CDRSKIN(1) General Commands Manual CDRSKIN(1)
NAME
cdrskin - burns preformatted data to CD, DVD, and BD via libburn.
SYNOPSIS
cdrskin [options|track_source_addresses]
DESCRIPTION
cdrskin is a program that provides some of cdrecord's options in a com-
patible way for CD media. With DVD and BD it has its own ways. You do
not need to be superuser for its daily usage.
Overview of features:
Blanking of CD-RW and DVD-RW.
Formatting of DVD-RW, DVD+RW, DVD-RAM, BD.
Burning of data tracks or audio tracks with CD-TEXT to CD,
either in versatile Track at Once mode (TAO)
or in Session at Once mode for seamless tracks.
Multi session on CD (follow-up sessions in TAO only)
or on DVD-R[W] (in Incremental mode) or DVD+R[/DL] or BD-R.
Single session Disk-at-once on DVD-RW, DVD-R, DVD-R DL.
Single session or emulated ISO-9660 multi-session
on overwriteable DVD+RW, DVD-RW, DVD-RAM, BD-RE
or on data file or block device.
Extraction of audio tracks and CD-TEXT to hard disk files.
Bus scan, burnfree, speed options, retrieving media info, padding,
fifo.
See section EXAMPLES at the end of this text.
General information paragraphs:
Track recording model
Write mode selection
Recordable CD Media
Sequentially Recordable DVD or BD Media
Overwriteable DVD or BD Media
Drive preparation and addressing
Emulated drives
Track recording model:
The input-output entities which get processed are called tracks. A
track stores a stream of bytes.
More than one track can be burned by a single run of cdrskin. In the
terms of the MMC standard all tracks written by the same run constitute
a session.
Normally, each track is initiated by one track source address argument,
which may either be "-" for standard input or the address of a readable
file. Alternatively, option cuefile= may be used to read a session de-
scription from a text file and to read the session content from a sin-
gle data file.
If no write mode is given explicitly then one will be chosen which
matches the peculiarities of track sources and the state of the output
media.
Some media types can be kept appendable so that further tracks can be
written to them in subsequent runs of cdrskin (see option -multi).
Info about the addresses of burned tracks is kept in a table of content
(TOC) on media and can be retrieved via cdrskin option -toc. This in-
formation is also used by the operating systems' CD-ROM read drivers.
In general there are two types of tracks: data and audio. They differ
in sector size, throughput and readability via the systems' CD-ROM
drivers and by music CD players. With DVD and BD there is only type
data.
If not explicitly option -audio is given, then any track is burned as
type data, unless the track source is a file with suffix ".wav" or
".au" and has a header part which identifies it as MS-WAVE or SUN Audio
with suitable parameters. Such files are burned as audio tracks by de-
fault.
While audio tracks just contain a given time span of acoustic vibra-
tions, data tracks may have an arbitrary meaning. Nevertheless,
ISO-9660 filesystems are established as a format which can represent a
tree of directories and files on all major operating systems. Such
filesystem images can be produced by programs mkisofs or genisoimage or
xorriso. They can also be extended by follow-up tracks if prepared
properly. See the man pages of said programs. cdrskin is able to ful-
fill the needs about their option -C.
Another type of data track content are archive formats which originally
have been developed for magnetic tapes. Only formats which mark a de-
tectable end-of-archive in their data are suitable, though. Well tested
are the archivers afio and star. Not suitable seems GNU tar.
Write mode selection:
In general there are two approaches for writing media:
A permissive mode selected by option -tao which needs no predicted
track size and can use multi-session capabilities if offered by drive
and medium.
A more restrictive mode -sao (alias -dao) which usually demands a pre-
dictable track size and is not necessarily capable of multi-session. It
can be used to write CD-TEXT and it is the only one that works with op-
tion cuefile=.
If none of the options -dao, -tao or -sao is given then the program
will try to choose a write mode which matches the defined recording
job, the capabilities of the drive and the state of the present media.
So the mentioning of write modes in the following paragraphs and in the
examples is not so much a demand that the user shall choose one explic-
itly, but rather an illustration of what to expect with particular me-
dia types.
Recordable CD Media:
CD-R can be initially written only once and eventually extended until
they get closed (or are spoiled because they are overly full). After
that they are read-only. Closing is done automatically unless option
-multi is given which keeps the media appendable.
Write mode -tao is able to use track sources of unpredictable length
(like stdin) and to write further sessions to appendable media. -sao
produces audio sessions with seamless tracks but needs predicted track
sizes and cannot append sessions to media.
CD-RW media can be blanked to make them re-usable for another round of
overwriting. Usually blank=fast is the appropriate option. Blanking
damages the previous content but does not make it completely unread-
able. It is no effective privacy precaution. Multiple cycles of blank-
ing and overwriting with random numbers might be needed.
Sequentially Recordable DVD or BD Media:
Currently DVD-RW, DVD-R[DL], DVD+R[DL], and BD-R can be used for the
Sequential recording model. It resembles the model of CD media. Only
DVD-RW can be blanked and re-used from scratch.
DVD-RW are sequential media if they are in state "Sequential Record-
ing". The media must be either blank or appendable. Newly purchased
DVD-RW and DVD-R media are in this state. Used DVD-RW get into blank
sequential state by option blank=deformat_sequential .
With DVD-R[W] two write modes may be available:
Mode DAO has many restrictions. It does not work with appendable media,
cannot do -multi and writes only a single track. The size of the track
needs to be known in advance. So either its source has to be a disk
file of recognizable size or the size has to be announced explicitly by
options tsize= or tao_to_sao_tsize= .
DAO is the only mode for DVD-R media which do not offer feature 21h In-
cremental Streaming (e.g. DVD-R DL). DAO may also be selected explic-
itly by option -sao . Program growisofs uses DAO on sequential DVD-
R[W] media for maximum DVD-ROM/-Video compatibility.
The other mode, Incremental Streaming, is the default write mode if it
is available and if the restrictions of DAO would prevent the job. In-
cremental Streaming may be selected explicitly by option -tao as it re-
sembles much CD TAO by accepting track sources of unpredicted length
and being able to keep media appendable by option -multi . It does not
work with DVD-R DL and minimally blanked DVD-RW. The only restriction
towards CD-R[W] is the lack of support for -audio tracks. Multiple
tracks per session are permissible.
The write modes for DVD+R[/DL] and BD-R resemble those with DVD-R ex-
cept that each track gets wrapped in an own session. There is no -dummy
writing with DVD+R[/DL] or BD-R.
Quite deliberately write mode -sao insists in the tradition of a pre-
dicted track size and blank media, whereas -tao writes the tracks open
ended and can be applied to appendable media.
BD-R may be formatted before first use to enable the Defect Management
which might catch and repair some bad spots at the expense of slow
speed even with flawless media.
Note: Option -multi might make DVD media unreadable in some DVD-ROM
drives. Best reader compatibility is achieved without it (i.e. by sin-
gle session media).
Overwriteable DVD or BD Media:
Currently types DVD+RW, DVD-RW, DVD-RAM and BD-RE can be overwritten
via cdrskin.
Option -audio is not allowed. Only one track is allowed. Option -multi
cannot mark a recognizable end of overwriteable media. Therefore
-multi is banned unless ISO-9660 images shall be expandable by help of
option --grow_overwriteable_iso . Without this option or without an
ISO-9660 filesystem image present on media, -toc does not return infor-
mation about the media content and media get treated as blank regard-
less whether they hold data or not.
Currently there is no difference between -sao and -tao. If ever, then
-tao will be the mode which preserves the current behavior.
DVD+RW and DVD-RAM media need no special initial formatting. They offer
a single continuous data area for blockwise random access. BD-RE need
explicit formatting before use. See blank=as_needed or blank=format_de-
fectmgt .
DVD-RW are sold in state "Sequential Recording". To become suitable for
the Overwriteable DVD recording model they need to get formatted to
state "Restricted Overwrite". Then they behave much like DVD+RW. This
formatting can be done by option blank=format_overwrite .
Several programs like dvd+rw-format, cdrecord, wodim, or cdrskin can
bring a DVD-RW out of overwriteable state so that it has to be format-
ted again. If in doubt, just give it a try.
