Thread: Nero Linux 3.5

Touted as the most prominent and user-friendly software for Windows, Nero doesn't stand back where Linux is concerned, either. Nero bestowed on us Blu-Ray support with a host of other new features. Nero Linux is probably the most under-rated and unpopular burning suite primarily because of its proprietary and closed source nature. But despite it all, Nero clears all the hurdles and tries to provide an easy-to-use burning software for end users with an interface reminiscent of older Windows releases.
Here are some of the burning capabilities of Nero:
-Audio CD (CD-DA)
-CD, DVD, Blu-ray, and HD DVD copy (with advanced settings)
-CD-Text
-CD-Extra support (with advanced settings) Bootable CD/DVD
-Multi-session CDs, DVDs, BIu-ray Discs, and HD DVDs (advanced features)
-Layer Jump Recording support
-DVD-Video and miniDVD ( from DVD-Video files)
-CD, DVD, BIu-ray, and HD DVD image recording
-DVD double layer support .nrg/.cue/.iso image import Overburning support for CD and DVD
-Ultra-Buffer software buffering technology
-Speed tests and simulated burning
-Data verification after burning

Nero Linux 3 offers a paid as well as a demo version, which is available for one month of testing. Thankfully, all the features were available even in the demo version. Nero Linux offers a clean and hassle-free interface, supporting almost every optical disc format available in the market, be it the mammoth Blu-Ray or the defunct HD-DVD. Windows users will love it, as the interface is pretty similar to older versions of Nero available for Windows.

Installation is fairly easy. The website provides easy packages for rpm/deb-based distros and an easy extracting script for non-rpm/deb distros. Since the difference in the paid and demo versions is the time limit and the serial key, all you need to do is download the demo and insert the key before you are ready to enjoy a great ride on the Nero Express.

Nero offers high quality burning capabilities and has successfully ported the major features from its Windows counterpart. Nero supports the UDP format and a host of other disc formats, making it easier to use in Linux without any need for assistance.

Burning with Nero is child's play. I was able to burn DVDs and CDs without any trouble. Nero offers faster burning than other available software. Even burning single large files above 4GB at low speed isn't an issue, unlike Brasero, which does give a few problems at that speed.

In addition to high quality burning capabilities, Nero Linux offers encoding tracks on the fly. You can encode any audio track to various pre-set audio formats like Ogg, flac, wav, etc. I tried encoding my 150 MB high bit-rate audio track, and noticed that it was a bit sluggish compared to ffmpeg and other encoding tools. Nonetheless, it's a welcome addition and with an easy GUI: it will certainly reduce the hassles of grasping complex commands.

Despite high quality burning capabilities, Nero fails to offer video disc ripping -something that is much needed nowadays. Apart from this, Nero is a power¬packed edition capable of churning out the most from your DVD/CD writer and providing high quality output at it decent price. Yes! Like its Windows sibling, Nero is paid for, but it hasn't been as atrociously priced as its Windows counterpart, thanks to a less bloated suite and the hassle-free interface of Linux.