I just purchased a USB SuperDrive so I could burn DVDs, primarily movies I create with iMovie. The movies will burn to a disc, but when I try to play the movie from the disc, either on my computer or the DVD player, it skips and freezes and the music stops and starts. Is there something I need to do in iMovie when it comes to saving the movie or is the SuperDrive?
MacBook Pro 15", macOS 10.14
Hi,
Hard to say what could be causing that. Here are a few trouble shooting steps that you can try to isolate the issue.
It is not likely that your Super Drive player and DVD player would both be defective, so a defective player is not the issue.
If your DVD authoring program (you didn't mention which one you are using) can create a disc image, then do that and see if the disc image properly plays the project. If the disc image doesn't play properly, then it could be that your
Super Drive is dirty or defective or that your DVD authoring software is defective or your settings were not correct. If the disc image does play properly then you know it isn't a Super Drive or software issue or defective media or too high resolution media. The authoring program and the Super Drive did their jobs to create and render a properly working burnable project with the media you gave it.
At the DVD disc level, try re-burning your disc. The problem might have been related just to one burn.
Try changing disc brands. Many on this forum recommend Verbatim standard single-layer DVD-R discs. Use -R rather than +R discs. Burn at 4x speed to minimize burn errors. Use a single-layer rather than double layer disc for a movie less than two hours, and make sure that your burner and software settings match the type of disc.
Make sure that your movie does not exceed 2 hours running time for a standard DVD disc. Movies longer than that get compressed excessively to fit on a standard disc and that might cause playback problems.
Hopefully the above steps will help isolate the issue.
-- Rich
Try using a different brand of a standard DVD-R disc, such as Verbatim or Maxel. Burn the disc at 4x speed to minimize errors. See if the new disc plays properly.
If still having issues, try cleaning the dust from your burner with some canned air that you can buy at an electronics store. Then try burning again.
If still no luck, it is possible that your Super Drive is defective or your DVD authoring software is not properly creating the disc.
Hi,
Hard to say what could be causing that. Here are a few trouble shooting steps that you can try to isolate the issue.
It is not likely that your Super Drive player and DVD player would both be defective, so a defective player is not the issue.
If your DVD authoring program (you didn't mention which one you are using) can create a disc image, then do that and see if the disc image properly plays the project. If the disc image doesn't play properly, then it could be that your
Super Drive is dirty or defective or that your DVD authoring software is defective or your settings were not correct. If the disc image does play properly then you know it isn't a Super Drive or software issue or defective media or too high resolution media. The authoring program and the Super Drive did their jobs to create and render a properly working burnable project with the media you gave it.
At the DVD disc level, try re-burning your disc. The problem might have been related just to one burn.
Try changing disc brands. Many on this forum recommend Verbatim standard single-layer DVD-R discs. Use -R rather than +R discs. Burn at 4x speed to minimize burn errors. Use a single-layer rather than double layer disc for a movie less than two hours, and make sure that your burner and software settings match the type of disc.
Make sure that your movie does not exceed 2 hours running time for a standard DVD disc. Movies longer than that get compressed excessively to fit on a standard disc and that might cause playback problems.
Hopefully the above steps will help isolate the issue.
-- Rich
Try using a different brand of a standard DVD-R disc, such as Verbatim or Maxel. Burn the disc at 4x speed to minimize errors. See if the new disc plays properly.
If still having issues, try cleaning the dust from your burner with some canned air that you can buy at an electronics store. Then try burning again.
If still no luck, it is possible that your Super Drive is defective or your DVD authoring software is not properly creating the disc.
Hi, Rich!
Sorry...I guess I should have explained! I discovered the problem was with the type of music file I was using in my movies. I had a mix of m4 and mp3 files and I found a blog that explained that most DVD writers will not play m4 files well. So I went through and found the same songs as mp3 files, replaced them and that seems to have done the trick!
Thanks!
Janet
Hello, Rich, and thank you for your reply! I believe I have discovered the trouble, but I do appreciate you taking the time to help me out!
Thanks, again!
Janet K
You are welcome. :)
What was the trouble that you discovered? Your finding might help someone else with your issue.
-- Rich
Who would've thought.
Thanks for posting back.
-- Rich
USB SuperDrive