Drive preparation and addressing:
The drives, CD, DVD, or BD burners, are accessed via addresses which
are specific to libburn and the operating system. Those addresses get
listed by a run of cdrskin --devices or cdrskin --device_links.
On Linux, they are device files which traditionally do not offer w-per-
missions for normal users. Because libburn needs rw-permission, it
might be only the superuser who is able to get this list without fur-
ther precautions.
It is consensus that chmod a+rw /dev/sr0 or chmod a+rw /dev/hdc is less
security sensitive than chmod u+s,a+x /usr/bin/cdrskin. The risk for
the drive is somewhat higher but the overall system is much less at
stake. Consider to restrict rw-access to a single group which bundles
the users who are allowed to use the burner drive (like group
"floppy").
For drive permission examples on Linux, FreeBSD, and Solaris, see
cdrskin/README.
If you only got one CD capable drive then you may leave out cdrskin op-
tion dev=. Else you should use this option to address the drive you
want.
cdrskin option dev= not only accepts the listed addresses but also tra-
ditional cdrecord SCSI addresses which consist of three numbers:
Bus,Target,Lun. On Linux there is also a related address family "ATA"
which accesses IDE drives not under control of Linux SCSI drivers:
ATA:Bus,Target,Lun.
See option -scanbus for getting a list of cdrecord style addresses.
Further are accepted: links to libburn-suitable device files, device
files which have the same major and minor device number, and device
files which have the same SCSI address parameters (e.g. /dev/sg0).
Emulated drives:
Option --allow_emulated_drives enables addressing of pseudo-drives
which get emulated on top of filesystem objects. Regular data files and
block devices result in pseudo-drives which behave much like DVD-RAM.
If the given address does not exist yet but its directory exists, then
it gets created as regular file. Other file types like character de-
vices or pipes result in pseudo-drives which behave much like blank
DVD-R. The target file address is given after prefix "stdio:".
E.g.: dev=stdio:/tmp/my_pseudo_drive
Addresses of the form "stdio:/dev/fd/<number>" are treated special. The
number is read literally and used as open file descriptor. With
dev="stdio:/dev/fd/1" the normal standard output of the program is
redirected to stderr and the stream data of a burn run will appear on
stdout.
Not good for terminals ! Redirect it.
Pseudo-drives support -dummy. Their reply with --tell_media_space can
be utopic. -dummy burn runs touch the file but do not modify its data
content.
Note: --allow_emulated_drives is restricted to stdio:/dev/null if
cdrskin is run by the superuser or if it has changed user identity via
the setuid bit of its access permissions. The ban for the superuser can
be lifted by a skillfully created file. See section FILES below.
OPTIONS
--help Show non-cdrecord compatible options.
-help Show cdrecord compatible options.
Note that some of the help texts are quite wrong - for cdrecord
as well as for cdrskin (e.g. -format, blank=, -load). They are,
nevertheless, traditional indicators for the availability of the
listed options. Some frontend programs make decisions after
reading them.
-version
Print cdrskin id line, compatibility lure line, libburn version,
cdrskin version, version timestamp, build timestamp (if avail-
able), and then exit.
Alphabetical list of options which are intended to be compatible with
original cdrecord by Joerg Schilling:
-atip Retrieve some info about media state. With CD-RW print "Is
erasable". With DVD media print "book type:" and a media type
text. With BD media print "Mounted Media:" and media type text.
-audio Announces that the subsequent tracks are to be burned as audio.
The source is supposed to be uncompressed headerless PCM, 44100
Hz, 16 bit, stereo. For little-endian byte order (which is usual
on PCs) use option -swab. Unless marked explicitly by option
-data, input files with suffix ".wav" are examined whether they
have a header in MS-WAVE format confirming those parameters and
eventually raw audio data get extracted and burned as audio
track. Same is done for suffix ".au" and SUN Audio.
Option -audio may be used only with CD media and not with DVD or
BD.
blank=type
Blank a CD-RW, DVD-RW, or format a DVD-RW, DVD+RW, DVD-RAM, BD.
This is combinable with burning in the same run of cdrskin. The
type given with blank= selects the particular behavior:
as_needed
Try to make the media ready for writing from scratch. If
it needs formatting, then format it. If it is not blank,
then try to apply blank=fast. It is a reason to abort if
the media cannot assume thoroughly writeable state, e.g.
if it is non-blank write-once.
This leaves unformatted DVD-RW in unformatted blank
state. To format DVD-RW use blank=format_overwriteable.
Blank unformatted BD-R stay unformatted.
(Note: blank=as_needed is not an original cdrecord op-
tion.)
The following blank types are specific to particular media
familes. Use them if special features are desired.
all Blank an entire CD-RW or an unformatted DVD-RW. (See
also --prodvd_cli_compatible, --grow_overwriteable_iso)
fast Minimally blank an entire CD-RW or blank an unformatted
DVD-RW. (See also --prodvd_cli_compatible, --grow_over-
writeable_iso)
deformat_sequential
Like blank=all but with the additional ability to blank
overwriteable DVD-RW. This will destroy their formatting
and make them sequentially recordable. Another peculiar-
ity is the ability to blank media which appear already
blank. This is similar to option -force but does not try
to blank media other than recognizable CD-RW and DVD-RW.
(Note: blank=deformat_* are not original cdrecord op-
tions.)
deformat_sequential_quickest
Like blank=deformat_sequential but blanking DVD-RW only
minimally. This is faster than full blanking but may
yield media incapable of Incremental Streaming (-tao).
format_if_needed
Format a media if it is not formatted yet, and if cdrskin
supports formatting for the media type, and if formatting
will not happen automatically during write. This cur-
rently applies to unformatted DVD-RW, DVD-RAM, BD-RE, and
blank unformatted BD-R. Eventually the appropriate de-
fault formatting is chosen. If other media or states are
encountered then nothing happens.
The following formatting types are more specialized to
particular media families.
format_overwrite
Format a DVD-RW to "Restricted Overwrite". The user
should bring some patience.
(Note: blank=format_* are not original cdrecord options.)
format_overwrite_quickest
Like format_overwrite without creating a 128 MiB trail-
blazer session. Leads to "intermediate" state which only
supports sequential write beginning from address 0. The
"intermediate" state ends after the first session of
writing data.
format_overwrite_full
For DVD-RW this is like format_overwrite but claims full
media size rather than just 128 MiB. Most traditional
formatting is attempted. No data get written. Much pa-
tience is required.
This option treats already formatted media even if not
option -force is given.
For DVD+RW this is the only supported explicit formatting
type. It provides complete "de-icing" so no reader slips
on unwritten data areas.
format_defectmgt
Format DVD-RAM or BD to reserve the default amount of
spare blocks for defect management.
The following format_defectmgt_* enable the user to sub-
mit wishes which nevertheless have to match one of the
available formats. These formats are offered by the drive
after examining the media.
format_defectmgt_cert_off
Disable the usual media quality certification in order to
save time and format to default size. The certification
setting persists even if subsequent blank= options over-
ride the size of the format selection.
Whether formatting without certification works properly
depends much on the drive. One should check the "Format
status:" from --list_formats afterwards.
format_defectmgt_cert_on
Re-enable the usual media quality certification and for-
mat to default size. The certification setting persists
like with format_defectmgt_cert_off.
Whether there happens certification at all depends much
on the media state and the actually selected format de-
scriptor.
format_defectmgt_max
Format DVD-RAM or BD to reserve a maximum number of spare
blocks.
format_defectmgt_min
Format DVD-RAM or BD to reserve a minimum number of spare
blocks. It might be necessary to format format_defect-
mgt_none first in order to get offered the most minmal
spare blocks sizes for format_defectmgt_min.
format_defectmgt_none
Format DVD-RAM or BD-RE to the largest available payload
in the hope to disable defect management at all. This may
or may not have a speed increasing effect. Unformatted
blank BD-R will be left unformatted.
format_defectmgt_payload_<size>
Format DVD-RAM or BD. The text after "format_defect-
mgt_payload_" gives a number of bytes, eventually with
suffixes "s", "k", "m". The largest number of spare
blocks will be chosen which enables at least the given
payload size.
format_by_index_<number>
Format DVD-RW, DVD+RW, DVD-RAM or BD. The number after
"format_by_index_" is used as index to the list of avail-
able format descriptors. This list can be obtained by op-
tion --list_formats. The numbers after text "Format idx"
are the ones to be used with format_by_index_. Format de-
scriptor lists are volatile. Do neither eject nor write
the media between the run of --list_formats and the run
of blank=format_by_index_ or else you may get a different
format than desired.
help Print this list of blanking types.
