Nero Burning ROM, commonly called just Nero, is a popular optical disc authoring program for Microsoft Windows and Linux by Nero AG, formerly Ahead Software.[1] Now the program is usually a part of various software suites—such as Nero 7 Premium Reloaded—most of which also bears the designation Nero.
A limited-functionality version of Nero Burning ROM is distributed as Nero Express, mainly aimed at the casual market. It has simplified, stream-lined menus presumably for a less computer-savvy audience.
Name
The program's name is intended to be a play on words.[2] Recording optical media is often known as "burning", while pressed CDs were often referred to as CD-ROMs. The Roman Emperor Nero has sometimes been suspected of setting the Great Fire of Rome. This pun is more obvious in the original German as the German name for Rome is Rom. The program logo is an image of the Roman Colosseum in flames.
Linux versions
A Linux port of the application, Nero Linux, was announced as a free "upgrade" from the Microsoft Windows version in March 2005.[3] The application replicates most features of the Windows version, and uses the GTK+ graphical toolkit. As of 2008-02-26 a trial version is freely downloadable.
Features
Image burning
Nero works with a number of optical disc image formats, including the common ISO image and Nero's proprietary NRG file format. Depending on version more formats may be natively supported.
To use more formats, particularly lossless FLAC, Wavpack, and Shorten, it is necessary to install additional program modules. The modules, called plug-ins or codecs, are often freely available. Nero AG sells some video and proprietary audio[4] plug-ins.
Version history
Nero Burning ROM
| Version number |
Release date |
Notes |
| Nero Burning ROM 2[5] |
| Nero Burning ROM 3[6] |
| 3.0.0.0 |
|
First release of version 3. |
| 3.0.7.1 |
|
Last release of version 3. |
| Nero Burning ROM 4[5] |
| 4.0.0.2 |
|
CD-ROM UDF and UDF/ISO (Bridge) support added. Nero Cover Editor |
| 4.0.9.1 |
|
New features include twin VQ Encoding/Decoding, audio echo filter, and audio drag & drop implemented for Windows 2000. Last release of version 4 |
| Nero Burning ROM 5[5] |
| 5.5.1.8 |
2001-03-21 |
Released as a major update under the name Nero 5.5. New features included Nero Wave Editor, Advanced Nero Cover Designer, Nero MPEG1 Video Encoder, VCD / SVCD Menu Creation, Audio Plug-In Interface, Embedded Nero API (Application Program Interface), Nero Toolkit |
| 5.5.4.0 |
2001-08-25 |
First version to support DVD burning.[7] |
| 5.5.10.56 |
2004-03-02 |
Last version of Nero 5[8] |
| Nero Burning ROM 6 |
| 6.0 |
2003-08-02 |
First release of version 6. Early versions of Nero version 6 would only burn data DVDs using the ISO 9660 file system. Though DVD drives seemed to have no difficulty reading single-layer discs, the compatibility of dual-layer discs was more patchy. |
| 6.6.0.8 |
2005-02-17 |
Added LightScribe support. |
| 6.6.1.15 |
2007-03-21 |
Last release of version 6. |
| Nero Burning ROM 7[9] |
| 7.0.1.2 |
2005-10-31 |
First release of version 7. For unknown reasons, Nero 7 Ultra Edition Enhanced (for North America) has no LabelFlash or DiscT@2 support, as opposed to Nero 7 Premium (for Europe). |
| 7.5.1.1 |
2006-09-18 |
Introduced support for LightScribe and Blu-ray Disc recording. |
| 7.5.7.0 |
2006-10-16 |
Designed to run on Windows Vista. |
| 7.7.5.1 |
2007-01-18 |
Officially certified for Windows Vista. Fixed all prior reported flaws, updated Booktype support, and added further options for high definition discs. |
| 7.8.5.0 |
2007-03-20 |
Supporting SecurDisc technology, AVCHD and BDAV format. |
| 7.10.1.2 |
2007-10-10 |
Latest release of Version 7 |
| 7.11.6.0 |
2008-05-30 |
Bugfix release. |
| Nero Burning ROM 8 |
| 8.0.3.0 |
2007-09-08 |
This version was leaked to BitTorrent prior to release. |
| 8.1.1.0 |
2007-10-01 |
First release of version 8. |
| 8.2.8.0 |
2007-12-19 |
Implemented support for DualLayer DVD-RW media including layer jump junction. |
| 8.3.2.1 |
2008-03-12 |
Minor bugfixes, improved playback compatibility for Blu-ray.[10] |
| 8.3.6.0 |
2008-07-14 |
Current version. Minor bugfixes while NeroShowTime gained a support for DXVA 2.0 and ATI™ UVD. |
Note: Although Nero AG appears to no longer maintain a history of older versions on their website, release notes are archived by several third-party sites.[5][6][11][12]
Nero Express
| Version number |
Release date |
Notes |
| Nero Express 5.5 |
| 5.5.10.4 |
|
support for CD and DVD authoring, bootable CD/DVD |
Nero Linux
| Version number |
Release date |
Notes |
| Nero Linux |
| 1.0 |
2005-03-12[13] |
First release |
| Nero Linux 2 |
| 2.1.0.4b |
|
Last release of Nero Linux version 2 |
| Nero Linux 3 |
| 3.0.0.0 |
2007-05-24 |
GTK+ 2 port, Unicode support, Blu-ray burning. |
| 3.0.2.1 |
2007-11-06 |
| 3.1.1.0 |
2008-02-13 |
Based on NeroAPI version 7.20, Some command line arguments. |
| 3.5 |
March 2008[14] |
|
See also
Notes and references
External links
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