your files into the Burning area, and click "Burn". I had no issues at all here, and the few CD's I did burn, burned quickly and efficiently.
While a disc is burning, you can click on the progress tab, to view the entire process, with timestamp's. Once a disc is finished being burned, it will automatically eject.
Audio Burning:
Being one of the primary reasons that people like burning CD's, I was interested to see how well it worked here. In the Windows version, you would click a New Compilation and then choose Audio CD. In NeroLinux however, all you need to do is click the appropriate tab to the left or the burning area. Drag and drop the songs there and it will automatically add the timeframe.
Sadly, Ahead didn't include MP3 Encoding software with the package, so you will need to download MPG 123, from the MPG 123 site. While it sucks that they force users to download a "Add-On", it's ok since many users may already have this on their system, especially if they have ripped albums before.
I burned a bunch of MP3's into a Audio CD, and it did it fine. It did seem to take longer to do, than K3b does, but it wasn't bad.
Audio Ripping:
You can burn albums fine, but how about ripping the tracks in the first place? NeroLinux gives you the ability to rip your albums into four music file types, including MP3, SHN, WAV and OGG. If you intend on encoding your music into MP3, which you likely do, then you will once again need to download another encoder. You can download the Lame encoder, which is of course free as well.
The system I tested the ripping process is a Dell Inspiron 5150, 2.8Ghz, 512MB DDR333, 60GB 7200RPM, 24X CD/DVD, using Novell Linux Desktop 9.2 (SuSE). The CD I used to test the ripping was 44 Minutes long. Sadly, NeroLinux took a great amount of time ripping the disc. While the Windows version of Nero took only 4:23 minutes, NeroLinux took a full 10:14 minutes. Two and a half times longer! Sadly, I could not test the ripping process the ripping process with K3b, as the program would not start! [I'm working on that!]
There are a few features that come with NeroLinux that I did not try. They include the Disc Copying and Image Recording. You cannot actually make disc images, but rather only burn ones you download. I would have loved to see a disc image creator.
So the question is.. does NeroLinux beat out K3b? The answer is quite simply, no. I've enjoyed the program, but what makes it not worth it? For starters, in order to get NeroLinux, you have to purchase the Nero Ultra Suite, which retails at $69.99US for the download version, and is for Windows. You heard right.. you have to buy the Windows version, [doesn't that defeat the purpose??], in order to download the Linux version. Quite sadly, considering that K3b does everything NeroLinux does, and more, it should be a free program. To make matters worse, if you get the program, you can't expect any support. In terms of support, they link to an online CD/DVD and media forum, completely unrelated to Ahead.
If you are a Windows user who wants to get more into Linux, and already own the Nero Suite, then yes, you may as well use NeroLinux since you would not have much to learn. However, with no logical thinking, would this be worth the $70 price tag, since that's what it will essentially cost you.
Even though K3b is slightly less stable, it has more features, is free and the source code is available. I think that speaks for itself. If Ahead releases an updated version in the future, I would hope to see Video burning and ripping support. The Windows version is chock full of great tools and features, and a small fraction sees the Linux version. Feel free to discuss this review in our forums.
Addendum: There is now a free trial for the program, that you can find here. Fabio also let's us know that NeroLinux also works with Debian/GNU.
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