-checkdrive
Retrieve some info about the addressed drive and then exit. Ex-
its with non-zero value if the drive cannot be found and opened.
-copy Create the subsequent tracks with permission for an unlimited
number of copies.
cuefile=path
Read a session description from a cue sheet file in CDRWIN for-
mat. Base the tracks on a single file which is given in the
sheet by command FILE. To enable CD-TEXT from the cue sheet
file, cdrskin option -text has to be present.
cdrskin currently supports TRACK datatypes AUDIO and MODE1/2048
which may not be mixed. Data source may be of FILE type BINARY,
MOTOROLA, or WAVE.
Non-CDRWIN commands ARRANGER, COMPOSER, MESSAGE are supported.
Cue sheet file commands CATALOG and ISRC may be overridden by
option mcn= and by input_sheet_v07t= purpose specifiers "UPC /
EAN" and "ISRC". This does not affect their appearance in CD-
TEXT, but only on Q sub-channel.
The track numbers may be overridden by option cd_start_tno=.
-dao Alias for option -sao. Write CD in Session at Once mode or DVD-
R[W] in Disc-at-once mode.
-data Subsequent tracks are data tracks. This option is default and
only needed to mark the end of the range of an eventual option
-audio or -xa1.
Options -mode2, -xa, and -xa2 get mapped to -data, not using the
desired CD sector formats and thus not taking advantage of even-
tual higher payload.
-xa1 Subsequent tracks are data tracks with input suitable for CD-ROM
XA mode 2 form 1. This differs from -data input by 8 additional
header bytes per block. cdrskin will not write CD-ROM XA but
rather strip the header bytes and write as -data tracks.
dev=target
Set the address of the drive to use. Valid are at least the ad-
dresses listed with options --devices or --device_links, X,Y,Z
addresses listed with option -scanbus, ATA:X,Y,Z addresses
listed with options dev=ATA -scanbus, and volatile libburn drive
numbers (numbering starts at "0"). Other device file addresses
which lead to the same drive might work too.
If no dev= is given, volatile address "dev=0" is assumed. That
is the first drive found being available. Better avoid this am-
biguity on systems with more than one drive.
The special target "help" lists hints about available addressing
formats. Be aware that deprecated option --old_pseudo_scsi_adr
may change the meaning of Bus,Target,Lun addresses.
driveropts=opt
Set "driveropts=noburnfree" to disable the drive's eventual pro-
tection mechanism against temporary lack of source data (i.e.
buffer underrun). A drive that announces no such capabilities
will not get them enabled anyway, even if attempted explicitly
via "driveropts=burnfree".
-dummy Try to perform the drive operations without actually affecting
the inserted media. There is no warranty that this will work
with a particular combination of drive, media, and write mode.
Blanking is prevented reliably, though. To avoid inadverted
real burning, -dummy refuses burn runs on anything but CD-R[W],
DVD-R[W], or emulated stdio-drives.
-eject Eject the disc after work is done.
-force Assume that the user knows better in situations when cdrskin or
libburn are insecure about drive or media state. This includes
the attempt to blank media which are classified as unknown or
unsuitable, and the attempt to use write modes which libburn be-
lieves they are not supported by the drive.
Another application is to enforce blanking or re-formatting of
media which appear to be in the desired blank or format state
already.
This option enables a burn run with option -dummy even if lib-
burn believes that drive and media will not simulate the write
mode but will write for real.
It enables a burn run where cdrskin expects to exceed the avail-
able media capacity.
Caution: Use this only when in urgent need.
-format
Same as blank=format_overwrite_full -force but restricted to
DVD+RW.
fs=size
Set the fifo size to the given value. The value may have ap-
pended letters which multiply the preceding number:
"k" or "K" = 1024 , "m" or "M" = 1024k , "g" or "G" = 1024m ,
"s" or "S" = 2048
Set size to 0 in order to disable the fifo (default is "4m").
The fifo buffers an eventual temporary surplus of track source
data in order to provide the drive with a steady stream during
times of temporary lack of track source supply. The larger the
fifo, the longer periods of poor source supply can be compen-
sated. But a large fifo needs substantial time to fill up if
not curbed via option fifo_start_at=size.
gracetime=seconds
Set the grace time before starting to write. (Default is 0)
-immed Equivalent to:
modesty_on_drive=1:min_percent=75:max_percent=95
The name of this cdrecord option stems from the "Immed" bit
which can make some long running drive commands asynchronous and
thus eases the load on some wiring hardware types. Regardless of
option -immed, cdrskin uses asynchronous commands where possible
and appropriate. To really disable asynchronous command execu-
tion, use option use_immed_bit=off .
index=list
Set a comma separated list of index start address numbers for
the next track. This applies to CD SAO sessions only.
The addresses count sectors from the start of the next track.
The first number is for index 1 and must be 0. The following
numbers have to be larger than their respective predecessors. Up
to 99 numbers are allowed.
Sector numbers are computed from Min:Sec:Frame addresses by
Sector = ((Min*60)+Sec)*75+Frame
E.g.: "0,7512,20408" sets index 2 to 01:40:12 and index 3 to
04:32:08.
-inq Print the identification of the drive and then exit.
-isosize
The next track following this option will try to obtain its
source size from the header information out of the first few
blocks of the source data. If these blocks indicate an ISO-9660
filesystem then its declared size will be used under the assump-
tion that it is a single session filesystem.
If not, then the burn run will be aborted.
The range of -isosize is exactly one track. Further tracks may
be preceded by further -isosize options, though. At least 15
blocks of padding will be added to each -isosize track. But be
advised to rather use padsize=300k.
This option can be performed on track sources which are regular
files or block devices. For the first track of the session it
can be performed on any type of source if there is a fifo of at
least 64 kiB. See option fs= .
isrc=text
Set the ISRC for the next track source to the given text, which
must be exactly 13 characters long. It must comply to the format
CCOOOYYSSSSS.
CC is the country code. OOO is the owner code. Both may consist
of capital letters A to Z and of decimal digits 0 to 9. YY de-
picts the year (00 to 99). SSSSS is the serial number (00000 to
99999).
This option does not affect CD-TEXT but only the Q sub-channel.
-load Load the media and exit. Exit value is 0 if any kind of media
was found, non zero else. Note: Option -eject will unload the
media even if -load is given.
-lock Like option -load but leave the drive's eject button disabled if
there is any media found and not option -eject is given.
Use program "eject" or cdrskin -eject to get the tray out of the
drive. Runs of programs like cdrecord, growisofs, wodim,
cdrskin will not be hampered and normally enable the drive's
eject button when they are done.
mcn=text
Set the CD Media Catalog Number to text, which must be exactly
13 characters long and should consist of decimal digits.
This option does not affect CD-TEXT but only the Q sub-channel.
minbuf=percentage
Equivalent to:
modesty_on_drive=1:min_percent=<percentage>:max_percent=95
Percentage is permissible between 25 and 95.
-minfo Print information about the loaded media. This includes media
type, writability state, and a quite readable table of content.
msifile=path
Run option -msinfo and copy the result line into the file given
by path. Unlike -msinfo this option does not redirect all nor-
mal output away from standard output. But it may be combined
with -msinfo to achieve this.
Note: msifile=path is actually an option of wodim and not of
cdrecord.
-msinfo
Retrieve multi-session info for preparing a follow-up session by
option -C of programs mkisofs, genisoimage, or xorriso -as mk-
isofs. Print result to standard output. This option redirects
to stderr all message output except the one of option --tell_me-
dia_space and its own result string, which consists of two num-
bers. The result string shall be used as argument of option -C
with said programs. It gives the start address of the most re-
cent session and the predicted start address of the next session
to be appended. The string is empty if the most recent session
was not written with option -multi.
