Retro Burner 0.5.1

Retro Burner 0.5.1

Retro Burner 0.5.1 is a focused BurnerMAX compatibility fix for the 0.5.0 release.

BurnerMAX detection fix

• Fixed false rejection of drives permanently flashed with C4EVA/iXtreme BurnerMAX-capable firmware.
• Retro Burner now recognizes an already-enabled XGD3 writer from its externally observable MMC state:
  • XGD3 layer boundary 2133520
  • writable capacity sufficient for a complete XGD3 image (4267015 sectors or greater)
• Permanently flashed drives no longer need to match the temporary RAM-payload register signature pattern.
• Existing strict F1/DF register verification remains in place for drives that require temporary BurnerMAX payload activation.
• No payload is written when the drive already exposes valid expanded XGD3 capacity.

Hardware validation

Validated on physical Lite-On drives on both Windows and Fedora Linux:

• revision B drive with permanent iXtreme/BurnerMAX firmware: correctly detected as already enabled
• revision C drive requiring temporary BurnerMAX activation: payload still applied and verified correctly

This release otherwise retains the recording behaviour and feature set of Retro Burner 0.5.0.

Retro Burner 0.5.0

Retro Burner 0.5.0

0.5.0 is a large release: it introduces the first native Linux build while also substantially hardening the Windows application. The update goes well beyond the new Linux build; it includes media-aware speed selection, PS2 CD safeguards, optional verification, burn-result/phase parity, active-burn close protection, a safer PlayStation CDRWIN BIN/CUE path, real dummy-write support and a large amount of build/release engineering.

Headline changes

• First native Linux x86-64 Retro Burner release.
• Windows and Linux now share one canonical burn UI/presentation.
• Corrected/validated PlayStation CDRWIN BIN/CUE DAO recording path.
• Authoritative RetroBeam CUE preflight plus no-drive regression suite.
• Real CD-R dummy/test writes with the recording laser off.
• Media-aware write-speed gating and conservative console-specific defaults.
• PS2 CD ISO media-origin safety check.
• Optional PS2 CD ISO post-burn readback verification.
• Better phase/progress/buffer/failure presentation.
• Active-burn exit guard on both platforms without freezing the GUI.
• Modern native Windows/Linux build entry points and release packaging.

Native Linux release

Linux is now a first-class native build target.

The native Linux application uses SDL3, OpenGL 3, Linux SG_IO, native drive discovery/process execution/readback verification and the same RetroBeam source baseline used by Windows.

The Linux application is built as one Retro Burner ELF containing the application artwork/icon/sound plus native RetroBeam, CDIrip and ABGX360 helpers. The optional DVD growisofs path remains host-provided: growisofs and dvd+rw-mediainfo must be installed on the system.

A normal Linux source build can also install a user-local desktop launcher. The launcher safely handles build/repository paths containing spaces.

Windows/Linux UI parity

Windows DrawApp() is the source of truth. The Linux burn UI is generated/synchronized from it with checks for required controls/status text.

Both builds now present the same core burn information: overall progress, PHASE, session where applicable, actual speed, remaining time, FIFO/read-buffer health, device-buffer health, completion/failure presentation and the full Burn Log.

A no-disc simulation matrix covers Dreamcast, PlayStation, PS2 CD, PS2 CD verification, PS2 DVD with both backends, Saturn, XGD2/XGD3 with both backends and failure presentation.

Media-aware write-speed handling

0.5.0 makes the mounted blank-media profile authoritative.

The speed selector is enabled only for compatible inserted media, preventing a DVD speed descriptor from being presented as a CD-console choice.

For a new media/drive/profile context Retro Burner applies a conservative recommendation:

• CD-based consoles: lowest speed actually advertised by the inserted CD-R.
• PS2 DVD: approximately 6x where advertised.
• dual-layer/Xbox 360 contexts: approximately 4x where advertised.
• conservative fallback when the preferred nominal speed is unavailable.

The recommendation is applied when context changes, not every frame, so later explicit user selections remain respected.

PS2 CD ISO safety and optional verification

An ISO containing DVD/UDF filesystem structures is rejected from the PS2 CD profile even if its byte size would fit on CD-R. The user is directed to the PS2 DVD profile.

