dvd+rw-tools

dvd+rw-tools

Developer(s)	Andy Polyakov
Stable release	7.1 / 2008-03-05
Operating system	Cross-platform
Type	DVD/Blu-ray writing
License	GNU General Public License
Website	http://fy.chalmers.se/~appro/linux/DVD+RW/

Free software portal

dvd+rw-tools (also known as growisofs, its main part) is a collection of open source computer programs that are popular DVD (and recently Blu-ray Disc) burning tools for Linux, FreeBSD, Windows and Mac OS X. dvd+rw-tools does not^[1][2] burn CDs.

The package itself requires another program which is used to create ISO 9660 images on the fly. This is provided by mkisofs (from the cdrtools package) or genisoimage (from the cdrkit package).

Released under the GNU General Public License, dvd+rw-tools is free software.

Implementation

growisofs has a built-in dd, which is the low-level process for sending data to the writer. This uses two buffers, the Ring Buffer (the growisofs program's software buffer) and the Unit Buffer (the drive's internal hardware buffer),^[3] and to prevent buffer underrun, these buffers must be kept filled. This is monitored and displayed in the status line as the RBU ("Ring Buffer Utilisation") and UBU ("Unit Buffer Utilisation").^[3]

Notes

1. ^ Polyakov, Andy (27 November 2003). "Re: growisofs for cd-RW and DVD-RW?". cdwrite mailing list. http://news.gmane.org/find-root.php?message_id=%3c3FC67578.F794B706%40fy.chalmers.se%3e. Retrieved 12 October 2011. "No, growisofs does not work with nor is planned to work with CD-R[W]. My standpoint on the latter is [...]" 
2. ^ Polyakov, Andy (March 2008). "Blu-ray Disc/DVD+RW/+R/-R[W] for Linux". http://fy.chalmers.se/~appro/linux/DVD+RW/. Retrieved 12 October 2011. "Q. Do I still need cdrtools? A. Yes. [...]" 
3. ^ ^{a b} ubuntu forums: growisofs - what does rbu and ubu mean?

External links

• Official website