To have a chance for working on overwriteable media, this option
has to be accompanied by option --grow_overwriteable_iso.
-multi This option keeps CD, unformatted DVD-R[W], DVD+R, or BD-R ap-
pendable after the current session has been written. Without it
the disc gets closed and may not be written any more - unless
it is a -RW and gets blanked which causes loss of its content.
The following sessions can only be written in -tao mode. -multi
is prohibited with DVD-R[W] DAO write mode and on DVD-R DL me-
dia. Option --prodvd_cli_compatible eventually makes -multi
tolerable but cannot make it work.
In order to have all filesystem content accessible, the eventual
ISO-9660 filesystem of a follow-up session needs to be prepared
in a special way by the filesystem formatter program. mkisofs
and genisoimage expect particular info about the situation which
can be retrieved by cdrskin option -msinfo.
To retrieve an archive file which was written as follow-up ses-
sion, you may use option -toc to learn about the "lba" of the
desired track number. This lba is the address of the 2048 byte
block where the archive begins.
With overwriteable DVD or BD media, -multi cannot mark the end
of the session. So when adding a new session this end has to be
determined from the payload. Currently only ISO-9660 filesys-
tems can be used that way. See option --grow_overwriteable_iso
for lifting the ban on -multi.
Note: -multi might make DVD media unreadable in some DVD-ROM
drives.
-nocopy
Create subsequent tracks with permission for a single level of
copies. I.e. those copies would then be marked by -scms as of-
fering no permission for further copies.
-nopad Do not add trailing zeros to the data stream. Nevertheless,
since there seems to be no use for audio tracks with incomplete
last sector, this option applies only to data tracks. There it
is default.
-nopreemp
Indicate for subsequent tracks that they were mastered without
pre-emphasis.
-pad Add 30 kiB of trailing zeros to each data track. (This is not
sufficient to avoid problems with various CD-ROM read drivers.)
padsize=size
Add the given amount of trailing zeros to the next data track.
This option gets reset to padsize=0 after that next track is
written. It may be set again before the next track argument.
About size specifiers, see option fs=.
-preemp
Indicate for subsequent tracks that they were mastered with pre-
emphasis.
-sao Write CD in Session At Once mode or sequential DVD-R[W] in Disc-
at-once (DAO) mode.
With CD this mode is able to put several audio tracks on media
without producing audible gaps between them.
With DVD-R[W] this mode can only write a single track. No
-multi is allowed with DVD-R[W] -sao.
-sao is permissible with overwriteable DVD, or DVD+R[/DL], or BD
but actually only imposes restrictions without providing known
advantages.
-sao can only be used for tracks of fixely predicted size. This
implies that track arguments which depict stdin or named pipes
need to be preceded by option tsize= or by option
tao_to_sao_tsize=.
-sao cannot be used on appendable media.
-scanbus
Scan the system for drives. On Linux the drives at /dev/s* and
at /dev/hd* are to be scanned by two separate runs. One without
dev= for /dev/s* and one with dev=ATA for /dev/hd* devices. (Op-
tion --drives lists all available drives in a single run.)
Drives which are busy or which offer no rw-permission to the
user of cdrskin are not listed. Busy drives get reported in form
of warning messages.
The useful fields in a result line are:
Bus,Target,Lun Number) 'Vendor' 'Mode' 'Revision'
-scms Create subsequent tracks without permission for being copied.
This is usually done for tracks which are copies of tracks that
were marked with -nocopy (but not yet with -scms). So copies of
copies are prohibited.
This option gets reset by option -copy. Thus the combination
-copy -nocopy means -nocopy surely without -scms.
speed=number
Set speed of drive. With data CD, 1x speed corresponds to a
throughput of 153,600 bytes/second. With DVD, 1x = 1,385,000
bytes/second. With BD 1x = 4,495,625 bytes/second. It is not
an error to set a speed higher than is suitable for drive and
media. One should stay within a realistic speed range, though.
Special speed settings are:
0 = minimal speed , -1 = maximal speed (default), text "any" =
like -1.
-swab Announce that the raw audio data source of subsequent tracks is
byte swapped versus the expectations of cdrecord. This option is
suitable for audio where the least significant byte of a 16 bit
word is first (little-endian, Intel). Most raw audio data on PC
systems are available in this byte order. Less guesswork is
needed if track sources are in format MS-WAVE in a file with
suffix ".wav".
-tao Write CD in Track At Once (TAO) mode, sequential DVD-R[W] in In-
cremental Streaming mode, or DVD+R[/DL] without traditional -sao
restrictions. This mode also applies pro-forma to overwriteable
media
Mode -tao can be used with track sources of unpredictable size,
like standard input or named pipes. It is also the only mode
that can be used for writing to appendable media which already
hold data. With unformatted DVD-R[W] it is the only mode which
can keep media appendable by option -multi.
Mode -tao is not usable for minimally blanked DVD-RW and for
DVD-R DL.
-text Enable writing of CD-TEXT attributes read by option cuefile=.
Without option -text, cue sheet file command CDTEXTFILE will be
ignored and no CD-TEXT attributes will be read from the file.
Nevertheless, CATALOG and ISRC will have the same effect as op-
tions mcn= and isrc=.
textfile=path
Read CD-TEXT packs from the file depicted by path and put them
into the Lead-in of the emerging session. This session has to be
done by Session At Once (SAO) mode and may only contain audio
tracks.
path must lead to a regular file, which consists of an optional
header of four bytes and one or more text packs of 18 bytes
each. Suitable would be the file 'cdtext.dat' which gets ex-
tracted from CD media by options -vv -toc and shown in human
readable form by -vvv -toc.
The header, if present, must tell the file size minus 2, encoded
as big-endian 16 bit word. The other two bytes must be 0.
If there is no 4-byte header, then a trailing 0-byte, as of Sony
specification, is tolerated and ignored.
A text pack consists of a pack type byte, a track number byte, a
counter byte, a Block Number and Character Indicator byte, 12
text characters or data bytes, two optional CRC bytes. For de-
tails see libburn documentation file doc/cdtext.txt.
By default, the input file is checked for correct CRC bytes. If
all CRC bytes are 0, then the correct values get silently in-
serted. If there are non-zero CRC bytes, then a mismatch causes
the abort of the burn run. This check can be disabled by option
-force.
Note that this option overrides option input_sheet_v07t= .
-toc Print the table of content (TOC) which describes the tracks
recorded on disc. The output contains all info from option
-atip plus lines which begin with "track:", the track number,
the word "lba:" and a number which gives the start address of
the track. Addresses are counted in CD sectors which with SAO or
TAO data tracks hold 2048 bytes each.
If verbosity is set to level 2 (-v -v) then the CD-TEXT packs
from the lead-in of an audio CD get extracted and written into
file 'cdtext.dat', if that file does not yet exist. Prepended is
a 4 byte header, followed by one or more packs of 18 bytes each.
Verbosity level 3 causes the CD-TEXT packs to be printed as hex
numbers to standard output. Bytes 4 to 15 of certain pack types
are printed as ASCII characters if they have values in the range
of 32 to 126.
See option textfile= for more information about the text pack
format.
Example. Retrieve an afio archive from track number 2:
tracknumber=2
lba=$(cdrskin dev=/dev/cdrom -toc 2>&1 | \
grep '^track:[ ]*[ 0-9][0-9]' | \
tail +"$tracknumber" | head -1 | \
awk '{ print $4}' )
dd if=/dev/cdrom bs=2048 skip="$lba" | \
afio -t - | less
tsize=size
Announces the exact size of the next track source. This is nec-
essary with any write mode other than -tao if the track source
is not a regular disk file, but e.g. "-" (standard input) or a
named pipe. About size specifiers, see option fs=.
If the track source does not deliver the predicted amount of
bytes, the remainder of the track is padded with zeros. This is
not considered an error. If on the other hand the track source
delivers more than the announced bytes then the track on media
gets truncated to the predicted size and cdrskin exits with non-
zero value.