For PS2 CD ISO only, optional Verify disc after burn can perform a full sector-for-sector readback comparison after recording. Verification is OFF by default because it adds a complete optical read pass.

PlayStation CDRWIN BIN/CUE validation

A normal CDRWIN BIN/CUE describes mixed-mode main-channel layout but does not automatically provide original 96-byte P-W subchannel data for every sector. A synthetic RAW96R approach was evaluated during 0.5.0 development and rejected before release; it was never part of a public Retro Burner release.

0.5.0 parses the CUE with RetroBeam's real parser before acceptance, preserves the parsed mixed-mode layout and records ordinary PS1 BIN/CUE in DAO/SAO mode.

The DAO/SAO path was physically validated with a 24-track mixed-mode PlayStation BIN/CUE:

• parser regression suite: 10/10.
• full DAO dummy/test write through finalisation.
• real DAO CD-R burn.
• successful boot on physical PlayStation hardware.

Real CD dummy/test write

0.5.0 exposes RetroBeam's actual MMC test-write mode for compatible CD-R writers as:

DUMMY WRITE CD-R - LASER OFF

The normal CD pipeline is exercised—including lead-in, tracks and finalisation—without intentionally recording the disc. Firmware support still varies.

CD progress and diagnostics

Mixed-mode/multi-track progress is now whole-disc aware. RetroBeam exports disc-level progress instead of making the frontend infer overall completion from a per-track counter that resets at every track.

0.5.0 also adds an 8 MiB CD FIFO, clearer lead-in/finalisation reporting, improved dummy-write results, clearer writer start-position diagnostics and better Windows/Linux phase parsing parity.

Active-burn close protection

Both platforms refuse an application-close request while a burn/preparation job is active.

The warning is non-blocking on both Windows and Linux, so the render loop and active job continue to update behind the warning.

Failure presentation

Backend output remains available in full in the Burn Log, while common failures now receive cleaner frontend status. PS2 CD verification failures report the readback stage and mismatch/read-error context.

Build and release engineering

0.5.0 standardises:

• build-windows.ps1
• build-linux.sh
• docs/BUILDING.md
• native Linux RetroBeam CMake integration
• Linux single-file embedded-bundle generation
• Windows/Linux UI simulation helpers
• CUE parser regression tests
• safe repository-root handling for the internal Windows RetroBeam builder
• build support for paths containing spaces
• safer Linux desktop launcher generation
• separate Windows and Linux release packages with checksums

Platform notes

Windows

• Native Win32 / Direct3D 11.
• Windows SPTI optical access.
• Runtime helpers/assets embedded into the EXE.
• Administrator elevation requested for direct optical-device access.

Linux

• Native x86-64 SDL3 / OpenGL.
• Linux SG_IO optical access.
• RetroBeam/CDIrip/ABGX360 embedded into the Retro Burner ELF.
• growisofs and dvd+rw-mediainfo are host dependencies.
• Normal native ELF, not AppImage/Flatpak; compatible runtime libraries are required.

Existing workflow validation status

0.5.0 does not claim that every writer/media/console combination has been physically tested.

• Dreamcast Data+Data / Audio+Data CDI workflows have physical validation.
• PlayStation ordinary mixed-mode BIN/CUE DAO has fresh 0.5.0 physical validation.
• PS2 DVD5 has physical validation.
• PS2 DVD9 remains implemented but not broadly physically validated.
• PS2 CD and Saturn benefit from the shared CUE/media safety work but broader regression coverage is still useful.
• XGD2 physical coverage remains limited.
• XGD3 remains experimental and end-to-end validation is still incomplete.

Upgrade notes from 0.4.0

• Linux users now have a native Retro Burner build.
• Windows users receive the same safety/preflight/UI improvements; 0.5.0 is not Linux-only.
• Ordinary PS1 BIN/CUE recording now has a physically validated DAO/SAO path.
• Speed recommendations are now media-aware and may differ when new media is inserted.
• PS2 CD ISO can reject images that look DVD-origin; this is intentional wrong-profile protection.
• Optional readback verification adds time but not another write pass.

