Thanks!

[David Ryder]

Hi everybody,
I would like to say thanks for all those who posted to  the list and
directly to me concerning my cd/dvd burning issues on all my linux
boxes.
I have solved the problem (phew!, at last) with the help of the many
suggestions which helped me look into possible causes.

I discovered that Gnomebaker, kb3 and Brasero all use the cdrado etc
files. What was happening was that burners were not being locked and my
discs (whatever make or drive) were incorrectly calculated a) capacity
and b) burning speed (all written on the disc by the manufacturer as you
know).

I used a workaround from launchpad but I'm damned if I can find the link
or where I wrote it down. It works for some people and it did for me. I
assume Intrepid has this updated .. the only catch is that cancelling
during a burn does not unlock the burner, needing a reboot.

Anyhow - I can now burn 100% successfully. As a (hopefully) contribution
to the list I enclose some observations ...

I notice that Gnomebaker does not support CDDB nor does it auto attempt
to recognise the cd capacity - annoying. And it does not select burnfree
by default, a 'bad' decision imho.
Brasero (now) correctly identifies the disc capactity, but it's scale
does not adjust. It knows when it is exceeding capacity, though. It is,
for me, hopeless using auto burn speed which is a pity but no big
problem. I don't understand why it always burn at near max speed
(causing failures often) when the manufacturer provides all the info it
needs. Still, choosing manually is no big deal. It supports limited CDDB
(disc title only) bit I am not sure if it follows the convention and
substitutes spaces with underscores and converts to all caps. Again, not
a problem unless playing back in a fussy player that is able to read the
text info.
k3b wins on all of the above: recognises capacity, calculates space
correctly and appears to support CDDB for track info and disc title.
Using auto speed for burning I have not yet had a failure though it
burns way beyond manufacturer specified speed.
Somehow, it seems 'not right' to use a kde app in gnome!
I notice that all the above progams 'convert' to cd audio at different
rates, whether mp3 or flac originals. I have no way of telling if they
all use the same algorithm but I assume none use their own.

Cheers, and again, thanks.
David