-v Increment verbosity level by one. Startlevel is 0 with only few
messages. Level 1 prints progress report with long running op-
erations and also causes some extra lines to be put out with
info retrieval options. Level 2 additionally reports about op-
tion settings derived from arguments or startup files. Level 3
is for debugging and useful mainly in conjunction with somebody
who had a look into the program sourcecode.
-V Enable logging of SCSI commands to stderr. This is helpful for
expert examination of the interaction between libburn and the
drive. The commands are specified in SCSI-3 standards SPC, SBC,
MMC.
-waiti Wait until input data is available at stdin or EOF occurs at
stdin. Only then begin to access any drives.
One should use this if cdrskin is working at the end of a pipe
where the feeder process reads from the drive before it starts
writing its output into cdrskin. Example:
mkisofs ... -C 0,12800 -M /dev/sr0 | \
cdrskin dev=/dev/sr0 ... -waiti -
This option works even if stdin is not among the track sources.
If no process is piping in, then the Enter key of your terminal
will act as trigger for cdrskin. Note that this input line will
not be consumed by cdrskin if stdin is not among the track
sources. It will end up as shell command, usually.
Alphabetical list of options which are genuine to cdrskin and intended
for normal use:
--adjust_speed_to_drive
Curb explicitly given speed= values to the maximum which is an-
nounced by the drive for the loaded media. By default, such an
adjustment is only made with pseudo-speeds 0 and -1 whereas
speed settings > 0 are sent unchanged to the drive which will
then choose an appropriate speed on its own.
--allow_emulated_drives
Enable drive addresses of the form dev=stdio:<path>. See above,
paragraph "Drive preparation and addressing".
--allow_setuid
Disable the loud warning about insecure discrepance between lo-
gin user and effective user which indicates application of chmod
u+s to the program binary. One should not do this chmod u+s ,
but it is an old cdrecord tradition.
--any_track
Allow source_addresses to begin with "-" (plus further charac-
ters) or to contain a "=" character. By default such arguments
are seen as misspelled options. It is nevertheless not possible
to use one of the options listed with --list_ignored_options.
assert_write_lba=block_number|byte_address
Abort if the write address given with this option is not the
same as predicted immediately before the write session starts.
This option can ensure that a start address which was presumed
by a formatter like mkisofs -C is really used by the drive for
writing. assert_write_lba=0 effectively demands blank media and
excludes appendables.
Block numbering is peculiar: If the last character of the option
string is a letter [a-zA-Z] then the usual unit scaling by "s",
"k", "m", etc. applies and the result is divided by 2048. Else
the number value of the string is taken as plain block number
with block size 2048 byte. (E.g ...=1000 or ...=1000s means
block 1000, ...=1m means block 512, ...=4096b means block number
2)
cd_start_tno=number
Set the number which shall be written as CD track number with
the first track of the session. The following tracks will then
get written with consecutive CD track numbers. The resulting
number of the last track must not exceed 99. The lowest possible
start number is 1, which is also the default.
This setting applies only to CD SAO writing. It overrides the
track number settings caused by options cuefile= or in-
put_sheet_v07t=.
cdtext_to_textfile=path
Extract the CD-TEXT packs from the lead-in of an audio CD and
write them to the file with the given path. If CD-TEXT can be
retrieved, then this file will be suitable for option textfile=.
Not all drives can read CD-TEXT and not all audio CDs bear CD-
TEXT. It is not considered an error if no CD-TEXT is available.
cdtext_to_v07t=path
Extract the CD-TEXT packs from the lead-in of an audio CD and
write them as human readable Sony Input Sheet Version 0.7T to
the file with the given path. If CD-TEXT can be retrieved, then
this file will be suitable for option input_sheet_v07t=.
If the given path is "-", then the result is printed to standard
output.
Not all drives can read CD-TEXT and not all audio CDs bear CD-
TEXT. It is not considered an error if no CD-TEXT is available.
--demand_a_drive
Exit with a nonzero value if no drive can be found during a bus
scan.
--devices
List the device file addresses of all accessible CD drives. In
order to get listed, a drive has to offer rw-permission for the
cdrskin user and it may not be busy. The superuser should be
able to see all idle drives listed and busy drives reported as
"SORRY" messages.
Each available drive gets listed by a line containing the fol-
lowing fields:
Number dev='Devicefile' rw-Permissions : 'Vendor' 'Model'
Number and Devicefile can both be used with option dev=, but
number is volatile (numbering changes if drives become busy).
--device_links
Like --devices, but presenting the drives with addresses of sym-
bolic links which point to the actual device files.
Modern GNU/Linux systems may shuffle drive addresses from boot
to boot. The udev daemon is supposed to create links which al-
ways point to the same drive, regardless of its system address.
Option --device_links shows the addresses of such links if they
begin by "/dev/dvd" or "/dev/cd". Precedence is: "dvdrw",
"cdrw", "dvd", "cdrom", "cd".
direct_write_amount=size
Do not write a session with tracks but rather make an appropri-
ate number of direct write operations with no preparations.
Flushing the drive buffer will be the only finalization. It is
advised to eject the media afterwards because the write opera-
tions circumvent the usual system i/o with its caches and buf-
fers. By ejecting, those invalid memory copies get surely dis-
carded.
Only few media can be written this way: DVD-RAM, BD-RE, RVD+RW
and overwriteable DVD-RW. Writing is restricted to the already
formatted area of the media.
Writing starts at byte 0 of the media or at the address given by
option write_start_address= . Only the first track source is
used as input for the write operations. The fifo (fs=) is dis-
abled.
Parameter size controls the amount of data to be written. Size 0
means that the track source shall be used up until EOF. In this
case, the last write transaction gets padded up to the necessary
size by zeros. Size -1 revokes direct writing and switches back
to normal session oriented writing.
Both, write_start_address and direct_write_amount size must be
aligned to a media dependent transaction size. With DVD-RAM, BD-
RE, DVD+RW this is 2k, with overwriteable DVD-RW it is 32k.
dvd_obs=default|32k|64k
Set the number of bytes to be transmitted with each write opera-
tion to DVD or BD media. With most write types, tracks get
padded up to the next multiple of this write size (see option
--obs_pad). A number of 64 KB may improve throughput with sys-
tems which show latency problems. The default depends on media
type, option stream_recording=, and on compile time options.
extract_audio_to=directory_path
Extract tracks from an audio CD as separate WAVE audio files
into the given directory. This directory has to already exist,
but none of the track files may exist. This option will rather
fail than overwrite an existing file.
By default all tracks of the CD are extracted to files with
names trackNN.wav, where NN is the track number from 01 to at
most 99.
extract_basename=name
Set a filename which shall be used by extract_audio_to= instead
of the default name "track".
--extract_dap
Enable Digital Audio Play flaw obscuring mechanisms like audio
data mute and interpolate.
extract_tracks=number[,number[,...]]
Set a list of track numbers to define which tracks shall be ex-
tracted by extract_audio_to=. If no extract_tracks= is given,
then all audio tracks get extracted. It is permissible to have
more than one extract_tracks= option in order to split a long
list into shorter pieces.
The lowest permissible track number is 1, the highest is 99.
fallback_program=command
Set a command name to be executed if cdrskin encounters a known
cdrecord option which it does not yet support. If a non-empty
command is given with fallback_program=, and if no essential op-
tions are given which are specific to cdrskin, then cdrskin will
delegate the job to said command.
The natural commands to be given are cdrecord or wodim but one
may well submit the address of an own program.
The fallback program will get all arguments of cdrskin which do
not match the shell patterns --?* or *_*=* . This eventually
suppresses path names of track sources which happen to match
those patterns. The options from the startup files are not
handed to the fallback program.
Fallback program execution is disabled if cdrskin is run setuid
and not option --allow_setuid is given. In general, the drive's
device files and the involved programs should be set up so that
each program runs under its advised conditions. (E.g. cdrskin as
member of group floppy, cdrecord setuid root.)