Continued testing

• broaden Linux distribution/runtime/writer coverage.
• complete XGD3 end-to-end validation on known-compatible hardware.
• broaden PS2 DVD9 physical burn/boot validation.
• add more PS2 CD and Saturn physical regression reports.

Optical recording remains dependent on writer firmware, media MID/batch, bridge/connection quality, selected speed and the console's optical pickup.

Retro Burner 0.4.0

Retro Burner 0.4.0

Released: 20 August 2026
Previous public release: 0.3.0

Retro Burner 0.4.0 is the release that expanded the original Dreamcast-focused burner into a broader console-oriented optical-disc application.

Highlights

• Rebranded and generalised the application as Retro Burner.
• Added a console/profile-driven interface for Dreamcast, PlayStation, PlayStation 2 CD/DVD, Sega Saturn and Xbox 360.
• Added RetroBeam as the default recording backend, based on pinned SchilyTools/cdrecord/libscg source with Retro Burner Windows SPTI, FIFO and diagnostic integration.
• Retained growisofs as an optional DVD backend for supported PS2 DVD and Xbox 360 workflows.
• Added automatic optical-drive/media detection and write-speed selection from drive-reported capabilities.
• Added capability-driven Advanced Settings for BURN-Free, Force Speed, OPC, MMC streaming/rotation policy and drive-buffer reporting.
• Added automatic eject and completion sound after successful burns.
• Added graphical burn monitoring with overall progress plus host/read Buffer and optical Device Buffer bars.
• Added backend-aware status parsing so RetroBeam and growisofs report through a consistent frontend.
• Added Xbox 360 XGD2 support and the first experimental XGD3/BurnerMAX preparation and capacity-testing workflow.
• Expanded build, licensing, third-party source and provenance documentation.

Supported workflows in 0.4.0

Console	Image / media workflow	0.4.0 status
Dreamcast	CDI to CD-R	Physically validated Data+Data and Audio+Data self-boot workflows
PlayStation	BIN/CUE to CD-R	Physically validated
PlayStation 2 CD	BIN/CUE or ISO to CD-R	Implemented; broader physical regression coverage still required
PlayStation 2 DVD	ISO to DVD5/DVD9	DVD5 physically validated; DVD9 implemented but not physically validated
Sega Saturn	BIN/CUE to CD-R	Implemented; broader physical regression coverage still required
Xbox 360 XGD2	ISO to DVD+R DL	Implemented; physical validation remained limited
Xbox 360 XGD3	Prepared ISO to DVD+R DL with BurnerMAX path	Experimental; end-to-end burn validation incomplete

RetroBeam recording backend

0.4.0 introduced RetroBeam as Retro Burner's primary recording engine.

RetroBeam uses a pinned SchilyTools/cdrecord/libscg source baseline with Retro Burner-specific Windows integration for:

• native SPTI optical access;
• host FIFO support;
• detailed transport and failure diagnostics;
• live FIFO/read-buffer reporting;
• optical drive-buffer reporting;
• CD and DVD recording paths;
• console-specific DVD layer-break policy.

BURN-Free remains opt-in and is exposed only when the selected drive reports compatible support.

growisofs backend

growisofs remains available as an optional DVD backend for supported PlayStation 2 DVD and Xbox 360 profiles.

Retro Burner parses growisofs write percentage, actual speed, estimated remaining time and RBU / UBU values into the same graphical burn-monitoring interface used for RetroBeam.

Backend choice is intentionally retained as a compatibility option. Optical results can vary with burner model, firmware, USB/SATA bridge, media MID/batch, selected speed and the target console's optical pickup.

Dreamcast

The physically tested Dreamcast workflows from earlier releases were retained:

• Data+Data self-boot CDI.
• Audio+Data self-boot CDI.

CDIrip is used to extract the DiscJuggler image and RetroBeam performs the recording passes.

The extraction path deliberately avoids CDIrip's -cdrecord preset because that preset also enables track cutting that can damage audio tracks.

PlayStation and Sega Saturn

0.4.0 added general BIN/CUE console profiles using RetroBeam's CUE/SAO path.

PlayStation BIN/CUE recording was physically tested during the 0.4.0 development line.

