DVD+R.....do any macs play?

[samintx]

or is it just my Philips recorder that has a strange +R format? What about dups? Will Popcorn 2 duplicate DVD+R disks?

I have two of my standalones hooked up to record off one another (in DVD+R)but I would prefer to record off the computer so I don't have to do the cable two-step.

[MacMagus]

> I have two of my standalones hooked up to record off one another (in DVD+R)but I
> would prefer to record off the computer so I don't have to do the cable two-step.


Recording from one stand-alone recorder to another is usually done via analog, introducing generational errors. It's almost certainly better for you to make your duplicates via computer.


> or is it just my Philips recorder that has a strange +R format?

It's not clear what you're asking.

DVD recorders record in a DVD VR format. Unfortunately, while there are standards for VR DVD's, most companies use a proprietary implementation of it which may or may not be readable by other players or ripped on a computer.

Still, recent Macs with DVD burners and running Panther or Tiger should be able to at least mount the DVD +R disc -- whether they can do anything with the video thereafter can be established through trial and error.

Are you saying that your Mac can't even mount the disc? What model Mac? What OS? What model DVD recorder?


> Will Popcorn 2 duplicate DVD+R disks?

Ordinarily, yes. And it's the preferred method. For some reason, duplicating VR discs using Popcorn results in more compatible video than simply duplicating a disc using the Disk Utility. Especially if one is moving the video from +R/RW to -R (which you should do if the duplicate is for distribution as -R is the most widely playable format).

[Panopticon]

Everything you'd want to know about the +R format: http://www.dvdplusrw.org/

Apple DVD Technology: Overview: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=24451

Run Apple System Profiler, click on Hardware > Disc Burning,
it will show you the capabilities of all connected burners!
Like this (from a FW ext. DVR-109):

PIONEER DVD-RW DVR-109:

Firmware Revision: 1.58
Interconnect: FireWire
Burn Support: Yes (Apple Shipped/Supported)
Cache: 2000 KB
Reads DVD: Yes
CD-Write: -R, -RW
DVD-Write: -R, -RW, +R, +RW, +R DL
Burn Underrun Protection CD: Yes
Burn Underrun Protection DVD: Yes
Write Strategies: CD-TAO, CD-SAO, CD-Raw, DVD-DAO
Media: No

A burned and finalized DVD+R disc from a 'set top box' should read as a DVD-ROM, IF said box properly performs the bit-setting. I know my Lite-On 5005 does it fine.

[Sam3]

How do you like your LiteOn? I've heard mixed reviews about their stand-alone products. I am considering either the LiteOn 5115GHC or a Sharp VCR/DVD-R combo unit to replace a fried Apex stand-alone DVD recorder that I hated.

[samintx]

My G4 nor my MacBook Pro will mount DVD+Rs. They are supposed to read them but they don't. PCs have no trouble at all.

[MacMagus]

Did you finalize the discs as Panopticon suggested?

[Panopticon]

[quote Sam3]How do you like your LiteOn? I've heard mixed reviews about their stand-alone products. I am considering either the LiteOn 5115GHC or a Sharp VCR/DVD-R combo unit to replace a fried Apex stand-alone DVD recorder that I hated.
Love it, but it is a discontinued model. But, several users have reported having drive failures in Lite-Ons. Guess I got lucky with mine?

I've been doing some pre-purchase research on newer machines and I'm giving the Panasonic DMR-ES15S http://www2.panasonic.com/webapp/wcs/sto...reId=15001&catalogId=13401&itemId=97129&catGroupId=24987&modelNo=DMR-ES15S&surfModel=DMR-ES15S&cacheProgram=11002&cachePartner=7000000000000005702 serious consideration. It has FW port ('IEEE 1394 DV input terminal'), 2x S-Vid IN, S-Vid out, Optical Digital Audio Out; records DVD-RAM, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW; and plays DVD: DVD-Audio, DVD-Video, DVD-RAM, DVD-R, DVD-R (DL), DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+R (DL), DVD+RW, CD: CD (CDDA), Video CD, CD-R/RW (including MP3 and JPEG files).
No hacks for it, but I'm not concerned with copy protection as I have a Sima GoDVD CT-200.

Discussion of the ES15: http://forum.cdfreaks.com/showthread.php?t=194984

[MacMagus]

> But, several users have reported having drive failures in Lite-Ons.

One advantage of using an older LiteOn is that both the hard drive and optical drive can often be replaced with off-the-shelf components. My 5045, for example, is using a replacement LiteOn optical drive and when the hard drive fails, my understanding is that any replacement PATA HD of 160GB or greater capacity can be initialized automatically with a 160GB volume by the recorder.

[RAMd®d]

At least the newer ones will.

Early on, Macs used the -R format, same as the commercial movie discs.

At one point, Philips used the +R variant in their standalone recorders. This was a trivia questions posed by Philips public relations that allowed me to win one of their Streamium Internet radios.

What they use now, I don't know.

[Racer X]

I think that starting with the pioneers -105s that they could read/burn +R disks. BUT the Mac OS didn't support +R officially until later releases of 10.3 or maybe even 10.4

maybe around late 2004 for the hardware commonly in use?

many people who use odball burning software on the PC, or those who never finalize disks, or do packet writting are usually the culprit behind unreadable disks on the Mac.

I know that if I do a Disk at Once Burn in Toast with quality media as a UDF DVD or as an ISO 9660 CD, I have yet to have a PC user not be able to read one of my disks UNLESS they had a software/hardware problem on their Windows machine. (that usually comes out much later, after they have maligned the Mac as the cause of the problem)