Two alias names for cdrskin are predefined with default fallback
programs:
unicord implies fallback_program=cdrecord
codim implies fallback_program=wodim
--four_channel
Indicate for subsequent tracks that they were mastered with four
channels.
fifo_start_at=size
Do not wait for full fifo but start burning as soon as the given
number of bytes is read. This option may be helpful to bring the
average throughput near to the maximum throughput of a drive. A
large fs= and a small fifo_start_at= combine a quick burn start
and a large savings buffer to compensate for temporary lack of
source data. At the beginning of burning, the software protec-
tion against buffer underrun is as weak as the size of
fifo_start_at= . So it is best if the drive offers hardware pro-
tection which is enabled automatically if not driveropts=noburn-
free is given.
--grow_overwriteable_iso
Enable emulation of multi-session writing on overwriteable media
which contain an ISO-9660 filesystem. This emulation is learned
from growisofs -M but adapted to the usage model of
cdrskin -msinfo
mkisofs -C -M | cdrskin -waiti [-multi] -
--grow_overwriteable_iso does not hamper the use of true multi-
session media. I.e. it is possible to use the same cdrskin op-
tions with both kinds of media and to achieve similar results if
ISO-9660 filesystem images are to be written. This option im-
plies option -isosize and therefore demands that the track
source is a ISO-9660 filesystem image.
With overwriteable media and no option blank=fast|all present it
expands an eventual ISO-9660 filesystem on media. It is assumed
that this image's inner size description points to the end of
the valuable data. Overwriteable media with a recognizable
ISO-9660 size will be regarded as appendable rather than as
blank. I.e. options -msinfo and -toc will work. -toc will al-
ways show a single session with its size increasing with every
added mkisofs image.
If not overridden by option write_start_address=, the track with
the new image will be placed behind the end of the old one. One
may use option assert_write_lba= to make sure that media state
and mkisofs job do match.
--grow_overwriteable_iso causes option blank=fast|all to invali-
date an eventual ISO-9660 image by altering the first few bytes
of block 16 on overwriteable media. Option -multi is tolerated
in order not to hamper true multi-session media.
An equivalent of growisofs -Z for overwriteable media is:
mkisofs | cdrskin --grow_overwriteable_iso blank=fast [-multi] -
With multi-session DVD, blank=fast will act like dvd+rw-format
-blank=full .
growisofs -dvd-compat is roughly equivalent to cdrskin without
option -multi.
input_sheet_v07t=path
Read CD-TEXT definitions from a Sony Input Sheet version 0.7T.
Up to eight or seven such sheets can be read by multiple in-
put_sheet_v07t= options. Each will define one CD-TEXT language
block.
The first line of a sheet file decides whether more than one
sheet may be defined by the file. If it is
Input Sheet Version = 0.7T
then each further line with that text switches to the next sheet
for the next block. If it is not, then all definitions apply to
a single block.
The information in such a sheet is given by text lines of the
following form:
purpose specifier [whitespace] = [whitespace] content text
[whitespace] is zero or more ASCII 32 (space) or ASCII 9 (tab)
characters. The purpose specifier tells the meaning of the con-
tent text. Empty content text does not cause a CD-TEXT attri-
bute to be attached.
The following purpose specifiers apply to the session as a
whole:
Purpose specifier | Content example
-------------------------------------------------------------
Text Code = 8859
Language Code = English
Album Title = Joyful Nights
Artist Name = United Cat Orchestra
Songwriter = Various Songwriters
Composer = Various Composers
Arranger = Tom Cat
Album Message = For all our fans
Catalog Number = 1234567890
Genre Code = Classical
Genre Information = Feline classic music
Closed Information = This is not to be shown by CD players
UPC / EAN = 1234567890123
Text Data Copy Protection = OFF
First Track Number = 1
Last Track Number = 3
The following purpose specifiers apply to particular tracks:
Purpose specifier | Content example
-------------------------------------------------------------
Track 01 Title = Song of Joy
Track 01 Artist = Felix and The Purrs
Track 01 Songwriter = Friedrich Schiller
Track 01 Composer = Ludwig van Beethoven
Track 01 Arranger = Tom Cat
Track 01 Message = Fritz and Louie once were punks
ISRC 01 = XYCRR1101234
Track numbers are decimal despite the leading 0. There should be
as many track definitions as there are track source files given.
See libburn's doc/cdtext.txt for a detailed definition of 0.7T
and the possible values for Text Code, Language Code, Genre
Code, Text Data Copy Protection.
The Q sub-channel settings by "UPC / EAN" and "ISRC" may be
overridden by options mcn= and isrc=. This will not affect
their appearance as CD-TEXT. They may override cuefile= com-
mands CATALOG and ISRC in the same way.
If options -text cuefile= are given and if the cue sheet file
defines CD-TEXT, then only seven input_sheet_v07t= options may
be given. They will then be used as CD-TEXT language blocks 1 to
7.
This option will get into effect only if no option textfile= is
given. The write mode must be SAO on CD. All tracks must be
-audio tracks.
The track numbers may be overridden by option cd_start_tno=.
--list_formats
List the available format descriptors as reported by the drive
for the loaded media. Each descriptor line begins with "Format
idx" and the descriptor's list index, followed by a ":", the
format type, the number of payload blocks and that same number
converted to MiB.
The meaning of the format types is defined by the MMC standard
with command FORMAT UNIT. A user will more be interested in the
sizes than in the types.
--list_ignored_options
List all ignored cdrecord options. The "-" options cannot be
used as addresses of track sources. No track source address may
begin with a text equal to an option which ends by "=". The list
is ended by an empty line.
--list_speeds
Put out a list of speed values as reported by the output drive
with the loaded medium. This does not necessarily mean that the
medium is writable or that these speeds are actually achievable.
Especially the lists reported with empty drive or with ROM media
obviously advertise speeds for other media.
It is not mandatory to use speed values out of the listed range.
The drive is supposed to choose a safe speed that is as near to
the desired speed as possible.
At the end of the list, "Write speed L" and "Write speed H" are
the best guesses for lower and upper speed limit. "Write speed
l" and "Write speed h" may appear only with CD and eventually
override the list of other speed offers.
Only if the drive reports contradicting speed information there
will appear "Write speed 0" or "Write speed-1", which tell the
outcome of speed selection by options speed=0 or speed=-1, if it
deviates from "Write speed L" or "Write speed H", respectively.
--long_toc
Like option -toc but marking each session start by a line
"first: X last: Y" and each session end by "track:lout ...".
--no_load
When aquiring the optical drive, do not try to load its tray.
This yields the same behavior for desktop drives with tray
loader as is shown by laptop drives which usually lack a motor-
ized tray loader.
--no_rc
Only if used as first command line argument this option prevents
reading and interpretation of eventual startup files. See sec-
tion FILES below.
--pacifier_with_newline
Adds a newline character to each pacifier line that would else-
wise be overwritten by the next pacifier line. Such lines are
emitted during a run of writing, formatting, or blanking if op-
tion -v is given.
--prodvd_cli_compatible
Activates behavior modifications with some DVD situations which
bring cdrskin nearer to the behavior of cdrecord-ProDVD:
Option -multi with unsuitable media is not an error but simply
has no effect.
Options blank=fast and blank=all deformat overwriteable DVD-RW
media.
Option blank=fast does indeed minmal blanking with DVD-RW. This
may yield media which can only do DAO but not Incremental
Streaming.
--single_track
Accept only the last argument of the command line as track
source address.
stdio_sync=on|off|number
Set the number of bytes after which to force output to drives
with prefix "stdio:". This forcing keeps the memory from being
clogged with lots of pending data for slow devices. Default "on"
is the same as "16m". Forced output can be disabled by "off".
stream_recording=on|off|number
By setting "on" request that compliance to the desired speed
setting is preferred over management of write errors. With DVD-
RAM and BD this can bring effective write speed near to the nom-
inal write speed of the media. But it will also disable the au-
tomatic use of replacement blocks if write errors occur. It
might as well be disliked or ignored by the drive.
If a number is given, then error management stays enabled for
all byte addresses below that number. Any number below 16s is
the same as "off".
tao_to_sao_tsize=size
Set an exact fixed size for the next track to be in effect only
if the track source cannot deliver a size prediction and no
tsize= was specified and an exact track size prediction is de-
manded by the write mode.