Sega Saturn support was implemented using the same general mixed-mode BIN/CUE recording architecture, although broader physical regression coverage was still pending.

PlayStation 2 CD

PS2 CD support accepts BIN/CUE and ISO input and records through RetroBeam.

The profile was implemented in 0.4.0, with additional physical regression coverage still planned after release.

PlayStation 2 DVD

0.4.0 added:

• PS2 DVD ISO input.
• read-only media/capacity interrogation with dvd+rw-mediainfo.
• RetroBeam as the default DVD backend.
• optional growisofs recording.
• automatic DVD5/DVD9 classification from image size.
• dual-layer handling and calculated layer-break support.

A PS2 DVD5 burn was physically validated on real hardware.

PS2 DVD9 support was implemented but remained physically unvalidated in 0.4.0.

Xbox 360

XGD2

0.4.0 added Xbox 360 XGD2 DVD+R DL support using the standard layer break:

1913760

Both RetroBeam and growisofs were available as recording backends.

XGD3 — experimental

0.4.0 also introduced the first XGD3 workflow, including:

• temporary working-copy preparation;
• ABGX360-based preparation/verification;
• native BurnerMAX capability/signature probing;
• no-game-sector-write BurnerMAX test/enable action;
• expanded-capacity verification;
• in-session caching of a successfully prepared working image;
• XGD3 layer break:

2133520

XGD3 remained experimental in 0.4.0.

During development, the HL-DT-ST GP60NB50/PE00 test drive accepted the BurnerMAX payload and exposed the expected expanded writable capacity, but a complete XGD3 disc write was not finished before that drive became unavailable during separate manual firmware experimentation.

That firmware incident was separate from Retro Burner's normal disc-recording path.

Burn monitoring and quality-of-life changes

0.4.0 substantially improved the user-facing burn process:

• graphical overall burn progress;
• graphical host/read Buffer bar;
• graphical optical Device Buffer bar;
• parsed actual write speed;
• estimated remaining time where available;
• burn-phase status such as lead-in, sector writing and finalisation;
• automatic drive/media detection;
• real drive-reported write-speed choices;
• automatic eject after successful burns;
• completion sound;
• always-available detailed burn logging.

Advanced drive controls

Where supported by the selected writer, 0.4.0 exposes advanced RetroBeam controls for:

• BURN-Free;
• Force Speed;
• OPC policy;
• MMC streaming/rotation policy;
• drive-buffer reporting.

These controls are capability-driven rather than assumed to work on every writer.

Hardware and media variability

Optical-disc recording results are hardware dependent.

A successful or failed result on one development system should not be interpreted as a universal ranking of RetroBeam, growisofs or another recording engine. Important variables include:

• burner model and firmware;
• USB/SATA bridge and connection quality;
• recordable-media type, MID and manufacturing batch;
• selected write speed and the drive's write strategy;
• target console model and optical-pickup condition.

Retro Burner therefore keeps backend choice and detailed logging available for troubleshooting.

Validation status at release

Physically validated during the 0.4.0 development line:

• Dreamcast Data+Data self-boot CDI.
• Dreamcast Audio+Data self-boot CDI.
• PlayStation BIN/CUE.
• PlayStation 2 DVD5.
• BurnerMAX payload/capacity stage on the GP60NB50/PE00.

Still requiring broader or complete validation:

• complete XGD3 burn and console verification;
• PS2 DVD9 physical burn/boot validation;
• additional PS2 CD regression coverage;
• additional Sega Saturn regression coverage.

Licensing and third-party software

Retro Burner original source code is MIT licensed. Third-party components retain their own upstream licences and copyright terms.

0.4.0 expanded the repository's third-party source, licence and provenance documentation for Dear ImGui, CDIrip, SchilyTools/cdrtools components, dvd+rw-tools/growisofs, ABGX360, BurnerMAX-related research and bundled assets.

See THIRD_PARTY.md and the licenses/ directory for details.

Disclaimer

Retro Burner is an independent community project and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by or produced by Sega, Sony, Microsoft or the publishers/developers of supported games.

Use Retro Burner only with software and disc images that you have the legal right to use.