This was the fallback from bad old times when cdrskin was unable
to burn in mode -tao . It came back with minimally blanked DVD-
RW, which cannot do Incremental Streaming (-tao), and with ex-
plicitly selected write mode -sao for best DVD-ROM compatibil-
ity.
If the track source delivers less bytes than announced then the
missing ones will be filled with zeros.
--tell_media_space
Prepare a recording session, do not perform it but rather in-
quire the maximum number of 2048 byte data blocks which may be
written in the current state of media with the prepared setup.
So this option disables recording of data. It does not disable
blanking, though, and will measure space afterwards.
It is not mandatory to give track sources but their nature may
influence the available capacity. So for most realistic results
one may set up the full burn session and add --tell_media_space.
But if one has to expect a cdrskin version prior to 0.3.3 no
track source should be given in order not to start an involun-
tary burn session. In this case set at least -sao or -tao ex-
plicitly.
The result gets printed to standard output. It is 0 or empty if
no writing is possible with the given options. This option
redirects to stderr all message output except its own result
string and eventual output of -msinfo.
textfile_to_v07t=path
Read a CD-TEXT pack file (e.g. cdtext.dat from a run with -v -v
-toc) and print its content in the human readable format that is
described with option input_sheet_v07t=.
The program run ends immediately thereafter. No drive scan will
happen and no drive will be acquired.
To avoid the cdrskin start message in the output, run:
cdrskin textfile_to_v07t=cdtext.dat | grep -v '^cdrskin'
--two_channel
Indicate for subsequent tracks that they were mastered with two
channels.
write_start_address=byte_offset
Set the address on media where to start writing the track. With
DVD+RW, DVD-RAM or BD-RE byte_offset must be aligned to 2 kiB
blocks, but better is 32 kiB. With DVD-RW 32 kiB alignment is
mandatory.
Other media are not suitable for this option yet.
modesty_on_drive=<mode>[:parameter=<value>[:parameter=<value>...]]
Mode 1 keeps the program from trying to write to the burner
drive while its buffer is in danger to be filled by more than
parameter "max_percent". If this filling is exceeded then the
program will wait until the filling is at most the value of pa-
rameter "min_percent".
Percentages are permissible in the range of 25 to 100.
This can ease the load on operating system and drive controller
and thus help with achieving better input bandwidth if disk and
burner are not on independent controllers (like hda and hdb).
Unsufficient input bandwidth is indicated by output "(fifo
xy%)" of option -v if xy is lower than 90 for some time. mod-
esty_on_drive= might hamper output bandwidth and cause buffer
underruns.
A new use case is to work around the poor simultaneous perfor-
mance of multiple burn runs on Linux kernel 3.16 and alike. Here
it is not about giving the hard disk enough time to fill the
fifo, but about keeping ioctl(SG_IO) from blocking for a longer
time and thus blocking all other burn runs.
To have max_percent larger than the burner's best actual buffer
fill has the same effect as min_percent==max_percent. Some burn-
ers do not use their full buffer with all media types. Watch
output "[buf xy%]" of option -v to get an impression of the ac-
tual buffer usage. Some burners are not suitable because they
report buffer fill with granularity too large in size or time,
or because they go to full speed only when their buffer is full.
If a write attempt is delayed, the program will wait for a num-
ber of microseconds which is given by parameter "min_usec" be-
fore inquiring the buffer again. If more retries occur, this
waiting time between inquiries increases up to the value of pa-
rameter "max_usec".
If the delay lasts longer than the number of seconds given by
parameter "timeout_sec", then mode 1 is set 0 and normal burning
goes on.
Mode 0 disables this feature. Mode -1 keeps it unchanged. De-
fault is:
0:min_percent=65:max_percent=95:timeout_sec=120:
min_usec=10000:max_usec=100000
The defaults of cdrskin are good for IDE problems. With concur-
rent Linux SG_IO problems on modern hardware, higher min_percent
and lower usec might yield better buffer fills while still
avoiding the problem:
min_percent=90:max_percent=95:min_usec=5000:max_usec=25000
Alphabetical list of options which are only intended for very special
situations and not for normal use:
--abort_handler
Establish default signal handling not to leave a drive in busy
state but rather to shut it down and to wait until it has ended
the final operations. This option is only needed for revoking
eventual --ignore_signals or --no_abort_handler.
--allow_untested_media
Enable the use of media profiles which have been implemented but
not yet tested. Currently this option is without effect because
no media types are under test reservation.
(If you really test experimental media, then please report the
outcome on libburn-hackers@pykix.org)
--cdtext_dummy
Prepare a burn run, report the effective array of CD-TEXT packs
to stdout, and then end the program run without starting to burn
the session. A blank CD-R or CD-RW has to be present in the
drive, nevertheless.
The output is formatted in lines which describe 18 bytes as
2-digit hex numbers or as single printable characters. See lib-
burn document doc/cdtext.txt about the format of these records.
--cdtext_verbose
Like --cdtext_dummy but without preventing the burn run. Combin-
able with option -dummy to exercise a CD burn run with no per-
sistent impact on the medium.
dev_translation=<sep><from><sep><to>
Set drive address alias. This was necessary before cdrskin-0.2.4
to manually translate cdrecord addresses into cdrskin addresses.
<sep> is a single character which may not occur in the address
string <from>. <from> is an address as expected to be given by
the user via option dev=. <to> is the address to be used instead
whenever <from> is given. More than one translation instruction
can be given in one cdrskin run.
E.g.: dev_translation=+ATA:1,0,0+/dev/sr1 dev_transla-
tion=+ATA:1,1,0+/dev/sr2
--drive_abort_on_busy
Linux specific: Abort process if a busy drive is encountered.
--drive_blocking
Linux specific: Try to wait for a busy drive to become free.
This is not guaranteed to work with all drivers. Some need non-
blocking i/o.
--drive_f_setlk
Linux specific: Try to get exclusive lock on drive device file
via fcntl(2).
--drive_not_exclusive
Linux specific: Combine --drive_not_f_setlk and
--drive_not_o_excl.
--drive_not_f_setlk
Linux specific: Do not try to get exclusive lock on drive device
file via fcntl(2).
--drive_not_o_excl
Linux specific: Do not ask the operating system to prevent open-
ing busy drives. Whether this leads to senseful behavior de-
pends on operating system and kernel.
drive_scsi_dev_family=sr|scd|sg
Linux specific: Select a SCSI device file family to be scanned
for by options --devices, --device_links and -scanbus. Normally
this is /dev/sgN on kernel versions < 2.6 and /dev/srN on ker-
nels >= 2.6 . This option explicitly overrides that default in
order to meet other programs at a common device file for each
drive. On kernel 2.4 families sr and scd will find no drives.
Device file family /dev/hdX on kernel >= 2.6 is not affected by
this setting.
--drive_scsi_exclusive
Linux specific: Try to exclusively reserve device files
/dev/srN, /dev/scdM, /dev/sgK of drives. This would be helpful
to protect against collisions with program growisofs. Regret-
tably on Linux kernel 2.4 with ide-scsi emulation this seems not
to work. Whether it becomes helpful with new Linux systems has
to be evaluated.
--fifo_disable
Disable fifo despite any fs=.
--fifo_per_track
Use a separate fifo for each track.
--fill_up_media
Expand the last track of the session to occupy all remaining
free space on the media.
This option overrides option -multi. It will not fill up media
if option -sao is given with CD media.
Caution: With multi-session media this option might increase
readatibility on DVD-ROM drives but with some DVD recorders and
media types it might also fail to produce readable media at all.
"Your mileage may vary".
You can expect the best possible read compatibility if you do
not use -multi at all.
grab_drive_and_wait=seconds
Open the addressed drive, wait the given number of seconds, re-
lease the drive, and do normal work as indicated by the other
options used. This option helps to explore the program behavior
when faced with busy drives. Just start a second cdrskin with
option --devices while grab_drive_and_wait= is still active.
--ignore_signals
Try to ignore any signals rather than to abort the program. This
is not a very good idea. You might end up waiting a very long
time for cdrskin to finish.
--list_features
List the SCSI/MMC features which were obtained from the drive
when it was last acquired or re-assessed. Although this is bet-
ter readable than the raw reply to SCSI command GET CONFIGURA-
TION, the MMC specification text is still needed for interpret-
ing it.
The list consists of line groups of the form
Code +/- : Name : Version,P/N
Raw feature data bytes as hex numbers
Parsed info as Name=Value pairs
The headline is the only one which has no blank at its start.
Code is given as 16 bit hex number.
"+" marks a currently offered feature. "-" marks those which may
be offered under different circumstances.
Name is the feature name as listed in MMC specs.
"P" marks persistent features. "N" marks non-persistent fea-
tures.
The Raw data can occupy more than one line. No "=" occurs in
such lines. If no raw data are present, one line with some
blanks is listed instead.
The Parsed info shows some extracted field values with names
which resemble the names used in the MMC description of the par-
ticular feature. Parsed info lines contain at least one
Name=Value pair. More than one line is possible. If no parsed
info is produced, one line with some blanks is listed instead.
Example:
0107 - : Real Time Streaming : 4,N
1f 00 00 00
RBCB=1 , SCS=1 , MP2A=1 , WSPD=1 , SW=1
--no_abort_handler
On signals exit even if the drive is in busy state. This is not
a very good idea. You might end up with a stuck drive that re-
fuses to hand out the media.
--no_blank_appendable
Refuse to blank appendable CD-RW or DVD-RW. This is a feature
that was once builtin with libburn. No information available for
what use case it was needed.
--no_convert_fs_adr
Do only literal translations of dev=. This prevents cdrskin from
test-opening device files in order to find one that matches the
given dev= specifier.
Partly Linux specific: Such opening is needed for Bus,Target,Lun
addresses unless option --old_pseudo_scsi_adr is given. It is
also needed to resolve device file addresses which are not
listed with cdrskin --devices but nevertheless point to a usable
drive. (Like /dev/sg0 using the same SCSI address as /dev/sr0.)
--obs_pad
Pad the data of last write operation of a DVD-R[W] DAO session
or stdio: pseudo-drive up to the full size of an output chunk.
This padding has to be applied automatically to the other DVD
and BD media types, where it causes e.g. ISO images to have
trailing unclaimed blocks.
Use this option if there is the suspicion that DAO sessions
abort with your kernel and/or DVD drive, if their size is not a
multiple of 16 blocks.
This option may also get enabled at compile time of libburn.
--old_pseudo_scsi_adr
Linux specific: Use and report literal Bus,Target,Lun addresses
rather than real SCSI and pseudo ATA addresses. This method is
outdated and was never compatible with original cdrecord.
sao_postgap=off|number
Define whether a post-gap shall be written at the end of the
track and how many sectors this gap shall have. A post-gap occu-
pies the range of an additional index of the track. It contains
zeros. No bytes from the track source will be read for writing
the post-gap.
This setting affects only CD SAO write runs.
sao_pregap=off|number
Define whether a pre-gap shall be written before the track and
how many sectors this pre-gap shall have. A pre-gap is written
in the range of track index 0 and contains zeros. No bytes from
the track source will be read for writing the pre-gap.
This setting affects only CD SAO write runs.
The first track automatically gets a pre-gap of at least 150
sectors. Its size can only be enlarged by this call.
use_immed_bit=on|off|default
Control whether several long lasting SCSI commands shall be exe-
cuted with the Immed bit, which makes the commands end early
while the drive operation is still going on. cdrskin then in-
quires progress indication until the drive reports to be ready
again. If this feature is turned off, then blanking and format-
ting will show no progress indication.
It may depend on the operating system whether use_immed_bit= is
set to "off" by default.
--xa1-ignore
Silently interpret option -xa1 as -data. This may be necessary
if a frontend does not prepare -xa1 block headers but insists in
using option -xa1.
EXAMPLES
Get an overview of drives and their addresses:
cdrskin -scanbus
cdrskin dev=ATA -scanbus
cdrskin --device_links
Get info about a particular drive or loaded media:
cdrskin dev=0,1,0 -checkdrive
cdrskin dev=ATA:1,0,0 -v -atip
cdrskin dev=/dev/hdc -minfo
Prepare CD-RW or DVD-RW for re-use, DVD-RAM or BD-RE for first use:
cdrskin -v dev=/dev/sg1 blank=as_needed -eject
Format DVD-RW to avoid need for blanking before re-use:
cdrskin -v dev=/dev/sr0 blank=format_overwrite
De-format DVD-RW to make it capable of multi-session again:
cdrskin -v dev=/dev/sr0 blank=deformat_sequential
Write ISO-9660 filesystem image as only one to blank or formatted media:
cdrskin -v dev=/dev/hdc speed=12 fs=8m \
blank=as_needed -eject padsize=300k my_image.iso
Write compressed afio archive on-the-fly (not possible with minimally
blanked DVD-RW or DVD-R DL):
find . | afio -oZ - | \
cdrskin -v dev=0,1,0 fs=32m speed=8 \
blank=as_needed padsize=300k -
Write multi-session to the same CD, DVD-R[W], DVD+R[/DL], or BD-R:
cdrskin dev=/dev/sr0 -v padsize=300k -multi 1.iso
cdrskin dev=/dev/sr0 -v padsize=300k -multi 2.iso
cdrskin dev=/dev/sr0 -v padsize=300k -multi 3.iso
cdrskin dev=/dev/sr0 -v padsize=300k 4.iso
Get multi-session info for option -C of program mkisofs:
c_values=$(cdrskin dev=/dev/hdc -msinfo 2>/dev/null)
mkisofs ... -C "$c_values" ...
Inquire free space on media for a -multi run:
x=$(cdrskin dev=/dev/sr0 -multi \
--tell_media_space 2>/dev/null)
echo "Available: $x blocks of 2048 data bytes"
Write audio tracks and CD-TEXT to CD:
cdrskin -v dev=ATA:1,0,0 speed=48 -sao \
input_sheet_v07t=cdtext.v07t \
track1.wav track2.au -audio -swab track3.raw
Extract audio tracks and CD-TEXT from CD into directory /home/me/my_cd:
mkdir /home/me/my_cd
cdrskin -v dev=/dev/sr0 extract_audio_to=/home/me/my_cd \
cdtext_to_v07t=/home/me/my_cd/cdtext.v07t
FILES
Startup files:
If not --no_rc is given as the first argument then cdrskin attempts on
startup to read the arguments from the following files:
/etc/default/cdrskin
/etc/opt/cdrskin/rc
/etc/cdrskin/cdrskin.conf
$HOME/.cdrskinrc
The files are read in the sequence given above, but none of them is re-
quired for cdrskin to function properly. Each readable line is treated
as one single argument. No extra blanks. A first character '#' marks a
comment, empty lines are ignored.
Example content of a startup file:
# This is the default device
dev=0,1,0
# Some more options
fifo_start_at=0
fs=16m
Disabling superuser safety precautions:
The superuser is normally banned from using any other emulated drive
but /dev/null. This ban can be lifted by the existence of file
/root/cdrskin_permissions/allow_emulated_drives
where the directory must be owned by the superuser and must not offer
w-permissions for group or others.
Warning: Superusers must take care not to spoil their hard disk via its
raw block device (like stdio:/dev/hda or stdio:/dev/sd0).
SEE ALSO
Formatting data track sources for cdrskin:
mkisofs(8), genisoimage(8), xorriso(1), afio(1), star(1)
Other CD/DVD/BD burn programs:
cdrecord(1), wodim(1), xorriso(1)
For DVD/BD burning (also tutor of libburn's DVD/BD capabilities):
growisofs(1)
AUTHOR
cdrskin was written by Thomas Schmitt <scdbackup@gmx.net>.
This manual page was started by George Danchev <danchev@spnet.net> and
is now maintained by Thomas Schmitt.
Version 1.5.4, Jan 30, 2021 CDRSKIN(1)
Generated by dwww version 1.14 on Fri Jan 24 06:15:30 CET 2025.